“Stay back,” I begged him.
For an old man, England had some vicious moves, but he was unarmed and I had a gun. I knew how to shoot, if not well, and at this distance, even I couldn’t miss. My blood cooled as I leveled my weapon on him.
“Get out of here,” I told the others. “This is between him and me.” When they hesitated, I added, “You’ll just distract me and give him an opening. Let me end this.”
I must have sounded cold—and sure—because I heard them moving off. England’s pale eyes held a mad, fervid light, as if he debated coming at me with his bare hands. “You murdered my mother,” I said quietly.
As good as, anyway. She wouldn’t have taken her own life or tried to pass me her power in a failed ritual if there hadn’t been a hooded mob outside her door.
He didn’t deny it. “She didn’t belong. Neither do you. I’ve dedicated my life to keeping Kilmer a quiet, clean, peaceful place where people can be proud of living. I’ve kept the filth of the modern world at bay, just like my father before me. And now”—he dove for his boot—“it’s time for you to go.”
When I saw him come up with a holdout pistol, I fired. The pistol report rang like an explosion in my ears, and the kickback hurt more than I’d expected. He got a shot off as he fell, but it went wide, up in the air as he toppled back. I’d hit him in the gut, maybe not a fatal shot if he got medical attention right away. He wouldn’t.
The rain beat down in a savage fury. Then the lightning came, flashing above the trees as if in fierce celebration. Blood spread across his abdomen, trickling down his sides and into the damp forest floor. The earth itself rumbled as if with pleasure. I should’ve walked away, not watched whatever would happen next.
But England raised a hand, as if beckoning me closer. I knew he didn’t want forgiveness. He’d probably try to stab me if I crept up to him, and I didn’t think I had the strength to shoot him again. I backed away, knowing I had to find the others.
The ground shuddered again, like the earthquake Miss Minnie had predicted. As I scrambled backward, the forest floor gave way, and England went sliding down in a mad muddy rush. I tried not to imagine him suffocating as he bled out, buried with those he’d led to their deaths.
A landslide like that would hide a lot of bodies.
I lost my breath, running blind. I didn’t care where I was going, as long as it was away. The rain lashed at my face, stinging along with wild branches. Darkness writhed all around me with tormenting shapes. I tore my hands when I fell.
Someone jerked me to my feet. Chance.
His hands framed my face, his gaze anxious as he searched my face. “Did you really think I’d leave you? You did good, Corine. It’s almost over.”
I tried to wipe the mud and water out of my eyes, but only succeeded in smearing it further. “We have to find Cooper,” I agreed. “Where are the others?”
“Right here,” Jesse said.
Shannon smiled at me; at least I thought she did. Between the wild wind, the driving rain, and the swirl of shadows, I couldn’t be sure.
Destination Darkness
The radio stopped working.
Shannon fiddled with it, but try as she might, she couldn’t get a response. Finally, she glanced at me, brow furrowed. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”
I shrugged. “It could be that killing England gave the spirits closure and now they’re gone. But we still have Cooper to deal with.”
“And that’s not going to be easy,” Saldana predicted.
Chance stared beyond us into the dark tangle of trees. The wind wailed through their skeletal limbs, giving no hint of human movement. “What do you know about him?”
“He’s a hunter,” Shannon answered.
That meant he wouldn’t have panicked, wouldn’t have broken beneath the mental strain. He’d probably hunkered down somewhere until the smoke settled. Now he’d be clearheaded and rested, ready to stalk his prey. A shiver ran through me.
My voice sounded thin. “So what do we do?”
“Get off the path,” Saldana said at once.
Chance led the way into the undergrowth. I couldn’t help the prickling sensation that we were being watched, but that might be the demon, though I couldn’t smell the dank, decaying vegetation that marked his presence. Shannon stuck close to my side, and I ached for her. Though she might seem cool, soon it would hit her that her mom was dead—and how Sandra died couldn’t help but scar her. I could still see the shadows swarming as she fell, as if feeding on her despair.
“Here are the problems as I see them,” Chance said quietly. “One, this is Cooper’s home ground, and he’s had ample time to lay in snares for us. Two, he’s an expert tracker and hunter. Three, we’re tired and shaken, not at the top of our game anymore. Four, I lost my luck tablet back there, so we can’t expect things to swing our way in this fight.”
Summed up that way, it sounded worse than I’d realized. Stillness and silence seemed to offer some protection, so we didn’t move as we tried to hammer out a plan in nearly inaudible whispers. As if to exacerbate our situation, the rain shifted from drizzle to downpour, inhibiting visibility further. Between the dark, the trees, and the weather, we’d be lucky to make it out of these woods.
“We could make for the SUV,” I murmured. “Try to avoid Cooper. And then get the hell out of town.”
At my suggestion, the earth trembled with outrage. The wind whipped up, tearing at our clothing. Two tree limbs cracked and fell, crashing to earth nearby. I, for one, took that as a threat.
Shannon leaped backward. “I don’t think that’s an option, Corine. If we leave, Cooper will just recruit eleven more. Missy England will take her dad’s place. I have cousins. This will never end, and Kilmer will never be free, unless we finish it here, now.”
“She’s right,” Chance said softly.
“I wish Butch were here,” I muttered. “He might be able to track him.”
Everyone regarded me dubiously. Who ever heard of a Chihuahua being used as a bloodhound? But Butch wasn’t your average purse dog.
Jesse stilled. “I might be able to too.”
Shannon and Chance looked puzzled. After a moment, I remembered how he’d sensed Butch, homing in on his location. Tapping into the emotions of someone like Cooper might drive Jesse crazy. It was his call, though.
“How?” the girl asked.
“I’m an empath,” he explained. “I can scan, pick up all emotional states within a certain radius. Takes a lot out of me, hurts like hell, but I can do it.”
Based on what I’d seen previously, that was an understatement.
“Go for it,” I said, before I could change my mind.
Jesse closed his eyes. I studied him in the half-light, watching his face go vacant. We stood motionless for a good two minutes before he jerked and staggered. He would have fallen if I hadn’t caught him around the waist. Jesse twitched and Shannon came to his other side, her big eyes round with worry.
“West,” he rasped out. “Lying in wait. He’s the only thing left alive out here besides us. But Jesus. Jesus . . .” Jesse fought free of me and bent at the waist, wracked with endless waves of dry heaves. “I’ve never felt anything like him.”
“Inhuman?” Chance asked.
“I . . . don’t know,” Saldana answered at length.
After a couple of minutes, he managed to straighten up and put on his game face. His skull probably felt like it was splitting in two, but I didn’t step close as I’d done before and let him put his head in my hands. I didn’t want to hurt Chance, nor was I ready to declare myself open to a relationship with Jesse. It didn’t seem like the time. I needed to get back to the pawnshop; needed some time to mourn and move on.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
Jesse gave a curt nod, but he let Chance take the lead. Shannon kept a hand on Saldana’s arm, as if she thought she could steady him. Even if I thought it was fruitless, it was still sweet. And maybe she was stronger than she looked.