“Go,” Drake said, slapping his clip in. “I’ll cover us.”
Lease said a prayer that Mac would look before he shot, then motored the boat straight for the dock.
Chung Lai paddled, cursing, but the island was already closer. Delilah was on the bottom of the boat unmoving, dead or unconscious.
She had to try the motor. It was the only chance. She pulled it once, then again, with no result. On the third try, it roared to life.
Crouching in the back, Chung Lai piloted the motorboat away from Latham’s Landing, out onto the lake.
Mac stopped, then listened. A motor was approaching. It had to be Lease this time. But with the gathering storm, the moon was covered, obscuring his vision. Unsure, Mac got into position behind a tree, his rifle at the ready. The wind continued to build.
The boat stopped alongside the dock, then two figures got out, the second tying up the boat. The motor died. But another motor continued to whine, growing fainter.
Those bitches were trying to escape him!
There was a sudden clap of thunder. Light suddenly filled the sky, streaming from behind the huge house with its belltower, illuminating the dock, the moving boat, and the lake beyond as bright as daylight.
The boat was well out into the lake, but it was fighting the waves, which were now several feet high, the wind a gale.
Drake paused, turning to look for the source of the light. “What the hell is that light—?”
The rifle bullet punched through his throat in a spray of blood. Drake fell to his knees, then collapsed, his blood red in the unnatural white light.
Lease brought up his gun, then dropped it as Mac appeared with his rifle.
“About time you got here,” Mac said, slapping Lease on the shoulder.
“I hope you were aiming for him,” Lease said grumpily, holstering his gun.
“I always hit what I aim at,” Mac said, slightly offended. Then he smiled. “You should turn and watch.”
“Watch what?” Lease said, turning to look at the lake. “Where’s the light coming from, anyway?”
“The Sea Room,” Mac said with pleasure. “It lights when something big is about to happen.” He pointed. “Look.”
That globe I saw out in the sea, when I saw the ghost ship. Lease stared, breathing out. His breath crystallized in the air, becoming ice. “Holy Shit,” he whispered.
Ice was forming from the far shore of the lake, the waves freezing in mid curl. Whomever was in the boat tried to avoid the rapidly forming ice, swerving to the narrow part of the lake, heading for Lease’s truck and boat trailer. But the ice encroached, trapping the boat in a small opening of water. A figure stood in the boat, as the ice grasped the boat with a vice grip. The boat stopped suddenly as if it had hit a wall, the figure falling forward to catch itself. Then the figure got out onto the ice, and began to run.
“That has to be Chung Lai,” Mac said with respect. “She’s got balls, that one.”
There was a howl from the island. Lease looked down the shore with horror, seeing a wolf pack there ten strong, all looking out onto the iced over lake.
“Are they going to go after her?” Lease asked.
Mac didn’t answer, he pointed. “Would you look at that?”
Snow was coming, the sudden blizzard obscuring the shore, and the vehicles in the lighted night. Out of the snow was coming a monster of white fur and red eyes, its fanged mouth emitting a roar of primal hunger.
Chung Lai stopped, staring. Then she held up her hand, making a fist.
“She must have a knife or something,” Mac said, in amusement. “But she’s got no chance against that thing.”
Lease shifted uneasy.
The beast attacked, swiping and connecting, blood flying in an arc from the woman. She screamed, and staggered.
There was a gunshot from the lake. The white beast faltered, then howled in pain. An answering howl broke from the wolf pack, as they turned and ran toward where the shot had come from.
“Those missing girls?” Lease said to Mac, making it a question.
Mac nodded, hefting his rifle. “And the man that shot at me. Come on. Let’s go say hi.”
Mac headed off in the direction the wolves had gone, Lease reluctantly following him.
Helter set the last charge in the main house, then set the timer, clocking it for two hours. He turned it on, then destroyed the controls, looping the gold cross chain around the wire, with the cross itself over the timer. He’d left the rings at the other charges he had placed in the basement, then left a few blessed bullets at the other charges on the two floors above. They would either go off or they wouldn’t. It was all they had left to try.
Helter took stock of his weapons. Those few moments in Mac’s room had given him a bounty. A compound bow with a quiver of razor head arrows, three boxes of rifle bullets, two boxes of .44 bullets, two serrated knives, and the bounty, a new .44 that looked fresh out of the box.
He’d taken them all in the bag with the bow. Helter couldn’t use that, but at least, Mac wouldn’t be able to shoot anyone, beyond the bullets he had right now for his rifle.
Helter headed for the stairs, setting his foot on the bottom one as he looked up into bemused red eyes. A man in a cloak waited for him at the top.
“Come up,” he said in a low tone. “You and I have much to discuss, Harold Skelt, a.k.a. Helter Skelter.”
Helter drew Caroline’s gun, bringing it up. Before he could, a bright light exploded in his vision, and he lost consciousness.
“Why did you shoot that thing?” Barb screamed at Caroline, dropping her digital camera.
“Because I couldn’t stand here and just watch as someone got killed,” Caroline shouted back. She lit the last bundle of incense herbs, and tossed her last powdered incense on the fire. With her gun in her hand, she ran out onto the ice towards a woman hobbling toward her, leaving a trail of blood. The white monster bear was still out on the ice where it had fallen, howling and thrashing, its blood staining the ice bright red.
Caroline reached the struggling woman. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” the woman panted, her face contorted in pain. “Chung Lai.”
“Caroline,” Caroline said, handing her the incense. “Put your arm around me.”
Chung Lai smiled, then grabbed onto her. Together they hobbled toward the shore.
Barb stashed her camera, then went to help them. Carefully they settled near the fire.
“Why are you here?” Barb asked, as Caroline cleaned up Chung Lai’s wound.
“Mac brought me here,” Chung Lai answered with loathing. “He hates women. He disposes of used up girls at the brothel.” She spat on the ground. “He brought me and Delilah here in his helicopter.” She snorted. “I’m too much trouble. All for trying to get out of that life.”
“What did you do?” Barb asked.
“I turned in a cop,” Chung Lai said bitterly. “He helped the brothel stay in business, alerted my boss to raids, and took a payoff.” She spat again. “His name is Hawk Lease.”
A howl sounded. Cooper growled. The three women turned, horrified.
The wolves were back, twice as many as before. They circled the fire, staying well out of gunshot range.
“What’s keeping them back?” Chung Lai asked, her wide eyes afraid.
Caroline eyed the burning bundle of herbs. There was maybe fifteen minutes left, tops.
“Why aren’t the wolves attacking?” Lease asked, looking down with Mac from the hill far above.
“Don’t know,” Mac said, shouldering his rifle. He took aim at one girl, then another, then the last, pretending to shoot them. “I can get them all from here, but it doesn’t feel right.”
Lease shifted his feet. He’d known Mac was a sadist, and he’d figured him for a killer. But it was one thing to kill women who wouldn’t be missed, and another to kill women that would be, especially two that police knew were here on the island. Lease had to extricate himself from this somehow. But before
he did, he had to cover his tracks.
“Kill Chung Lai, at least,” Lease urged. “She’s already injured, probably bleeding out. Let’s get the girls moving. They’re dug in where they are. That’s probably why the wolves aren’t attacking.”
Mac looked at him, considering.
There was a crack of ice suddenly breaking.
Both men looked out to see the ice breaking up, rapidly disintegrating. The white bear’s body slid off the ice, sinking into the depths. The trapped boat broke free, bobbing in the waves as it floated back to shore.
The women stood, clearly watching the boat as it floated toward them. Closer and closer it came.
“Aren’t there rocks there in the shallows?” Lease said to Mac.
“Not tonight,” Mac answered, raising the gun to his shoulder and taking aim.
Caroline paused, watching Barb’s boat float in. The temperature was warming. Dare she risk getting wet to grab the boat? Was it even worth it, after she’d just seen what had happened to Chung Lai?
Chung Lai pushed past her, wading into the water and grabbing the bow. “Hurry,” she said, beckoning to Barb and Caroline. “We have to—”
A shot rang out, knocking Chung Lai backward into the water, a spray of blood falling like rain behind her. Barb let out a scream. Caroline whirled and fired wildly. There was a second rifle crack. Another shot whistled down, hitting Barb in the shoulder. Caroline fired back again, then grabbed Barb, pulling her down behind the wall.
Chung Lai thrashed in the water, clinging to the boat, her right shoulder bloody. Another bullet tore into the boat’s side and out the other, the exit hole much bigger. The boat listed, and began to sink.
“Bastard!” Caroline yelled.
Barb hugged Cooper, then undid his collar, sliding her cameras onto it and refastening it. Then she took the cross from around her neck, fastening it around Cooper’s neck. She hugged him again. “Home,” she said urgently, drawing back. “Time to go home.”
Cooper looked at her uncertainly, then out at the lake.
“Home!” Barb commanded. “Now, Cooper!”
Cooper turned and launched himself into the water, paddling frantically. He quickly cleared the boat wreckage and the struggling Chung Lai, heading for the far shore, toward the parked vehicles.
“What are you doing?” Caroline said.
“It’s his signal for going to the car, at the dog park,” Barb said, blinking back tears.
“He’ll be killed,” Caroline said.
“Not if we distract the shooter,” Barb said with a lopsided smile. She stood and ran for the long staircase on the hill, clutching her shoulder.
The incense bundle went dead, the last wisp of smoke trailing up and disappearing. The wolves let up a howl, then several launched themselves into the water, swimming after Cooper. Two more went for the struggling Chung Lai, turning the churning water red and frothy in seconds. The rest of the pack came for Caroline.
She picked off the first wolf, her chest shot lifting the beast up and back. The others crept closer, feinting, and snarling. Caroline looked at Cooper, a good two hundred yards out, more than halfway. But the wolves were gaining on him, several already less than ten yards away.
She pointed and aimed. God, make this one count. She fired, the slug hitting the lead animal square, blowing his head apart. Cooper started, briefly went under, then resurfaced, and kept swimming. The other animals paused.
A wolf slammed into Caroline from the side, knocking her down and going for her throat.
God where was she? Why did her shoulder feel on fire? Why was she in cold water?
Delilah sat up in the half-submerged boat, blinking. She felt her shoulder, her hand coming away covered in blood. She struggled to stand, then screamed as Chung Lai’s ruined face grinned at her from beneath the water. A wolf raised its gory muzzle from shredded muscle and flesh, baring its teeth at her in a bloody smile.
Caroline grunted and fought, pushing at the attacking wolf’s head with her left hand. It tried to shake her, tearing her clothes and getting a mouthful of material. She grabbed the gun from her immobile right hand and fired into the wolf’s body. It let up a howl and fell over, convulsing.
A scream sounded. Caroline looked up, fresh horror etching her face. There had been another girl in the boat. Chung Lai had called her Delilah. She’d still been alive.
Delilah was in the sinking boat, struggling to get out, her shoulder a mass of blood. The wolf pack left Caroline, moving to attack the bloodied woman with the two wolves who’d killed Chung Lai. The first wolf knocked Delilah back into the boat, the others converging on her. As her screams cut off, the unnatural light that had lasted so long faded swiftly back to night, covering everything again in darkness.
Mac clapped, then let out an appreciative whistle as night fell once again.
There was a loud rumbling growl that seemed to come from everywhere around them, a warning inherent in the dangerous tones. The sound faded slowly, lingering.
Lease shut his gaping mouth, closing his eyes. At least Chung Lai was dead now. No one would be telling anyone about his role in the brothel business.
Mac snapped on his flashlight, then handed it to Lease. “I winged that one that ran off. We need to go after her and her friend.”
“What about the guy?” Lease asked.
Mac shrugged. “He wasn’t at the fire. My guess is that he’s already dead. Otherwise he’d have come running with all the screaming the girls were doing.” He smiled. “Are you ready to have some fun?”
Lease nodded, relieved. “Lead on.”
Caroline ran after Barb, both of them making it to the stairs, where they crouched low to the ground.
“That guy is between us and the boat,” Barb said. “Any ideas?”
“Cooper made it,” Caroline whispered. “He was near the far shore.”
“You don’t have to lie,” Barb said, closing her eyes. “I saw the wolves after him, how fast they were.”
“They turned back,” Caroline uttered, swallowing hard. “That second woman in the boat was unconscious, not dead. They turned back to kill her. And I shot the wolf closest to Cooper.”
Both women were silent.
“There wasn’t any way we could have known,” Caroline said regretfully. “And nothing more we could have done for Delilah if we had.”
“I know,” Barb said guiltily. She sighed. “At least the world will know about that dirty cop.”
“What?” Caroline asked.
“I hit record when Chung Lai was telling her tale,” Barb said. “I got video of it. It’s short, but it’s enough for someone to ask questions. There are pictures of the water turning to ice on the other camera, too. Both are waterproof.” She forced a smile. “Maybe I’ll be famous posthumously.”
Hope swelled in Caroline’s heart, making her scramble to her feet. “Hurry,” she said, extending her hand. “If that guy is coming after us, we need to beat them to the other boat. We’ll have to go the long way around the island, though.”
Barb took Caroline’s hand. “He’s coming. He purposely winged me, instead of shooting me dead. We’re being hunted.”
Caroline nodded, pushing away her fear and reloading her gun with shaking hands. Then she also loaded Helter’s with the last of his bullets, and handed it to Barb. “That guy who shot at us is no ghost, so these should work against him.”
“You keep it,” Barb said. “I never learned to shoot.”
“Point and pull the trigger,” Caroline insisted, making Barb take the gun. “Wait till he gets close.”
Barb nodded. “Okay.”
Carefully, both women made their way up the stairs, crouching low.
“Where are we going?” Lease asked, following Mac up another flight of stairs. “My legs are beginning to hurt.”
“Those women are going to try to double back and head for the boat,” Mac said with confidence, as he opened another door, leading into a large room with a carved fireplace. “Don’t
worry, we’re at the top.” He turned to Lease. “I need you to head down in that grass, and wait for them. I’ll wait at the back of the island and herd them to you.”
“What do you want me to do when I see them?” Lease asked.
“Try to get them into the house,” Mac said, for the first time sounding unsettled. He began making a fire in the fireplace. “I think they do better in the house than running around the island. Once we get them in, we’ll lock the doors and keep them there. We’ll leave tomorrow morning, bright and early.”
Lease kept quiet. That Sea Room—or whatever he called it—going bright, that wasn’t supposed to happen, not for so long. It was because those two women almost got away. Whatever ghosts live here, Mac thinks he might have pissed them off. We both heard that growl.
“Maybe you should scuttle the boat, in fact,” Mac continued, striking a match. “You can fly out with me, when we’re done.”
Lease stopped. No way was he scuttling the boat. He was getting out right now, in fact, before this got any weirder. “Okay. I’ll go do that now—”
Mac turned to him, shaking his head. “No.”
Lease readied his gun. “But you just told me to—”
“I thought you were a man like me,” Mac said sadly. “But you’re not. You’re one of them.” He looked up at Lease. “Sorry.”
Lease drew his gun and fired at Mac.
The fireplace shifted, a clawed wooden talon with metal inlay stretching out to catch the bullet. It curled around the slug slowly with a creak.
“See?” Mac said, his dark eyes gleaming.
Lease turned and ran out of the house, Mac’s laughter echoing after him.
Mac turned to the fire, watching the dry wood catch. He felt rather than saw the cloaked figure materialize beside him.
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