Force of Fire

by Ali Vali

  Charlie strode out and purposely stepped on a branch to make enough noise to get the man’s attention, and the guy immediately raised his weapon and aimed. Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, he dropped to the ground with an arrow through his throat. It wasn’t a killing blow, but she wanted to prevent him from calling out.

  The man was gurgling when they reached him, and he looked up at them in almost disbelief as he pawed his side for the service revolver in the leather holster. She twisted the arrow enough that he stopped moving and breathing.

  “Thanks,” Charlie said, pulling the guy under a thick mass of vines. “I didn’t want to get shot this morning.”

  “Let’s see how many more there are before we head down to the site.”

  It took them an hour, but she was confident they’d cleared the ridge of everyone working for Alejandro. Charlie had returned for the others, so she crouched and studied the area below them, staring at the pyramids with the dragon heads at the base of all the steps. Knowing they were trapped in time and stone made her sad in a way, wanting to give the dragons what they probably craved. Every living thing deserved to be free, but in this case, giving in to that desire would only cause their destruction.

  “It looks exactly like in my vision,” Piper said, pressing up behind her. “What happened?” Piper asked as they both watched the workers standing over four lifeless bodies. They were too far away to see any type of wound, but the men appeared very dead.

  “I’m not sure, but we need to clear the site so we can look around. Maybe having Lenore and Rawney here will help Oscar come up with something.”

  “I’m sure Lenore and Rawney will do that before he can think of anything,” Morgaine said when she joined them.

  “Sometimes it takes an outsider to jar something loose,” she said as Rawney and Aishe walked up.

  “Wait a minute,” Aishe said through clenched teeth. “That’s Franco Rodriguez.” She pointed to a man standing off by himself with his arms crossed over his chest. The flat stone in front of him was being covered with wood, and he seemed to be crying since he savagely swiped at his eyes every few minutes.

  “The watcher?” Piper asked.

  “That’s him, and I’m going to kill him for what they did to me,” Aishe said, her voice rising to a point someone would probably hear them.

  “Wait on that,” she said, glancing at Morgaine in case Aishe lost control of her temper. Kendal notched another arrow and stood. “Land some right at the workers’ feet, but don’t hit any of them,” she said to Morgaine and Charlie. “Then follow up with a few to the men already dead. I need these guys to scatter.”

  “So Franco gets away with what he did?” Aishe said angrily, and Rawney put her hand on her arm.

  “I need some information first, and after I get it, you’re free to do whatever you think you need to.”

  Kendal glanced at her to keep her quiet, and thankfully Aishe complied. When she saw that Morgaine and Charlie were ready, she released, and almost instantaneously Franco howled in pain when the arrow sliced through his shoulder. She released another one into the men lying dead on the ground and continued until the scene below them had dissolved into chaos.

  Charlie and Morgaine kept up their attack until the men started running and screaming to the vans parked at the very end of the avenue of pyramids. She held everyone off until the area grew quiet again, wanting to see if anyone aside from Franco was still around.

  “Try to collect all the arrows as we walk around,” Morgaine said, and she agreed they didn’t need to leave any sign of their presence.

  Oscar didn’t seem too fazed by what had happened as he tried to keep his footing when they started their descent. He seemed to be focused on the hole the men had been gathered around and not the tall structures.

  “They’ve opened another four chambers since I was here,” Oscar said, walking next to her. “I wonder how many men they lost uncovering empty rooms?”

  “What he’s looking for isn’t in the ground,” Piper said, and Oscar seemed to want to shake Piper for more answers.

  “How would you know that?” Oscar demanded.

  “Not yet, Oscar. You’re here to show us what you’ve found so far and explore what was done in your absence,” she said and kept going, holding Piper’s hand.

  “I’ll take Morgaine and Rawney,” Piper said as they reached the bottom.

  “Take Charlie with you, and shout if you need anything,” she said, kissing Piper on the lips. “Don’t let them talk you into going in any holes until I’m with you.”

  “Don’t worry so much, baby, and I’m not losing sight of you.”

  Morgaine and Aishe followed her to where Franco was kneeling and groaning in pain. He stared up at them as if shocked to see anyone not familiar to him, but he shook his head as if showing he didn’t intend to cooperate. She was done with patience for the moment, so she grabbed him by the jaw and forced his head up.

  “Before you convince yourself that if you hang tough I’m going to leave you to your misery,” she said to him in Spanish, making his eyes widen, “that’s not what’s going to happen here.” She grabbed the arrow that had pierced all the way through and pulled enough to make the double pointed tip go back into his shoulder. The obvious intense pain made him cry out and pale.

  “I don’t know anything. I’m only here because my son died here, and I came for his ashes.” He placed his hand on her thigh and tried to push her away, so she twisted the arrow again.

  “My name is Kendal Richoux, and I’m an elder with the Genesis Clan. Your family was hired to do a job, and leading a dig and having your family work for the man who financed it wasn’t part of that job.”

  “You’re not the person I’ve dealt with, so how do I know you’re telling the truth?” His speech was low and staggered, but she knew it was from the pain more than fear.

  “Because you know the contract you signed and what the consequences of breaching that contract mean to your family. Your son is already dead, but it’s my right to take the rest of your family. Once I’m done with you and your loyalty to Alejandro Garza, I’m going to kill your wife, daughter, and mother. You’ll be erased from our history, along with everyone who came before you, and I’ll put one of your gardeners in your place.” She squeezed his jaw until he dropped his eyes. “They’ll appreciate what you obviously don’t.”

  “What do you want to know?” The question came sooner than she thought, but Morgaine nodded at her threat. The clause actually was in the contract but was seldom applied any more.

  “What exactly is Garza looking for?” Morgaine asked.

  “His family has information that for a long time was thought to be a legend of some great treasure buried here. It wasn’t until his grandfather took it seriously that they started searching in earnest.”

  “How did he contact you?” she asked, knowing that whoever had given Garza her information also had knowledge of the watchers. It was the only way they found the site at all, since she was convinced someone like Rawney had placed a spell to keep it hidden.

  “He came to the house one day and offered me more than the elders had given me, but it wasn’t about the money. The Order of Fuego’s mission is just. I believed in it enough to send my son to find what’s been lost for too long.” It was as if Franco had forgotten about the pain and the injury when he started talking about his betrayal. Fanaticism always interested her. True believers got so wrapped up in something they were willing to lose everything, including those they loved.

  “How did he get his information about the Genesis Clan and some of our members?” Aishe asked him.

  “I didn’t tell him anything about that. You were there that night, you heard,” he said, gazing at her like he couldn’t believe he was actually talking to her. “They shot you in the head…how—” He didn’t seem to know how to finish the question.

  “He knows and someone told him,” Aishe said, taking over and twisting the arrow before jabbing it through agai
n.

  “It wasn’t me or anyone in my family, I swear.”

  “Did they find anything?” Morgaine asked.

  “Pauline found a large ruby, but the rest of the rooms were empty. Twelve more men died, but I told Alejandro that I’d take charge when she went to give it to him.”

  “What’s he keeping near his home?” Kendal asked, still curious as to the strange snake-appearing weres they’d seen.

  “I’ve never been to his home. He always comes to me.”

  She nodded, as did Morgaine, so she glanced at Aishe. The anger was still there and she understood it, so she placed her hand on her shoulder and smiled. Whatever Franco’s fate was, it was in Aishe’s hands.

  Oscar was coming out of one of the newly uncovered chambers and shook his head when he saw her. “It’s like the others—empty.”

  “According to Franco they found a substantial gem, and Pauline is on her way to give it to Garza.” She walked to the dead men and didn’t see any sign of how they’d died. “Did you ever figure out how the men with you were killed?”

  “No, and I fought to return them to their families, but Garza refused. They were burned like before on the altars and their ashes scattered over the ridge.”

  “Aishe, wait,” she said as she noticed the large knife in her hand. “Bring him.”

  The last chamber was only partially open, but the opening inside was visible. “If you believe so much, then go meet your fire god,” Aishe said as Franco struggled not to go through the hole. As soon as he fell in, he started screaming, and instantly all of them drew their swords when quite a few large pythons slithered from below the stone.

  She wasn’t afraid of snakes, but she’d never seen any this aggressive, and she had to decapitate one to get the others to move toward the pyramids. They didn’t seem to have any problem reaching the tops and coiling themselves as if they were sentries guarding their posts.

  Franco’s screams had stopped, so she glanced down, and his blank expression and unblinking eyes immediately showed he was dead. She stuck her head through the opening and searched the closest walls for any type of trigger that would kill so painfully and fast, but saw none.

  “I think this is more involved than we thought,” Morgaine said.

  “Not as involved as quantum physics, so let’s start looking for whatever the answer is.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Piper walked the length of the avenue of pyramids and started up the stairs, Rawney and Morgaine behind her. It was so different in the light and quiet of day so many centuries after that fire ceremony, but she was compelled to see the spot where the dragons had landed before their surrender.

  “Your mother and aunt died here,” she said, standing to the right. Lumas and Rowen, she sensed, shared a bond that men who didn’t realize the power they were messing with had tragically broken on this spot. “And here is where Drakon and his mate sleep.”

  “What was the rest of your vision?” Rawney asked, placing her hands on the stone at Piper’s feet.

  “The old man she’d trained came back like she’d asked and burned them together there,” she said, pointing to the altar where the men had been piling wood. “He waited until they were both ash before he took them to where she wanted to be buried.”

  “Where?” Morgaine asked.

  Piper led them back down and touched both dragonheads before glancing toward Kendal. She didn’t detect any danger, but she wasn’t the one with a bow and sword strapped to her body, and she didn’t want to go without Kendal. Both Kendal and Morgaine left Oscar to his search of every chamber now uncovered under Charlie’s supervision and joined them. Kendal took her hand and let her lead them into the trees. After taking the trail twice in her mind, Piper didn’t need to look around to know she was headed in the right direction. The spot was about a mile from the largest pyramid, which anchored all the others, and didn’t have any kind of marker or sign that something was there.

  “Where exactly?” Kendal asked, taking the small shovel Rawney had brought with her.

  She touched the ground and closed her eyes, fighting momentary shock that the book was still intact. It seemed to almost call out to her. “Here, about three feet down.”

  They stood back and watched Kendal dig through the soft wet dirt until she was sweating, but eventually she hit something solid and dug around it until she uncovered all four corners. The stone box seemed like a solid square with no lid or door, so Kendal stood back and let her and Rawney study it.

  “If it’s a carved square, how did they put anything inside?” Rawney asked, her tears starting to fall. No matter the span of time, it was obvious she still missed and loved her mother.

  “I’m sure it’s not solid, since I saw the old man put their ashes and your family book in here. It must need a key.”

  “You didn’t notice anything in the old man’s hand?” Kendal asked, still cleaning the dirt away from the stone. She ran her hand along every edge as if searching for a seam or hinge.

  “All I saw was him coming to this spot and placing the urns and book in here. I doubted the book would’ve lasted this long, but I know it’s still in there.” She moved closer and placed her hands on the top with her eyes closed. The present melted away, and she opened her eyes to Lumas, sitting on the object that would be her tomb.

  “The only key you need is standing next to you,” Lumas said, which confused her.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, not noticing anything or anywhere a key would go.

  “The slayer that came after me is blessed by the gods, and together you will keep the light of truth lit and the darkness at bay. I have every faith in that, but you must start to trust in what you are to her, and that is the other half of her heart and soul. The other slayer must also prove to her mate that they too will be important in the coming fight and that they belong together as much as you and Asra do. You were all chosen for a reason.” Lumas stood and placed her hand on the back right corner. “Remember, it must be done together.”

  Piper opened her eyes and saw Kendal with her head cocked as if in question. “The right back corner. It’s where the key goes.”

  “And the key is?” Kendal asked, moving her hand to where she’d said.

  “I’m sure we’ll figure it out, but we have to do it together.” She ran her hand where Lumas had shown her and discovered that they’d missed the spot, since it was packed with dirt. “Right here.”

  Kendal crouched down and rubbed her finger over the slot. “What did you just see?” She told Kendal, and as she spoke she stared at the sword strapped to Kendal’s back. Kendal didn’t move when she reached for it and slid the weapon free.

  “Take my hand,” she said, and Kendal placed her hand over hers on the hilt. They placed the tip in the slot, and she instinctively knew it would fit. “Lenore,” she said, and Lenore freed Morgaine’s blade. “The other slot has to be opposite this one.”

  “On three,” Kendal said and counted. Both swords went in to the hilt. It took a few seconds before they heard a distinctive click, and then the front fell open, making Morgaine and Lenore hop back.

  Inside they saw two urns hammered out of what seemed like copper and something large wrapped in leaves. Rawney dropped to her knees and reached inside for the urn that had her mother’s favorite flower stamped on the front. The other had a wolf, which her aunt always considered her spirit animal. When she placed her hands on it she started crying for the loss of a woman who still had so much to teach her.

  “Take the urns and place them in the box we brought to keep them safe,” Piper said, and Aishe did as she asked. “Rawney, take your book. It belongs to you now.”

  They started back to the site, and Kendal clasped her hand again. “Do you think the book will hold the key to what we need to know?” Kendal asked.

  “I’m not sure what we need to know or even what questions to ask. Our best bet is to try to find what Alejandro Garza wants, and what the ruby that woman discovered means to all this.�
�� Piper squeezed Kendal’s hand and glanced around her as they walked. The tomb was the only thing out here, and she knew they had to go back to where the dragons lay sleeping. “Can we go into one of the chambers they uncovered?” she asked Kendal and smiled when her lover nodded. “It has to be one that none of the workers have entered.”

  “Only if you let me go first,” Kendal said, stopping and putting her arms around her. “If anything’s in there that’s going to hurt, I’d rather get the brunt of it.”

  “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

  Oscar was coming up from one of the chambers about a fourth of the way down from the largest pyramid. He shook his head and headed toward her when he noticed Rawney carrying the book and Aishe holding the case with the urns. “Did you find something?” he asked, his hand out as if wanting to take the book from Rawney.

  “We did, but we’ll talk about that later. Did you see anything different down there?” Piper asked as Kendal took a step forward, stopping Oscar instantly, so she placed her hand on Kendal’s back and gently rubbed it.

  “It’s the same as the others,” he said, combing his hair back. “They’re all empty and devoid of any markings. I’m surprised Pauline found anything at all, but it was in the fifth one.”

  “How do you know that?” Kendal said, taking another step forward.

  “I discovered a small platform where the ruby must’ve fit perfectly into the indentation carved in the stone. I swear to you on the souls of my parents, I’m not hiding or keeping anything from you. I just want to know why this is here and for Alejandro to pay with his life for what he’s done to my family.” He pointed behind him and shrugged. “If you want, I’ll show you what I mean.”

  “I need you to show us the best way to remove one of the capstones so I can look inside,” she said, and he shook his head in an overexaggerated way.

  “No. Please don’t even think that. I’ve studied each one after we lost some men, and I can’t figure out where the trap is and why in the hell it’s been set. The rooms are empty except for the one with the stone, so there’s no reason for anyone to die over nothing.” He seemed to mean what he was saying since he moved closer to her, ignoring the big protective bear standing next to her.