Desert Guardian

by Duvall, Karen

  Kelly's mind whirled as she pushed her emotions aside and tried to regain her senses. She had to think hard about what to do next. She obviously couldn't stick around to use Sam's computer for accessing the Internet, so she'd have to find the same resources somewhere else.

  She spotted her backpack leaning against a bookcase and snatched it up off the carpet. When she did, a large book that stuck halfway out of the second shelf fell to the floor. Kelly stooped to pick it up and read its title: DESERTS OF CALIFORNIA. The cover photo looked familiar. Had she been to this desert before? She peered up at Consuela's painting above the fireplace and held the book up to compare them side by side. The book's photo was of the same location, minus the comet and Consuela's spaceship. She thumbed to the table of contents, and at the bottom of the page, she found the photo credit with the photograph's location circled in ballpoint pen. The picture had been taken at Devil's Playground in Kelso, California.

  Was this a message from Consuela? The book was positioned as if to purposely fall when the backpack was moved. Maybe Consuela had kept in touch with the cult, and this was her way of letting them know where to find Jake. Perhaps she'd rigged it like this to keep Star Mother's sentries from knowing she'd left them a message.

  Kelly peered down the hall toward Sam's bedroom and almost called out that she knew where they'd find the new camp.

  Without the money to pay Sam's fee, she had no choice now but to continue on her own. That's what he had just told her to do. And as much as he'd hurt her, she couldn't help hoping he would change his mind. She laid the book on the coffee table and opened it to the page with the circled photo credit, placing it where Sam was sure to see. It wouldn't take long for him to make the connection and decide what to do. She just prayed he would make the right choice.

  Chapter Nine

  Sam stared out the bedroom window for a long time. He felt used. Five years ago, he'd been used in a similar way by Valya and had vowed it would never happen again.

  Thinking back to that night, he remembered how Valya's long-fingered hands had caressed him, her nails scraping down his back as he gave her what she wanted. At what point during this lurid one-night affair had his mother died? Before, during, or after he had coupled with Star Mother's bitch-queen? The memory almost made him gag.

  Now he wondered how he could have been so sure about Kelly's feelings for him. The energy between them was real, her affection sincere. At least that's how it had seemed at first. Could he really have been so wrong?

  Valya and Kelly were nothing alike. Comparing the two of them was like comparing an alligator to a kitten. Of course he hadn't been wrong about Kelly. Dammit! He kicked the bed frame, and it scooted a few inches across the hardwood floor. He'd been a fool. A bitter, guilt-ridden, pig-headed fool.

  If only they'd waited to make love until after this business with her brother was over. He had thought he could resist, that his focus on the task at hand would be enough to bolster his willpower. But Kelly's allure had been far too tempting to ignore, and he couldn't let her go on believing he wasn't attracted to her.

  He hadn't meant what he'd said about her not being worth eight hundred dollars. She was worth a million dollars, a billion dollars; she was priceless. Damn his pride, and damn Valya for making him believe all women had ulterior motives when it came to sex. Kelly, who genuinely cared about him, was better than that.

  Sam pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt and stalked down the hall to apologize to Kelly for being an insensitive ass. But when he reached the living room, she wasn't there.

  "Kelly?" He meandered through the kitchen to the utility room and opened the back door. "Kelly?" No answer. And she wasn't in the bathroom, either. Panic gripped him, and he raced out the front door to the deck where he saw her rental car was gone.

  She had taken him at his word, and he couldn't blame her for leaving. He'd given her no choice. Now she was gone, and he had a fair idea what her intentions were. He had to find her before she got herself into trouble.

  He spotted the open book on the coffee table and flipped to the cover. It was a book on the deserts of California, the same book he had loaned Consuela a few months ago to create the painting that now hung above his fireplace.

  Sam looked from the painting to the book and back again, then opened it to the page Kelly had obviously wanted him to see. The photo credit and location were circled in ballpoint pen. That had to be where she was headed, believing it was the new location of the cult's camp.

  He hastily pulled on his hiking boots, grabbed his car keys, and filled a duffel bag with his intervention tools: nine-millimeter Glock, .38 revolver, a vial of chloroform, clean rags, first aid kit, duct tape, and a few feet of jute twine. He shrugged on his leather jacket and went out to coax Cody into the Jeep. Prepared for the final showdown, he set out for Devil's Playground.

  ****

  Traveling at a good clip down Highway 40, Sam expected to come across Kelly's rental car at some point. Did she even know how to get to where she was going? She'd taken his road map, so she knew which route would take her where she wanted to go. She should be traveling along this highway. But if so, where the hell was she?

  The engine light on his dash started to flash then glow with insistent warning. Within seconds, steam billowed from beneath the Jeep's hood. "Dammit." He pulled to the side of the road and cut the engine.

  When he lifted the hood, thicker clouds of steam poured from the radiator. The hose had sprung a leak, and once the steam cleared, he noticed a tear had nearly severed the hose in two. Calling a tow truck was out of the question. He couldn't risk losing more time than he already had. There was a chance Kelly could be in trouble, and she'd need him to help her out of it.

  Once the radiator cooled, he would wrap a strip of duct tape around the hose. A temporary fix, but it should hold for a few more miles. Before doing that he'd have to replace the water lost through the leak. He'd passed a gas station about a quarter mile back, so after giving Cody a firm command to stay with the Jeep, he set out at a trot in that direction.

  Panting, he said aloud, "Please, Kelly, wait for me before doing anything stupid."

  ****

  Kelly felt as though she'd been driving for hours. The area of private land that Star Mother now occupied was only a couple of miles outside Kelso, but driving the little car along rutted back roads took more time than she had expected. Once she spotted the camp, she quickly found a hiding place for the car: an old miner's shack about a quarter mile from the nearest trailer. The shack wasn't very big, its walls of rotted wood revealing enormous gaps on all three sides, but the mesquite trees around it served as adequate camouflage.

  She had stopped at a discount store along the way to buy a white bed sheet that could be fashioned into a Star Mother robe, or a reasonable facsimile of one. The robes were nothing more than a few yards of fabric draped over the shoulder and tied at the waist like a toga.

  Because most of the sentries knew what she looked like, she had also bought a wig of curly black hair. The scarf she'd purchased would help hide her face.

  Weapons would have been nice, but the best she could come up with was a keychain pocketknife. She didn't have the time or money to buy a gun, but last summer's self-defense class gave her some ideas for weapons she could make from almost anything. She just hoped none would be needed.

  She planned to blend in with the cultists before wandering off to find Jake. Approximately three hours from now it would be twilight. She and her brother would sneak out of camp, slip into her car, and just drive away. Nothing could be simpler. Thinking back, she could have saved herself eight hundred dollars by playing out this scenario two days ago, only then she never would have met Sam.

  Sam. She closed her eyes and burrowed her face in the sleeve of his flannel shirt that still smelled like him. She was still angry, but she missed him despite his hurtful words and her doubts about trusting him anymore.

  Her makeshift robe tied securely at the waist with a strip of torn she
et, she tucked the pocketknife in her jeans pocket. The silver earrings she wore were shaped like serrated leaves, a perfect weapon if she couldn't get to her knife in time. The canvas belt holding up her jeans had a buckle that would do considerable damage when swung at someone's head. As an afterthought, she slipped a nail file and a safety pin into her shoe. Now she was ready for almost anything.

  Already sweating beneath her layers, she tugged the wig onto her head. While tucking stray hairs beneath the elastic cap, she had the sensation of being watched. Her pulse sped up, which made her ears ring. Carefully withdrawing the pocketknife, she flicked it open and spun around with the knife poised to strike. When she saw who stood there, her knees nearly buckled beneath her.

  "Consuela?" she gasped.

  Consuela beamed at her and flung out her arms in invitation for a hug.

  Kelly embraced her then pulled back. "What are you doing here?"

  Consuela looked up at the sky and pointed.

  "You're here for the comet? But you don't believe in that anymore, do you?"

  Her answer was a calm, beatific smile.

  "Did you come here to help Sam and me?"

  The young woman bobbed her head, her smile growing broader.

  "Thank God you're here, Consuela. I was so worried about you. You can leave with me once we get my brother out. Sam will be so happy when he finds out you're safe."

  Consuela nodded and pointed at her chest, as if to emphasize how safe she was.

  "Can you take me to my brother?"

  The young woman grabbed hold of her hand and led her away from the car. Kelly practically had to run to keep up with her as Consuela trotted toward the circle of campers and tents.

  The sun was low in the sky but strong enough to turn up the heat under Kelly's toga. Adding to that was her apprehension over walking straight into camp in full view of every cultist in sight. Someone was sure to think her appearance there odd enough to question. This wasn't part of her plan.

  She made Consuela stop behind a camper that looked like the one she'd stayed in a few days ago. Her voice stern, she said to the younger woman, "This is supposed to be secret, Consuela. I'm disguised for a reason."

  Consuela gave her a puzzled look.

  Kelly began to wonder if she might be a few bricks shy of a load. Or maybe her English wasn't very good, in which case Kelly was in trouble because she couldn't speak anything else.

  Consuela pointed to a tent at the far side of the circle.

  "Is that where Jake is?" Kelly asked.

  She continued to point and tugged Kelly's hand to get her to follow.

  Kelly resisted, a tingle of fear climbing up her back. She had a bad feeling about this. Still holding Consuela's hand, she dragged the woman with her to the far end of the camper, where she peeked around the corner at a small group of cultists bustling about their daily duties. Women scrubbed clothing on washboards in tubs of sudsy water. Some of the men pushed wheelbarrows filled with rocks, others carried firewood, but most intriguing were the men and women huddled around two enormous engines perched on wheeled platforms. Tools clanked against metal as they worked.

  A line of children marched across the crude courtyard and stopped beneath a canvas tarp supported by four aluminum poles. They had to be Valya's offspring, her contribution to Star Mother's repopulation of Atria. Oh, brother.

  One little girl caught Kelly's eye. She looked about four, maybe five years old, with glossy brown hair that fell in long waves to the center of her back. Her dark eyes, their color hard to discern from a distance, squinted in the bright sun, reminding Kelly of Sam. In fact, the child had Sam's prominent cheekbones as well as his expressive mouth, which looked pouty on the child. Could Sam be her father? No. He would have mentioned something about a child. If he'd known about the girl, he would have rescued her from these people the moment she was born. But the longer Kelly stared at her, the more she was convinced the child was Sam's.

  "Valya's children?" Kelly asked Consuela, who nodded.

  Her head foggy with this new surprise, plus her confusion over what Consuela was doing here, Kelly allowed herself to be led around the camp's perimeter to the largest tent.

  She blinked and asked, "Is my brother in there?"

  Consuela threw her arms around her neck and hugged her tight. What was she so happy about? She nudged Kelly toward the tent flap and looked at her expectantly.

  Kelly heaved in a breath to bolster her courage. She hoped there were no guards inside so she could speak with Jake in private. She grabbed the edge of the tent flap, whipped it open, and darted inside.

  "Kelly, my dear," crooned a woman's saccharine voice. "Welcome back! We're so sorry your last visit with us was cut short. Did you bring The Arrow with you?"

  Kelly stared at the woman, whose white hair hung in a long, braided rope over one shoulder. This was Valya? Of course. She remembered her now, though vaguely. Her brief time at the Yucca Valley camp was still a mind-bending blur. She couldn't help but stare at the statuesque cult leader, the woman's height reaching six-feet-something, her ice-blue eyes sharp with an inner intensity that made Kelly want to shrink away and hide. Sam had told her Valya was in her forties, but he had to be mistaken. She didn't look much older than Kelly. Then again, the latest advancements in plastic surgery worked wonders these days.

  "Cat got your tongue?" Valya asked.

  Kelly cleared her throat, where her heart had lodged. "Uh, no. Sam isn't with me. I came by myself."

  The older woman raised both eyebrows in a silent question.

  "I'm no longer using Sam's services."

  "Why not?"

  "I can't afford him."

  "Ah," Valya said with a nod. "So you're doing this all on your own. You've come to collect your brother, is that right?"

  Kelly's hopes raised a notch, and an apprehensive grin twitched at her lips. "His family needs him to come home."

  "Of course they do, dear," Valya said, her conciliatory tone like that of a concerned aunt. "But I'm afraid that's impossible. Jake will be taking the first and only flight to Atria tomorrow morning at ten a.m. sharp, and he's... resting up for the trip."

  "If you've hurt him—"

  "What? What will you do to me if he's hurt?" Valya laughed, a genuine sort of laugh that made Kelly think she was playing with her. But the coldness in Valya's eyes told a different story.

  Kelly's breathing picked up speed. She glanced behind her, hoping to get a clue from Consuela, but the mute woman hadn't joined her inside the tent.

  "Looking for our little Consuela?" Valya clucked her tongue. "Poor child. She's been through so much. Sam must have worked very diligently with her because we had a terrible time rebreaking her to our way of thinking. But her mind is clear now, thank goodness. She was always one of our most devoted followers."

  Kelly could hardly believe what she was hearing. "You broke her mind?"

  "Actually, we fixed her mind after Sam broke it. Now Consuela is looking forward to her transmigration and eager to see you and Sam accompany her on the journey."

  No wonder Consuela was so happy to see her. She thought she was doing Kelly a favor.

  "I want to see Jake," Kelly said flatly.

  Valya lifted her chin. "I imagine you do, but I'm afraid we had to punish him after his failed attempt at encouraging you to join us. We almost lost him to you, did you know that? He needs to be reminded who his real family is."

  "I'm his real family!" Kelly shouted.

  Valya shook her head and tsked. "Calm yourself, child. I understand you two used to be close, and I guarantee you will be again. In fact, I've arranged for you to share the same trailer."

  Kelly felt a flutter of relief. "We can be together?" Perhaps there was still hope for escape.

  "Absolutely," Valya said. "But wouldn't you like something to eat and drink first? It's almost time for the evening meal."

  And risk getting poisoned like Sam's mother? "No, thank you."

  Kelly took a step backward, aim
ing for the exit. Two sentries appeared, each one taking a position at her side. She tensed, her mind spinning, a voice inside her head screaming for her to protect herself.

  "You look so tense, dear." Valya approached her, hand raised as if to touch Kelly's face.

  With barely a conscious thought, Kelly slipped the earring from her ear and slashed it across Valya's wrist.

  ****

  Sam climbed onto a ridge that overlooked Star Mother's camp and, through binoculars, viewed the haggard ring of tents and trailers that lay below. He had spotted Kelly's car the moment he’d arrived but quickly turned around before anyone could see his Jeep. He hoped Kelly had managed to make it inside the camp without detection, but he doubted it. In full daylight? That was impossible, even for him. And if she had been caught, the sentries were no doubt keeping an eye out for him.

  If only she'd waited a few more minutes for him to explain himself and apologize. No point in agonizing over something he couldn't change, but he wanted a chance to set things right. He only prayed she'd be safe until he found her.

  The sun hovered halfway below the horizon as early twilight transformed the desert into a landscape of elongated shadows, the sunset casting an orange stain over acres of amber sand. A campfire blazed at the center of Star Mother's camp, and the cultists swarmed around it to partake of the evening meal. He remembered from childhood the huge vats of tasteless bean soup that was served night after night. They were told to be patient because scrumptious feasts awaited them on Atria. He had never believed it. What he did believe was that once the suicide plan went into effect, you couldn't eat anything when you were dead.

  An hour passed, and still no sign of Kelly. The two of them had shared something magical, something even more mystical than anything Star Mother's followers could conjure in their deluded, brainwashed minds. If he wanted to find Kelly, he'd have to face the demons who kept her from him.