He took her hand and said, "I'm serious. I just think it's a…"
Madeline interrupted him with a kiss on the lips. He stood, picked her up in his arms and walked to the motor home. After several hours of lovemaking, they both fell asleep.
The next morning Madeline assured him that her power would easily end Heckel's short-lived reign.
"Let me go with you?" Quincy asked timidly as he lay stretched out on the king-size bed.
Madeline had just come out of the shower. His perfect muscled body was like a magnet and she wanted to jump on top of him. No, I need to find Heckel and finish this annoying business, her inner voice dictated. There will be lots of time for jumping his bones.
"You take this motor home, head north up I-5 and wait for me. After I'm done with Mr. Heckel, I'll grab one of their miserable horses and find you."
Quincy remained silent and glowered at her. Madeline kissed him and told him to get the flophouse on wheels moving.
They left the campground by midmorning and made it to the edge of Sacramento by early afternoon. Madeline dressed in ragged clothes, put dirt on her face and carried an old tattered backpack.
After all the support vehicles left, she kissed her two dogs, told Quincy to take good care of them and that she would see him in a couple of days.
"Be careful," Quincy said, hugging Madeline. "I just don't see why you have to do this." She noticed a tear forming in the side of his eye.
"Because I'm Madeline and my power will end this insurrection. Darkness and my domination will rule. A new world will be born."
Now Quincy looked scared and she wasn't sure why. He kissed her gently on the cheek and went into the motor home. The engine roared to life and he slowly drove off.
Madeline covered her head with the hood from the long dirty raincoat and started walking west on I-80. She could feel the swirls of energy form in her palms, ready to strike. "Here I come, Heckel. Prepare to meet your worst nightmare."
Chapter 31
After a few days recuperating, Jack was able to be transported in his wagon, and we resumed our journey north. Several men wanted to go back and deal with the cult that had taken Missy, but I persuaded them to leave well enough alone.
We continued to pick up supporters along the route. A large group in Fresno and Stockton joined us. Our ranks had now gotten close to a thousand. I kept wondering if that was going to be enough. Sela assured me that, with all the guardian angels helping, we would be victorious. Would we? Yes! I answered myself each time I let doubt try to creep in.
After we left Stockton, I began to get fidgety and nervous. I felt like something dreadful was waiting ahead for me. Sela sensed that I was worrying.
"You all right?" she asked after we started heading north on the interstate.
"Sure, just fine."
"You seem preoccupied. Talk to me. What's on your mind?"
"Well, I just have this niggling feeling that something is…um…waiting up ahead."
"Well there is…in Oregon," she stated matter-of-factly.
"No, sooner than that."
"Maybe we need to have a small group of men ride ahead. Scout things out a bit," she offered.
I told her it was probably just me being overly sensitive and cautious. Nonetheless, she rode back and enlisted a few men to ride ahead. They took off and raced past me. As they crested a small hill, I saw three enormous wolves join them.
The day wore on. The sun blistered down on us. Luckily, there were several spots to get water. We stopped frequently to water the horses.
As we were getting close to Sacramento, one of the horses from the scout group came running back. It was covered in blood. Sela jumped off Tempest and caught the horse's reigns.
A barrage of questions, speculation, and emotions raced through the entire group.
Sela finally suggested, "Maybe we should go around Sacramento? Go over to the coast. Obviously, there's something bad there."
Quietly, I said, "It's Madeline."
Everyone turned and stared at me as I examined the horse. Along with all the blood splattered on the saddle, the horse had scorch marks on its back.
"Clearly, our scouts encountered her. I know it. I can feel it. She's waiting for us."
Someone took the horse away. Fear, confusion and grief hung in the air like unwelcome visitors.
"As I said, maybe we should go around Sacramento," Sela said determinedly.
I turned facing north. A sign said I-80 was only two miles away. "Okay, Madeline, if it's a one-on-one match you want, you got it," I muttered.
Sela heard me and was about to protest when I said, "Everyone stay put. Find a campsite for the night somewhere around here. I think there's a fairground nearby. I'm going up ahead by myself and will return when the way is clear. If I don't come back, turn around and find a place to hide." I mounted Hope and was about to ride off when Sela grabbed the reins.
"I won't leave your side. If you dare to battle Madeline alone, I will be there to-"
I cut her off and said sternly, "No, you won't. You have our child to protect. That's your number-one job. If Madeline wants to pay us a little surprise ambush, I will more than oblige her and hurt her badly. I will destroy her."
Sela stared up at me. Tears spilled over the edge of her eyes and streamed down her face. "Heckel Casey, you better come back to me. Your child needs his daddy and I need you. We all need you."
I bent down and kissed her. "Have dinner ready for me. I'll be hungry."
Leaning back up and ready to take off, I was suddenly hit with twenty pounds of cat. Picking Jerky up off my neck, I looked the cat in the face and said, "Not this time. I need you to stay here. Just this one time, please. I need to do this alone." I handed the cat to Sela and took off.
The small crowd that had assembled around us cheered when I took off. "Send the bitch back to hell, Heckel! You can do it!" The shouts of encouragement were just the thing I needed, considering my insides felt like ice water.
I kept Hope running at a good speed for a while and then backed her down when I saw the crossroads of I-5 and I-80. That odd feeling I was having increased. I sensed Madeline was close. As I passed the interchange to go west on I-80, I saw a woman sitting on the ground by the off-ramp.
"Hello, Madeline. At last, we finally get to have a chat in person instead of those ridiculous little girls you were sending," I yelled.
"Darn, I was so hoping to surprise you," she said as she stood up.
"You know, I expected someone a bit more glamorous…um…looking a little more like the witch from Sleeping Beauty. The homeless look really doesn't do it for you. Nice disguise though."
Madeline threw off the backpack and tattered, dirty raincoat. Suddenly, a flash sparked around her and her appearance changed. "How's this for glamorous?" Madeline's hair swirled around her head, forming long shiny curls as if they were being styled by an invisible hairdresser. Her clothes changed from rags to a long black cocktail dress with a provocative slit up one side. The clumsy hiking boots with holes transformed into jewel-studded black stiletto high heels.
"Now that's a bit more like what I expected…cheesy cliche."
"See anything you like?" she asked in her best, breathy seductive tone as her tongue lined her highly glossed upper lip. "How are you in bed, Heckel? I'm fantastic. I could take you to places you never imagined. Wanna find out? Come on over here." She raised her skirt higher on the slit side, revealing more of her leg.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever," I said as I got off Hope. "Don't go too far. I'll need you soon enough," I whispered, slapping the horse's behind. Hope ran back down I-5 and I saw her trot off into a field.
My insides began to seethe with the power that I had come to embrace. This should be interesting. I wonder just how powerful she is?