Sacrifice

by Denise Grover Swank

  “There will only be you, Emma.”

  They ate in silence, Emma choking down her food so she had an excuse to leave the table.

  “Perhaps you’d like to take a walk around the property,” Raphael said, pouring more wine. “The sun will be setting and the view from the top of the hill in the southwest corner is breathtaking.”

  The food in her stomach twisted. “Thank you.” She smiled again, trying to sound sincere. “But I’m really tired after our busy afternoon.” After you tried to kill me, you maniac. “I think the best thing for me is a good night’s sleep so I can be ready to try again.” She stood and placed her napkin on the table. “I want us to have a fresh start tomorrow.”

  Raphael rose from his chair and moved next to her, kissing her lightly on the cheek. “Of course, love. That’s a wonderful idea. Until tomorrow.”

  She gave him one last smile before picking up her plate and silverware and carrying them to the kitchen sink, grabbing the small pair of scissors lying on the counter.

  Emma wasn’t going to be defenseless if he came back to visit her tonight.

  ***

  By the time James and Will pulled into the campground, the sun had set hours earlier. Most campers had turned in for the night. Only a few stragglers sat around campfires, their voices carrying in the evening air.

  “That’s good,” James said. “We can sneak around to the crawl space without being noticed.”

  Will had a raging headache. He wanted to get the book and go. What he did after that was a giant question mark. While James hoped the book would help exorcise the demon of Emma from Will’s head, Will wasn’t sure he wanted to let her go.

  James parked the car in a lot by the beach bordering a small mountain lake. He’d found a flashlight in the glove compartment and turned it on when he climbed out of the car. Will followed him to the gravel road that ran through the campsite, amazed that he’d been here less than a week ago and didn’t remember any of it.

  How did something like that happen? The more he thought about it, the more he realized it had to be mumbo-jumbo shit, as James called it. But who wiped out his memory? From his limited memories, he knew it wasn’t Emma. Could it have been Raphael? Or Alex?

  “Hurry your ass up,” James whispered over his shoulder.

  Will had fallen behind, lost in his thoughts. He shook his head and reached for the handle of his gun in his waistband out of reflex. “Get your shit together,” he muttered to himself. Carelessness would get him killed. He’d come too far to get killed walking on a campground road talking to himself like a deranged person.

  “How far is it?” Will asked once he fell in step with James.

  “The cabins are on the back row, close to the woods. Ours was at the end. I figured we’d go past it, head up in the woods, and circle back. The opening to the crawl space faces the trees.”

  Campers looked up from their fires, watching the two men pass with open curiosity. James tried to carry a conversation about fly-fishing and the best lure to use, but Will grunted and volunteered only one- or two-word answers.

  Will was off his game. He knew it, and as much as he tried to focus, he couldn’t. A slow dread rolled through him, fear oozing from his pores. Never, not even in his early days in Iraq, had he been this incompetent. He was in deep shit.

  James turned off the road between two campers. “We need to get to bed,” James said loud enough for a couple across the road to hear. “Five a.m. will be here before you know it.”

  “I know.”

  James glanced back with his eyebrows raised in exasperation. At the edge of the campers, he flicked off the flashlight and leaned into Will’s ear. “Now we head straight up into the trees.”

  Will nodded and focused on the tree line. Once they were several feet into the woods, James doubled back. When they reached the cabins, James squatted down and surveyed the structures. Will knelt next to him.

  “It looks like the occupants are in for the night,” James said “All the lights are off. We’re going to run up to the back left corner—the door to the crawl space is there. I’ll grab the bag, we’ll head back to the woods and keep going until we get to the store, then cut across the parking lot to the car. Okay?”

  Will nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Your job will be to look out for trouble. You think you can handle that?”

  “I’m not a goddamned baby.”

  “I never said you were, but you’ve had a rough couple of days.”

  “I said I can handle it. You wimping out?”

  James didn’t answer, just stood up and took off toward the cabin, leaving Will to follow.

  Crouching down at the corner of the house, James felt for the edge of the crawl space opening, sliding out the panel without a sound. He crawled halfway in, flicking on the flashlight for a second. He pulled out two duffel bags, then crawled back under the house.

  After peeking around the corner toward the road, Will lifted one bag and put the strap over his shoulder.

  James emerged then slid the panel in place before grabbing the other bag and motioning to the woods. The trek through the woods and back to the car was uneventful. As they threw the bags in the backseat of the car, Will couldn’t help wondering if it was too easy. He wasn’t suspicious. He was paranoid.

  They headed back to the highway, Will’s mind a tattered mess. How could he doubt James? James helped him escape, helped him steal the book from the compound, helped protect Emma.

  But why? Why would he protect Emma if he thought she had manipulated Will? The James he knew wouldn’t have stood for it.

  “I say we head several hours away, find a motel room for the night, and figure out where to go tomorrow.”

  Will nodded, unable to answer. He’d never felt so unsettled in his entire life. He dozed, waking up hours later when James pulled into a motel parking lot. After James checked in, they carried the bags into the room and tossed them on the dresser.

  “You stink,” James said, heading to the bathroom. “But I’m showering first, then going to bed. You can wait since you’ve been sleeping all day.”

  “Yeah.” He was fully awake, aware that the bags in front of him possibly held answers to the past month. The shower turned on as Will unzipped the first bag, finding several T-shirts and a pair of jeans. Digging deeper, he found a brown leather-bound book in the middle: The Complete Essays of Lorenzo de Luca emblazoned in gold letters on the cover. This had to be it.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he opened the book, the leather binding creaking. The beginning held a bunch of philosophical sayings, but the last quarter of the book was different. Most was written in a language he didn’t recognize, with English translations written underneath some passages. He wondered if James would be able to figure out what language it was, with his communications background. Maybe he already had.

  Will found a translated prophecy.

  The Chosen One will serve

  The mother of the two

  Elevated and Supplanter

  Will battle for control

  Their influence will be felt

  Across the lands

  The elevated one will

  Conceive in the full moon

  After the summer solstice

  Born of great sorrow

  The mother shall accept

  Her Chosen One

  And he will bear her mark

  Protecting her until the end

  Was this the prophecy the Vinco Potentia had used to decide Emma was the queen? He had no idea how they could tie her to this godawful poem. They had to have some other information because this shit was too vague. He flipped through the book trying to find something that tied Emma to the mess. When he didn’t find her name, he flipped back to the prophecy and read it again, trying to wrap his head around the words.

  James said that Will had been the Chosen One, and he’d had a mark. According to the prophecy, his job had been to serve her. Two were supposed to battle for control. Was Emma the mother of t
he elevated and the supplanter? She had a son and had been pregnant. Were they the prophesied ones?

  He turned the page and found a drawing of an elaborate trident. Glancing down at his forearm, he wondered if it was the same mark James claimed he’d bore. His eyes closed. He couldn’t believe he was open to believing any of this, but then after everything else, an appearing then disappearing tattoo seemed minor. It was the fact that he was involved in all of this and then forgot every bit of it that made his chest tighten in anxiety. Rubbing his hands over his face, he took a deep breath. Get it together, Will.

  He flipped back to the prophecy. The mother shall accept Her Chosen One, And he will bear her mark, Protecting her until the end.

  Should he be protecting her now? Was that why he still felt this love for her even when his memories had fled? He may not have a mark on his arm, but a nagging ache in the pit of his stomach suggested she wasn’t safe. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He didn’t even know where she was.

  Setting the book on the bed, he got up and continued digging in the bag, finding several pieces of women’s clothing. His breath stuck in his chest, although he told himself he shouldn’t be surprised to find her personal items. They’d been traveling together. It made sense her things would be with his. He pulled out several shirts and a couple of skirts. Without thinking, he lifted one to his face, breathing in a floral scent like he’d smelled in his dream.

  That couldn’t be a coincidence.

  He clutched them for several moments, hoping to absorb some remembrance of her. Scent was supposed to be the strongest prompter of memories, but when Will concentrated on her smell, his mind hit a huge blank wall. Disappointment coursed through him, now even more desperate to make a connection to her.

  He found more items. A few toiletries, but no cosmetics other than some mascara and blush. That alone told Will that she wasn’t his usual type, even if he hadn’t figured it out by now. He couldn’t believe he’d dismissed her so quickly in the woods.

  Carefully replacing her clothing, he found several guns and ammunition in the bottom of the bag, thankful he was armed. He zipped it closed, then opened the other bag and found a laptop computer and papers on top. Most of the papers had a “VP” handwritten in the upper corner of dossiers on businessmen, attorneys, and politicians. Some were names he recognized, others he’d never heard of. All had photographs attached, except for one. Aiden Walker. Reading the name sent an unexplained chill down his spine. The dossier gave a birth date and place, and his profession was listed as entrepreneur. What about this man made him apprehensive? Underneath the dossiers were papers with rental properties listed. Will plugged in the laptop and powered it up, finding James’s name on the logon page.

  James said he was doing research when Kramer showed up. If James was doing research, how did his laptop and papers get under the house?

  Things didn’t add up. But then again, if he were honest, things hadn’t added up since James got tossed into Will’s cell.

  James lied to him.

  The shower turned off and Will unplugged the computer, stuffing it and the papers back in the bag. He sat down on the bed and opened the leather book, pretending to be absorbed in the text when James opened the door.

  “Found the book, I see.”

  “Yeah, interesting stuff.”

  “Getting answers to your questions?”

  “Some.” Not enough to suit Will. So far there were more questions than answers.

  James opened his bag and pulled out a fresh set of clothes and took them to the bathroom. “We’ll get a good night’s sleep and figure out what to do in the morning.”

  Will had a lot of things he needed to figure out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sneaking outside had gone easier than Emma expected. She’d waited in her room for several hours until the house became quiet, hoping Raphael had gone to bed and wouldn’t come to her room, especially after the sliver of hope she’d given him.

  She’d never join with him. If it came down to saving Jake, she’d figure out another way. Maybe Aiden would be willing to negotiate saving Jake’s life for her agreeing to not join with Raphael. That had to be in Aiden’s best interest too.

  What she hadn’t expected was the soft voice that called out her name for over an hour. Raphael’s schizophrenia had rubbed off on her.

  The voice stopped when she stepped out the door, replaced by the sounds of crickets and cicadas that filled the still night air. Even though the sun had set hours earlier, humidity hung in the air and a fine layer of sweat lined Emma’s forehead and neck within moments. She made her way to the edge of the property and took off her shoes, rolling up her jeans to wade through the creek into the neighboring pasture. The tree line surrounding the creek would hide her from Raphael if he happened to look outside.

  The creek water was cool as she stepped in, but a thin layer of clouds covered the moon, making it difficult to make her way through the murky water. Her foot slipped on a rock and she nearly fell before righting herself.

  “Careful, we can’t have you getting hurt now, can we?”

  Emma’s heart sputtered and she stumbled backward, splashing water all over her jeans.

  The clouds parted and moonlight spilled out to illuminate Alex as he stepped from behind a tree on the creek bank across from her. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or frightened it was him instead of Raphael.

  “Out for a midnight stroll?”

  “Why do supernatural creatures like to stalk me in the middle of the night?”

  Alex laughed. “You have others?”

  She shook her head in irritation. She refused to tell him about Raphael’s visit at a motel pool in South Dakota. “What are you doing here, Alex? Are you here to see if I’ll join with you?”

  He leaned his back against a tree, his knee bent while he braced his foot on the trunk. With his arrogant grin, he reminded her of the first time she met him nearly six years ago. Not a pleasant memory. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

  She had no plans to move until she figured out which direction was safest. “You answer my question first.”

  “Waiting for you. I’ve been calling you for over an hour.”

  “That was you? Why didn’t Raphael hear you?”

  “Really, Emma. You ask the most mundane questions.”

  Her temper flared and a golden glow reflected off the water. “Then why were you calling me? Why are you here?”

  “Checking on your progress. How’s it going with Raph?”

  “You really think I’ll answer that?”

  He cocked his head and winked. “Let me take a guess. It’s not going well.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  His smile fell. “The bruise on the side of your face, for one.”

  She resisted the urge to touch her swollen lip.

  “You don’t have to stay with him. The fact that you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night tells me that you’re not happy here.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “That and the bruise on my face.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Funny, I don’t remember anyone caring about my happiness. I thought it was more a matter of survival.”

  He shrugged. “Fair enough.” Eyeing her up and down, his grin returned. “You plan on staying in that creek all night?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.” She lifted her chin. “Are you here to try to convince me to go with you?”

  “No.”

  Her mouth gaped in surprise.

  He laughed. “You weren’t expecting that, were you?”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I told you already—to check on you and see how your progress is going.”

  “If you don’t want me to join with you, then why do you care?”

  He raised an eyebrow with a mischievous look in his eyes. “I never said I didn’t want to join with you. I just don’t want to now.”

  “Why n
ot?”

  He laughed again. “Don’t look so hurt. Five seconds ago you would rather die than join with me. Now that I don’t want to, you’re suddenly jealous.”

  Anger fueled her power, and the glow grew denser. “I am not—”

  “You’re not ready.” Alex stepped away from the tree, moving closer to the creek edge. “I want to join with you, but your power’s not strong enough yet.”

  She lifted her face to look up at him. “That’s what I told Raphael tonight when he insisted on joining.”

  “Then obviously you’re the more rational of the two of you at the moment.”

  She couldn’t trust Alex, but he seemed the most rational of the three of them. While he said he didn’t want to join with her now, she had to wonder if his information was trustworthy. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

  “Because you’re not going to progress with Raphael and he’s too stupid to see it. That or he’s jumped even further into madness.”

  She thought Raphael had already boarded the train to crazy town.

  “In fact, I would guess your powers are weaker when you are with him.”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

  “That’s not surprising. But if you want to have a shot at survival, you’re going to have to figure out how to grow your powers and learn what you’re doing on your own.”

  “But if I leave, won’t he find me again?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then how can—”

  “You need to learn to mask your power. How do you think I found you in the creek? You glow like a freaking nuclear power plant. Raphael has you hidden with his own power, but once you left his property, his protection stopped.”

  “So how’d you know he brought me here?”

  He twisted his lips into a grimace. “Raphael is a creature of habit. He’s predictable.”

  “So how do I learn to hide from him? Will you tell me?”

  Shaking his head, he laughed. “Not yet. If I teach you how to hide from Raphael, you’ll be able to hide from me as well.”