Free The Twilight Before Christmas by Christine Feehan Page A

losing him, she knew she’d be very fragile. Starting up with Matthew Granite was a decidedly ridiculous thing for her to do. “Matthew, really, I have to find this malevolent shadow and hopefully help it find some peace or get my sisters to help me seal it back up.”
    Matt silently cursed dark shadows and evil entities and every other thing that went bump in the night. She obviously believed they had let something harmful loose on the small town of Sea Haven. He was certain it was a pocket of gas; but if it meant walking around town with her at night, holding hands and kissing her every chance he got, well, hell, he was her man. He could do that. And he would even try to keep an open mind.
    “Then let’s go.” He wrapped his arm around her. “I’ve got a flashlight in my car. This fog is really thick.”
    “We won’t need a flashlight, Matthew. I have a couple of glow sticks. My sister Elle makes them. They work very well in the fog.” She pulled several thin tubes from the inside pocket of her cape and handed him one. “Just shake it.”
    “I forgot about little Elle and her chemistry set. She blew up more missiles on the beach than any other kid at Sea Haven. Didn’t she get a full scholarship to Columbia or MIT or some other very prestigious school? One very brave to take her on?”
    Kate laughed, warmth spreading through her. “They were very brave, but fortunately they turned out a remarkable physicist able to do just about anything she wants to do. Elle is a genius and utterly fearless. She’s not afraid to crawl around in caves looking at strange rock formations, and she’s not afraid of taking apart a bomb when she’s needed. Unlike me.”
    “What do you mean?” Matt tightened his fingers around hers.
    “My sisters do incredible things and people expect it of us, but I wouldn’t want you to think I’m capable of climbing mountains or jumping out of planes because you’ve heard of all of their exploits.” She was feeling her way in the fog rather than following the glow stick. She lifted her face to the droplets of sea moisture, inhaling to try to catch the scent of something foul. “We have to cross the highway.”
    With the fog so thick there was virtually no traffic. Matt moved with her across the coastal highway and took the shortcut that led to the center of town. She was so serious all of a sudden, so distant from him, that he was actually beginning to believe she was on the trail of something evil. He could sense the stillness in her, the gathering of energy.
    The survival instincts he’d honed during his years as a Ranger kicked in. His skin prickled as he went onto alert status. Adrenaline surged, and his senses grew keener. He felt the need for complete silence and wondered if he was beginning to believe in supernatural nonsense. Matt eased the glow stick inside his jacket without activating it. The fog muffled the sound of Kate’s footsteps. He was aware of her breathing, of the eerie feel of the fog itself, of everything.
    By mutual consent they were silent as they walked along the street. He became aware of a slight noise. A puffing. It was distant and hushed, barely audible in the murky blanket of mist. Matt found himself straining to listen. There was a rhythm to the sound, reminding him of a bull drawing air in and out of its lungs hard before a charge. Breathing. Someone was breathing, and the sound was moving, changing directions each time they changed directions.
    Matt pressed his lips to her ear. “There’s someone in the fog with us.” He was certain someone was watching them, someone quite close.
    Kate tipped her head back. “Some thing , not someone.”
    Kate turned toward the residential area. The town looked strange shrouded in the gray-white fog. Heavily decorated for Christmas, the multicolored lights on the stores and office buildings, the houses and trees gave off the peculiar glow of a fire in the strange vapor, giving the town a disturbing infernal