She was scratched and bruised over every inch of her body, but Oak didn't see anything that looked like a crippling injury. The serious wounds she'd suffered were mostly mental.
"You'll never get away," she finally managed to gasp. "There are too many of them. They'll kill you and me and Kakombe too."
"Maybe not," he snapped as his eyes hunted for a way out.
A green-visaged little horror with pointed ears, snaggle teeth, and the legend "Born to Hunt" stitched into the back of his frayed denim shirt intruded on the senior warrior's space. Kakombe's blade sliced through the demon's torso and lopped off the right arm below the elbow. Green blood spurted and the ghastly amputee launched into a wild, shrieking dance, splattering the noisome ichor over everything in sight.
This finally attracted the attention of the other bikers. They turned their machines inward preparatory to charging the interlopers. Kakombe readied himself and Oak planted his feet between the demonic horde and Merry. Engines raced hellishly.
The mechanical rumble was overwhelmed by an earthshaking roar that shook most of the Out Of as thirty or more powerful muscular shapes poured over the slop above in a single leonine wave that smashed into the unwary demons with all the force of a fully loaded eighteen-wheeler going ninety per. Arms and legs, horns and head went flying in all directions as the pride took out its accumulated frustrations and anger on the stunned demons. One bucket of banshee blood spewed across Merry's face. At any other time she might have reacted by shrieking till her lungs burst. Now she was all screamed out.
Oak cut the last of her restraints, got an arm under her, and helped her to her feet. She tried to take a step, stumbled.
"Come on, Merry, try!"
She doubled over and grabbed at her thighs. "Josh, I've got a cramp. I've been tied for so long—it hurts!"
He refused to let her stop. "One leg in front of the other. That's it. Use your brain first. Foot out, leg down, come on—move!"
It was hard to make himself heard over the squeals and shrieks of the demons and the roaring of the lions. Kakombe stayed close to fend off any of the bikers who might venture close, but there was little work for his spear. The demons weren't interested in them. They were starting to scatter in panic as one nightmare preyed upon the other.
Oak watched as one scrawny gargoyle tried to claw its way up a steep slope. A lioness grabbed its leg in her mouth and dragged it, wailing and screaming, back down into the depression. As soon as she got him to the bottom she freed the leg, put both paws on the demon's chest, and clamped her huge jaws around his throat. It didn't take long for him to suffocate. The last Oak saw she was carrying the dead demon off in her mouth, the body dragging limply along the ground, the head lolling free.
"It's getting better, Josh. I can feel the muscles loosening up and I'm starting to get some feeling back." He removed his arm and let her walk by herself. By the time they reached the top of the low bluff she was jogging a little.
"They grow 'em tough in the North Woods," Oak said as he smiled encouragingly at her. She grinned weakly at him through the grime and trailing hair that covered her face. She was exhausted and hurting, but she didn't ask to stop and rest. Not with hell only a few yards behind.
The woods closed in around them, muffling the circus of carnage that was taking place back in the depression. Both men kept their eyes open for any stray lionesses whose fury hadn't been sufficiently sated by the taste of gargoyle flesh. With each step away from her tormentors Merry gained confidence and strength. Eventually she'd recovered enough to explain what had happened to her as they jogged back toward the river.
"About ten years ago I got stuck in a small town south of Tacoma. I was just out of high school. I was having breakfast in this little coffee shop when a whole gang of real bikers pulled up outside. Not movie types; the kind who trade runaway girls around and sell dope outside junior highs. They were all laughing and joking when they came in. The one old waitress and I were the only women in the place. They ordered coffee and rolls and stuff and kept looking at me and whispering. I was too scared to get up and leave because I would have to walk right past them.
"But nothing happened. Just a lot of leers and comments. Nobody spoke to me and nobody tried to touch me. Aren't nightmares always worse than the realities they're based on?"
Oak recalled his own. "Not always."
It had been a while since they'd heard a distant shriek or muted roar. Goddamn, he thought excitedly, we may actually get out of this.
Sure. Out of it into what? They were still trapped in the Out Of.
Olkeloki had better be about finished making his magic, Oak mused, because he was ready to take the car and burn rubber racing back the way they'd come. At that moment he'd have traded his whole pension for a glimpse of pure blue sky.
Merry was still rambling. "I thought I'd forgotten that. I guess there are things the mind stores away in secret places and only drags out when you're least expecting them."
"Yeah. Did we get there in time? It looked like we got there in time."
"Just in time, I think, though I was so out of it when you two showed up I don't know if I would have felt anything. I'm sure it would have been worse than the airplane, though. God, I feel like I'll never be clean again!"
If it hadn't been for Kakombe they would have burst tired and sweaty out into the clearing where they'd left the four-wheeler parked. And if they'd done that, everything they'd accomplished up to that point, everything they'd battled and overcome to reach Ruaha—penetrating into the Out Of, fighting off nightmares—all would have been lost, and the rest of the world with them.
Maasai senses were functioning at peak efficiently. Kakombe heard in time and ordered them to drop where they were standing. They lay motionless for a long moment. Then he gestured for them to continue crawling forward.
The little Suzuki rested where they'd left it. Mbatian Olkeloki stood nearby, looking calm and composed.
A dozen gleeful shetani were dancing a circle around him.
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28
While Oak and Kakombe had been occupied trying to rescue Merry, the shetani had found and trapped the one person in all the world who represented a threat to their plans. They formed the circle with their bodies and linked arms. From time to time two of them would drop those attenuated limbs and mockingly invite Olkeloki to walk out of the circle. He stood motionless among the celebrating horrors, ignoring their taunts.
Fifteen feet in front of the four-wheeler Olkeloki had built a rock cairn. Atop it rested a single clay pot. Indecipherable inscriptions decorated its sides and within the singular vessel a small fire burned steadily. The cairn stood in the center of the inscribed circle the old man had been working on when Oak and Kakombe had gone after Merry.
At first Oak was surprised they hadn't destroyed the cairn, scattering the carefully placed stones and shattering the firepot. Then he saw that from their point of view this was better, this taunting and teasing of the human who dared pursue them to their sanctuary.
Kakombe gestured for them to rise and attack, but Oak shook his head no. The senior warrior whispered excitedly. "Remember how it was on the slopes of Ol Doinyo Lengai. We will charge them again and they will flee."
"Maybe they will—and maybe they'll turn and tear us to shreds. This is their world, not ours, and there's no platoon of laibon to back you up this time. There are only two of us." Kakombe stared back at him, then nodded ruefully. A wild charge was the last resort of the tactically ignorant.
Most of the shetani were human-sized or smaller, but there was one giant that stood a good ten feet high standing off to the side watching the rancid dance. Its knuckles dragged the ground and its lower jaw flapped loosely beneath the upper. Vacant, bulging eyes looked down on the ring of its prancing, cavorting cousins. Oak did not envision it fleeing in panic from a couple of puny, spear-wielding humans.
"This time we use a little ilmeet strategy. You know what a diversion is for?"<
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Kakombe sneered at him. "Ilmeet think they invented everything."
"I stand corrected. See if you can slip around behind them, and stay away from that big one. Merry and I will try to get to the car. As soon as you've found a spot you like, start trying to draw their attention. Maybe you can get them after you."
The Alaunoni considered this. "I have a better idea. Why do you not sneak around to draw their attention while Merry and I run to the car?"
"Because you're better in the woods than I am and I'm better behind a wheel than you are."
Kakombe reluctantly agreed. "I see what you have in mind. It is a good plan, but one that must work the first time because we will not live to try it a second."
The two men shook hands. Then Oak and Merry watched as the warrior disappeared into the thick brush surrounding them. Taking her hand, Oak headed in the opposite direction, keeping low.
"I'm glad Kakombe thinks this is a good plan," he whispered to her, "because I'm not so sure. But it was all I could think of."
"Of course it's a good plan, Josh. It'll work. It has to work. We have to get those creatures away from Olkeloki so he can do whatever it is he plans to do." She tried to pull away from his grasp. "Hey, take it easy. I'm not going to fall behind."
"Sorry." He released her fingers. As he did so he took a long look at her. Her skin was filthy. What remained of her makeup had been smeared all over her face, which was scratched and bruised. Dried blood stuck to her upper lip and there was a large black and blue lump on her forehead where one of the demons had struck her. Her hair resembled the branches of a thornbush. Sweat poured from her temples down her neck, staining what was left of her blouse.
Oak wore the look of someone who'd just found a ruby the size of a hen's egg in his mailbox.
She made a face at him. "What's wrong with you? What are you staring at?"
"You. You're beautiful."
"And you're a damn liar, but I think you're beautiful too."
"I love you, Merry."
"I love you back. Wonder when that happened?" She grinned delightedly at him. "We'll talk about it later."
"There may not be a later. If there's one thing I can't stand it's leaving either my office or my life in a mess. I think Kakombe loves you too."
"I know, but I'm into a different lifestyle. You think he'd take a steady city job and settle down in Seattle?"
"Unlikely."
She nodded. "That's what I think. We'll have to name our first boy after him. Kakombe Oak. Won't that turn heads in school?"
"Hey, what's this about kids? I don't remember proposing."
"Foregone conclusion. Hell of a time to start arguing."
"I wasn't arguing, I was just—You realize we may both be dead in a few minutes?"
"Then it's good to get the important things out of the way." This time she took his hand.
They'd almost reached the shore of the sand river. "Funny how life sneaks up on you when you're not paying attention to it," he whispered to her. They were still holding hands. "I came along to watch out for you. Didn't think it would turn into a permanent gig."
"Tough. You'd better get used to the idea. Just like you'd better get used to the idea of living in the North Woods. I'm not moving to an eastern city."
"What happens if I don't like your hometown?"
"Oh, you'll like it. It's peaceful and quiet and green. You'd be surprised how fast you can get used to stuff like that."
"Maybe you're right, but let's hold off picking out the furniture and wallpaper until we see if we can get out of here without having our hearts ripped out."
A bloodcurdling whoop rose from the woods directly opposite the circle of shetani. The dancing slowed. A fist-sized rock flew out of the trees to strike one of the man-sized apparitions in the back of what passed for its head. It staggered, then angrily put the bite on its unoffending neighbor. The two fought wildly for a moment until they were separated by a third. The lot of them began gibbering at one another.
Kakombe appeared on the edge of the clearing. Several of the arguing shetani noticed him. As soon as he had their attention, the senior warrior bent over and pulled up his toga, wiggling his backside at them with insulting abandon.
"Come then!" he yelled through his legs. "Come and see how a Maasai can run!" He dropped his toga and dashed back into the woods.
A chilling ululation poured from inhuman throats as the shetani rushed after him. As they ran and hopped and stumbled into the trees, the ten-foot-tall giant lumbered forward to gently but firmly enfold Olkeloki in its arms and hold him in place.
Run fast, tall brother, run fast, Oak thought solemnly. "Let's go," he told Merry.
Keeping low, they headed for the car. The giant shetani continued to stare blankly into the forest. It was almost too easy. Oak opened the door quietly and peered inside. The key was still in the ignition. Sliding into the front seat, he reached down to start the engine. As he did so he happened to glance into the rear-view mirror just in time to duck away from the sharp claws that were clutching at his throat. They tore harmlessly into his shirt as he fell on his side and rolled.
Staring over the back of the seat at him was a grotesque, lopsided shetani face. It, or rather she, wore Merry's spare blouse. Long thin breasts pushed pendulously against the fabric. Merry's only necklace hung slack from the narrow neck. Two earrings dangled from one rabbitlike ear and the rest hung from the drooping nose. The shetani had been going through Merry's backpack when Oak had slipped into the car and she'd just missed tearing out his jugular.
He lay paralyzed by the ghastly sight. Then those claws reached for him again and he was shocked into action. They dug into the seat where his head had been resting an instant earlier, penetrating deeply into the thick, tough upholstery. Jerking and bouncing like something out of a cartoon, the female shetani struggled to pull her claws free.
Oak's right hand was on the floor. He contacted something hard: the inside tool box. Shoving, back the lid, he grabbed the first thing his fingers touched. As the shetani fought to free itself he brought the wrench up in a sweeping arc against the pinned arms. Both shattered under the force of the blow.
Letting out a scream of pain, the shetani yanked back both useless limbs. Thick, tarry goo that smelled like the residue from the bottom of an old cesspool dripped from both cracked joints. It scrabbled over the seat back, straining to reach him with its gaping mouth. Sharp teeth gleamed darkly, coming close. Filled with disgust and terror, he brought the wrench around sharply. More black syrup spattered and the horrible creature slumped down behind the seat.
Breathing in long, hard swallows he leaned into the back and flailed away at the voiceless monstrosity until he'd hammered it to a pulp, filling the four-wheeler with loud cracks and damp thuds as the wrench slammed again and again into the now unrecognizable body. Even after he'd pounded it into immobility, the glaring red-orange eyes continued to stare malignly up into his own. Only when he was positive it was dead and the glow had gone from its eyes did he force himself to reach back and grab it with his bare hands.
Ignoring the black goo that oozed over his fingers, he threw the battered corpse out of the car. One of the legs continued to twitch in a grotesque parody of life long after the body had struck the ground.
The door on the passenger side opened and he raised the wrench again, lowered it when he saw it was Merry. Her eyes bugged out and one hand went to her mouth.
"Jesus, what have you got all over you? I saw you throw that thing out. Is that what their blood is like?"
"I don't know what it is," he replied grimly. "Maybe they run on 10-40 oil."
She found a rag and started trying to wipe it off his arms. "My God it stinks."
"Wait till you see your backpack." He turned the key. The sound of the four-cylinder engine turning over cleanly was like the voice of a heavenly choir. Putting the Suzuki in gear, he tromped the accelerator and sent it barreling toward the towering shetani that held Olkeloki.
; The monster held its ground as long as possible. At the last instant it flung the old man aside and swung at the oncoming car with both fists. The heavy blow dented the roof of the four-wheel but did not break through. Blessed are the steel-makers of the rising sun, Oak thought wildly.
The car slammed into the giant's left leg, slid sideways as if they'd struck a tree. When it came to a halt Oak found his nose was bleeding from striking the wheel. Gritting his teeth, he worked the gear shift and sent them roaring at it a second time. Out the side window he could see Olkeloki limping toward the rock cairn and its still-smoking clay pot.
This time when they hit the leg it was the shetani that fell backward.
It lay on the ground supporting itself on one arm while swinging the other wildly in the direction of the agile little car. Merry was watching the forest, but there was still no sign of the shetani who had been dancing around Olkeloki. Kakombe must be leading them a hell of chase, she thought. It occurred to her they might never see the tall Maasai again.
Oak brought the four-wheeler around and ran over the fallen shetani's midsection. It struck weakly at them and the blow missed badly. When Oak drove over its head it stopped fighting, though individual body parts continued to jerk convulsively like the spring of a clock that refused to run down.
His breathing and heart slowed as he pulled up alongside Olkeloki. The old man ignored the car as he made repeated passes over the smoking pot with his open palms. He spoke without looking around.
"It is good to see you again, Joshua Oak. And you, Merry Sharrow. Alas, my preparations were interrupted, you saw by what. All is not yet in readiness. Join me."
Reluctant to abandon the comparative safety of the car, Oak and Merry nevertheless climbed out and approached the cairn. They weren't going anywhere without Kakombe anyway, Oak told himself.
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