Dead at Twilight (Shaded Falls Book 1) Read online

  Dead at Twilight

  E.J. King

  Dead at Twilight

  Isabel Jones lived through a nightmare. She lost everything she had known and everyone that she loved. Now, she's moving to a new town to start over for her senior year. Shaded Falls is a small dot on the map and Isabel has low expectations when she drives into town.

  It isn't long before she realizes that Shaded Falls isn't just a forgotten town in the middle of nowhere – it's a hotbed for strange occurrences and mysterious people. One of those people, Nicholas Rockson, seems to always be around, lurking in the shadows. Isabel finds herself drawn to Nick and to the darker elements of Shaded Falls. As she gets pulled into the dangerous underbelly, the true nature of the town is revealed.

  Isabel must face her own dark secrets as her past is drawn forth. Everything she's ever believed about her life is about to change.

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Copyright © 2018 by E.J. King

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Cover design by Melody Simmons.

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  PROLOGUE

  No one gets to live forever. That is a pretty simple fact of life. People live their lives, all kinds of different lives, but everyone ends up the same– dead. It was the one thing I could count on.

  That was about to change.

  In the Falls, nothing was the same. Rules of nature no longer applied. People were born. They lived their lives, often in terrible ways, and then they died. The big difference in the Falls was that not everyone stayed dead.

  It didn’t take me long to learn that if you wanted a chance to live your own miserable life, you either had to leave town or learn to play by a new set of rules. The number one rule– don’t go outside after dark.

  But I still had time to learn that lesson, in the most frightening way possible.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I ran out of gas just a mile outside of town. I could see the signs of small-town life ahead, just out of reach. My car barely made it into the station before sputtering to a stop next to an ancient gas pump and I stepped out into blistering heat. The sun was beating down unrelentingly.

  I slipped on a pair of scratched aviators and stuck the gas nozzle into the tank, relieved when it gurgled to life. The gas station looked like something out of an apocalypse novel. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the pumps had been dry.

  Naturally, the pumps didn’t take credit cards, so I had to pay inside. A lone clerk sat watching a baseball game on an old television. He barely glanced at me as I slapped a twenty on the counter. “I love what you’ve done with the place,” I said, glancing at the nearly empty shelves.

  “New owners taking over next week. I’ll be leaving town,” he replied, pursing his lips. “You always so sassy?”

  “I’ve been told I am.” I frowned. “You do a lot of business out here?”

  “Enough. What brings you to the area? You ain’t a local.” His bushy eyebrows arched as he appraised me for the first time.

  “Moving to be closer to family,” I said dryly.

  His eyes narrowed at me. “Shaded Falls is a dangerous place for a pretty, young thing like you. You best be careful.”

  “Is that a threat?” I snapped.

  “A warning.” He leaned over the counter, locking his gray eyes onto mine. A ragged scar cut through the graying hair over his right eye. “And here’s another– don’t go out after dark. When darkness falls, stay inside.”

  “Good tip,” I muttered, backing away. “Have a good life.”

  “Stay alive,” he said before turning back to the game.

  Stepping out into the stifling heat was a welcome break from the chilly reception inside. I was beginning to think that this entire trip had been a mistake. It had seemed like such an obvious solution to my situation– a newly orphaned 17-year-old trying to find a place to live for her senior year of high school. When Uncle Jim had invited me to stay with him, I accepted after only a small amount of deliberation.

  It wasn’t like I had a lot of options. My mother had been an only child and Jim was my father’s only sibling. My grandparents had all died years ago. It was either Jim, or come up with enough money to get my own place. While I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Uncle Jim lately, I remembered being around him as a kid. He always had candy and money in his pockets to bribe me. I still loved both of those things.

  I pulled the car sharply back onto the highway and items shifted in my backseat. All my essential possessions were packed inside the car. The rest of my parents’ stuff was in storage. Maybe someday I would go back for it, but I doubted it. If it was up to me, I would never go home again. Too many bad memories.

  A sign near the road welcomed me to Shaded Falls. Fading of the sign made it look more like Shady Falls, which sounded more accurate based on the greeting I had received at the gas station. At first, it looked like I was entering another small town, just like the dozens of others I had passed through on my road trip. A downtown area that looked like it was from the past, children running around on playgrounds, and houses with picket fences. But on the edge of town, where Uncle Jim lived, I began to understand how Shaded Falls got its name. Large white oak trees, bigger than any trees I had ever seen, lined either side of the road. The road was almost completely shielded from the sun and the air blowing through my open car window seemed to drop fifteen degrees.

  The right side of the road cleared and I could see a series of waterfalls in the distance. It was a stunning display of nature and I was staring so hard at it that I missed the gray blur rushing into the middle of the road. I turned my head back just in time to let out a curse and slam my foot hard on the brake.

  The smell of burning rubber filled my car and I was breathing hard as I stared into the yellow eyes of a hulking wolf. Its gray fur shone like silver in the sunlight that filtered through a break in the trees above. The wolf lifted a lip in a threatening snarl that revealed bloody fangs. It blinked its gold eyes three times and then slowly, in a very human-like way, backed out of the road until it disappeared into the trees.

  It was another full minute before my heart rate had slowed enough that I could think clearly again and I cautiously eased my foot onto the gas pedal. That wolf had been twice the size of any dog I had ever seen. I wondered what animal it had eaten to cause so much blood to coat its mouth. I then wondered if it had even been an animal at all.

  “Get it together, Jones.” I exhaled hard and pushed away the negative thoughts that had begun to fight their way to the surface. “Leave the past in the past,” I muttered.

  I made it to Uncle Jim’s place without further excitement and breathed a sigh of relief once the engine was turned off. It had been a long drive and I was officially exhausted. I got out of the car and took a
closer look at my new home.

  Jim had always taken pride in his bachelorhood and I had expected him to live in a trailer or rustic cabin. Instead, I found a modest ranch-style home with a neatly trimmed yard and flowers planted in window boxes. I was certain I must have the wrong house and triple-checked the address.

  “Hey, weirdo, are you going to stand out there all day or what?”

  Somehow, I had missed Jim’s appearance in the doorway. He stepped onto the porch and I felt a small catch in my throat when I saw how closely he resembled my father. The likeness was uncanny.

  “Just trying to figure out what body snatcher situation must’ve happened to get you into a nice house like this.” I gestured to the flowers.

  “Only the best for my favorite niece,” he said with a smirk that was identical to my own. He came across the yard in an easy saunter.

  “I’m your only niece, Jim,” I reminded him.

  “That makes it pretty unfair that you went and grew up on me when I wasn’t looking.” A somberness passed over his face. “Goodness, Izzy. You look just like your mother.”

  I flinched. “It’s Isabel.”

  “Right.” He nodded once. “Whatever you’re called, I’m glad you’re here.”

  “You aren’t worried that I’m going to cramp your lifestyle?” I teased.

  “I think you’ll be surprised to see how cramped my lifestyle already is,” Jim said, throwing a strong arm across my shoulders as he steered me toward the house. “I’ll come back for your things in a minute, but let’s get you into the air conditioning before you melt.”

  “Is it always this ungodly hot?” I asked, already feeling my skin growing clammy where his arm was pressing down.

  “Only when it’s not snowing.” Jim held open the front door for me, his arm falling away and making it instantly feel five degrees cooler. “Sadie says this weather is good for the skin. Keeps you moisturized.”

  “Sadie?” I had only taken one step inside, but the blast of cool air felt heavenly. “Is she your facialist?”

  “Do I look like I have a facialist?” Jim said, running a hand over his two-day old stubble. “Sadie is my fiancé.”

  I had been about to take another step forward, but his words made me freeze. Uncle Jim, the same guy who had proudly boasted that he would never get married, had a fiancé?

  A feminine voice with a slight southern twang called out, “Is that her? Is she here?”

  “It’s either her or a stranger that has mastered the Jones’ sarcastic wit,” Jim called back. He put a hand on my back and nudged me forward. “Since when are you shy?”

  “Since about the same time you became whipped,” I said.

  Jim had moved us far enough inside that I could now see through the doorway on my left. Again, I was surprised by what I saw. The living room walls were covered in a pretty pale yellow paint that couldn’t possibly have been selected by my uncle. The furniture was equally homey and the stylish throw pillows on the couch further emphasized the truth– Jim as a kept man.

  “Izzy?”

  The woman in the center of the room was even prettier than the home she had created. Her hands fidgeted as she looked at me, her eyes nervously darting between me and Jim.

  “It’s Isabel,” I said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

  “Oh.” Now, she stared at Jim accusatorily.

  “It’s not his fault,” I explained. “Everyone called me Izzy growing up, but I go by Isabel now. You must be Sadie.”

  She nodded. “I told Jim he should tell you about me when you first called about moving in, but he thought you’d like the surprise.”

  “It’s definitely a surprise.”

  “Come on in. Have a seat.” Sadie waved an arm toward the couch. It certainly did look inviting. “I’ll get you some iced tea.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jim went back outside to retrieve the meager possessions I’d brought with me while Sadie played hostess. As I sipped a large glass of overly-sugared tea, I was peppered by her overly-sugared sweetness. She asked dozens of questions about my childhood and my life, skipping over the last year like a pro. Clearly Jim had filled her in on the important stuff even if he had forgotten to tell her my correct name. A little while later, after listing my favorite books and movies, Jim showed me to my new room.

  They had set me up in a large room toward the back of the house. It was far away from Jim and Sadie’s bedroom and I was grateful for that. I even had my own bathroom.

  “You’ll have this part of the house to yourself most of the time,” Jim said as he set my bags on the floor. “There’s another bedroom across the hall where Sadie’s boy crashed for a bit, but he’s got his own place now so I doubt he’ll be around.”

  “How old is Sadie?” I said, unable to restrain my surprise that she had a grown son.

  Jim grinned. “I’ll never tell. She was young when she had him. About your age.” He pointed a finger at me. “Don’t you dare make that mistake.”

  That shouldn’t be hard considering I’d sworn off guys many months ago. “Careful, Jim. She’s going to talk you into having some kids of your own.”

  “You’re the only bratty kid I need,” he said. “Unpack. Settle in. Make yourself at home.” He waved and disappeared without further hassle.

  It took me all of ten minutes to get settled in. Clothes went into drawers and on hangers in the closet. Books on the shelf above a large wooden desk. Laptop plugged in and booted up. Shampoo and toothbrush in the bathroom. My old chest full of random things was shoved to the foot of my bed. It had an old but secure lock, so I didn’t have to worry about Jim or Sadie getting nosy. After setting a picture of my parents on the bedside table, I was officially unpacked. Home sweet home.

  I wasn’t in the mood to answer more of Sadie’s questions and it was still too early for bed. I grabbed my cellphone and headed back though the house.

  “I’m going for a walk,” I called out in case anyone cared.

  “Wait.” Jim hurried down the hall waving a set of keys. “You’re old enough that I’m not going to give you a curfew or a lecture, but you should know that this town is small enough that I’m going to find out if you do something stupid and it’s not a good place to hang out after dark.”

  I took the keys. “No guarantees, Jim.”

  “I’m serious, Izzy.” He stared hard at me, not at all bothered that he had called me the wrong name. “Keep your head about you at all times. Don’t get into trouble after dark.”

  “I don’t know anyone in town, Jim. I’m sure I’ll be back in an hour. Don’t worry.”

  He held his stare a moment longer and then took a step back. “I’m your guardian now. I have to worry. That’s the rule.”

  “Since when do you follow the rules?” I said, turning away from him. My hand was on the door, but his next words made me hesitate.

  “In this town, if you don’t follow the rules you might end up dead.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  My muscles were still partially atrophied from my road trip, so it felt good to stretch them out as I walked through town. Shaded Falls might not be a popular tourist destination, but it was undeniably charming. Adorable homes with perfect lawns. Tiny boutique shops that oozed appeal. The diner looked like it was straight out of the 1950s.

  The old me would’ve fallen in love with Shaded Falls. Old Izzy would’ve marveled at the beautiful fountain in the town square and drooled over the pastries on display at the bakery. She would’ve giggled at the kids splashing water on each other and maybe even joined in on the fun.

  Old Izzy was dead. Long live Isabel.

  I headed back in the direction from which I had arrived in town. The waterfalls had looked so beautiful that I wanted to get a closer look. I’d never seen such a big waterfall up close. There was something strangely appealing about the rushing water.

  Every person I passed at the beginning of my journey smiled or waved at me. The baker even offered me a free cupcake to welcome me to town, whi
ch I happily accepted. But I noticed a sharp change in the townsfolk the closer I got to the falls. The smiles vanished and the only free thing I was given was a long glare and a muttered curse by a man smoking a thick cigar outside a seedy-looking bar.

  By the time I made it to the falls, I was dripping sweat. Standing next to the pool of water at the base of the falls, I relished the cool breeze coming off the water. Even cooler speckles of water covered my body as I moved closer. I was just about to slip off my shoes and step into the water when I spotted a figure in the water, almost completely covered by the waterfall.

  I quickly backed away from the water until I was hidden in the trees. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want to be seen, it was just an instinct. Without knowing who was in the water, I wasn’t going to put myself in a position I might regret. It seemed safer to watch from the shadows.

  A minute later, I was trapped by that decision. The figure emerged from the waterfall, revealing a stunning specimen of male form. The man was young, probably only a year or two older than myself, and his body was truly something to behold. I got to see all of it when he slowly walked to the edge of the water. He wasn’t at all shy about the fact that he was naked, but then again, he didn’t know anyone was watching him.

  I noticed several tattoos on his upper arms. I stared hard at his face because it seemed wrong for me to stare at anything else, though I couldn’t stop myself from taking a peek or two. I mentioned he was hot, right? I might have sworn off guys, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a good view.

  He had a strong jaw and chiseled chin with a slight cleft. His nose was sharp and angled. But it was his eyes that captivated me most. They were the lightest shade of blue I had ever seen and they made his entire face seem softer than it had at first glance. He wasn’t in a hurry to dress, ignoring the pile of clothes at the edge of the water that I had somehow missed earlier. The sun quickly evaporated the water droplets that dotted his skin.