by Wray Ardan
Two small gnarled hands were sliding up over the back of the car seat. Her mother’s mouth was open as if a scream was trapped in her lungs. Tentacles burrowed into Brooke’s neck, and her body slumped in the seat, unconscious.
“Mom,” Ava whispered.
Ava’s eyes widened. Something tickled her neck. She stared into the rear-view mirror watching as tentacles wound their way through her ponytail, then slithered over her throat.
“Aah …” she whimpered, slapping them away.
Claws dug into her shoulders, poking holes in her shirt, cutting into her skin, sending a trail of blood down her arm as a rank breath hissed in her ear, “Shouldn’ta left the car doors open, ya dummy.”
Sharp teeth pierced into Ava’s neck. Her head fell back like a slain sparrow in the claws of a cat.
CHAPTER 35
The car lurched as Datura turned off the engine. The two women had been an unexpected surprise. Good and bad. Datura gave them each a heavy-handed slap for running over Esere. Tig followed suit, then helped Datura push open the car door. Ivan and Anders were already standing next to Esere’s smashed carcass. Datura marched over to them, nudging Esere with her foot.
“Maybe he’s just been knocked out,” Tig said.
A crow circled above. Cawing, it dove toward Esere before joining another crow on top of the pickup truck. Their shimmering black heads swayed back and forth, curiously inspecting their next meal.
“Beat it!” Datura yelled at the scavengers. “Just cause we ate some ‘a yer relatives, that were a long time ago. Ya leave us alone. Esere ain’t gonna be y’all’s lunch.” Datura turned Esere’s head from side to side, looking for a sign of life. “Anders, get some rope outta the truck. Hurry up!”
“What for?” Anders asked, his hands on his hips.
“Just do it!”
“Why?” Anders didn’t budge.
“We can use it to tie up ‘em women. Can’t ya smell ‘em?” Datura pointed to the car. “They is Jaden’s family. Now we gonna see if that girl is one of us or not. We’ll stash ‘em in the Professor’s cave. Maybe there’s something there to help Esere.”
Everyone nodded, confirming to Datura that as usual she was right.
Ivan turned away. Squinting against the sun, he kept his eyes on the crows as Anders clambered into the back of the pickup and dropped a rope over the side. “And how we gonna get there?” Ivan asked. “You plannin’ on sproutin’ wings?”
Datura grabbed Ivan’s chin horn and yanked his head toward her. “Don’t be a bonehead. Same as the Professor would’a.” Then she pushed his head away. “Now stick Esere in the car.”
Ivan and Anders dragged Esere over to the car and stuffed him between Brooke’s feet. Slouched over, he looked as if he was merely lounging on the floor.
Datura started the car. Steadying herself on top of Ava’s limp body, Datura steered while Anders crouched down between the girl’s feet, pushing the gas pedal. The two women were still strapped in their seatbelts, their heads waggling as the car sped past the mansion. At the end of the dirt road Datura plowed through remnants of a cane field, racing along, sending clouds of dirt spewing behind them.
The Mal Rous’ howled and cheered when they spotted the remains of the Professor’s boathouse in the distance. Datura turned the steering wheel in its direction, launching a branch into the radiator. The vehicle hobbled forward a few yards, then bellyached, as if mourning its own death. Boiling water shot up in a geyser from the grill, covering the window with steam, and the car thudded to a stop.
“Wake up,” Datura said, slapping Ava.
The others joined in, excitedly hitting the two women. When their near comatose bodies were roused awake, Datura climbed from the car. “Get ‘em out. We still gotta ways to go.”
Ivan heaved open the passenger door. Tig and Anders unhooked the women’s seatbelts and pushed the two of them onto the ground.
Clutching onto the car’s doors, the women pulled themselves up. Ava had barely found her balance when Anders shoved the ropes into her arms. He hollered at Brooke to pick up Esere.
The women staggered through the cane, drugged enough to stay compliant as swarms of mosquitoes fed on their flesh. Fear and confusion dripped from their pores. The Mal Rous breathed in the heavenly aroma.
At the boathouse all they could find was a pile of rubble—another sign that their Professor was gone. The organic sounds of the bayou escalated in Datura’s ears. Her tentacles hung softly against her scalp. Tears. She could feel them welling in her eyes. Refusing to grieve, to show any signs of weakness, she broke off pieces of dried sugar cane and handed one to each member of her family—the perfect pick-me-up—ideal for striking their prisoners.
The women pulled away hunks of roof and dug through the debris as the Mal Rous thwacked their calves with strips of cane, hard enough to make red welts swell, but not quite hard enough to break the skin.
Datura sniffed the air. Her stomach growled as Brooke jumped back, eyes focused on a spot two feet in front of her. Stepping closer, Datura smiled at the nest of baby snakes. The Mal Rous eagerly consumed the delicious snack.
Once the Professor’s flat-bottomed pirogue was uncovered, the women dragged the boat to the water. Its hull was intact, but the motor was worthless. Tig and Anders jumped in, followed by Ivan. Latching onto one of the paddles, Ivan threatened to bludgeon the prisoners if they didn’t do what he said. Brooke got in, placing the ropes at the stern. Anders stuck a paddle in her hands. Datura climbed aboard as Ava laid Esere’s body on top of the ropes. Wading in the water, Ava pushed the boat from the shore. Then she pulled herself into it.
“Ivan!” Datura smacked his shoulder. “Give the girl the paddle or we ain’t gonna get nowhere.”
Ivan reluctantly relinquished his weapon.
The boat glided over the fetid water. Sunlight filtered through the branches, breaking up the shade with a spattering of light. Datura’s tendrils remained extended, sniffing the air, guiding them. The Mal Rous took turns injecting their prisoners with just enough venom to keep them sedated.
As the day progressed in the never-ending maze of channels, the Mal Rous became testier. Inhaling the appetizing scent of dirt and sweat that covered the women’s bodies and soaked their clothes made them hungry.
The sun moved to the west, but the moist heat didn’t subside. At last they located the tree with the Professor’s markings. Time and weather had worn away the carving of the double spiral; only a hint of the chiseled lines remained. Beneath it was one rotten board from the old landing—barely noticeable—bobbing up and down, covered with globs of moss. Datura drew in a frantic breath. Her eyes narrowed as they neared the water’s edge and she studied the shore.
Ivan yanked the paddle from Ava and jabbed it into her back. “Pick up Esere and get out.”
Ava gingerly stepped onto the slippery plank. In a stupor, Brooke followed in her footsteps, carrying the ropes.
“Ya two murdered him.” Datura gave the women stink-eye. “I ought to do the same to y’all.” Then she paced her words nice and slow, making certain the pain of what she said would be felt. “No, I’m gonna wait, so Jaden can watch.”
“W-what … what have you done to her?” Brooke spoke as if she were in a trance.
“She’s just fine. She may even wanna join in the fun.”
A snide grin stretched across Datura’s face as tears fell from Brooke’s heavy-lidded eyes. Standing on the bow of the boat, Datura scanned the foliage. Any remains of the path that once led up the small hill to the cave were gone. Jumping down, she knocked Brooke aside and shoved Ava into the growth.
“Make us a path.”
Slowly licking her lips, Datura watched Ava clear the way. Branches clawed into the girl, adorning her creamy complexion with crimson droplets, tempting Datura to feed. Salivating, Datura thought, Not yet, we’ll be at the cave soon enough.
A third of the way up the slope, Datura stopped at a small clearing. “We’ll bury Esere here.”
“Whaddya mean, bury him?” Ivan pushed past the others and stood in front of Datura. “Ya said we was takin’ him to the laboratory to find a cure.”
“Ya dumb lizard, he’s gone. He ain’t breathed since they run him over. It’s best we leave him here.” Datura looked out at the bayou in the direction of the plantation. “It’s like he’ll be watchin’ over us.”
Ivan stroked his chin horn, then nodded, looking at the view. Picking up a stick, he went over to Ava and smacked the welts on the back of her legs. “Put Esere down and dig a hole for him.” Then he hit Brooke across her shins. “Help her. Hurry up.”
With their bare hands the two women dug into the ground.
Datura’s lips pursed as she watched Tig traipse off, leaving the rest of them to watch their brother being lowered into his grave. By the time Tig returned, Brooke and Ava were already covering Esere’s corpse with dirt.
Twirling down the knoll, Tig declared, “I’ve found it.”
“This ain’t no time for celebratin’.” Anders swatted her.
“Did ya hear me? I said I found the cave. Come on, it ain’t far from here.”
Datura followed behind as Tig led the way, and Anders and Ivan prodded the two women up the hill.
CHAPTER 36
Ava could feel the mugginess and hear the mosquitoes swarming around her filthy body. Their captors hadn’t bitten or stabbed her since they’d left the boat. The effects of the poisons were wearing off. Her thoughts were scrambled, as if she were coming to after being slammed against a concrete wall. All she knew was that she wanted to escape. Dropping the ropes, Ava lunged forward, grabbed her mom’s arm and mumbled, “Come on, run.”
Drugged and disoriented, Ava stumbled over her own feet. Before she even hit the ground wiry tendrils gouged into her, pumping a thick fluid into her system. Dizzy and weeping, she watched another creature latch his feelers onto her mother’s calf.
“Not so much,” the one they called Datura shouted. “They has to climb down into the cave.”
Immediately the sharp tendrils retracted from Ava’s legs.
“We just has to get ‘em to the openin’,” the taller one said, slobbering on Brooke, “so we can push ‘em in.”
Ava turned away as inflammations spread across her mother’s limbs, grateful that Brooke was too far gone to feel the blisters bursting. As Ava crawled to her feet, her mind plummeted back into a poison-induced hypnotic state.
Near the top of the hill they stopped at an opening in the earth the size of a small car. Bleary-eyed, Ava watched as the creatures dragged a decomposing rope ladder out of the bushes and lowered it into the cave.
The ropes that she carried were snatched from her arms, then tossed into the hole. Scampering down the ladder, the tall one called out, “Send ‘em down.”
Datura led Ava and her mom to the opening, then yelped with glee as she gave Ava a shove. Ava slid over a five-foot incline before falling ten more feet to the ground. She lay there, a heap of bones held in place by her bruised skin.
Bits of sunlight shimmered on the walls. Her mother tumbled down and landed next to her with a loud crack. Brooke’s body was twisted onto itself, limp and mangled. Ava heard the creatures climbing down the ladder, excitedly chattering about some Professor’s laboratory.
Brooke seemed unaware of the blows as Datura kicked her in the lower back. Ava wished they would all just let them die in peace. Then Datura walked over to Ava and slapped her across the face, yelling at both of them to get up.
Standing was difficult. The beasts howled as Ava worked to drag her mom to her feet. Cackling, the one with a dragon-shaped skull gestured at the ropes. “I ain’t carryin’ these for ya.”
Tightly holding onto Brooke, Ava struggled not to buckle over as she bent down to pick them up.
In single file they made their way through a lightless tunnel, descending into the cold, black earth. Though her senses were dulled, Ava could form one clear thought: This is going to be our grave.
CHAPTER 37
Rays of sunlight pierced the sheer curtain, stirring Jaden from her dreams and back into her unrelenting nightmare. The triplets’ house was quiet. She had some time to think, and to find a spark of courage. There wasn’t a clock in the room, but as the morning sun grew brighter and the warmth of the day settled in, she knew everyone would soon be awake.
When she heard movement in the other rooms, Jaden got dressed and went into the kitchen, smiling, pretending that she was okay, ready to find the Professor’s cave and triumph over the Mal Rous. The triplets, Violet, and Briz were eating breakfast. The five of them looked back at her, mirroring the same forced expression of confidence that Jaden had chiseled on her face. Everyone let her eat in peace. As soon as she finished, preparations for the day began.
While she and Briz loaded supplies into Hubs’s skiff, Jaden could feel Violet watching their every move.
“I still think I should come with you.” Violet raised her voice, as if to sound convincing. “To help you find the cave.”
“No. No way.” Shaking her head, Jaden continued loading the boat. “If the Mal Rous are there, they’ll kill you on the spot.”
Violet didn’t argue.
When they were done, the Bellibone tapped the wood planks of the dock with her crutch. Jaden and Briz gave her their full attention.
“I know that the two of you grasp how serious this situation is. But I cannot stress enough that if the Mal Rous have made their way to the Professor’s cave, if they feel threatened in any way, they will have no qualms about eliminating you, Briz—and possibly you too, Jaden. Not to mention the fact that they will find your families. If the Mal Rous are not there, you must remember to wear the rubber gloves that Olympe has given you, or they will be able to recognize your scent on whatever you touch.”
The lines in Violet’s sweet face deepened as she looked over her shoulder at the triplets, then back at Jaden and Briz.
“And I have been thinking. If the Mal Rous decide to pursue me … well, the triplets are now in danger, too. It may take them a few days to hunt us down. Nevertheless, they will succeed in finding us. All of us.”
With Violet’s sobering words hanging in the warm air, Jaden and Briz climbed into the boat and pushed off to find Dekle’s cave.
Quite willingly, Jaden had spent the last few days cooped up in the triplets’ home. Now she found it invigorating being outdoors, even if for such a foul reason. Unlike her last ride through the swamp, this time she was conscious. She glanced back at Briz. The two of them looked more like kids out seeking a little adventure than frightened teens on a quest to conquer dangerous predators.
For the moment Jaden refused to dwell on where she and Briz were going or what they had to do. She allowed herself to be absorbed by the bayou, the beautiful, primitive bayou that dripped with moisture, plants, and the chatter of insects. With feelings of reverence—and apprehension—she observed the leather-skinned alligators sunning on the banks as their ancestors had done for centuries. She found herself in awe of the primal landscape. Yet she had no interest in staying any longer than necessary.
Briz cut the motor as they neared the channel of water Violet said would lead to the Professor’s cave. From this point on, Violet had felt it would be safer for them to quietly paddle.
“Everything’s so alive with color,” Jaden whispered. Lowering her oar into the water she looked up at the sky sparkling through the foliage. “It’s like we’re sailing through a painting.” She considered that the bayou probably wasn’t all that impressive to Briz. After all, he’d lived in Belle Fleur for a while now, had traveled with his family to Australia and Bali—and in another month he was supposed to go backpacking with his cousin through Italy and France. But Louisiana was the most exotic place she’d ever been.
“You should have more of your drink, Jade. You’re delusional.” Briz kept his voice low, looking at her with a glint in his eyes. “I feel like we’re stuck in a vat of thick green paint.”
/> They smiled at one another, but the purpose of their outing never left Jaden’s mind.
The farther they went, the slower time seemed to pass and the more she had to agree with Briz about feeling as though they were moving through paint. Everything was warm and soupy. At least the mosquitoes left them alone as they steadfastly rowed through the water—their clothes and bodies were covered in the triplets’ homemade version of an odor eliminator. Hubs sold it to hunters to prevent animals from detecting them. They were hopeful that it would work with Mal Rous, too.
Ideally, their approach would have gone unnoticed. But their presence was announced by the flapping of egrets’ wings as the birds scattered up through the tree canopy.
Guiding the skiff closer to the bog that lined the shore, Jaden and Briz studied the large cypress trees, looking for the Professor’s carved symbol of a DNA double helix. Doubtful that it still existed they weren’t surprised when they didn’t find it. What caught Jaden’s eye was the remains of an eroded landing. To keep the boat out of sight, Briz went well past the hunk of moldy wood and maneuvered the boat next to the overhanging growth and secured its lead to a cypress stump.
The triplets had sent a supply of what Jaden thought of as “Don’t jump Briz’s bones” tonic. Since the acidic-smelling brew had to be left in the boat, she took another big gulp, checking Briz out as she tilted her head back. He removed his knife from his pack and fastened its leather sheath to his cargo shorts. The weapon looked deadly enough to kill a bear. Her eyes darted over the landscape as she tried to remember where the Louisiana black bears lived.
Briz beckoned her to his side. They crouched in the boat and took note of his compass to be sure they could find their way back easily. Neither of them wanted to risk getting lost. Both had heard stories of how crocodiles and alligators shed tears when they ate their food. They had no interest in finding out if it was true.
Jaden watched Briz sling a bundle of rope over his shoulder, adjust his backpack, and check his knife, flashlight, and water canteen. He looks like one hot swamp guide. Well, except for the dorky rubber gloves. She took another swig of her bitter drink. The smell was so strong she decided to gargle with some of the triplets’ odor control. It should be harmless. They’d practically bathed in it that morning. She swished some around in her mouth. After all, it was natural. But then so is thornapple poison.