by R. D. Brady
Baltimore, Maryland
Laney’s cell phone rang just as she and Jen arrived back at the estate. They’d caught the Chandler helicopter a short distance from the SIA facility.
Jen raised an eyebrow. “You going to get that?”
“No,” Laney said, wanting a moment to think. It continued to ring. Crap. “Yes.”
Laney stopped to answer, and Jen waved and continued on toward the main house.
Swallowing her frustration, Laney spoke. “Hello?”
“Is this Dr. Delaney McPhearson?”
Laney didn’t recognize the voice. “Yes. How can I help you?”
“My name is Aaliyah. I am a member of the Naacal on Honu Keiki. I believe you called the other day to discuss a situation that may involve some of our people.”
Laney froze. “Yes, yes I did.”
“I have been instructed to help you, but I was hoping you would be willing to switch to a videoconference. I need to verify that it is actually Delaney McPhearson I am speaking with.”
“Yes, of course. Hold on.” Laney quickly switched over to a video call. A few seconds later, a woman in her late forties appeared onscreen. She had dark hair and dark eyes, and a warm cocoa complexion.
“Is that better?” Laney asked.
The woman smiled, and Laney immediately noted she seemed much friendlier than Vanessa had been. “Yes. Thank you.”
“You said you had some information on the murders?”
“I may. But first, do you know who is perpetrating them?”
“We believe it is a group of people led by a couple named Maura and Derek Katz. Do you know them?”
Aaliyah nodded slowly, a crease developing between her eyes. “Maura and Derek were members. They were exiled over ten years ago.”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to tell you that. But I can tell you we had no inklings that they were prone to any sort of violence. They were strict adherents to the old ways. It is surprising that they have chosen this path.”
“Are you suggesting they aren’t the ones calling the shots?”
Aaliyah shook her head. “No, no. I am merely surprised. How can I help?”
“Well, we’d like to find the Katzes, if that’s something you can help us with.”
Aaliyah nodded. “I am not sure how familiar you are with our group. We have ways of knowing things.”
“You mean some of you are psychic.”
Aaliyah smiled. “I have been told that people outside of our world are not so easily accepting of such things.”
“Were you the one who sent me the pictures?”
“Yes. Were you able to find the man?”
“We got to him in time. He’s been put somewhere safe.”
Aaliyah closed her eyes. “Thank the Holy Mother. I wasn’t sure if you would take the drawings seriously.”
“I tend to keep an open mind about things. I’ve had one or two situations that people outside of my world may have trouble believing as well.”
“You mean because you are the ring bearer?”
Laney stared at the screen, her jaw falling open. “You know about the ring bearer?”
“We know you are called into service when the world has reached a dangerous point.”
Laney didn’t know what to say. Finally she shook her head. “Sorry. I just, I’m just not used to people knowing about me. And understanding.”
“We know quite a bit. Including about the Fallen.”
“Wow. I’m kind of blown away right now.” Laney cleared her head. “What did you mean about the world reaching a dangerous point?”
Aaliyah hesitated. “The world has reached this same point many times in the past. Many times, the world survived. But sometimes it didn’t—at least, not like it was before.”
“The floods.”
“Yes. We believe that is part of the reason the ring bearer came into being. To help humanity.”
Laney pictured Cain. “Someone told me that these murders are being committed to save the world.”
“It’s possible. The Fallen and the people who help them have been viewed as the agents of our destruction. Some would say that if they were removed, the world could be saved.”
“Do you believe that?”
“No. And the Honu Keiki don’t either. The Fallen aren’t the only ones who can do evil. Humans… we have a choice. We can be tempted and pushed, but the ultimate choice is ours.”
Laney found herself liking Aaliyah. She seemed genuine. Of course, Jake would say she was being too trusting, but Laney’s gut suggested otherwise.
“What about the Fallen? Would Derek and Maura be able to kill them?”
Aaliyah’s eyes grew large. “Kill Fallen angels? I don’t see how. Derek was a fisherman and Maura was a doctor. Neither was trained in fighting.”
“Are any of the exiled fighters?”
“No. No member of the Guard has been exiled in at least the last twenty years. And before that, the training was rudimentary. I can’t see any of them going against a Fallen, at least not successfully.”
Laney frowned. Were there two different groups committing these attacks? One aimed at the Fallen and the other at their compound?
“The Fallen are being killed as well?” Aaliyah asked.
“Yes. But like people, not all Fallen are bad.”
“Like the man in the coffee shop?”
A chill rolled over Laney. “How do you know about that?”
Aaliyah’s jaw dropped, but she tried to cover it. “We hear things,” she said quickly.
This time Laney didn’t need Jake to tell her that Aaliyah was lying. “Were you the ones watching? Did you set this up?”
Aaliyah bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Please forget I said that.”
Laney wanted to press the point, but she didn’t want to risk Aaliyah hanging up, and she could tell the woman was terrified. But why? She pushed down her concerns. That’s a problem for another time. “Do you know why this is happening? I mean, I don’t understand how killing people is going to save the world.”
Aaliyah hesitated, and Laney got the impression she was weighing how much she was allowed to share. “In our history, there was a dark period. A time when the very ground we stood on seemed to reject us. Some of our people blamed the Fallen for the difficulties. When possible, people killed them, and if they couldn’t, they killed the people the Fallen knew. And then the world quieted. They believed they had saved the world by sacrificing the Fallen and their intimates. It was called the ritual of the moon and the sun—the beginning and the end.”
“And after the world quieted, it entered a new beginning.”
“Yes. It became a tradition to sacrifice the Fallen and their intimates when the world became troubled. And people believed that an especially large sacrifice was necessary to complete the ritual. The last sacrifice therefore is always multiple sacrifices, not just one. And it has to occur on a solstice.”
Laney knew the solstice was an important event in the lives of ancient peoples. Occurring twice a year, the solstice was when the sun reached either its highest or lowest point in reference to the equator. Incredible structures in the ancient world had been built to allow the light to flood the structures only on these dates. Stonehenge in England, the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Ajanta Caves in India, the Serpent Mound in Ohio, the Mayan city of Tulum, the Newgrange Passage Tomb in Ireland—all were aligned with either the summer or winter solstice, and they were scattered across the world.
Laney’s heart began to race. “The next solstice just two days away.”
“Yes. But if the murders have only just begun, there is time. The ritual must go on for at least a year, usually closer to two.”
“The murders have been going on for almost eighteen months,” Laney said quietly.
Aaliyah stared, her mouth hanging open. “I didn’t—we didn’t know that.”
“The murders also appear to be increasing in fr
equency.”
Aaliyah swallowed noticeably. “That is not good. It means they are indeed approaching the last sacrifice.”
Laney wasn’t sure what to say. A large sacrifice. Already nearly forty victims had been sacrificed. How many would there be in the final sacrifice? “Do you have any idea how many victims we’re talking about in the final sacrifice?”
Aaliyah’s eyes were troubled.
“Aaliyah?”
“I’m not sure. This might sound a little crazy, but you wouldn’t happen to know where there’s a pack of leopards, would you?”
Laney went still. “Black leopards?”
“Yes. One of our seers had a vision of a group of them being sacrificed.”
Laney tried to rein in her fear. Cleo’s fine. She’s at the school. “When was this?”
“The vision happened only a few hours ago. But the seer is not sure where the vision took place.”
“What can you tell me?”
“There was a warehouse in the beginning, where the animals were all in crates. And then the scene shifted to outside. All the animals were lying on stone altars. But I do not see how anyone from Honu Keiki could be responsible for this.”
“Why not?”
“Cats are revered here, leopards in particular. They were the guardians of the Great Mother. No one from our group, exiled or not, would ever hurt them. It would be a complete violation of our beliefs.”
Violation. Laney felt cold. “But if someone were to have genetically modified the leopards?”
“Modified?”
“Changed their DNA, enhanced them, combined their DNA with non-leopard DNA—possibly Fallen DNA?”
Aaliyah’s eyes grew wide. “Why would someone do such a thing?”
“It doesn’t matter. What do you think Derek and Maura would think of that?”
“They’d think like I think—that it’s a complete violation of the laws of this world. Leopards are sacred. To change them…” Aaliyah shook her head. “It’s unnatural.”
“Would they kill the animals?”
Aaliyah’s gaze locked onto Laney’s. “If they knew they existed, then yes. They would kill them.”
CHAPTER 72
Laney stepped onto the back veranda of the main house, her mind whirling. Henry had told her that Lou, Danny, and Rolly were researching Cleo’s background. Maybe they had come up with a lead that would lead them to the pack. But even with that slim ray of hope, her fears couldn’t be held back. A large sacrifice and a vision of black leopards.
Laney imagined Cleo being laid out like Sheila, and she felt lightheaded. Her gut clenched at the idea that Cleo could be in danger, even as she knew that it was a baseless fear. Cleo was fine, she reminded herself. She was at the school. And if anyone moved on Cleo, Laney would be informed immediately. Besides, taking Cleo down would be quite an undertaking, especially with Yoni, Lou, and Rolly around. Still, her reasoning didn’t calm her pounding heart or stop the tremors that had worked their way into her hands.
Jen was working on her laptop on a lounge chair. She looked up as Laney sat down next to her with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
Laney could hear the tremor in her voice. “We need to see what Danny and the gang came up with in their research on Cleo’s background. I’ll call Danny; can you call Lou? See what she knows?”
“No problem.”
Laney pulled out her phone and dialed Danny. Her call went straight to voicemail. She frowned and called Henry. He answered quickly. “Hey, Lanes.”
“Hey. Do you know where Danny is?”
“He’s over at the school. He was going to stay there for a few days. Everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to ask him some questions about their research on Cleo. I’ll see if I can track him down over there.”
Her next call was to Jim, the analyst she’d originally had looking into Cleo’s background. Jim quickly apologized, said he’d been pulled off of Cleo research to work on another project, but that he’d forward her all his files.
As she got off the phone with Jim, Jen set down her own phone. “I can’t reach Lou or Rolly. Do you have Zach’s number?”
Laney shook her head. “He doesn’t have a cell.” She was beginning to become concerned.
“They wouldn’t do anything stupid, would they?”
Laney didn’t answer; she just pulled out her phone and called Yoni, telling herself she was being unreasonable. There was nothing to fear. The Katzes were on the other side of the country.
When Yoni answered, Laney quickly explained to him about not being able to reach the teenagers. Yoni promised to track them down and call her back. That made Laney feel a little better. “Yoni will find them,” she said to Jen.
Jen didn’t look convinced. “Why are we trying to reach them?”
“That call I got? It was from a member of the Honu Keiki. And she believes that the Katzes’ next target is going to be a group of black leopards.”
Jen’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“Really. And Danny, Lou, Rolly, and Zach were researching Cleo’s background. So I’m hoping they might know where these guys are going to hit.”
“And now we can’t get in touch with any of the kids.”
“Yeah.” Laney didn’t want to think about that. “Do you mind if I use your computer while I wait for Yoni to call me back? I want to see if we have anything new on Maura, Derek, and Abe.”
“Sure.” Jen passed her laptop over. “I’m going to grab some files from inside. I’ll be right back.”
Laney pulled up the files the analysts had compiled. By now, the analysts had become quite confident that Maura and Derek were in contact with over forty other Honu Keiki exiles—and that those exiles lived all over the world. It was a network. What they hadn’t figured out yet was how they were financing all of this. The Katzes had, like all the exiles, been sent away with a large financial settlement, but that wasn’t enough to cover the expenses of a global operation. Someone else was holding the purse strings. But who?
Laney’s phone rang and she looked down at it, surprised that almost an hour had passed. “Hey Yoni. Did you find Danny?”
“He’s not at the school,” Yoni said. “I’m sure of it.” His normal exuberance was absent.
Laney stared at the sky, not sure if she should be angry or worried. They’d had the campus on lockdown since they’d learned of the companion murders. No one should have been able to leave. “How is that possible?”
Yoni’s voice was a growl. “Well, Danny’s a genius, so I’m guessing that played a role.”
Laney groaned. “Right. You’re sure it was voluntary?”
“Oh yeah. Especially when I tell you who he’s with.”
Laney closed her eyes. No. They wouldn’t dare.
“Yup. The fabulous threesome: Danny, Lou, and Rolly.”
Laney looked at Jen, who raised an eyebrow. “Hold on a sec, Yoni.” She covered the phone. “Danny, Lou, and Rolly have taken a little field trip.”
Jen went still and then pulled out her own phone. Two seconds later, she was using a tone that promised a world of misery. “Lou Thomas, you call me as soon as you get this.” She disconnected the call and looked at Laney. “I’m going to kill them.”
“Get in line,” Laney said, and then pulled the phone back to her ear. “Any idea where they went?”
“No. They were last seen at breakfast. I tried Dom to see if he knew anything, but he’s conducting some sort of experiment and can’t be disturbed.”
Laney ground her teeth. Convenient. “See what you can find. And let us know what you come up with. Jen and I will start the search from here.” She ended the call and called one of the analysts. “Sandra, I need you to grab three other analysts and find Danny, Lou, and Rolly. They disappeared from the school.”
“But I’m about to—”
“Whatever you guys are working on, hand it off. This is a priority.”
“Okay. You got it.” Sandra hung up.
/> “What are we going to tell Henry?” Jen asked.
“The truth.”
“You don’t think they’re in trouble, do you?”
Laney started to shake her head, then stopped. “I don’t think they left because they were in trouble. But right now, I’d be shocked if they weren’t.”
Her phone rang, and she answered it with a frown. “Yoni?”
“Uh, I have good news and bad news.”
Crap. “Okay. Give me the good.”
“I found Zach, and he has the cell phone numbers they should be using. I just texted them to you. You should be able to find them through those.”
Laney’s phone dinged indicating a text. She quickly forwarded it to Sandra. These are the kids’ numbers. Run a trace.
She clicked back to Yoni. “Okay, what’s the bad news?”
“Um, I was wrong. It’s not just the three of them. It’s four.”
Laney scrambled to think of who else was close enough to them to join them on whatever this little adventure was. Maybe Zach, but Yoni had just said he was still at the school.
“Who’s the fourth?” Laney asked.
“Cleo.”
CHAPTER 73
Show Low, Arizona
Lou adjusted the bag on her back as she stepped off the plane and followed Danny down the stairs to the tarmac at the Show Low Regional airport.
Rolly stretched as he followed. “Got to say, I could get used to traveling in private planes.”
Lou looked around. They were in the back of the airport and hidden from the other hangars. “Come on, Cleo,” she called.
Cleo slunk down the stairs. “You’ve got five minutes, girl, and then we’re taking off.”
Cleo seemed to nod before heading for the high grass on the side of the runway.
“I’m still not sure bringing her was the best call,” Danny said.
“Well, it seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, wouldn’t you want to come along if you were her?”
The Suburban they had reserved stood nearby. Danny had arranged for the car to be dropped off next to the hangar with the keys left inside. It helped that one of them had credit cards with no limit.