Oliver spoke up, "You think Mr. Marion killed our father?"
Sheriff Mullen spat, "I know he did. I just couldn't prove it until Darren had a change of heart after his stay in the hospital."
Mr. Marion's face twisted in rage. "That fool doesn't even know what day it is," the older man snarled in a voice so full of anger that it didn’t sound like his own. "If he had anything to do with Gabriel's death, then it was at your bidding."
"Darren has never worked for me," Sheriff Mullen said flatly. "He said you were the one who told them to come down into the tunnels."
Mr. Marion rubbed his face and sighed. "I never thought you’d go so far as to frame me for murder," he said, shaking his head.
Sheriff Mullen had heard enough. "We need to get this officer to a hospital. I refuse to let anyone else die for you, Arthur!"
"No one has died for me," Mr. Marion shouted, clenching his fists.
Sheriff Mullen wheeled on him, and we all took an instinctive step toward the two as if to stop a physical fight from breaking out. "Gabriel was my friend," Sheriff Mullen said with so much feeling, his voice shook.
Thorn put his hand on Sheriff Mullen's shoulder. The man backed down and took a deep breath. "We need to focus on helping Deputy Marcus," Thorn suggested reasonably. His gray eyes cut over to Mr. Marion, who shrunk away.
We all worked to get the deputy up to his feet. The man cried out in pain but managed to move forward with two of us holding him up. Oliver and I volunteered to help the deputy, leaving Mr. Marion to tag along behind us.
The ground was shivering again, and we grimaced. Even walking as quickly as we could, we only made it a few hundred feet before it began shifting under our feet so violently that we had to stop and brace ourselves. Mr. Marion fell over, and I thought I heard a cry somewhere. I looked around. "Did you guys hear that?" I shouted over the rumbling.
Sheriff Mullen nodded. "Probably the earth straining. It makes all sorts of noises when it’s under compression."
I nodded as well, unconvinced. There was another sound. Water. I forced my mind away from it. I glanced around and saw Mr. Marion looking at me.
The high-pitched sound grew louder, and I covered one of my ears with my free hand. A crack split the wall, and we all stumbled away from the opening. The rumbling subsided, and it took me a moment before I could hear anything else.
The dark crack that had opened up yawned to our left, and we edged around it as we made our way toward the back entrance. A sound like a faint wailing came from the gap. We all stilled.
Sheriff Mullen said, "We need to keep going." We started to oblige, but Mr. Marion stayed where he was. "Arthur, get your ass to the entrance."
"I can hear her," Mr. Marion informed us. "She's in there."
I knew he was talking about Caroline. "Don't listen to it. Please, Mr. Marion. We have to go. You don't want to endanger anyone else, do you?"
The man turned and stared at me. Behind his glasses, his eyes were devoid of anything I would’ve called emotion. "Yes," Mr. Marion said resolutely, and I gaped at him. "Yes, Mr. Shelton; I do want to endanger these people. I'm sorry about you and the deputy, however. That's my one regret about this."
"Damn you, Arthur," Sheriff Mullen growled.
Mr. Marion regarded the sheriff with a dismissive gaze. "Come off your high horse, Charles. Your family is the reason all of this happened. There's no one to blame but yourself!"
Thorn chimed in, "We don't have time for this."
"You have all the time in the world," Mr. Marion said as he dusted himself off. "We aren't getting out of here, no matter how quickly we run. The mountain is going to make us all pay for our sins."
Oliver shook his head. "He's lost his mind," he said with something akin to pity.
"He lost it a long time ago," Sheriff Mullen replied quietly. "He's right, though." The bushy-haired man sighed. "It is my family's fault. Caroline was a dreamer. I didn't know who she was or what she was doing here—at first. During the investigation, I discovered that my cousin had called Caroline to find the river." The man shook his head wearily.
"You hid what happened to her?" I asked in horror.
Sheriff Mullen denied it. "No. As soon as I found out what had happened, I looked for her. I made my cousin look for her, but she wouldn't answer the compulsion charm anymore. She had to be dead. We searched the caves, mines, the mountain..." His voice broke. "We never saw John or her again. When the mayor called for the case to be closed, I closed it."
"What about the sightings?" Oliver asked.
Mr. Marion suggested, "They probably made them up."
"No, we didn't. We were as flummoxed as anyone when they started up. I thought we'd missed something," Sheriff Mullen said adamantly.
Thorn said softly, "Maybe you did miss something. The Morlans can shift into other shapes."
"Gabriel and I thought about it. Hell, Gabriel even tried to get to the river himself to see if they could possibly have made it. He wouldn't let me go with him so as to keep the route secret, but we knew there had to be a way if the Morlans could get in and out." There was a growing rumble around us. "This might be a story best for telling outside," Sheriff Mullen suggested.
Mr. Marion moved with more speed than I would have thought possible. We tried to catch him, but he squeezed into the crack that had opened in the wall.
"Mr. Marion!" I shouted after him, but the man had vanished into the darkness. I stepped back and looked at the others.
Oliver said, "We need to get the deputy to the surface."
Sheriff Mullen agreed with a nod. "We'll split up. Oliver, you and Mr. Shelton take Marcus to the entrance and get my men to help. Here's my radio. It should work once you’re out of these tunnels."
I shook my head to refuse, but Thorn intervened. "We'll grab Mr. Marion and follow you guys out," he said, as if it was perfectly reasonable.
Sighing, I went to help Oliver. Soon we were making our way slowly to the entrance that Sheriff Mullen said was through the next chamber. I glanced over my shoulder just long enough to see Thorn disappear into the crack behind the sheriff.
We made slow progress with Marcus leaning on us heavily. There was little I could do but worry about Thorn. I found my thoughts circling around the urge that I should be with the irritating blond. He could handle himself, and I was sure Sheriff Mullen could as well.
Mr. Marion hadn’t seemed so unstable when I interviewed him, and I thought about how the older man had appeared so guilt-ridden. Guilt could do horrible things to the psyche; I knew that firsthand.
When we finally got to the entrance, we breathed a sigh of relief that it was intact, even if covered in snow. Oliver and I dug the entrance out enough for us all to get through.
Outside, the snow was drifting down, and the world looked blissfully unaware of what was happening underground. As soon as we exited, Oliver called the deputies on the radio. A moment later, it blared to life as they answered, and Oliver relayed our location.
It did not take long for the deputies to make their way through the trees to find us. We explained as best we could about what had happened and how the two paramedics had been buried in the first cave-in. Deputy Marcus was swiftly being lifted and carried off by other deputies to another ambulance that had been called to the scene.
I was antsy to get back into the caves. There was still no sign of the others. A couple of the deputies were going back into the cave to see if they could help, and I went with them to guide them.
Before we reentered, I glanced back to see Oliver giving a statement to a deputy. Down in the caves, one of the deputies pressed a flashlight into my hand, and I gratefully clicked it on. I had dropped my other one in the excitement.
It wasn’t difficult to find the crack. I hesitated and then slid into the narrow opening. The deputies followed me. Part of me wanted to call out, but I wondered if that would be wise with Morlans lurking. Instead, as I pushed out of the narrow opening into a section that was a bit larger, I reached o
ut mentally but could feel only the faintest glimmer of the blond.
There was no answer, but I got that familiar tug, as if my dream was leading me, and I moved forward again. The deputies followed me silently, and I sighed when we finally emerged into a chamber of sorts. We stumbled through more tunnels, but there was no trace of the others.
We were moving through a largish tunnel when one of the deputies let out a yelp. I turned just in time to see him disappear into the dark behind us. The deputy next to me grabbed his gun.
The man called after his partner, but the only answer we got was a soft crunching sound. We both backed up instinctively.
"What the hell just happened?" the man asked.
I shook my head and said, "We need to go find the others." I began moving forward again, and I could hear the deputy behind me. There was a noise behind me, and I turned around to see that no one was there. "Hello? Deputy?" I called out.
There was movement, and I gave a yell of alarm before I realized it was the deputy. "I don't know what that was, but I hit with my gun," he panted.
"Good reflexes," I complimented, and we moved on again. When we turned another corner, I put my hand over my heart as I started again. I’d nearly run into Sheriff Mullen. "I’m going to have a heart attack down here," I said firmly. "Where's Thorn?"
Sheriff Mullen looked confused, as if he hadn’t noticed me until that moment. "I'm sorry; what?"
"Where is Thorn?" I asked a bit slower. The man blinked at me. I turned toward the deputy, and he also just stared at me blankly. Call it whatever you want, but at that moment I felt a shiver.
"Okay..." I said softly. "I'm gonna go find Thorn." I slipped past Sheriff Mullen and quickly took off down the passageway that the earth had opened up. "Thorn!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, no longer concerned about keeping quiet.
Behind me, I saw the two men following me, and I knew without a doubt that those were not men at all. My breath came in quick bursts as I ran where I could. I kept shouting Thorn's name but got no answer.
Ahead of me, I saw a flicker of light on the cave wall, and I gave another yell. The light bounced with the movement of whoever was holding it. I came around the next corner, and Thorn nearly ran into me. "Victor!" he hissed.
I was so glad to see the blond that I threw my arms around him and shook with relief. "Thorn," I whispered into his coat.
"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.
Letting go of him awkwardly, I pointed behind me. "Morlans—or I think they were. They looked like one of the deputies and Sheriff Mullen."
Thorn grabbed my arm and tugged me along behind him. "Come on; I've got to get back to the real Mullen."
We made quick progress down the widened passageway. Mr. Marion was cornered, and Thorn had left Mullen with him to see what was going on when I started yelling. When we arrived back, Sheriff Mullen seemed surprised to see me. Turning his attention back to the man cowering next to the wall, he spat, "I told you the truth a long time ago, Mr. Marion. Gabriel and I both did."
"It won't bring her back, and Gabriel could have helped me, but he didn't," Mr. Marion said, as if nothing mattered.
There was a loud sigh from Sheriff Mullen. Thorn leaned his head to the side, saying to both men, "I have a question of my own." They both looked up at him expectantly. "Who brought Victor here?"
Sheriff Mullen shook his head. "I thought he was probably a dreamer, the way he just showed up and started stumbling into the right questions and people." He paused. "I had my people following you until you fell in with Thorn here. I figured he could watch you as well as I could," Sheriff Mullen said earnestly.
I replied, "Well, at least that explains the cop car I kept seeing everywhere."
"But it doesn't answer the question. Someone had to bring him," Thorn insisted.
Mr. Marion laughed deliriously, a sound of exhaustion and glee. "She brought him just like she's brought me back every year." He giggled. "Caroline’s still alive, and she's crying out."
"She isn't alive, Arthur. You have to let this guilt go. It's warped your mind."
"You dream just like her. I saw it in you when I first met you," Mr. Marion said softly. "You can find her even where Gabriel couldn't.”
Sheriff Mullen stood up. "Gabriel told you what he found."
"He found nothing. He found Caroline's shirt," Mr. Marion hissed. "He found her shirt, then he gave up and said she was gone."
Thorn knelt down and looked at Mr. Marion intently. "You misunderstand, Mr. Marion. If my father found her shirt but nothing else, then you’re right; Caroline isn't dead. She's a Morlan."
Mr. Marion wept softly. "She's been down here in this dark the whole time. She's calling out to me. I can hear her."
Sheriff Mullen said, "You don't hear her. You hear your own guilt."
"That doesn't explain who called me," I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets.
Thorn pointed at Mr. Marion. "He did," he said simply.
"How would I?" Mr. Marion asked, holding his hands open helplessly.
Sheriff Mullen wagged his finger. "Gabriel said that he thought you weren't what you claimed. That's why he stopped helping you."
"He stopped helping me because you got to him," Mr. Marion accused.
Sheriff Mullen sighed. "Do you really believe that? He stopped helping you because he didn't trust you. He thought you might be after the river. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me what you believe, because now that I've got testimony from Darren, you'll pay for your crimes."
"Like your family paid for their crimes?" Mr. Marion asked in disgust.
The sheriff’s shoulders slumped. "You’re right. My family is responsible for what happened to Caroline, but I couldn't bring my cousin up on charges of witchcraft. He technically never touched Caroline. Hell, if Gregory hadn’t been such a fool and gotten into an argument with John the day before, we probably wouldn’t have even pieced together what happened."
I remembered then that the file had said a Gregory Horn had been a suspect. That was Sheriff Mullen's cousin? Mr. Marion looked away, disgusted. I could understand how he felt. It must be horrible to know that your loved one died, and no one had paid for the crime.
"What happened to your cousin?" I asked quietly.
"He killed himself a few months after Caroline died. Odd, really...the way it happened on Maiden's Peak." The sheriff's brown eyes were drilling into Mr. Marion again.
"We should probably go," Thorn urged.
Sheriff Mullen grabbed Mr. Marion, but the man lunged at him, and both of them tumbled down. When Mr. Marion came stood back up, he was waving Sheriff Mullen's gun around wildly. I instinctively raised my hands. I wanted to check the sheriff on the ground, but I dared not move.
Mr. Marion said, "I'm sorry for this. They all covered up Caroline. They buried her in vaults and lies. Did they think I’d just let that go?"
Sheriff Mullen groaned, and Mr. Marion swung the gun toward him. Thorn raised his hands. "Calm down," he said coaxingly. "We'll help you find Caroline."
"Too little, too late. I know where Caroline is. I've known for a long time. She visits me when I come here," Mr. Marion said. "She comes to me and tells me things. That's why I come back every year."
Mr. Marion wiped his eyes with the arm holding the gun. Thorn inched forward, but the man swung the gun frantically back toward him. We both stilled and didn’t breathe.
I said softly, "It wasn't Caroline."
"Yes, it was. Caroline said she bathed in the river, and now she lives forever. She wants me to come with her. Only I thought that maybe she'd want to pay back the ones who did this to her." He gestured at the sheriff on the ground and then his eyes flicked up to Thorn. "Gabriel and Gregory have already paid for their sins," the man muttered.
"You killed my father?" Thorn asked.
Mr. Marion nodded. "Oh, yes. I killed his cousin, too." He motioned with the gun toward Sheriff Mullen. "I wasn't after the river. I wanted Gabriel to help my wife turn back, but he told me sh
e was dead and to let her go. How could I do that when she visits me? She knows me." His voice broke, and he sobbed. "I miss her. I’m ready to be with her."
"Let us go," Thorn said. "You want to be with Caroline, that's your choice. There's an earthquake coming. You don't want to hurt us."
"I don't have much interest in hurting the boy," Mr. Marion said as he glanced over at me.
"I'm sorry for this, Mr. Shelton. I didn't want to call you. Caroline made me. She said that we needed you because you’d lead Thorn here, and the Durant family has to end because they abandoned us," Mr. Marion said, aiming the gun at Thorn. I sucked in a breath as the man's finger flexed around the trigger. In the same instant, Sheriff Mullen was tackling the man to the ground.
"Are you okay?" I asked Thorn as we both came forward to help Sheriff Mullen.
The blond nodded, but his attention was on the two men before us. The sheriff wrestled the gun away from Mr. Marion and stuffed it back in its holster. We helped pull the man up to his feet and held him while Sheriff Mullen handcuffed him. He shrieked as we dragged him down the passageways back toward the lava chamber, stopping a couple times as the ground shifted under us.
I gave a cry of alarm as something grabbed me, and then there was a flurry of movement. The creature that had grabbed my legs was knocked backward as another tackled it. There was a commotion as the two fought. When one of the creatures ran off, the other turned toward us.
Thorn put his hand on Sheriff Mullen's arm as the man raised his gun. I recognized the small creature from the cottage. It had tried to warn us about the creature pretending to be Oliver, and now it had saved me from another of its kind.
"That one's okay," Thorn said, and Sheriff Mullen gave the younger man a look of disturbance.
I assured the older man, "It's a long story."
We started moving forward again with the small creature following us. When we finally got back to the lava chamber, I breathed a bit easier. The trip to the back entrance took a bit longer than I would’ve liked, but it was hard to make a forward movement when you were constantly being thrown into walls by the ground shifting under your feet.
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