The Sacrifice (The Covenant)

by Azure Boone

  They sailed over the edge and Micah clenched his eyes tight, holding her in a death grip with his limbs, not wanting anything to rip them apart. Then he prayed for the rare chance they’d survive the jagged jaws of rock and hit the sliver of water at the bottom.

  But Micah braced for the impact that would kill them both. The impact that would end it all. Would he be with her after death? Where would he go? Would he be allowed in Heaven?

  A violent jolt knocked the wind from him and ripped Sarah from his embrace. She screamed and Micah realized she held his legs. He was caught on something. By his jacket.

  “I’m slipping!” she gasped.

  “Grab my pockets!”

  She struggled and Micah prayed whatever held him continued to. A loud crack split the air and they both plummeted down. Micah landed just next to Sarah with another jolt, only three feet below. Relief and joy burst from his lungs in several gasps as he scrambled with her as close to the wall of the mountain side as he could, looking around. The air misted with the roar of falling water everywhere. He looked up and saw the century old root sticking out of the mountain side he’d snagged on.

  The hand of fucking God himself as far as he was concerned.

  Another round of relief gushed out of him in a sob. He pulled Sarah close and she clutched him back tight, crying into his chest. But there was no time to be grateful. The Hunter wouldn’t stop until they were found. They had to move.

  ***

  Sarah’s body trembled as they felt their way in the dark. She was terrified and cold. Micah was slowing. He was exhausted. She was dizzy and fought off confusion. He’d been hurt she remembered. Where was the hunter Micah mentioned? Was he gone? Why were they still walking? Would they ever stop? Maybe they should just finish it and get it over with. Lay down and die together. And rest.

  Anything but what they endured. The agony of the wait. The dark wait. The cold, wet, endless wait.

  Sarah ran into Micah’s backside and fought to clear the clouds from her brain. “What?” she mumbled.

  “A road.”

  A road? Her heart began to race.

  He took her hand and pulled her along quickly. A few yards from the large ditch at the edge of the pavement, he pushed her against a tree. “Listen. I’m going to need you to flag the first vehicle down, okay? I can’t afford for them to not stop. If it’s a woman, I want you to have her take you—”

  “No, no, no, I’m not leaving you.” She shook her head frantically and gripped his arms.

  “Listen!” He gripped her roughly. “You have no choice.”

  She clawed at his arms when he tried to set her away from him, wailing, “I have a choice, I have a choice! Please don’t leave me, please, please, pleeeeeeease.”

  Micah stared at her in silent torment before crushing her in an embrace. “Okay. Shhhhh. We’ll go together.”

  She sobbed into his chest. She wouldn’t leave him. She’d die with him.

  “Shhhh.” Micah jerked right. “Lights. Get ready.” She wiped her eyes and he led her to the ditch, searching the darkness behind them. “Stand in the middle of the road with both hands up above your head, okay?” he whispered, pushing her toward the ditch. “Now. Go.”

  She stumbled into the ditch and fell, then quickly clambered out and into the road, doing as he said. She didn’t have to pretend to be battered and desperate. “Stop,” she whispered, raising both hands above her head as the headlights became blinding.

  She sobbed when the vehicle idled a few yards away and a female voice called, “Mam?”

  She shielded her eyes from the lights and Sarah’s shoulder jolted with fire, forcing a screaming shriek from her lungs.

  Micah was suddenly there pulling her to the driver side of the car. “Move! Move!” he roared to the woman in the driver seat while pushing Sarah in. The car jolted forward and glass shattered behind them. “Stay down!” Micah pressed Sarah to the seat as bullets suddenly whizzed and thonked against the car.

  Oh God protect us!

  ***

  Micah did a hundred down the highway, praying to see swirling blue lights in his rearview mirror so they could get an escort to town. He glanced at Sarah who still whimpered and held the base of the arrow embedded in her shoulder. “Don’t move it. As soon as I stop, I’ll get it out.”

  “I…feel weird.”

  Micah did too. But he recognized the feeling in his body and taste in his mouth from years of training and hunting with that bastard Scythe. He thought he was fucking Apollo. Literally. “It’s just a sedative. Try to sleep.”

  She gave a frantic whimper and shook her head. Closing her eyes was the last thing she wanted to do and he didn’t blame her.

  “Mommy, who are those people?”

  Micah’s heart jolted in his chest at hearing the voice of a young boy. Fuck. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. A child! He needed to get these people to a hospital and drop them off. “Mam, I’m so sorry.” He glanced back to the mother. “We’re in a bit of trouble. You have any idea where we are?”

  She held the head of maybe an eight year old to her chest, looking around wide eyed and stuttering like she’d lost the ability to speak.

  “You were on your way somewhere?” he helped.

  “Hartford.” Her voice quivered then she cleared it. “Hartford, Connecticut. To meet my husband.”

  “He’s going to be a fireman.” This from the boy.

  “That’s fantastic,” Micah said to the boy, checking his mirrors. “How close are we, mom?”

  “I-I-I think like… about a hundred miles. Maybe.”

  Micah couldn’t believe how far they hadn’t gone. Seemed like they’d walked across several states. Fuck. Hartford wasn’t far enough away. Sarah whimpered next to him in pain and he grabbed her hand to give her something to squeeze. “Do you have a cell phone?”

  “I… I do. In the console. Below the radio.” The indecision in her voice said she’d hoped to hide that fact.

  “Mam, I promise you, we’re not going to harm you or your son. But the people who are after us are…” he looked in the rearview mirror at the boy’s dark wide eyes. “They’re not nice people. So, I’m going to have to drop you off at a hospital and I’m going to have to take your car. I have money to give you. You’re welcome to call the police and report me as soon as I drop you off. We could use the help.”

  “You can… call them now.” It was more of a hopeful plea than a suggestion.

  “Baby?” Sarah gasped the word at him, her brows furrowed with sudden fear.

  “I can’t call now.” The lines on the road suddenly slithered like snakes and Micah jerked the wheel.

  “I’m seein… shit Micah.” Sarah’s head lolled.

  Oh fuck. He’d laced the arrows with a hallucinogenic. “Mam. Please.” He fought to think past the sudden vertigo hitting him and slammed the brakes to avoid driving off the road. “You need to drive.” Micah managed to slur, holding on to the steering wheel.

  “Micah!” Sarah exploded in fighting and screaming. “They’re on me! Help me, get them off!”

  Micah struggled to reach for her. “Illusion,” he gasped, watching her face morph into the devil’s laughing sneer. “Illusion.” The last thing Micah remembered was the face of a boy, peering down into his. His tiny whisper made its way into his mind before darkness sucked him into a vortex of nightmares, “You’re the man from my dreams.”

  Chapter Seven

  Sarah woke to the sound of moaning. Her own moaning. She looked around and realized she was sideways. In a car. Laying somehow. She jerked her head right and gasped in relief at seeing that woman. They’d gotten a ride with her.

  “Oh thank God.” The lady gave a huge sigh of relief. “You both started to freak the hell out like somebody on hard drugs or LSD or something.” The woman glanced over her shoulder and Sarah managed to follow her gaze to a sleeping Micah on the backseat next to the boy, also fast asleep, upright with his head against a pillow.

  Sarah moane
d with the vicious throb in the left side of her body. She looked down shocked not to find a giant ax embedded in her shoulder. She’d been shot with an arrow.

  “I nearly called the police, I’m not gonna lie. You can thank my son for talking me out of it.” Sarah was in too much pain to care about any of it. “He kept tellin me. Don’t call momma. He’s a good man. He’s okay, he’s a good man.”

  A wave of agony gripped Sarah’s muscles and she fought to listen.

  “I says to him, ‘honey, how do you know he’s good?’ You know what he said to me?” Sarah waited, unable to lift her head or answer. “He said to me—big as you please—‘an angel told me.” A few seconds of punch line passed and the woman laughed. “And I say to him, ‘when? When did an angel tell you?’ He says, ‘I had a dream before we left. We gave a man a ride. I was scared. But an angel said not to be scared. He was good.’

  The amazed finality of her words indicated the story was over, and utter relief washed over Sarah. It was a sign to her. She’d been worrying for the past few days if God was on their side still. She hated doubting but damn it was hard. “Thank God,” Sarah managed in one of her moans. She licked dry lips and thought about Micah. “He is good.”

  “Well, all I know is, my boy is special. He has a gift of sight.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “A lot of people say he’s troubled but…” she shook her head with a proud confident smile before nearly mouthing, “he ain’t.” She continued to shake her head while muttering over and over, “he ain’t.”

  It dawned on Sarah in that instant that she displayed signs of… denial. Shit.

  It didn’t matter. Whether or not her or the child were troubled made no difference at this point. Staying alive was the main theme. And if that came by the hands of a troubled woman and her child, thank God for them.

  The woman regarded her several times. “You need to get that arm looked at. I’m really on schedule believe it or not. To meet my husband, I mean. I called and told him I was gonna rest. He was glad, he didn’t like me driving the whole way. So, I was thinking I could stop at a hotel and you guys could get cleaned up. Does that work for you?”

  Sarah’s body shook like a leaf now. What the fuck was wrong with her? “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Ohhhh, honey, you sound like you’re in a lot of pain. I’ll get some aspirin for you when we stop.”

  Aspirin. She needed one of her shots she gave to the mentally insane when they became run-away nuts.

  Micah suddenly bolted up in the backseat, roaring for air like he’d been underwater a torturous amount of time. Sarah wanted to comfort him, talk to him, but she couldn’t move.

  “Sarah!” He leaned over the seat and barely touched her shoulder. “God, I need to get that out of you.” His rushed words made her whimper. She shook her head worried he’d do it right then. She couldn’t take that.

  “We’re just minutes from a motel. My name is Nancy by the way.” She went on to explain to Micah her plan and why she was doing it, ending her story about her son in hushed whispers like before.

  “Thank you,” Micah whispered in utter relief before turning to Sarah. “Hold on baby. I know it hurts.” He reached over the seat and held her hand tight. “The drugs are wearing off, that’s why you’re shaking.”

  She nodded, fighting the violent tremble in her body that rattled her jaw hard enough to break teeth. It was more than the drugs though. She didn’t really know much about arrow wounds, but her guess, infection was the biggest worry at this point.

  “Are you okay?” Sarah barely managed the words as she locked her gaze on Micah.

  He squeezed her hand, panic edging his eyes. “I’m fine. He only hit muscle. I’ll heal fast.”

  She nodded, glad he understood exactly what she wanted to know.

  True to her word, the woman drove them to a motel and parked them on a remote side. Micah got out and looked all around, went in the room and came back with a towel. He wrapped it around her shoulder, hiding the arrow as he helped her into the room.

  When the door was shut, he turned to the woman. “I need you to go to a pharmacy and get some things. Can you do that?”

  She nodded and hurried to the table and returned with the motel paper and pen. “Shoot.” She waited to write the list of supplies.

  Sarah forgot the items he whispered to her the second she heard them. The pain was getting difficult to bear. She sat in the chair, body locked and rigid, fighting to hold herself together. She wanted to cry but was afraid to; she might not stop.

  Sarah lost track of time. She opened her eyes and Micah was there, talking softly and carefully. He gave her medicine. A lot of it. She took it without question. The next time she came to, Micah spoke the same way. “Sarah. I’m going to have to remove the arrow now.”

  Fear jolted her.

  “Shhh, okay, you’re fine sweetheart. Listen to me love. I’m going to lay you on the floor because I need a solid surface. I want you to remember who you are. You’re a doctor. A strong woman.”

  Dear God, this was going to hurt. She wanted to nod but she couldn’t. The most she could do was comply with her transport to the floor with Nancy’s help.

  Had Micah talked to Nancy? Explained what he was going to do? Where was the boy? He didn’t need to be there. She tried to find him.

  Again, Micah seemed to read her mind. “He’s sleeping.”

  Sarah went back to fighting the pain, her body rigid again as she trembled on the floor now.

  “I need you to sit on her upper legs. Right here.”

  At feeling the weight of the not so small woman on her legs, a sob of terror escaped Sarah. Micah’s mouth was next to her ear. “I love you. I need to check to see if the arrow is in bone. I’m going to try to twist it just a very little. I want you to hold on here.” He moved her hands to the bed rails on the left and right of her. “Hold tight Sarah and do not let go.”

  Micah looked around and snatched the pad of paper from the night stand at her head. “Bite on this.”

  Sarah obeyed his demand, desperately needing his fierce strength and resolve. She bit down on the pad of paper and stared at him, panting through her nose. She gave him several hurry and do it nods and Micah firmed his mouth and focused on the arrow.

  Pain exploded in her shoulder and Sarah let out a close-mouthed scream, gripping the bed and biting down. The agony came in slamming waves and reduced her to sobs as she thrashed her head.

  “Fuck!” Micah wiped his arm on his mouth then locked tear-filled eyes on Sarah. “The arrow is embedded in your shoulder bone. And I have to pull it out.”

  Sarah bit down on the paper as wailing shrieks escaped her. Like her body knew it was something bad even if she didn’t. She shook her head, begging.

  “I have to,” he gasped, crying openly. He looked back at Nancy. “Hold her good.”

  Sarah fought to calm down but her body screamed and thrashed with dread. She gripped the bed and clenched her eyes tight. Micah put one hand over her chest, his fingers splayed wide, and pressed her firmly to the floor. Sarah’s shoulder jolted forward with the force of his yank on the arrow and pain obliterated her body and mind. The last thing she remembered was peeing on herself and needing to vomit. Then darkness.

  Thank God, darkness.

  ***

  Micah paced around the bed Sarah laid on. Praying. He wanted to ask Nancy for help with the praying thing, but didn’t know what to ask. The little boy’s name was Troy. Micah had begun to think God was on their side until he questioned the boy about the dream he had. Turns out the angel he talked to was all dark and black looking. Dread quaked in Micah’s bones now that Sarah had one foot in the grave from that fucking wound.

  Nancy left. The plan was, she’d go see her husband and stop back on the way home to check on them. Micah had found a local auto-glass shop in the phone book and sent her to fix the back glass and get them a few supplies before leaving. He’d given her enough money for her to pay for a week’s stay. Nancy informed the manager
that her brother and his wife would occupy the room until she got back.

  That was the plan Micah told Nancy. But the real plan was they were leaving. They couldn’t stay in one spot for more than a day if he could help it.

  He just needed Sarah awake. And then he’d get her to call that cousin of hers. He needed him to come fetch them ASAP.

  He sat on the bed and turned on the TV, looking for local news, hoping to learn something that would give him a hint of where they stood. He wondered about Revyn for the millionth time. Wondered how he’d died. If he’d suffered long.

  He needed to find out from Sarah about all her extended family. They needed to be warned. He went to the bed and sat next to her, taking her hand in his. Burning up still. She required fucking antibiotics and there were no twenty-four hour places opened and it was only seven-thirty in the morning. She could maybe reach her cousin. “Sarah. Sarah wake up love.”

  She moaned and whimpered.

  “You need to wake up. I’m going to need you to call an antibiotic in for me in a little bit. For an infection.”

  She fought to open her eyes and finally stared at him, dazed.

  “It’s for you. But you have to call it in for me as a doctor. You have an infection from the arrow wound and need antibiotics. Will you be able to do this for me?”

  She barely nodded. “Water.”

  Micah flew to get her a drink and helped her sit up. It’d only been six hours since he’d pulled that fucking arrow out. He’d never cried over something so much. He even had Nancy in tears.

  “Right now, I need to talk to your cousin in the FBI. Can you give me his name?”

  Her brows furrowed. “Shawn. Talbot.”

  He kissed her forehead and cheeks. “I love you. I’m going to call him and I’m going to need you to talk to him. Okay?”