by R. D. Brady
CHAPTER 37
They headed to Aaliyah’s home first. Aaliyah wasn’t there, but Noriko was. She had a confused look on her face until she spied Kai.
“Kai!” She dashed past Laney and Jen and lunged at him.
Kai twirled her around with a laugh. “It’s only been a week.”
“It feels much longer,” Noriko said. She regained her feet and grinned up at him.
“Noriko, I’d like you to meet Delaney McPhearson and—”
Noriko’s eyes went wide at the mention of Laney’s name. “The ring bearer! It’s an honor.”
Laney was afraid she might try to curtsy. She quickly took Noriko’s hands. “Thank you for helping Lou and Cleo,” she said.
Jen stood quietly next to her watching Noriko, her little sister. They did look a great deal alike, although Jen was much taller and had darker eyes. But personality wise, they appeared to be complete opposites. It seemed as if every emotion Noriko had crossed her face—unlike Jen, who was a closed book even to those closest to her.
Laney placed a hand on Jen’s arm. “And this is my good friend Jen Witt.”
Noriko turned her light eyes to Jen and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Oh—Lou. She said your name on the island. She thought I was you for a minute.”
Jen nodded. “Yes, and thank you. You did a great thing helping them.”
Noriko blushed. “I was only part of the group. Oasu was there too.”
Laney nodded her thanks to him.
“Noriko, where is Aaliyah?” Kai asked.
Noriko’s mood dimmed. “I—I don’t know. I asked Vanessa, and she assured me she was fine. But I haven’t seen her in days. And so much has been happening.”
Kai frowned. “What’s been happening?”
Noriko looked warily at Laney and Jen.
“It’s okay to speak in front of them,” Kai said.
“Aaliyah’s not the only one who’s gone. Other people have disappeared.”
“What? Who?”
“Families. I’ve asked, but no one knows where they’ve gone, just that it’s part of the priestess’s plan. I’m supposed to leave, too. This afternoon.”
Laney felt shock course through her. The priestess had started to move them. Had Aaliyah been moved too? Or was she trapped somewhere here?
She turned to Oasu. “Do you know where Aaliyah is?”
Oasu shook his head. “I didn’t even know she was missing. I’ve been on duty on the far side of the island. I just got back a short while ago.”
“Could she be held in the temple? Can you get us in?” Jen asked.
“I can. But shouldn’t we ask Vanessa first?”
Laney studied the young man. He was a member of the Guard, and she knew he was worried about going against the priestess. “Oasu, I have the permission of the United States government to find Aaliyah. The sooner I can do that, the better things will be for Honu Keiki. Now—is there anywhere on the island Aaliyah could be kept where she wouldn’t be seen?”
“There are cells under the temple,” Oasu said quickly.
“Cells?” Kai said.
Oasu nodded. “The priestess had them created a few years back. We were sworn to secrecy. But Aaliyah can’t be there. Only the priestess could send someone there, and the priestess would never do that. Not to Aaliyah.”
“I think we need to see the cells,” Laney said.
“I’ll take you,” Oasu said.
Laney knew the man was about to have his illusions of the priestess shattered. In fact, all the members of Honu Keiki were. But it needed to happen.
Laney saw Noriko wrap her arm around Kai’s. Her happiness at his reappearance was plain to see, although at the same time she had dark circles under her eyes, no doubt from worrying about Aaliyah.
I just hope we’re not too late.
CHAPTER 38
The priestess paced her living room. She’d seen the helicopter and had heard the stir that it had caused. She’d dispatched her guards to see what was going on, but they hadn’t returned yet. It was possible that it had just been a tourist chopper—they occasionally flew over the island, and once or twice one tried to land—but she didn’t think that was the case here.
The doors to the room flew open and the priestess whirled around. Vanessa strode in, a few hairs out of place and sweat covering her. She must have run the whole way here.
“What is it?” the priestess asked.
“The ring bearer is here. With an associate.”
The priestess was stunned. She had never imagined the ring bearer would dare show up here. After all, Aaliyah had spoken with, assured her she was fine. “What does she want?”
“Aaliyah.” Vanessa spat the name.
The priestess turned away, her mind running through the possibilities, a thin bead of sweat rolling down her back. Taking Aaliyah… she’d miscalculated. But at least Vanessa had warned her of the ring bearer’s arrival. If she hadn’t…
The priestess shuddered at the thought.
The ring bearer would find Aaliyah. There was no changing that. But it wouldn’t matter. Not in the grand scheme of things. In fact, the sooner they found Aaliyah, the better. Because the sooner they found her, the sooner the ring bearer would leave.
And the sooner the priestess could get back to work.
Because I am so very close.
“Let them find her.”
Vanessa frowned. “Priestess?”
“Have the chopper ready.”
Vanessa’s mouth fell open. The priestess had bought the chopper last year, but had never had cause to use it. Only a select few on the island even knew it existed. It was only to be used in emergencies.
“Surely the ring bearer doesn’t count as an emergency.”
“Have it readied!” the priestess yelled, her fear clawing up her throat. “And make sure the ring bearer gets nowhere near me.”
CHAPTER 39
Laney and Jen made their way to the temple, accompanied by Kai, Noriko, and Oasu. Along the way, Kai, Noriko, and Oasu asked everyone they passed if they had seen Aaliyah. No one had. But they all gave Laney and Jen incredulous looks—especially Laney. With her pale skin and red hair, she really stood out.
And if they knew who I really was, I bet they’d stare even more.
The one good thing about Honu Keiki, Laney thought, was that the people didn’t have TVs. According to Kai, there was one in the temple, but the viewing of it was highly regulated. Which meant no one had seen the Mike Wallace show.
The temple dominated this part of the island. It towered over one hundred feet above them, and it really did look like it had been created thousands of years ago.
“It’s magnificent,” Jen said.
“It was created by our ancestors when they first arrived,” Kai said. “The blocks are basalt and fit without the benefit of mortar.”
Jen nodded to some writing along the edges of one of the doorways they passed. “What does that say?”
“It’s hard to translate, but roughly it means the children will always have a home. And that home will never be abused,” Kai said.
Not sure the priestess has read that, Laney thought.
Two members of the Guard stood at the main entrance, but they stepped back and opened the doors as soon as the group reached the top step. Laney raised an eyebrow but said nothing as they walked through.
“Which way to the cells?” Jen asked.
“This way.” Oasu headed down the hall, ducking through a doorway that led to stairs leading down. The others followed.
Laney frowned as they crept lower. It was like a dungeon in an old castle. “Why do you have cells?” she asked. “Did your ancestors create these as well?”
Oasu shook his head. “This area was used for the storage of food. The colder temperatures acted as a type of refrigerator. They were only converted to cells a few years ago.”
A guard was posted at the bottom of the stairs. He frowned as he looked over the group. “Guard Oasu, what
is the meaning of this?”
Oasu stepped forward. “We are looking for Aaliyah. These people are from the mainland and have legal authority to conduct a search.”
“Why are you looking here?” The guard’s confusion was obvious.
“We believe she is one of these cells.”
The guard shook his head. “There’s no one down here.”
“Then why are you here?” Jen asked.
The guard hesitated. “I was sent here this morning. I go where I’m ordered.”
Laney stepped past him and began opening doors. Jen did the same. The first six cells were empty, and Laney began to lose hope. But when they got to the seventh door, they found it was locked.
She looked back at the guard. “Do you have a key for this?”
“No.”
“Oasu?” Jen asked.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Maybe we can break it down?”
Laney leaned toward the wooden door. “Whoever is behind the door needs to get to the far wall. We’re going to open it.” Then she moved aside. “Jen?”
Jen stepped forward.
Oasu and the guard walked up behind them. “Um, no offense,” the guard said, “but I don’t think she’ll be able to open it without us.”
A small grin appeared on Jen’s face, and then she kicked the door open. It crashed into the opposite wall with a resounding boom.
Oasu stared at her. “How did you—”
“She does a lot of kickboxing,” Laney explained as she stepped into the room.
A small figure lay curled up in the corner, and the room smelled of urine. With a cry, Kai pushed past Laney and leaned down, stroking his hand along Aaliyah’s face.
Aaliyah’s eyelids flickered, and she laid a hand on Kai’s cheek. “I must be dead,” she said, “because you are here.”
CHAPTER 40
Kai carried Aaliyah from the cell and up the stairs. He cradled her gently, but Laney could read the anger on his face. Oasu’s face was just as readable, but his expression was one of shock and disbelief. He kept glancing at Aaliyah as if to assure himself that they had really found her huddled in a cell in the basement of the pyramid. The other guard had looked just as surprised as Oasu; clearly neither of them had had any idea Aaliyah was down here.
Noriko walked beside Kai, keeping one trembling hand on Aaliyah, as if she didn’t want to break the connection. Laney felt only disgust at the priestess as she followed them out of the temple.
At the bottom of the steps, Kai turned to her. “I’m going to take her home.”
Laney nodded, although she was pretty sure Aaliyah was going to need a hospital. “We’ll be there shortly.”
As Aaliyah, Kai, and Noriko walked toward Aaliyah’s home. Oasu clearly wanted to go with them, but he stayed with Jen and Laney. Even now he follows his orders, Laney thought.
Jen looked at Laney. “We need to find the priestess.”
“Agreed.” She turned to Oasu. “Where will the priestess be?”
“Her home.” He nodded toward a large building that overlooked the whole island, then pointed at a path that went around behind the temple. “This path leads directly there. There are no other homes along the way.”
Jen tapped him on the shoulder. “You should be with your family. Go take care of Aaliyah. We’ve got this.”
“Thank you. Thank you both.” With a grateful look, he ran after the others.
Laney and Jen started down the path.
“You doing okay?” Laney asked.
“Yeah. It’s—” Jen shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s weird. I mean, I know it’s her. The minute I saw her, I knew it. But I don’t feel like it’s her. I don’t feel anything for her.”
“Well, that’s because you know who your actual mom is, and she lives back in California—” A familiar tingle rolled over Laney’s skin and her head jerked up in disbelief. She scanned the area.
Jen went on alert as well. “Laney?”
“There’s a Fallen here.”
Laney spotted movement in the trees. She sprinted forward, Jen at her side. As they broke through the tree line, they came upon a woman and two guards, apparently trying to escape.
“Stop what you’re doing!” Laney yelled.
The woman went still. When she turned her head, anger burned in dark eyes done up as if to make her resemble Cleopatra.
Oh my God.
The priestess was a Fallen.
CHAPTER 41
The priestess was unable to move forward. She had heard about this power of the ring bearer, but she hadn’t believed it. She had thought it was exaggerated, at best.
“Defend me!” the priestess yelled.
Her two guards immediately engaged the ring bearer and her friend.
The priestess recognized the friend as Vanessa’s first daughter. They’d kept track of her over the years, making sure she didn’t work against the humans. So she was pleased to see Jen stop the guard with a simple kick to the chest.
The ring bearer took a little more time. As the guard swung a staff at her head, she twirled toward him until her back was against his chest. Then, latching on to the staff, she continued the momentum of his swing. With a yell, his feet flew out from underneath him and went airborne. The ring bearer hung on to the staff and landed a hit to the back of the guard’s head as he hit the ground, knocking him out cold.
Not even breathing hard, the ring bearer turned to the priestess. “You’re a Fallen.”
The priestess shrugged. “So?”
There was a rustle in the trees, and Vanessa and another six guards appeared, along with a dozen members of Honu Keiki. No doubt they had all heard the priestess’s yell.
The priestess dropped the confidence from her face and her voice. “My people! This woman has attacked my guards and me. Help me.”
They hesitated for only a second before surging forward.
CHAPTER 42
Laney watched the onslaught of people with disgust. But her disgust was not aimed at them, but at the priestess.
“Don’t hurt them,” she called to Jen as one reached her.
“Maybe you should suggest they don’t hurt us,” Jen replied as a man grabbed for her arm. She stepped to the side, grabbed the man’s shoulders, and shoved him into another attacker.
A third man lunged at Laney. She sidestepped easily as he tried to grab her arm. She captured his wrist, turned it ninety degrees, and twisted him to the ground. The man cried out as he collapsed.
The other ordinary members of Honu Keiki backed off, but not the guards—which was fine with Laney, as she was less concerned about hurting them. She parried the first attack, stepped to the side, kicked the back of her attacker’s legs and just managed to stop herself from snapping his neck. But she did yank him backward. As he crashed to the ground, she landed a solid kick to his jaw.
Another guard ran at her. This time Laney simply stepped to the side and kicked him in the groin, followed by a round kick to the knee and an elbow to the face.
Jen had already taken out three other guards and was about to deal with the last one. That left Vanessa, who moved toward Laney with a smile, her staff twirling.
Laney jumped back as Vanessa lunged. She barely missed getting slammed in the ribs. She snatched the staff away and redirected it to Vanessa knee. It made contact with a sickening crack. Laney swung it through and then brought it back again, catching Vanessa on the back of the thigh. One more swing through, this time knocking Vanessa flying backward. She landed hard.
Laney pushed the tip of the staff into Vanessa’s neck. “Stop.”
Vanessa glared up at her. “You’re not a hero. You’re a disgrace.”
Laney shrugged. “Can’t say your opinion of me carries all that much weight.”
Laney looked up at the priestess—and her heart stopped.
The priestess was gone.
How? Laney had ordered her to stop what she was doing. Which was walking, Laney realized. She could have started running.
Damn it. I need to get more specific with my commands.
Jen came and stood beside Jen. She looked down at Vanessa—her mother.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “You engage the help of abominations,” she said, jutting her chin toward Jen. “You are not the true ring bearer.”
Jen went still. “You know what I am?”
Vanessa looked at Jen directly for the first time. Her voice was cold. “Why do you think I left?
CHAPTER 43
Laney pulled her badge off her belt and held it up to the guards who remained conscious. “Okay, guys, before you get any more ideas, we’re federal officers. You’ve already gotten yourselves into a boatload of trouble by assaulting us. Don’t compound it by doing anything else.”
The guards looked to Vanessa for guidance.
Laney glared down at her. “Don’t make them pay for the priestess’s mistakes.”
Vanessa held her gaze for a long moment. “Stand down,” she said.
Laney handed the staff to Jen. “Keep things calm here and call the mainland to tell them we need some reinforcements. I’m going after the priestess.”
Jen nodded and eyed Vanessa. “I’ve got it under control.”
Laney hesitated, trying to gauge if Jen’s answer was accurate.
Jen met her gaze. Her voice was firm. “I’m good. Go.”
Laney took off through the trees. But almost immediately she heard the sound of an engine. No. She looked up; a small chopper flew overhead. Damn it.
She considered using her powers to take it down—but she’d never tried a safe landing with an object that big, and she knew there had to be some innocents on board.
So instead she grabbed her phone and dialed.
Jake answered. “Hey. How’s Hawaii?”
“Not great. The priestess just took off on a chopper. I’m guessing she’s heading to the same place the rest of the members have disappeared to, but she’ll have to switch to a larger plane. I’m going to ask around here and see if someone can tell us where. Can you get in touch with the local airports? And can you get someone to look into their computers remotely? See what they can find?”