The two men waiting to grab Lilia moved in closer. Demetrius kicked one in the face, sending him crashing to the floor, taking his fellow with him, then Demetrius twisted and stomped the foot of one of his captors. That man let go of his arm and fell, knocking over the other thug on that side. Demetrius cocked his newly freed arm and punched one of the men on his other side in the face, while Lilia locked her fists together and brought them down on the head of the last man still clasping Demetrius’s arm.
But more came, and soon they were surrounded. Lilia punched, kicked and fought as hard as she could, but despite the amulet she wore, there was no more supernatural boost to her fighting than there was to Demetrius’s.
It was true, Demetrius realized, as he threw himself at yet another black-clad minion. Their powers were gone. His soul was intact. Even amid all the chaos, he knew it. Colors were brighter, and he could smell the air, musty and old with hints of the thugs’ stale sweat. Lilia was more vividly beautiful than ever, his love for her more poignant and potent than it had ever been.
He met her eyes, and she sent him a slight smile. Yes, she knew it, too, knew his soul was intact, that he was once again the man she loved. The man she still loved.
Then a sudden crack split the air and silenced them all. Sindar was standing there with a gun in his hand, smoke ribboning from the barrel. The men who’d been all over Demetrius backed away, and he saw Lilia’s gaze turn horrified. And that was when the pain finally made its way to his awareness. He looked down and saw that his hand was pressed to his belly, and there was blood seeping through his fingers.
Lilia lunged toward him, but she was immediately caught by the guards and could only watch as he sank to his knees. His eyes found hers, and his lips formed words. I love you, he tried to tell her, but no sound emerged. And then he fell facedown into darkness.
* * *
“Such a vile little device, isn’t it?” Sindar asked, looking contemplatively at the gun as Lilia screamed and struggled against the hands that held her. “I much prefer the old ways. Slice the jugular, burn alive, or...oh, I don’t know, throw someone from a cliff.” His eyes lit, and he gave her an evil smile. “Now, that’s an interesting notion, isn’t it?”
“Are you just going to let him lie there and bleed to death?” she cried.
“I don’t think you’re listening to me.”
She shot a seething look at him. “Let me help him. Please, I beg of you, let me—”
“Are you not hearing me, Lilia? I’m telling you that we are going to do this exactly the way we did it before. There’s a perfect spot not far from here. Black Rock Gorge—one of the many gorges this area is famous for. Students from the local schools fling themselves into it over broken hearts and after too much alcohol, so it’s already been purified by blood. A perfect place for a sacrifice. What do you say, witch? Shall we do it all again, for old times’ sake?”
She shivered. “We’ll be together. You can’t stop us.”
“Maybe. Or maybe I can strip his soul from him again. I managed it once, after all.” Sindar pointed to two men, then to the door. “Go after the swami and the babe. Bring them to me at the top of Black Rock Gorge.” He slid a sly look her way. “Yes, I admit it. I planned to kill them the whole time. I know Marduk will forgive me.” Then he turned, his robes swooshing with the motion. “Bring her. Bring him, as well. And see to it that he doesn’t bleed out on the way. I want him to watch his beloved witch die all over again.”
Lilia’s tears burned twin paths down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She could not believe the Gods had allowed her a chance to make this right and she had failed...again.
There would be no more mercy. No further chances. She only prayed she could somehow prevent Sindar from taking her love’s soul again, so they could be together in the afterlife. She prayed in silence for that, and prayed, too, for her sisters and little Ellie, for Tomas and Ryan, for her mother, the mother she hadn’t had the chance to bid farewell. Please let them stay safe. Please.
The men tugged her into motion. Others brought the mattress from the cell and laid it down beside Demetrius. Then they rolled his big body onto it and carried it as if it were a stretcher.
Like some dark parade, they marched up the creaking, groaning stairs, out the doorway at the top, through the tunnel and out into the dawn.
* * *
The vehicles skidded to a halt where the road ended and a footpath following the railroad bed led up into the forest. Lena was out of Ryan’s big black truck almost before he’d brought it to a halt, with Ryan and Gus right behind her as she ran to what remained of the railroad tracks. Tomas and Indy got out of his once-white Volvo and hurried to join them. Tomas was carrying a shotgun.
“This way,” Lena said. “The bomb shelter was built beneath a tunnel through the mountain where the trains used to run. All we have to do is follow the tracks.”
“I don’t like this.” Indy moved up beside her and clasped her hand. “It’s too easy.”
“It doesn’t matter. We have to go.”
“I know that.”
The sisters met each other’s eyes and then, with a firm nod, began walking. Ryan started out with them, holding Lena’s other hand, but fell back when they got to the tracks, because the way wasn’t wide enough to walk three abreast. Magdalena knew he understood that she and her sister needed each other right now and she sent him a silent thank-you with her eyes. He acknowledged it with a worried nod as he walked beside Tomas, directly behind them. Gus brought up the rear.
The sun was climbing. If the situation had been different, Lena thought, it would have been a beautiful morning for a walk through the woods. There were birds singing everywhere, and the fragrances of apple blossoms and a few early honeysuckle vines were heavy. But the situation wasn’t different, and she had no idea what they were going to find at the end of their travels.
Soon enough the tracks sloped upward and the dark mouth of the tunnel loomed ahead.
“What’s the pendulum doing?” Indy asked in a harsh whisper.
Lilia touched the stone where it rested against her skin. “Not a thing.”
“I know you two are the super witches and all,” Ryan said softly, “but would you mind letting us go first?”
Tomas looked at him sharply. “That’s a completely sexist idea. And I concur. Step aside, ladies.”
The two men squeezed past them, each one delivering a touch, a kiss, to his woman as he passed. Gus remained at the rear, saying nothing. And then they were moving forward again, the five of them, into the dark tunnel. Lena sensed they were heading for battle. She was as tense and wary as if they were walking into Armageddon. They slowed their steps as every trace of light was left behind them. Each footfall created an eerie echo, and yet they heard no other sound, no indication of human presence.
“We need a light,” Lena whispered.
“That could give us away,” Ryan said.
“We don’t have a choice.” Indy pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight app. “There must be a stairway or something.”
Ryan turned and asked, “Can I have that a minute?”
Indy handed it over and he aimed it toward the tunnel’s sides, illuminating a metal door that looked as if it had been hit by a train at some point.
Lena swallowed hard and stopped walking. “That could be it. That could be where Ellie is. Goddess, why’s it so quiet?”
Tomas shouldered his shotgun as Ryan pulled the door open. It groaned so loudly there was no way whoever was inside hadn’t heard it.
But as the men moved beyond the door, nothing happened. And when Lena saw Tomas lower his gun her heart fell.
“There’s no one here,” Ryan said.
“There has to be.” Lena pushed past them, hurrying down the unsteady stairway as the rising sun illuminated the place through a hole in the domed ceiling. The others followed, their steps banging like cymbals. She crossed the concrete floor at the bottom, then went still, be
cause there was blood. There was a lot of blood.
“Goddess, no...”
Ryan grabbed her shoulders, turning her to him, and she buried her head in his chest to hide the sight of all that blood, but she couldn’t stop the thoughts that flooded her mind. Was it Lilia’s blood? Was it Ellie’s?
The others were exploring the place further.
“There’s a cell back here,” Gus called. “I think your baby was here, Magdalena.”
That brought Lena’s head up, and she grabbed Ryan’s arm and dragged him over. Inside the cell, an empty baby bottle lay on the floor. Right beside it was a teddy bear, his unseeing eyes staring blankly.
Ryan frowned. “Honey, isn’t that—”
“The nanny-cam.” Lena let go of Ryan’s hand and grabbed the bear. “And it’s recording.”
“How the hell did it get here?”
“I don’t know. It was on the mantel last I— It doesn’t matter. We have to see what’s on it—fast. Beltane is only—” She looked at her watch. “Goddess, it’s only an hour away.” She looked around her. “And we have no idea where they are. Ryan I don’t know what to—”
“Easy. Deep breaths.”
She nodded, gulping air, calming herself again. “We need to see what’s on it.”
Gus looked at the hole in the ceiling. “If they’re not here, chances are that’s how they got out. Maybe they escaped.”
“Maybe,” Tomas said. “But if they did, it’s for sure those bastards went after them. Come on, let’s get back out and see if they left us a trail.”
They all headed up the stairs again, into the pitch black tunnel, and then along the tracks to the far end and back out into the brightening sunlight. “The grass is all beaten down over here,” Ryan said, eyeing the slope to the right of the tracks.
“It looks like someone went this way, too.” Indy looked downhill on the opposite side. “But the signs are faint. Look, there’s a broken stick, a footprint in the wet mud.” She turned, met her sister’s eyes. “A bare footprint.”
“Bahru,” Lena whispered, rushing forward. “He got Ellie out. He must have. And he got away from them, too. They all went the other way.”
“No,” Gus said. “See there? It’s another track behind your Bahru’s. Someone wearing shoes.”
Lena whirled and met Ryan’s eyes. “You have to go after them,” she said.
“We’ll all go.”
“No. No, listen to me. Listen to me, and please don’t argue. You and Tomas have to follow that trail and save our baby.” She gripped the front of his shirt. “I can’t go with you. I have to go—” She bit her lip, lowered her head. “I have to take this bear home and see what’s on the disc. I’ll take the car.”
“I’ll go with her,” Indy said.
Gus said nothing, but his eyes were following the path the larger group had taken.
“All right. Call and tell me what you find.” Ryan pulled her close and kissed her. “I’ll find her. I promise.”
“Hurry, Ryan.”
He nodded. Tomas and Indy exchanged a knowing glance as he hugged her close, and Lena heard her whisper, “I’m sorry. I have to—”
And his urgent reply, “I know you do. Be careful, dammit.”
“You know I will.” She kissed his neck, and then the two men broke away and dashed down the hill after Bahru and the baby.
Gus looked at the women. “If you two don’t mind getting home on your own, I’d like to follow this trail.”
“We’re all following this trail,” Magdalena told him.
He frowned, clearly puzzled. “But you just told your husband—”
“He never would have let her go after Sindar without him,” Indy said.
Lena took out her cell phone as Indy went on.
“But we have to go, Gus. And you don’t. This is our fight—one we’ve been waiting over three-thousand years to finish. But it’s not yours.”
He held her gaze steadily. “You’re wrong about that,” he said. Then he looked at Magdalena, who had pulled something out of the bear and was plugging it into her phone. “I take it you can access the camera footage from your phone?”
“Smart man. There’s a flash drive in the bear and a USB port— Never mind.” She tapped the screen, waited, then turned the phone sideways. “Here it comes.”
The two sisters stood close, and Gus shouldered his way in between them to watch the footage playing out on the small screen. A few seconds later Indy staggered away with her hand over her mouth and tears flowing. “Oh, God, Lilia,” she whispered. “Stay alive, baby sister. We’re coming for you.”
“You, too, Sindar,” Lena added, her tone deep and quivering with anger. “We’re coming for you, too, you murderous bastard. And this time you’re not walking away.”
16
Bahru had hiked the Himalayas with Ryan’s father. He’d traveled the Amazon by boat and explored the wilds of Peru. Ironic, then, that he would find himself lost in the relatively tame woods of upstate New York. And yet lost was precisely what he was.
Worse, someone was following him. He’d paused twice to cuddle Ellie close and listen. And he’d heard them very clearly, the even, stealthy footsteps of a human being. Animals didn’t walk that way, one, two, one, two. A deer would take a few rapid steps, then a couple of slow ones, then stop to sniff or to graze. A rabbit would scamper. A chipmunk would scurry. A bear would lumber and crash. A human kept his rhythm, one, two, left, right.
The baby was fussy. He’d been carrying her through the woods for forty minutes, and he was no closer to finding his way home. Sooner or later he would have to emerge onto a road, wouldn’t he?
Ellie squirmed in his arms and wrinkled up her face. He recognized the expression. She was gearing up for an all-out wail. Jiggling her in his arms, he whispered, “There, now, Ellie. You have to keep quiet now. We’re playing hide-and-seek.”
She opened her eyes, gazed at him briefly, then squeezed them closed again and opened her mouth. He gave her his knuckle to circumvent the cry, and she frowned and looked cross-eyed at it while gnawing it curiously.
A twig snapped, and Bahru looked around fast.
A man in black, wearing a ski mask over his face, emerged from the darkness of the forest. And then, almost making Bahru gasp in surprise, another appeared off to the right, this one wearing a plastic Halloween mask. A skeleton. How imaginative.
“Hand over the baby now, old man,” said the first. “You can go on your way. No one will bother you.”
“No one but my conscience,” Bahru said, taking a backward step.
“You can’t outrun us. And you can’t fight us. Give it up.”
“I can out-will you, though.”
“Out-what?”
“If your faith were the size of even a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’ And it would move.” Bahru sank to the ground, folded his legs and locked his arms around Ellie. “Unless, of course the mountain had faith, too, and said to itself, ‘No force on earth can move me.’” Closing his eyes, he willed himself into a deep state of meditation, visualizing himself as a stone mountain and Ellie as a pebble safe within his depths. He heard no more, though he knew the men were speaking, shouting at him, giving him orders, and Ellie had begun to cry. He ignored everything, because he was a mountain. And mountains were not upset by noise.
* * *
“What the hell?” Ryan whispered. “What are they—”
Tomas gripped his arm, probably to keep him from rushing forward, and pulled him back into the cover of the dark forest. “Let’s just see what’s up first, see how many there are. We have to do this right. We can’t mess it up.”
Ryan knew his friend was right, but every instinct in him was screaming at him to save his daughter, save her now. Instead, he forced himself to stand still and stare into the tiny glade, dappled by sunlight that spilled in tiny patches and pools through the trees above, where Bahru sat on the ground with the baby in his arms. She was cr
ying loudly, and two thugs dressed all in black and wearing masks were pulling on Bahru’s arms, but they couldn’t budge him, couldn’t pull Ellie from his hold.
Bahru didn’t flinch. His eyes were closed, and he wore an expression of utter serenity.
Ryan shot Tomas a look. “There are only two of them. Can we get my daughter now before they hurt her?”
Tomas nodded. “You go around to the left, I’ll go right, we’ll count to ten and we’ll come at them from both sides, all right?”
“All right.” As soon as he was in position he counted quickly and then just sprang. He saw Tomas race in from the opposite side, but after that he couldn’t see how his friend was doing. He had his hands full with a skeleton-masked thug who had arms like steel and a right hook like a freight train. The thug pounded Ryan in the face, and he flew off his feet before hitting the ground. He started to get up again, but the thug hit him again, and then again, driving him back down each time. This guy was strong as an ox. Why the hell hadn’t he been able to move the old guru’s skinny arm away from Ellie?
Ryan scrambled to his feet, ready for more, and the brute was looming over him, about to deliver it, when the baby squealed. Ryan looked her way, and saw her flailing her arms and giggling, when she’d been squalling a few seconds ago. And then something in his peripheral vision grabbed his attention. He scrambled backward just as a huge branch came crashing down right at him. The skeleton saw it, too, but too late, only an instant before it flattened him to the ground, leaving him pinned and helpless.
Nearby, Tomas was duking it out with the second thug. Tomas’s lip was bleeding, and one eye was swollen nearly shut. Ryan looked around, spied a brick-sized rock, picked it up and hurled it, only belatedly thinking he might miss and hit the ex-priest.
Fortunately he didn’t. The rock hit the thug squarely in the back of his skull. He dropped like an anchor, hit the ground and didn’t move again.
Tomas met Ryan’s eyes, wiping the blood from his upper lip. “Thanks.”
“De nada.” Ryan rushed to the baby. She squealed and burbled at the sight of him, as she always did. Then he knelt to shake Bahru out of his...whatever.
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