Shadow Cave (20 page)

“
I
’
m sure.
”

“
They are protected zones.
Anything inside the fence is protected.
It
’
s been that way since before I was born.
The fences have been around since before my
mother
and
grandmother
were born, even.
But my
great grandmother
could still remember a time when the fences were not there.
She is gone now
,
but by all accounts, those were hard times.

“
Terlain
’
s
king
at that time was not a fair man.
Our people revolted.
But the man that came forward to take his place was much worse.
He is truly a cruel man.
”

“
I see.
Wait
—
did you just say he
‘
is
’
cruel?
”

“
That
’
s right.
”

“
Then you
’
re saying he is still alive?
”
No way.

“
Yes.
”

“
That
’
s not possible.
”
And to think, I had been worried about scaring her.

“
It
’
s not only possible, it
’
s true.
He is still alive.
”

“
He must be over a hundred years old.
”

“
Oh
,
he is much older.
I am not sure, but I think he
’
s closer to two hundred.
”

“
Don
’
t people die here?
”

“
People die here.
He does not fit into that category.
”
Faith looked around and lowered her voice.
“
They say he
’
s not human.
That he
’
s some sort of warlock.
”

“
He is a warlock?
”
I tried to keep the disbelief out of my voice, because it was obvious that Faith really believed it.

“
That
’
s just what I have heard.
”

“
So the fences were put up to keep him out of the towns?
”
The fence was short
,
maybe thigh high.
It looked like the type of fence you normally see around rural country homes.
The panels were built from rounded sections of wood that resembled slender logs
,
two
pieces across that were twined to the top and bottom of the posts every four feet or so.
They shimmered even brighter in the sunlight.

“
The matrons did that
,
”
she
explained.
“
The townspeople put the fences up.
The matrons cast the spell.
That
’
s why they glow like that.
”

“
Who are the
matrons
?
”
I asked, although I already knew.
I had read about them in Mike
’
s documents.

“
They are a group of elders.
They have been around for over a thousand years, keeping watch mostly.
”

“
So how are they selected?
Do they get voted in, or
is
the duty passed down through families?
”
The concept of the
matrons
had held my interest more than the other
‘
characters
’
had
, though
to call them characters seemed inappropriate now.
I had been curious to see if the
matrons
’
presence in the legend was somehow linked to the legend of the Amazon
, and what
similarities the two might hold.

“
No.
The matrons are the same today as they were a thousand years ago.
”

“
They don
’
t age, either
,
”
I said quietly.
That part had not been in the notes.
The evil kings immortality had not been mentioned either.
It was fascinating
—
and terrifying.

“
Are all of the towns protected?
”

Faith shook her head sadly.
“
No.
There were some people who chose to fight on their own.
Most did not make it.
Those who were left alive
became either
slaves or guards to the
king
.
Some of the towns are mostly deserted today.
Then there are those where the lawless gather.
”

“
Exiles
,
you mean.
”

“
Essentially, yes.
”

“
Why would anyone choose not to be protected?
”

“
The
matrons
can be powerful enemies when crossed.
”

“
Well, why can
’
t they just go through the world and add protected areas?
”

“
Once the spell is cast, it cannot be broken or altered
, or
so they say.
Some of the roads
—
the newer ones anyway
—
are not protected.
Many of our roads were here before the
war
though.
”

I pointed to the woods beyond the fence.
There was only one question left to ask.

“
Where does that lead?
”

***

“
Claire, I wish you wouldn
’
t do this.
”

“
I have to.
”

“
Maybe not…
maybe
you could stay here.
We could put out fliers.
We could do something.
You don
’
t understand how dangerous this is.
”

“
There is no other choice
,
Faith.
Don
’
t worry, I
’
ll be fine.
”
I smoothed my borrowed t-shirt over my blue jeans and bent to tie my sneakers.

“
Let me make you a map at least, before you go.
”

“
Thanks.
That would help.
”

Faith made a pot of coffee while I double
-
checked my bag and looked over her world map. She set two cups of coffee on the table and poured the rest into a red plastic thermos before sitting next to me with a heavy sigh.

“
Alright
,
if you are going to do this
,
at least try to be careful in these areas.
”
She circled large areas on the map.
“
And stay away from these.
”
She added several
‘
X
’
s to the map.

“
The
‘
X
’
s are the unprotected settlements.
There will be guard stations scattered through all of the unprotected areas.
I
’
m sorry, but I don
’
t know where those are.
You should be safe enough if you stay by the fences, though.
If you get into trouble you can jump over the fence.
”

“
Can they?
”

“
No.
”

“
Good.
”
I drained my cup and gathered my possessions before I lost my nerve.

Faith and I stood facing each other on the porch, silent and grim.

“
Here
’
s your coffee.
”

“
Thanks.
”

“
You have your gun?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Good.
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Be careful.
”

“
Goodbye Faith.
Give Wilson a kiss for me.
”

The Capture

I stood in front of the gate for at least ten minutes before I decided the best way to do what I needed to was simply to do it.
“
All of this thinking is going to drive me insane.
”
I muttered. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

“
Into your hands, oh Lord.
”
I whispered a second before I crossed the threshold.
I felt light headed and I realized that I was still holding my
‘
cleansing breath
.
’
I knew that I was probably being ridiculous, but I felt like a little kid waiting for the monster to pop out of the closet.
Silly
—
I was grown woman
;
I was a doctor (when it suited me
); but
more than that
,
I had made it this far
, and
I had survived two attacks already.
I would handle whatever happened to come my way, as I always had
, and
I would be fine.
I w
ill
not disappoint Mike by chickening out now
, I told myself.
Besides, there was no such thing as monsters.
There were only men. They were only plain ordinary men who were not bulletproof.
Just immortal
, a voice in my head whispered.

“
Hell.
”
I shook my head and hitched my bag a little higher onto my shoulder.
There was a path to my left so I started there.
This forest was not much different than the one I had woken up in the day before.
Well, the lighting was not as good, maybe, I thought as I squinted up at the trees.
That could have been my imagination though.
I pulled my hair into a ponytail and took another step forward
...a
nd promptly fell down a hole.

At first, I was too stunned to do more than blink.
I had landed on my butt
,
and I stayed that way for several minutes while I checked for signs of injury.
I flexed my toes and leaned back, bracing my arms on the dirt beneath me.
I was sore, but otherwise unharmed, so I climbed to my feet and peered up at the trees.

The hole was not very wide, but it was deep
, and
t
he dirt was well packed.
Someone had dug it on purpose
—
it
was a trap.
Since there was no way I could climb out, I crouched down and waited for the ambush.
Nothing happened.
Well, how wonderful.
I
am
trapped in a hole.
If that
isn
’
t
just my luck
,
I wanted to bitch and moan out loud, but
self-preservation
dictated that I keep my mouth shut for the time being.

An hour later I had discerned that I had two options.
I could yell for help or try to climb out on my own.
Well, there was a third option, too.
I could sit down and starve to death in a hole.
I really didn
’
t care for option number three
, so this
brought me back to options one and two
, shouting
or climbing.
I felt along the hard packed dirt walls around me.
I could try to dig out foot holes up the wall
, but it
did
n
’
t
look like the
earth
was stable enough for that.
I frowned when it occurred to me that I could not call the dirt
‘
earth
’
here.
Soil, then
, I mentally corrected.
It wasn
’
t rocky at all.
I could try to dig myself out, but there would be no guarantees.