by Jill Cooper
“Make no mistake, Jess,” Duncan tossed his head toward the demon. “If this guy thinks we’re going to kill him, he could disobey Amanda’s orders and turn on us.”
“I know,” Jessica sighed. “That’s why we’re going to have to be real careful. You’re all the backup I have, Duncan.”
He stepped up closer to her. “I’ll watch your back. Your front. Whatever you need, Jess, but I’m worried.” His eyes darkened. “I’m worried you care so much for saving Amanda, you’ll put yourself on the line. I won’t trade her for you. Situation was reversed a few short days ago and I told Amanda the exact same thing. If I see that you’re losing your way…”
Jessica nodded no matter how much it pained her. “It’s a deal. I won’t trade myself for Amanda. I want us both to be happy. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Duncan gripped her shoulders and worked hard to keep eye contact because Jessica was desperate to break it. “Your soul is just as important as hers. I hope you really see that, Jess. I hope you’re not just telling me what I want to hear.”
Jessica hoped so too because she wasn’t sure. Not really, but if Amanda took the throne in the underworld, what choice would she have?
“Grab the demon and let’s go. I’ll start the Jeep. You’ll have to ride in the backseat with him.”
She hurried over to her aunt’s Jeep. Once inside, Jessica tried to start it up, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. She pumped the gas, did all the things she always did, but there was nothing she could do. Taking off her jacket, she popped the hood and looked for something that might be wrong.
A distributor cap was definitely the problem. Bending down low, she pulled out a folded envelope shoved against the intake manifold.
You didn’t think it’d be that easy, did ya?—Ron
Jessica crumbled it up into the palm of her hand. It was going to be a late night. A very late night, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Gwen
The 1966 Chrysler was a familiar beast and a family heirloom, but for reasons she kept to herself, Gwen avoided riding in it. The reasons were her own and she didn’t believe in keeping counsel with her nieces. Once, they were children who needed to be shielded from the truth. Now, it was Gwen who wanted to be shielded from her past mistakes.
Now with matters so dire, she sat uncomfortably behind the wheel and drove down the interstate.
It was like being haunted by a ghost. The car’s very smell conjured up old memories. The smell of high octane fuel that came from beneath the hood and the way the leather seats creaked as you adjusted yourself…well, it all harkened back to days when it was her big brother’s car. When Jacob had given up his motorcycle for something safer. It made her laugh at the time. Already a classic, a 1966 Chrysler 300 was no family car, but it was as close as Jacob would ever get.
Speed, it was in their blood, and the family car was no different.
Jacob had always known when she needed him. Even when Gwen refused to talk and even when they were miles apart. When she needed him the most, Jacob had been there. The car might have been Jessica’s now, but it had his smell all over it. Maybe that’s the reason she kept it safe after Jacob died. Maybe it meant a piece of him would always be left behind.
Gwen remembered a time when he picked her up. He hadn’t been married yet, but Donna was in their lives. Still, he left his girlfriend behind and drove Gwen to a breakout point, a cliff that overlooked Sweetwater, Nebraska where they made their home.
She couldn’t really look at him as he parked the car and turned the radio down. Even in those days her hair was tied back with its yellow bandana. Her hands folded the hem of her skirt as Jacob turned down the radio.
Turning in his seat, he threw his arm around the back of the bench seat and peered at her. His eyes were an intense green; his black wavy hair fell over one eye; and his chin was covered in stubble. He was like a rock with hard edges, but if Gwen looked at him—really looked at him, she’d cry.
So she didn’t. Not even when Jacob brushed her shoulder with his fingers.
“Not going to tell me anything?” Jacob’s voice was deep and rumbling, but thick with concern. “Gweny, whatever is going on, it’s your business, but you’re not yourself. You barely come out of your room. If there’s something wrong, I need you to tell me.”
She glanced up and met the storm of his eyes. Gwen fought her own tears and peered down at her lap.
“I can fix anything, you know that. If I can fix this old busted down car…”
“I’m pregnant,” Gwen blurted out and the pain of it all festered in her chest. Her fingers clenched her knees tight. She was so sorry. So stupid to be in this situation. She wasn’t one of those girls. Never had known love before, not like that. It was so intense, but if their mom was alive to see what she had gotten herself into…
Jacob, to his credit, didn’t flinch. Instead, he just rubbed her shoulder. “All right,” he said softly, “what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know yet,” Gwen shook her head.
His eyes crinkled around the edges. “It’s that priest, isn’t it? Mike.”
Gwen wiped her face with both hands. “You knew?”
Jacob laughed. “Baby girl, I’m a man, but I’m not blind. I saw what was happening. I just thought—.” He sighed. “Listen, what’s done is done. With my own past, who am I to judge? What matters now, is what you do. I’ll take care of you. Like I always have, sugar, but if you keep it, don’t let him off the hook.”
“There’s more,” Gwen licked her teeth. “Something…since I found out, has been happening to me.” She cupped her hand, lifting it into the air, terrified to show it, but Jacob always accepted her for who she was. He showed her just now, how he accepted everything there was about her.
Jacob held his breath and watched her hand as the atmosphere around it blew. It was almost as if a fan had been turned on, but Gwen felt the churning in her belly. The faster it churned, the more wind came from her fingertips and then a tiny shot of electricity. It bounced from tip to tip and Gwen sobbed before she let her hand fall flat.
“What’s happening to me? Jacob?”
He pulled her into his arms and just held her. He just held her and Gwen knew it’d be okay. Somehow Jacob Blood would fix everything that needed to be fixed. She would’ve bet her life on it.
****
Now he was in the underworld. Trapped and its prisoner. Gwen would give anything to help him like he helped her. But, she hadn’t, had she? Wrapped up in her own drama, Gwen hadn’t been there when Jacob needed her or the girls. There should’ve been redemption for her in those girls, but instead there were just more mistakes.
The underworld. Lourdes. Jacob died protecting his daughters. Gwen would’ve given anything to have been there that night. They might not have been able to save her son, Christopher, but had Jacob tried. Lord, how he’d tried.
He deserved better than he got. Both Christopher and her brother.
Gwen wished to see him one more time. What was she supposed to do? How can I save your girls? Help me.
They didn’t make it easy, did they? But since they came from Jacob, well, it made sense. Donna’s kindness and sweetness was in Amanda, but Jessica—she was all Jacob. Sometimes Gwen forgot when she was staring into Jessica’s eyes that they were different people. Sometimes it was as if her brother had returned.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Mike said and crossed his arms. He peered over at her. “Everything all right?”
She nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off the road. “Just a lot to think about.” Gwen wasn’t even sure what they were racing toward.
“In Jake’s car…” Mike gazed up at the roof. “Makes me think of him as well. The dearest of my friends. When I first set foot in this car with Duncan, to go rescue Amanda, I felt Jacob all around. It’s as if he never really left those girls.”
Gwen wiped her eye. “Part of me thinks he hasn’t. I know he’s in the underworld, but his presence…it’s in this car, Mik
e. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking.”
“Maybe.” Mike gave a foolish grin. “Did you ever know he decked me?”
“Decked you? When?” Gwen was glad for a break in her own mournful thoughts.
“When he found out we were…expecting. I didn’t even know yet. It was before you came to tell me, but he decked me. Held me out of the church’s second level window too.” Mike chuckled as if reliving the memory. “I didn’t know why he threatened me, just knew he drove fifty miles to threaten my life. Figured, whatever I did must’ve been a doozy. Sure as hell was, wasn’t it?” Mike rubbed his chin, his eyes gazing far off in the distance.
Gwen was glad no one had told her that before. Back in the day, she wouldn’t have appreciated the big brother behavior. It would’ve driven a wedge between them. “Well, no one can take our memories from us. Good or bad.”
Mike nodded. “More good than bad when he comes to Jacob,” Mike muttered. “How you doing back there, Archie? Have the passage we need to get through?”
Archibald ruffled through his papers. Gwen could hear them shuffling and it sounded like a mess that needed to be sorted. “Yes, I think I’ve gotten it down. One more passage and everything should be in order. There is something that I’m not quite sure about.”
“Oh?” Gwen arched an eyebrow and gazed at him through the rearview mirror. “What’s that?”
“The hike,” Archibald sighed. “The walk from the street to the cavern is over a mile and after that, we’ll need to repel down.” He blinked his eyes and shook his head all at the same time.
“Cheer up, old man.” Mike grinned and tossed his head back. “Once we finish this thing, free Amanda, we’ll take you out for sundaes.”
Archibald sat up straighter. “It’s not nice to tease a person…”
“I’m not doing anything of the sort. As a man of the cloth, I always keep my word.”
Gwen shook her head at him with a smile. Strange, the way you could be rushing toward the end of the world and feel so light. Maybe it was just because she was with him. Maybe Gwen would save the world a million times, if it meant being at Mike’s side.
“A blessed forest, prison to that hell beast of a woman.” Mike sighed. “Why don’t you tell us now what we’re really after, Archie? I’m sure it’s more than a conversation.”
Gwen tensed as she waited for Archibald’s answer.
Archibald sighed. The leather seats squeaked as he leaned forward. “Blood. We need Lanon’s blood if we’re to activate the Ruby Heart.”
Gwen felt the surge of panic take hold of her, but it was Mike’s voice that rose in disbelief. “We need to kill the demon warrior, Lanon? One of the former demons of the high court?”
“I didn’t say kill,” Archibald corrected. “Just a few drops. I’m hoping she can be persuaded to…help us. I’ve brought some of her favorite things. Golden trinkets. Candy. News about the world she left behind. A demon loves to barter for a good trade, you know.”
“You’re also bringing her something else that she loves.” Gwen’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she gazed at Mike.
His eyes held deep worry, but he laughed anyway. “Fresh meat.” He spoke out the side of his mouth in a way Gwen always found adorable, even if it was his pessimistic side showing.
Archibald sighed. “Well, luckily I have you two to protect me!”
****
Gwen parked in the rest stop overlooking the fern grove. The rest stop was unremarkable and the overgrowth of bushes on the path signaled it hadn’t been used in a while. She just hoped Lanon would still be where they had left her.
Demons rarely listened and this one was more dangerous than most. Lucky for them the blessed forest, one of the few in the United States, held power over demons. It was why Gwen had lured her into the cavern of purple trees and a sparkling lake, which held a power over evil beings. It was there that Lanon had lost the battle. Lucky for them, killing the demon warrior proved too difficult, in the days before Gwen had achieved her full power over the elements.
When Mike was a distraction, but not the forbidden fruit Gwen had tasted.
She popped the trunk of the car and handed the ropes and climbing gear they picked up along the way to Mike. “Give Archie a pep talk, will you?” She asked. “He’s hyperventilating.”
Mike grabbed his AK-47 and gazed over to the hood of the car. Archibald was sitting on it, grabbing at his chest. “For the love…Archie!” He made his way over to their friend.
Some things would never change.
Gwen grabbed her gun and touched a cloth laying in the trunk. Interested she peeled it back and saw a shimmering sword. Interesting. This must have been the sword that Jessica told her about. The one that Amanda had used to impale Lourdes…the one that started this whole mess.
For a brief moment, Gwen grabbed the hilt. She was surprised to see what appeared to be black ink traveling through the blade. She let it go in an instant and the black stain disappeared. Part of Lourdes was still in the blade?
Gwen thought maybe it should be destroyed, but that would keep for another time. Wrapping the cloth around the hilt, Gwen picked it up. They might need it to negotiate with Archibald’s friend. She slammed the trunk closed and started down the path. “You old ladies going to be able to keep up with me?”
Mike and Archibald took up the rear. Archie was flushed, but at least he had caught his breath. Bending over, Mike grabbed a well-sized stick and gave it to their friend. “Use that on any uneven patches and we’ll make good time.”
Archibald nodded, but didn’t seem too keen on talking, though Gwen thought talking would keep him calm. “Do you think she’s still here? Do you think she’ll even entertain the notion of helping us?”
“She doesn’t want the world destroyed any more than we do. True, it might be a little challenging to get her to work with us, but I’m confident we can get her on our side.” Archibald said, “I brought her favorite snacks.”
Mike snorted. “No one will ever say that the great Archibald was against bribery.”
“Heavens no,” Archibald laughed, “Bribery is just the kind of work I’m suited for. It’s much easier than firing a gun.”
“Or scaling down the inside of a cavern,” Gwen slapped him on the back. She picked up speed and led the way. Pushing back bushes with her hands, the surroundings were getting thick and dark. The pit that led to the cave wasn’t far off now, but without help, they’d never find the path.
Time to shine a light on it. She cupped her hand and allowed it to glow as bright as the sun. She held her palm out to guide the way and in the dark, she saw red eyes. A legion of red eyes glared at her hiding among the trees. Gwen’s hairs rose on the back of her neck and she felt a tingle against her skin.
Beasts. They knew she was coming. Hellhounds burst through the underbrush and charged directly for them. “Mike!” Gwen screamed.
“I see them,” Mike bent to one knee and laid down cover fire. Gwen grabbed Archibald by the back of his collar and pushed him toward a tree.
“Get down!” She screamed and fired her gun, but the hounds reached their location. Their mouths wide they hurried on muscular hind legs and leaped through the air. With a quick motion, Gwen threw her hands down at her sides and brought a storm of wind and lightning to strike them down.
The lightening hit its mark and the hellhounds were thrown wide. They whined like injured dogs, but that was too close a call. Gwen would need to be more careful. Less talking and more focus.
“Gwen!” Archibald screamed through slotted teeth.
“Quick, get up!” Gwen grabbed his meaty arm and they ran for Mike as he made his way deeper into the forest. The first thing Gwen noticed was the trees. They had gone from a dark green to a light brown. Further they ran, the more Gwen noticed the rot of the forest. First, it was subtle, but as she ran her foot crunched against dead branches and the leaves were dried out.
The power of the blessed forest was supposed to be protected
from Lanon’s magic of decay. So what had happened?
“Crater must have opened…” Archibald’s voice was labored. He could barely talk as he hypothesized.
“Save your breath,” Gwen ordered him. Their feet pounded the fallen leaves and twigs. With her peripheral vision, she saw a woman, all in black, step out from behind the trees. Beautiful purple hair and a smile that would melt your heart, she had a scaly green tail whipping out from behind her regal dress. Black feathered wings folded behind her giant torso. Taller than any human, she slunk out from her hiding spot.
It was Lanon. Somehow she made it out of the pit Archibald sealed her in and she was most cross. The lake must have no longer held her spellbound.
“Down!” Gwen grabbed Archibald’s shoulder to toss him back. When he hit the tree, the demon raised a crossbow.
No! Gwen threw her hands to the side, but wasn’t fast enough. The demon let off a shot and it hit Archibald center chest.
Archie! He groaned as he grabbed at the arrow piercing his body. Gwen flicked her hands to bring up a wind storm. The demon moved fast. Grabbing Gwen beneath the underside of her jaw, she slammed her against the tree.
Lanon’s mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth. “You were fools to come back here. With Hell opening up, nothing will stop me now. Our Master is rising and I will join him, at his side.”
Lucifer. Gwen was chilled at the mere thought. “We’re here seeking answers. Answers about the Ruby Heart. We can bargain in your favor. Just a few questions.”
The demon warrior laughed. “Oh, you brought a snack all right.” She pushed Gwen through a clearing in the trees.
Gwen glanced back at Archibald. He wasn’t moving. And this she-demon wasn’t going to let her go to him. “My friend…”
“Keep walking,” Lanon ordered.
Gwen couldn’t just leave him. She couldn’t. She elbowed the she-beast across the jaw and ran back for Archibald. “Archie!” She screamed as the demon snapped at her heels, but Gwen powered on.
“Gwen!” Mike screamed and charged back toward her. He had his gun out and Gwen knew what was about to happen.