This is a draft of Chapter 1 of Darkness Falling, written May 19, 2007. I hope to have more chapters forthcoming within the next few weeks. Please let me know what you think. I've always felt the series ended too soon and was never satisfied with the ending.

Special thanks must be given to Gramarye for his inspiration. I only wish he would write more….

Please be cautioned that this tale is set in the present day and deals with current events.

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Darkness Falling

Chapter 1

Will turned into a storefront on the left side of the street. A tinny bell jingled slightly as he pushed open the door of the, The Not a Bit of Tea Coffee Shop, located only a few blocks from his college office. The shop was inhabited by Cambridge students peering deeply into the screens of laptop computers, absorbing the free internet access, and sipping gourmet coffees with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Other students sat grouped on orange couches pushed in clusters against the brightly painted walls or at café tables for 4. World-beat music played through the café's speakers a level low enough to be heard without overpowering conversation or study.

"Your usual, Professor?" asked the pink-haired clerk behind the counter. Her black t-shirt and jeans were partially masked by a light blue apron covered with social-activist buttons.

"That would be great, thanks, Janice. By the by, I didn't see you in class yesterday, I hope that all is well." Will asked as Janice grabbed a recycled paper cup and started to fill it with coffee.

"Yes, everything is fine, Professor." Janice blushed and glanced down at the counter, not wishing to make eye contact with Will. "I had a late night….studying…and just didn't make it up in time. I won't happen again."

"You should come by my office hours – 3 p.m. tomorrow, to pick up the homework assignment. I wouldn't want you to fall behind."

"Sure thing, Professor." Janice smiled as she handed Will his coffee as he handed her funds for the beverage and a generous tip.

"Excuse me, but have we met before?" Will was startled by a voice directly to his right. Turning, he was faced by a smiling woman, her auburn hair liberally peppered with grey and silver. She was wearing tan slacks and a dark blouse buttoned to her neck. "My granddaughter and I just stopped in for hot cocoa, she's there by the window, when I caught site of you. I'm really sorry to interrupt, embarrassed really, but I could swear that we've met before."

Will gazed at her closely, "No, I don't believe we've met. Perhaps you've attended one of my lectures at the University?" It couldn't be…Will thought…no.

"My name is Jane Drew-Halligan. That's my granddaughter, Sarah." Jane nodded towards a little girl, perhaps 2 years old, seated at a small café table by the window and gingerly licking the whipped cream from the top of a ceramic mug." My daughter, her mother, attends University. I help her out when she's in class by keeping an eye on Sarah. It's been hard for her, since her husband…Well, I've said too much. Again, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I must be mistaken."

"No, it's no bother at all." Will smiled graciously, masking his inner-turmoil. Jane. Jane Drew. The last time he saw her, it was 1968. She was 15 years old and had helped save the world by participating in an epic battle against the Dark. Of course, she remembered none of this, her memories having been distorted, changed, so that she would forget. No human, could bear to live with the pain and loss brought about by the Dark. It was hard enough for Will to bear the knowledge of those events, of who he was, who he is.

She must be about 51 now, while Will looked as though he was 35. A timeless Old One. The last of his kind.

"What is your daughter's name? Perhaps she's one of my students. May I?" Will gestured towards an empty chair next to her granddaughter. "I'm Dr. Will Stanton, on the faculty with the history department at Cambridge."

"Of course." Jane resumed her seat as Will joined her at her table. "My daughter's name is Elizabeth Belkins. She's on her second year. A physics major."

Elizabeth Belkins…, Will didn't know her well but had met her about a year ago at a memorial service for students with family who had been soldiers killed in battle in Iraq. There were so many students, faculty, and staff at that event who had been touched by war. By death. It was hard for him to block out the pain on their faces. Their hurt. Elizabeth's husband had died suddenly when his unit was stopped to make quick repairs on the vehicles. They had thought the region was "safe" when the bullets began to fly. That was almost two years ago. Her husband had never seen his new daughter.

"Yes, Mrs. Drew-Halligan. I have met your daughter, Elizabeth."

"Please, call me Jane. Oh, Elizabeth!" The little girl had managed to get whipped cream on her nose and was smiling and giggling. Jane pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Elizabeth's face as she squirmed. Will took a sip of his coffee and smiled, enjoying this brief window into a domestic life he would never have.

"It's strange." Will was broken from his thoughts by Jane's voice. He looked up from his coffee and saw that her bright blue eyes were gazing at him sharply. "I could swear that we had met before. It seems almost like I've seen you in a dream, long ago. Isn't that the strangest thing?"

"Well, I have been told that I have a very familiar face." Will was having second thoughts about deciding to sit with Jane. He was confident that her memories would not return, but if she had some recollection of him, perhaps the memories weren't as well buried as he would prefer. He didn't want to chance her remembering and decided it would be best to make his excuses and leave. "Just last week, my colleague, Dr. Jones, swore that I looked exactly like his niece's son, a dentist in Cardiff. At any rate, I've just remembered an appointment-"

Will broke off with a sharp intake of breath. There is something…he thought, something Dark. That can't be.

"Dr. Stanton, is everything all right?" Jane looked at him, concerned.

Will wasn't listening. His every sense was on fire, tingling. He quickly scanned the room looking for something out of place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. About 15 students talked and joked with friends, or sat in isolation with their thoughts focused on their computer screens. Janice was wiping off a cappuccino machine, humming softly. Nothing was out of place.

The front door jingled as a single student wearing a bulky parka entered. I know him, thought Will. He's in my freshman class on Roman civilization. Richard Penechant. Will grabbed his temples with both hands as the tingling spiked to a sudden burst of fierce pain. No! Walking slowly towards the center of the room, Richard reached his right hand into his grey jacket.

Will stood abruptly, his chair falling behind him, all his focus now on Richard. Suddenly a white light flashed behind Will and stretched across the room until it reached Richard. Then they vanished.

Richard tugged on a cord now protruding from his jacket. Then tugged again. "That won't work here." Will spoke, sternly. The power of the Light echoing his voice.

"What?" Richard turned quickly towards Will. Sweat beaded and poured from his pale face. He tugged again at the cord, frantically.

"I couldn't let you kill those people." Will spoke again.

"I…don't….understand…" Richard spun around in a circle, finally taking notice of his surroundings. He and Will were standing in the middle of a white room. No, not a white room. A room made out of light. "Where am I??" Richard's voice rose high in pitch. Fear now evident in his voice.

"I've taken you out of time." Will said flatly, his expression was blank but his grey eyes glinted with the reflection of the white light.

"What?" Richard gasped, his mouth hanging open.

"You just walked into a café with a bomb strapped to your chest," Will paused to glance at Richard's now open coat, wires and explosive easily in view. "I'd like to know why."