Crimson Hollow

by Andrea Pearson

  “Yes.” His fingers turned white from clutching each other.

  The amulet began warming at my neck.

  Chapter Four

  Evil hound.

  Oh, great. Just what I needed. I glanced at the nurse call button, but quickly dismissed that idea. Sure, let’s invite a whole bunch of fragile people in here to witness a man transform into a dog and destroy me before turning on them all. Instead, I raised my hand in a comforting way.

  “Omar? Are you okay?”

  Just then, Chief O’Hare stepped into the room. “Lizzie, glad to see you alive.”

  Omar startled. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over, and whirled to face the door, a menacing glare on his face. Before either Chief or I could say or do anything, Omar shifted into a hound and lunged across the room.

  “Omar,” I screamed. “No!”

  Chief dodged just in time, stepping into the room and pulling his gun. The hound leaped at him again, and Chief shot him. One bullet didn’t stop the animal, and Chief had to empty half his magazine before Omar dropped to the floor, finally “dead.”

  By that point, people were screaming and running through the halls. Chief grabbed his cell and dialed a number before holding the phone to his ear. He glanced at me, his face pale. He obviously hadn’t expected to have to do something on-duty-ish while visiting me. The poor guy.

  “Get animal control to Medical Point Center immediately,” he said into his phone. “Also, get me some backup. We have a dog that needs to be put down.”

  He kept his gun trained on the hound until three officers and an animal control person arrived, then he glanced at me. “You’ve got the amulet now?”

  “Yes.”

  “And it works?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think you should—” Chief nodded at Omar as the animal control guy was putting him in a large cage with the help of two officers. By this point, the bullet wounds had healed and the dog looked to be sleeping. The amulet wasn’t warning me any longer, so I knew Omar was either still unconscious or had reverted to his good self.

  I shook my head. “No. He’s a friend. You startled him when you came in. They’re very jumpy under normal circumstances.” Especially Omar.

  Chief didn’t look convinced, but he respected my wishes and dropped the subject. Once animal control and the officers had taken care of everything and the nurses were calm again, he sat next to me, patting my unbroken hand, his eyes on my face.

  “I tried calling you multiple times.”

  I nodded. I knew I’d worried him a great deal. “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head, a patient, compassionate expression crossing his face. “A shooting happened in Magna. We had plenty of time to prevent it. Four people were killed, including the shooter.”

  He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees much as Omar had earlier. “This amulet deal is important—I know it is. I really do. But you have—had—a duty to the citizens of this state before you received this . . . this calling. I can’t have you up and disappearing like that ever again. I need you either to recommit to your job or hand in your resignation so we can find someone who doesn’t have so many outside responsibilities.”

  I blinked. I felt like I’d been slapped. That was not at all what I’d expected from his visit. I didn’t know how to respond. No words came to mind. No response seemed adequate to express my feelings. I didn’t even know what I was feeling.

  Chief got to his feet, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not downplaying what you’re doing. I know it’s incredibly important, and I know that the future safety of many lies in your hands. I’m just not sure you can or should be asked to handle both. And with your job being something others can do, and this business with the amulet something only you can do . . . perhaps it’s time to . . .”

  He didn’t need to finish. Resign. Quit. Move on. The thought made my heart clench. I couldn’t possibly allow someone else to protect the state and people I’d come to love so much. I wasn’t ready to be done—I’d only worked in Utah for a few short years.

  Chief stepped away from me, clasping his hands behind his back and staring out my window at Camp Williams across the freeway.

  I still didn’t say anything. I was so completely shocked. My tongue and lips were dry, my eyes burning. I couldn’t believe it. Chief had always been on my side—he’d always been my most enthusiastic supporter, someone ready to tackle anything with me.

  Finally, he turned to me. “When you get out, let me know. Alice and I will have you over for dinner.”

  He said goodbye and kissed my forehead before leaving.

  I knew why he’d invited me to dinner. He wanted me to know that regardless of what happened, he’d still be my friend.

  But boy, thinking about resigning from my position really made my heart ache and my stomach turn in knots that had nothing to do with the narcotics I was on. Could I do something like that?

  No. Absolutely not. I hadn’t chosen to be Destroyer of Hounds, or whatever my title was. That had been thrown on me. My choice was to be a Fire Impeder, to be Dorothy Elizabeth Ashton, an Arete, defending and protecting the lives of citizens around me. Was it possible for me to give back the amulet and ask not to do that job anymore?

  Even as I thought that, I knew I couldn’t. The prophecy was about me. If I didn’t complete the task, no one would. That wasn’t me being dramatic—literally, no one else would be able to do it. The “job requirements” were too specific to me. And the hounds would torment the people of earth until they had everyone under their control.

  I knew I couldn’t give up my position as Hound Destroyer.

  But what about Fire Impeder?

  No, I couldn’t toss that aside either. I’d worked too hard and too long to get this position. The people I associated with were dear to me—close friends and family. I loved the daily grind, the not knowing where the next job would come from, and the excitement that bubbled up inside me when I stopped bombs, guns, and wildfires. When I saved lives. I couldn’t just turn my back on the innocent civilians I had been hired to protect.

  It seemed like I was at an impasse because Chief was right. I couldn’t do both tasks.

  Well, maybe I didn’t need to. Chief expected me to give up one of the two jobs, but maybe that wasn’t necessary. Maybe all I needed was more help.

  Warmth crossed my chest as I pondered that idea. Yes. That is what I would do. Once I was healed, I would go to all the training schools and seek out an assistant—an apprentice. Someone I could teach the ropes to and rely on when I was out of town.

  Decision made, conscience (mostly) cleared, and determination to succeed restored, I lay back in the bed, closing my eyes. It was way past time to take a catnap.

  A knocking at the door woke me. A nurse stepped inside, followed by a man who introduced himself as my surgeon. They reviewed my chart and checked my stats and the dressing on my hand, then the doctor informed me I was free to go. Thank goodness. They both left.

  The nurse returned shortly afterward with my things. “I’ll be back soon with a wheelchair, but I first need to get your discharge papers together. I’ll try to hurry.”

  “Thank you.”

  With her help, I changed into my clothes. How was I going to get home? I hadn’t heard from Abel, and he was the one who’d dropped me off.

  Just then, yet more people entered the room. This time, it was Eleanora, my Fire Impeder predecessor, accompanied by Detective Cole from the American Fork Police Department. How many visits was I going to get that day?

  It only took one look at Eleanora to know she was not happy. She wagged her finger at me.

  “Do you know how many people died while you were gone?”

  “Three, not including the shooter.”

  Eleanora’s mouth popped open, then shut, then open again as she tried to figure out how to respond. She obviously hadn’t been expecting me to know the answer.

  I took advantage of her hesitation. “I know.
I screwed up. But I had no choice. Getting the Shade Amulet fully in my power was much more complicated than I expected. Once I finally found the previous owner, he made me do stuff for him before he granted the whole amulet to me.”

  Eleanora raised her eyebrow, folding her arms, and Cole stared at me with a similar expression of disbelief on his face.

  “Do stuff?” Eleanora asked.

  “Yes. I had to retrieve a flame for him. Come to find out, it was a fire that had been separated into three, and it took days to get the whole task completed.”

  Eleanora motioned to my body. “And I assume you got these injuries in the process.”

  I nodded. “Yes. Do you know anything about Lord Kenan?” I asked, remembering that we hadn’t given her information on the demon when we’d asked her to help find us a connection in Iraq.

  She shook her head. “I’ve never even heard of him before.”

  I quickly told them what happened with the demon and amulet. As I talked, Eleanora put her head in her hands, rubbing her face, obviously frustrated at what I’d done. I knew I’d unleashed a new horror that I’d have to take care of later, but without the amulet, how was I supposed to protect anyone or anything?

  When I voiced my question after I finished updating them, neither Eleanora nor Cole had a response for me. By then, Cole was sitting with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped, staring at the foot of my bed. Eleanora was near the window, a blank expression on her face. It didn’t surprise me that they didn’t have any answers, especially when neither of them knew who Lord Kenan was.

  After a long pause, I motioned to Cole. “What’s going on with the governor?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing really. Are you sure he’s a hound? We’ve seen no evidence that he’s anything other than a regular politician—a human who, yes, can be a bit vicious sometimes, but is generally interested only in people and how they think and work.”

  “Yes, I’m absolutely positive he is one.”

  Chapter Five

  I thought back to the night of the Black Masquerade, when we been hired to protect the governor from what turned out to be himself and the other evil hounds. Yes, he was a hound.

  Eleanora sighed. “Lizzie, you are far too important to allow yourself to get derailed.”

  “I know. Chief already basically told me I’m letting the community and its citizens down.”

  Eleanora nodded. “I was disappointed, but now that I understand what happened, I can see why you weren’t around.”

  “There’s no way I’d just up and leave my responsibilities here. Have I ever put my personal needs first?”

  “No, you haven’t. Not ever. That’s why last week was so confusing.”

  Cole rubbed the back of his neck. “I told them you had to have a reason. Chief knew you’d gone to Alaska, but he didn’t hear anything from you after.”

  I felt like smacking myself. I hadn’t called Chief when I’d learned I needed to go to Holland. No wonder he’d been so upset. I totally dropped the ball on that one.

  With a sigh of resignation, I told them what he had said during his visit, along with what I’d decided to do. Eleanora agreed with my decision.

  “Yes, get better, then find an assistant. I recommend starting him or her as an intern—free room and board in exchange for learning the ropes. Don’t expect it to be easy, though. It took me five years to find you.”

  “Whoa. I didn’t know that.”

  “If I’d discovered you earlier, you would have been hired on as an assistant instead of a full-time replacement. By the time you came along, I couldn’t do the job nearly as well anymore, and you’d had so much training already in Washington, D.C. that I didn’t need to have you shadow me.”

  I’d had three years of training there, after two of education in California and an undergrad degree from Katon University. A lot of time had gone into this career. Time and money. I couldn’t let all that fall apart because of this task to stop the hounds—something I hoped would only take a little while longer. Weeks, maybe? Definitely not years.

  It occurred to me then that I didn’t have a plan for how I’d actually accomplish the task. I hadn’t had a chance to think about it—most of my time had been consumed with trying to stay alive while figuring out how to use an amulet that wasn’t functioning properly.

  My first goal after getting home was to come up with a plan.

  The nurse returned with a wheelchair. “Discharge time!” she said in a sing-song voice.

  With her help and a little assistance from Cole, I got out of bed and into the wheelchair. When the nurse asked how I planned to get home, Cole and Eleanora quickly volunteered. I thanked both of them while trying not to worry about Cole. I’d already had “the conversation” with him and really hated the thought of hurting him by prolonging his contact with me. Unfortunately, our line of work would make us cross paths regularly. I didn’t know that he’d ever get a clean break—not without one of us quitting, anyway. Hopefully things would be okay.

  If I thought I’d been in pain before, nothing compared to what I went through on the drive home. The anesthesia had worn off, and the pain killers I’d taken before leaving the hospital hadn’t kicked in yet. I did my best not to cry out, but it was hard. Broken ribs were horrendous.

  Despair nearly overcame me. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t do anything in this condition. If hounds showed up, they’d have me destroyed in seconds. The only thing on my side was the amulet, and since I couldn’t move without pain cascading over me, it didn’t give me much of an edge.

  Cole helped me into my house with Eleanora trailing, offering helpful bits of advice on how to manage gates and doors and stairs. An amused smile was on Cole’s lips the whole time.

  I took a look around, surprised at how little damage had been done to my house given the fact that the last time I’d been there, hundreds of evil hounds had been trying to reach me, traveling through the corners as they did.

  Furniture was askew and footprints were everywhere—the hounds had tracked dirt and mud in their rush. But hardly anything was broken. Sia was there, excited to see me, winding around our legs and nearly tripping us as Cole helped me to the couch. She jumped up on my lap, and I lifted her carefully, burying my face in her soft fur, so grateful she was still alive and safe. I knew I had my neighbors, the Russells, to thank for that. The moment I was able, I would do something to show my appreciation.

  Eleanora hobbled into the kitchen to scrounge up something for us to eat. She called out several options—all of which sounded awful after that trip home—and finally settled on chocolate chip cookies. They were, after all, her specialty. And, as it turned out, they were the only thing I could put on a stomach hypersensitive from pain, narcotics, and travel.

  I barely stayed awake long enough to enjoy the snack. Getting home had completely exhausted me physically, and the visits I’d received that morning had exhausted me emotionally.

  My narcotics finally started working, and the whole day was wasted on TV shows I couldn’t remember, cookies I could barely taste, and conversations I couldn’t follow. Luckily, my visitors didn’t seem offended. And Sia was more than thrilled to have me back. The feeling was mutual. She sat on my lap or near my side the entire day, and my hand almost never left the comfort of her soft fur.

  Eventually, Cole and Eleanora bowed out, apologizing for not being able to stay longer. Eleanora was in a lot of pain herself—I could tell from her expression—and Cole needed to drive her home and get some sleep himself.

  When he asked if he should return, I told him not to—I needed to be alone for a while. Having him there made me slightly uncomfortable. Our relationship wasn’t yet one where I could completely relax around him, and his presence didn’t do anything for my feelings of guilt over hurting him.

  Speaking of feelings, where was Abel? Why had I still not heard from him? It hurt so much—especially after what we’d been through and me realizing just how deep my feelings for him went. Tempted to call, I fid
dled with my phone, mentally weighing the pros and cons of trying to contact him. Would it annoy him? Make him happy? Help him remember I existed?

  Someone opened the door, saving me from having to make a decision.

  Mrs. Russell, my amazing neighbor to the north, poked her head in. “I saw Detective Cole and Eleanora leaving and decided to come by for a visit.”

  I’d asked them not to lock the door as they’d left—I wasn’t in danger of being robbed, since pretty much everyone knew where I lived and kept an eye out for me, and the hounds, if they wanted to hurt me, could approach through a corner and bypass the front door.

  “Come on in,” I said, motioning to the armchair with my good hand. “And thank you for taking care of Sia while I was gone.”

  Mrs. Russell smiled fondly at my cat where she kneaded my leg contentedly while I scratched around her ears. I’d forever be in the Russells’ debt for constantly watching my poor kitty.

  “It wasn’t a problem. She’s a sweetheart.”

  “She really is.”

  Mrs. Russell eyed me. “I’m afraid to ask what happened.”

  “You could honestly ask what didn’t happen. I’m a complete mess.”

  “I can see that.” She stood, picking up my empty plate and glass and taking them to the kitchen. “Do you need anything right now? Food? Water? A trip to the potty?”

  I smiled at her choice of words. “No, thank you. And thank you for checking in with me.”

  “Okay.” Mrs. Russell sank into the armchair and pulled some knitting from her bag. “Go ahead and rest. I’ll be here.”

  I blinked back sudden tears. I really had the best friends in the world.

  Her offer was far too tempting, and soon, I drifted off, spending the rest of the evening somewhere between sleep and drugged-up brain farts. Yes, I used the word “fart.” Hey, I was heavily medicated. I had an excuse.

  ***

  The bright morning sun awakened me the next day. Mrs. Russell was still there. I couldn’t believe it—the poor woman looked so uncomfortable in my armchair. Her mouth was slightly open as she snored gently, her head at an awful angle, her legs propped up on the arm of the couch where I lay.