Dark Tribute--An Eve Duncan Novel

by Iris Johansen

  He nodded gravely. “But I tried to make it as short as I could. I had to come with you, and this was the only way I knew you’d let me do it.”

  “I’m still not going to let you do it. This was crazy, Michael.” She pushed his tousled hair back from his face. “I know you’re worried about your dad, but you’ve got to let me handle bringing him back to us. I won’t be alone. Jock and Cara are looking for him now. Jock is very smart about hunting, and he’ll find him.”

  He nodded. “I know he’s smart.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the last pew, where a dim glow emitted from the pocket flashlight he’d propped against the wooden back. He gently pushed her down before he plopped down beside her. “But I can help. I have to help. I have to be with him. He needs me.”

  “And I need you to be safe so that I can concentrate on getting him back. That’s the way you can help him.”

  He shook his head. “There has to be more.” He hesitated, then added simply, “Or he might die, Mom.”

  The certainty in his voice frightened her as much as the thought of losing Joe. “He won’t die, Michael. We’ll save him. You won’t make the difference.”

  “I might. I believe I could.” He looked into her eyes. “Because I think I can find him.”

  She stiffened. “What?”

  “I know where he is. I can see what he sees. I’ve been able to do it ever since the minute that man, Svardak, hurt him. It scared me, and everything came clear. I have to concentrate, but I can see it.”

  She inhaled sharply. “That’s not possible.”

  “You know better than that, Mom.” His amber eyes were clear and shining into her own. His voice was very gentle. “I’ve always known I was able to do it with you, but you were afraid for me, so I stopped. But never with Dad, just wisps of what he was feeling and seeing now and then. Like I said, I had to get really scared before it kind of jarred me into being able to hear what he was telling me.”

  “Telling you?”

  “Wrong word. Not exactly telling me. He doesn’t know I’m even listening and watching yet.” He frowned thoughtfully. “But if I concentrate hard, I might be able to talk to him a little later. The way I did with you. I’ll have to see how it works out. But just knowing where he is and what he’s thinking will help us, won’t it?”

  “Of course it would help us.” She was staring at him, stunned. “And I’m supposed to believe this, Michael?”

  He smiled at her lovingly. “You do believe it. You know I’d never lie to you. I can … do things. You always knew it was there. You’ve only been hiding your eyes because you want to keep me safe and happy. That’s fine with me, but you can’t hide them any longer. Not until after we get Dad back. Admit it, Mom. You know it’s true.”

  She didn’t want to admit it. Facing that truth would mean opening a new page in all their lives. One that might leave Michael vulnerable. Yet she did believe every word he had said. The knowledge of Michael’s special uniqueness had been with her since before he was born. Only what he was saying about Joe came as a shock. So she wouldn’t lie to him or pretend any longer. She smiled shakily back at him. “But I was much more comfortable hiding my eyes. It’s a difficult world, and I want you to see all the good before you see the bad.”

  “You show the good to me every day.” He took her hand. “And we’ll face the bad together when it comes.” He paused. “Just like Dad’s doing right now. But we can’t let him face it alone. I told you, I can help. Let me.”

  She gazed at him in agony. He was only a little boy, dammit. There had to be some way she could keep him out of this. “What would you do if I said no?”

  “I’d find a way to leave you and go by myself. I have to help him.”

  She tried another path. “And what if I paid attention to everything you said about Joe. The only difference is that you just stay away from where he—” He was shaking his head. She stared at him in helpless frustration. Her hands clenched into fists. “You’re just a kid, act like one.”

  He grinned. “After we get Dad back. Anything you want, Mom.”

  “So unless I let you go with me, you’ll be tearing around these mountains, and I’ll have to chase after you when I should be helping your father?”

  He nodded. “Though if you follow me, I might be able to lead you to him. But I really don’t want to be alone.”

  And she didn’t want him to be alone. After these last hours without him, the idea was unbearable.

  She drew a deep breath. “I don’t like this. The mere idea hurts me.” She was silent again. “And the only way I can stand it is if we have rules you’ll obey. I’m always in charge. You’ll always stay with me. When I give you an order, you’ll always obey with no questions. Understand?”

  His eyes were suddenly twinkling. “I understand that there are a lot of ‘always’ thrown into what you’re telling me.”

  “And should be. I’m serious. This is totally insane, and I’m having major problems with it.”

  “And I understand that, too,” he said gently. “And I never want to upset you. Now can we go and start looking for Dad?”

  “Not yet.” She leaned back in the pew and tried to regain her composure. “Give me a minute to get my mind clear. It’s not every day that I’m idiot enough to let myself be blackmailed by you.” She added grimly, “And it better be the last.”

  He nodded. “After we get Dad back.”

  “You keep saying that. And that’s the only thing that’s making me think that maybe I’m not a completely horrible mother and the ultimate fool.” Her lips were trembling. “Because we have to get Joe back, and you might have the key to do it. But I guess I have to know more about that part of you that you said I’ve been hiding from. I have to decide how far I can trust it.” She swallowed hard. “I’ll need to ask you a few questions. Am I the only one you’ve ever been able to reach? I want to know how this works. It’s kind of like mind reading?”

  “Sort of, I guess. But it’s different between us. It’s warm and nice, like two rivers flowing together. I like it, don’t you?”

  “Yes. But you didn’t answer me.”

  “Sometimes I feel as if I might be able to read someone else, but I don’t do it. It would be an intrusion if they couldn’t read back. Bonnie says it’s important to be polite.”

  “Bonnie!” Her nails bit into her palm. “Bonnie knows about this?”

  He nodded. “Bonnie knows about lots of stuff. But she says I’ve got plenty of time to learn how to handle it later, that it will all come to me.”

  Bonnie. Standing beside him, protecting him, smoothing the way. Beloved Bonnie.

  “Very wise advice.” She cleared her throat. “And was it Bonnie who told you that your dad was in trouble?”

  He shook his head. “No, Bonnie wasn’t there after I went to bed last night. It was Dad, and something dark was heading toward him.” His eyes were suddenly haunted. “I didn’t like that darkness. That was why I knew that I had to go to him when I woke up. Then, later in the day, when I felt his pain, it scared me. It hurt so bad, Mom.”

  Her eyes widened in alarm. “You actually felt it?”

  “It only hurt for an instant, then it was dark. But I knew he was still alive,” he added soberly, “And I was glad I was already on my way to him.” His eyes were suddenly glittering fiercely. “And that Svardak man hurt him later, too. Dad knows he likes to hurt him. So he won’t let him see it.”

  “And did you feel that pain, too?” she asked tensely.

  “Only the start. I had to leave him. But we’ve got to stop it.”

  “Yes, we do.” She swept him into her arms and held him close. Nightmare on top of nightmare. How could she have guessed that Joe’s pain would also be Michael’s pain? It was hard to believe that the bond he now felt for Joe was so strong it would bring this additional risk and horror. Would he continue to share Joe’s pain? She had the terrible feeling that he would. “And we will, Michael.” She kissed his forehead, then forced herself t
o release him. She couldn’t let this new terror overcome her. He was right, she had to stop it before the pain came to either one of them again. Now there was no choice at all about her bringing Michael with her. If Michael might be in danger of suffering any pain, she had to be there for him. “Now tell me how we can find your father. You said you could see what he sees, if you concentrate? Tell me about it. What did you see?”

  “Dad’s wearing handcuffs and tied to a chair. I could see that man’s face when he hurt Dad. I couldn’t stay with Dad when that happened. I tried, but I had to leave.” His lips tightened. “Next time, I’ll be able to do it.”

  Because it was hurting him too much. Eve felt the helpless rage tear through her at the thought. “You did the right thing to leave him. Your dad would tell you that, too. You couldn’t help him. If it happens again, do the very same thing.”

  He gravely shook his head. “I won’t let him be alone with it. It hurt so bad that it surprised me. I didn’t know what to do about it. But I think I learned a little bit. I’ll learn more, and I’ll get better.”

  What could she do with him, she wondered helplessly. He wasn’t going to listen to her. She could only love him, be proud of him, and make any sacrifice necessary to keep him and Joe alive. She tried once more. “Listen, I don’t want this. Please, don’t do it.”

  He looked troubled, but he shook his head.

  She gave it up. “Then we’ll just have to move fast so that lessons won’t be necessary.” She hugged him again. “And if they come, I’ll be there with you.” She got to her feet. “Now let’s get on the road. If we stay here much longer, Cheknof, that guard Kaskov assigned us, will be busting in here trying to rescue us. He insisted on following me because you made him look bad to Kaskov when you flew the coop.”

  “I didn’t mean to do that. He was nice to me.”

  “Actions have consequences.” She looked back at him. “You’re sure that’s all you can tell me?”

  “That’s all I could see about where Dad is now.” He grabbed his flashlight and followed her toward the front entrance. “But remember? I told you last night he was excited when he was standing beside that lake and looking at the woods and that funny house.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “And you believe that was a part of all this?”

  “I think it might have been the beginning,” he said quietly. “I wanted to be with him so much that maybe it happened. I thought it came later, but that minute was so real.”

  “Maybe?”

  He was silent. Then he said firmly, “It did happen. I know he was standing there looking at the house. Let’s go find that lake, Mom.”

  “By all means.” She opened the door. “But there are a lot of lakes in these mountains. You didn’t, by any chance, see a convenient sign or landmark that would help us?”

  “No, but I might remember what Dad was seeing and thinking if I caught sight of it.” He was frowning. “It was different than later, when everything was clear and I actually saw what was happening in that room where he was tied. This was kind of in his head…” He shook his head. “But will it help?”

  “We’ll make it help.” Lord knows they didn’t have any other clues that could lead them to Joe. “We know where your dad was during the last couple days. We’ll just have to find your lake somewhere in that area. We’ll head for the town where Cara and Jock are right now and start from there.” She made a face. “Though we may have problems with convincing Jock that your dad’s giving you directions.”

  “Cara will believe it.”

  “Yes, she will. We’ll let her convince Jock.” She was about to shut the door behind them when she suddenly stopped and looked back into the dark church. “I suppose we should lock this door. I can’t believe they left the church open. It might be a house of worship, but it took a lot of trust.”

  “The front door was locked,” Michael said. “I had to go around to the back to find an open door.”

  She looked down at him as she swung the door shut. “Why go to all that trouble?”

  His gaze rose to the white neon cross over the door. “I’ve been thinking about crosses since Dad has been gone. I don’t know why. I saw that cross, and I thought if I stayed here awhile it might come to me.”

  “And did it?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not a cross from a church … but it’s still important, and it has something to do with Dad.”

  A cross.

  Joe.

  A chill went through her. Not a cross from a church. The only other cross she could think of right now were the ones that marked the graves in cemeteries.

  “I don’t think we’ll worry about crosses right now.” She started quickly down the steps of the church. “You’ve given us quite enough to work on for the time being. When we get on our way, you can start going through your computer and see how many lakes we can find that might resemble the one your dad might have been looking at last night…”

  * * *

  Jock gazed at Cara in disbelief as she pressed the disconnect after talking to Eve. “She’s actually bringing the boy?” He cursed beneath his breath. “What is she thinking? She’ll get him killed.” His lips twisted. “Or she’ll get us killed while we try to protect him.”

  “You heard her. She thinks he might be able to help find Joe.” She was as much in shock as Jock, but she was trying to work her way through it. Eve had not given her the opportunity for more than a token protest before she had cut the connection. “And there’s no way Eve would risk Michael if she could avoid it. It would kill her if anything happened to him.” But it would also kill Eve if anything happened to Joe. The pain surrounding that decision must have been horrendous. “We just have to trust her to know what she’s doing.”

  “He’s a ten-year-old kid,” Jock said. “He won’t help. He’ll get in the way.”

  “He’s Michael,” Cara said. “We both know he’s … different. I’ve been with him from the moment he was born, and I’ve almost become used to expecting the unexpected from him.” She smiled shakily. “Maybe not this unexpected. But I’ll take any help I can get. We’ll just have to make sure there’s no cost to him or Eve.”

  “Or you,” Jock said grimly. “I’m not going to let a wild card like Michael put you in even more danger than you are right now.”

  “We’ve got to find Joe,” she said quietly. “And we’ve not had any luck so far. A wild card is better than no card at all.” She paused. “Because if Svardak still has Joe by that deadline he set, I’ll have to find a way to bargain with him.”

  “No!”

  “You can say no all you please, but it won’t change anything. You know that, Jock. I won’t change my mind.”

  His eyes were glittering down at her. “And I won’t give you up to him.”

  She smiled sadly. “Then try the wild card. No choice. Because that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Cara…” She could see the myriad of emotions conflicting in his face. Then he suddenly said through bared teeth, “I’ll take your wild card. But you’re wrong; I’m not without other choices. I won’t put all my eggs in one basket.” He was dialing quickly. “Let’s talk to Kaskov.”

  “Why?”

  “Ron Edding. Svardak is trying to gather all his old crew around him. I told Kaskov before that I wanted Ron Edding compliant and ready for me to use if I needed him as bait to draw Svardak. I don’t doubt that Nikolai managed to do it. If your Michael can’t give us a lead on Joe, then we’ll use Edding as Judas goat.”

  “You’re hoping if Edding contacts Svardak, that Svardak will tell him where he’s located?”

  His lips twisted. “Not much hope involved there. He wouldn’t trust him that far. Edding was the last man he hired for his team. All I can expect is that he might arrange to pick him up somewhere near his hideout and check him out. But that might be—”

  “Where the hell are you, Gavin?” Kaskov said as he answered his phone. “I told you to report back to me.”

  �
�Aye, that’s going to happen,” he said sarcastically. “I’m going to need Edding. Is he ready?”

  “How is Cara?”

  “She’s fine. Is Edding ready?”

  “Of course. Nikolai says he’ll be more than cooperative.”

  “We’re near Ruell Falls. Have Edding make the call to Svardak to tell him he’s made his way this far into the mountains and ask for further directions. Then put him on a helicopter. I want him here by dawn.”

  Silence. “I detect a hint of frustration. Is Cara on the line? I wish to speak to her.”

  “I’m here, Kaskov,” Cara said. “What do you want?”

  He was silent an instant. “I assume Eve has told you that I appear to have failed to protect her and the child as I promised. The child proved … difficult.” His voice sounded oddly stilted. “But I do not break my word. Though it’s not really my fault, I wished to express my regrets. They’re under close observation once more, and it won’t happen again.” Then his tone changed to pure, arrogant Kaskov. “Though you know that because I understand they’re heading in your direction. You will take care of yourself, not them. Do you understand?”

  “We’ll do what we have to do. We’re family. Do you understand? Probably not.” She added wearily, “I’m not blaming you for letting a ten-year-old make your goons look bad. It would amuse me if it wasn’t so terribly frightening.” She drew a shaky breath. “And I’ll take whatever help you can give us to get Joe away from that monster. But don’t tell me that I’m more important than any other member of my family because I can entertain you. It’s not true.”

  “I beg to disagree,” Kaskov said. “My amusement is all-important in the scheme of things. Gavin, I’ll deliver Edding. In exchange, I expect you to make certain Cara lives through this somewhat clumsy plan you’ve concocted. I’ll be in touch if you don’t.” He cut the connection.

  Cara shook her head. “That was a bit unusual. He sounded almost contrite. I guess his nose was out of joint because he’s not accustomed to making mistakes.”