“Seth!” I shouted into the wind. My own voice echoed back to me.
I continued shuffling along, gripping the wet stone until I came to the next corner. I edged around the corner and my whole body let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
“Seth, are you all right?”
I started toward him, and he caught my eye and shook his head ever so slightly. I stopped, wondering if I had misinterpreted him with all the rain in my eyes. I couldn’t waste any more time. I was starting to feel that paralyzing tension in my shoulders and my head spun.
I gestured at him to come with me. His eyes got big and he cut them toward the other corner.
“What’s going on?” I edged closer, and then I saw what he was trying to warn me about.
A gun, pointed at Seth, and held by Bea Paxton.
“This does complicate things,” she said over the wind.
She stepped toward us, holding the gun in both hands and keeping it trained on Seth.
“Mrs. Paxton, what are you doing?”
She glanced at me and then back to Seth. After I found Seth, I felt even dizzier. I had never passed out from my heights issue, but I knew it was possible. I flattened my hands against the rough walls and tried to convince myself that I was safe and close to the ground.
“Faith has been talking to Seth,” Bea said. “I can hardly believe my own daughter would turn against me but that seems to be the case. I’ll deal with her later. But Seth has to go.”
I looked from one to the other. Seth’s eyes were wild with terror and Bea’s were wild with crazy.
“Mrs. Paxton, let Clyde go,” Seth said. “She doesn’t know anything and I already told you, I won’t say anything.”
Bea’s lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed.
“No, that won’t work,” she said. “I’m going to have to change the story. Instead of depressed teen jumps to his death, it’ll be brave aunt tries to save nephew . . . and fails.”
She took a step forward. I had been inching my way closer to Seth, hoping to get near enough to grab him and . . . something.
“Or do you want to be the hero?” Bea took another step toward Seth. “Maybe you followed her up here and tried to talk her down. It’s so sad how many suicides there are these days.”
Seth leaned away from her. He had his back against one of the posts that ran from the catwalk up to the short ledge that circled the tower, but he was dangerously close to the balustrade. It was only three feet tall and it wouldn’t take much to push him over. Just the thought of it had my stomach in knots and my head whirling.
“That’s far enough.” A voice came from behind Bea.
She whirled toward it and the gun went off. I saw a flap of black fabric disappear behind the corner. The distraction was enough and Seth shoved her hard from behind. She slipped on the wet stones and fell to her hands and knees. The gun clattered away and skittered to the edge of the walkway. I wanted to lunge forward and grab it, but I was frozen in place. I had made the mistake of watching the gun fly to the edge, which led to me looking down. Rooted to the spot, I couldn’t even tell Seth to kick the gun off the ledge.
Just then a black-robed figure appeared at the other end of the walkway, its face hidden in the folds of its hood. Bea looked up and saw it and scrabbled away from the gun. Seth seemed rooted to the spot until Bea’s backward progress brought her near him again. She started to stand, and in a move that I hadn’t realized he knew, he grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her back. The dark figure stepped forward rapidly, laughing in that shrill way I had heard in my dream, a rope held in its hands.
I finally found my voice, and shouted, “Seth, look out!” But too late. Whoever was in the robes—and at this point I was convinced it was Death herself, or Morgan—was already upon them. I tried to reach for Seth but my hands wouldn’t peel away from the wall. I knew it! Bea and Morgan were in it together. My breath came in shallow gasps and there were dark spots at the periphery of my vision. The last thing I saw was the figure taking Bea’s loose hand and pulling her to a stand.
41
If I blacked out, and that is debatable, it didn’t last long. The next thing I knew, Bea had her hands tied and Morgan pushed her along the balustrade toward me. Seth walked carefully just in front of them. He came toward me with a look of concern and gratitude.
“Clyde, are you okay?” he said.
I nodded and grabbed his hand.
“Are you all right?” I asked.