Viper Moon (30 page)

Michael had arrived first. He’d parked his Jag in the diminishing shade on the west side of a building across the street from the fire. He stood leaning against the car and staring past the flowering shrubs in the landscape median, his face unreadable as the Greek statue he resembled.

“I’ll try to get in,” Flynn told him. “See what I can find out.”

“Thank you.” Michael’s voice carried no more emotion than the expression on his face.

Flynn hurried away toward the open manor gate. The police stood guard and the fire trucks were inside. Flynn flashed his ID, spoke to the cops, and they let him pass.

I stood beside Michael. “Maybe she’s okay.” I thought of all the locked steel gates Flynn and I had to pass before we reached Elise. “They have to have an escape plan.”

Though Michael had encouraged me to visit Elise and obviously wanted me to learn something from her, he’d given me no clue as to how he felt about her. Kids have a tendency to love their parents, no matter how evil the parents are.

Michael moved, not much more than shifting his weight. “I was nine, the first time I ever saw her.” He smiled at the memory. “I thought she was the most beautiful creature on earth. Apparently they had locked her up because she’d tried to kill me. They discharged her from the hospital into a halfway house and allowed me to visit. I begged to go every time possible. Victor went, too, at first. She ignored him and doted on me. I felt so sorry for him. It wasn’t long, though, before she stopped taking her medication and the babies went missing. Little boys. They found the bodies under her bed.” His voice broke. “She said they were her sons and she named all of them Michael. I sent you to her, hoping you would see the humanity in me, since you seem to prize it so much. I was wrong.”

I didn’t know what to say or do. As for Michael’s humanity, knowing Flynn and how much I wanted him now, it wouldn’t have mattered. Michael could be completely human, but he would still try to own me. Something Flynn wouldn’t do.

We did the only thing we could do: we stood and watched. I jumped when an explosion came. Not a large one, but I’d been close to such blasts recently.

Flynn hurried back across the street toward us, stopping for a moment in the median to allow more fire trucks to pass. His grim expression said a lot, but when he spoke to Michael, he did so with his neutral cop-bearing-bad-news voice.

“Your mother’s missing. The entire smoke detector system failed. Sprinklers came on, but it was too late. Staff, patients. It’s bad. It’s going to be a couple of days before they identify everyone. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” Michael didn’t sound thankful—or sad, or anything for that matter. He’d regained control of himself. He bent and kissed my cheek, then opened the Jag’s door, climbed in, and started the engine. “I’ll call you later.”

Flynn and I watched him drive away.

“There is another thing,” he said. “They found Avondale’s director.”

“Cohen?” An image of the sere, acid woman dressed in an armor gray suit popped up in my mind.

Flynn nodded. “Lying in her office with a broken neck. No fire there. Signs of a struggle, though. She fought—hard. This is getting too complicated. Too many mysteries.”

“What about Selene? You’ve given up on her?”

“No, but isn’t there any other way?” He grasped my upper arms and shook me, not hard, but with passion. “If Michael does find something, I can—”

“I don’t need Michael, Flynn. I don’t know where they are, but I have a good idea where they’ll be tonight. And we’re going to be there, too.”

His arms circled me and held me tight, as if he could somehow squeeze some personal comfort from my body.

I wished I could say something to comfort him. Fate and duty ruled this day, and the inevitable dark moon the night.

Over Flynn’s shoulder, I was surprised to see Reverend Victor staggering across the street toward us. Flynn released me at the sound of footsteps.

Victor stumbled and fell to his knees on the pavement. Flynn and I ran to him. We grasped his arms, lifted him, and led him out of the street. He didn’t make any noise, but his thin body shook and his breath came in short gasps. Tears mixed with soot smeared his face. Finally, he calmed and breathed easier.

“Thank you.” In a sudden move, he hugged me, then quickly released me.

“What happened, Vic?”

Vic glanced at Flynn and I introduced them.

“I went to visit.” Vic stared at Avondale as Michael had minutes earlier. “The fire started. I tried to help. The doors wouldn’t open.” He shook his head. “Two of the orderlies, big guys, managed to get one door open. But the patients, they were so afraid.” He sobbed. “What few we could find panicked and ran from us, some straight into the fire, and those locked in their rooms never had a chance.” He didn’t mention Elise by name. His mother. Michael’s mother.

“They didn’t have an escape plan,” Flynn said, his voice hard and cold.

“That much money should buy the best.” Vic rubbed his face with his hands.

Yes, but it didn’t always buy safety. Had a monumental failure of a critical system doomed patients and staff at Avondale? Flynn gave me a level stare. Or was the fire meant to cover murder? He was right. The mystery deepened. But how was it connected to Richard and Selene?

“I’m sorry, Reverend,” Flynn said. “The fire marshal will investigate. Did you leave your name and number? There will be questions.”

“Yes.” Vic sounded more in control now.

There were always questions, and many of them were mine.

We drove Vic back to the Lamb. He’d parked his car inside the wall at Avondale and wouldn’t be able to retrieve it for a while. I didn’t ask him about Michael, but I did tell Flynn about their relationship on the way back to Abby’s. He listened without comment.

 

When we reached Abby’s, Flynn went to walk in the woods. I let him go, knowing he needed to think about things. Nefertiti had followed him and he’d carefully held the screen door open for her. Maybe he’d find some peace.

Abby called me into her parlor and closed the door. “Do you need to talk, Cass?”

I nodded.

I sat on her couch and let the comfort of the room surround me. It smelled of citrus at times, then lavender or sandalwood. She sat beside me and I leaned against her solid shoulder, trying to draw from her strength.

I told Abby exactly what my near-death and return to life did to me. “Abby, I’m sorry, but I think I hate her. It’s not that I wanted to die to begin with, but once I was on my way, she should have let me go. It feels so wrong. I’m not supposed to be here.”

Abby reached out and wiped tears from my eyes. I hadn’t cried in years.

“Cass, you have every right to hate her. I’ve hated her, too. The Huntress before you died in my arms, so injured I couldn’t possibly save her.” Abby’s hands clenched into fists. With visible effort, she relaxed.

What had happened to those who came before me? How many had Abby buried? How many had gone into the Barrows and never returned? I didn’t ask. I figured it would hurt her. She had told me that each Huntress had a different task. She wouldn’t talk about that, either.

Then I told Abby about Hammer and the vision. “She was so beautiful, my daughter. Could I have done that?” I touched my fingers to my eyes and felt tears again.

“The Earth Mother never
required
any worship. She is not God. The ancients perverted her name. First they sacrificed animals to her, then their enemies, and, finally, their own children.” Abby reached out and grasped my face with both hands. She peered into my eyes. “Cassandra, Earth Mother’s Huntress, you would not harm your own child—for any reason. Why would you believe the lies of the demon Darkness?”

She was right. The memory, true or false, had made me dangerously weak.

“Now,” Abby said in her practical earth witch voice. “Do you have a plan? How can I help you?”

“No plan. Just a location.” I drew the aerial photo out of my pocket and gave it to her.

Abby’s eyes widened as she grasped its meaning, just as I had. “Sacrifice. They’re going to sacrifice children on the dark moon. This dark moon. The conjunction. Oh, Mother, what’s going to happen? You can’t go—”

“I have to. Don’t ask me why or how, but all my life has come down to this day—to this night. If you want me to live, tell me what I don’t know about sacrifice.”

Abby nodded. “In the lore, the oldest myths, there are three kinds of so-called sacrifices. The powerful enemy, the innocent, and the self, supposedly in that order. The myths are horribly wrong. The only true sacrifice is the self. There is great power in giving up yourself for the good of others. I think you’ve done that in your service to the children.” Abby drew herself up. “You don’t have to lecture me on fate. You will have guns. With bronze, they will serve you well for the monsters. But I’ll make a few things you may take with you.”

“Weapons? Abby, using earth magic to create weapons is—”

“Black magic.” She stood and smoothed her skirt. “Something new for me. Why don’t you go find your man? Make love to him. Then both of you should rest.”

She walked out. Well, that was the best advice I’d had all day.

I headed out to the garden, walking by the cultivated vegetable rows and into the miniature forest, where a tiny spring bubbled from the ground. The water trickled over a stone bed and ran deeper into the woods. Abby’s little patch of forest was at least fifteen degrees cooler than the world outside, but it was still hot enough Flynn had stripped off his shirt. He sat on a patch of grass where trees shaded the ground with dappled sunlight.

I sat beside him. “Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

“Too much think. Not enough action.” I jumped Flynn and shoved him down on his back. He laughed and relaxed as I straddled him. Most of him relaxed. One particular part instantly rebelled against relaxation. I kissed his mouth long and hard, and started working my way down to subdue those taut muscles. Then I had a better idea. I jumped up.

“Hey, don’t you—?” Flynn protested.

“Oh, yes. Come on.” I stepped into the woods, leaving him to follow. I had a special place in mind. When I first came to Duivel, I had to explore Abby’s woods. While I am now an urbanite, the farm girl remained. That girl found joy in this particular haven, this special spot I had to share with him.

Deep among the trees is a small hollow with rocky sides. A waterfall, barely above my head, pours out here in a thin stream. Cooler air moved across my skin as I stripped. I stepped down and under the water. A chill at first, then nice. Flynn stripped and joined me.

He hissed as the water first hit him. “This is worse than your apartment.”

“Yeah, but we can’t both fit in my shower.”

He grabbed my butt and jerked me against him. The water warmed, and my skin warmed in response to him. Flynn eased a hunger in me that I hadn’t known existed. His mouth locked on mine and his hands did the impossible—they drew me closer, as if his skin and mine were melting together in the heat. I’d never wanted a man as I wanted him. It was as if the Mother—or God—made him by special order, just for me. I belonged to him, with him, and he was mine.

Flynn dragged me away from the waterfall and to a grassy area near the pool’s edge. He laid me down and dropped to his knees beside me. His eyes burned with passion as he stared at me.

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked.

“I’m beautiful because at this moment you want me to be.”

He laid a hand flat on my stomach, then bent and kissed my navel. I pulled him down on top of me so we could be face-to-face.

He lowered his mouth to mine.

It seemed so unfair. I had no idea what awaited me that night. We might lose each other before the sun rose again. Still, we had now, this moment. A soft breeze ruffled the leaves above us. In the chaos of life, we had made some personal order. Not the end of the story, but a beginning.

Making love to Flynn in the woods energized me. I felt really good until Abby met us on the porch as we returned to the house. Her face seemed troubled as the sky before a great storm. “Flynn, will you excuse us? I need to talk to Cassandra.”

Flynn nodded, gave me a kiss, and went inside.

The late-afternoon sun cast odd shadows along the ground, and it seemed as if the incessant heat had penetrated this final oasis with its oppressive air. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Abby’s face so grave.

“What’s wrong,” I asked.

“My power is gone.”

“What? The Mother is mad at you? Because of me?”

“No. I can’t find her or feel her. I wanted a potion that would cover your scent. I’d hoped the purifier might repel the monsters. I can’t make it.” She laid her hand over her mouth as if to hold back painful words. Tears ran down her face, the first I’d ever seen on her. “I cannot help you tonight, Huntress.” She walked into the garden, her head bowed and arms crossed over her heart.

I hoped she would find some consolation. A nagging thought crept up inside me. She’d built her whole life on her service to an unpredictable and not always benevolent entity. I stared south toward the Barrows. The Earth Mother gone? Maybe the Darkness would go, too. I suspected the best we humans could hope for was that they’d both disappear and leave us alone.

 

Shadows that stretched across the earth faded to black as the sun descended and the night of the dark moon began. Flynn sat at Abby’s kitchen table, his face blank and withdrawn. His mother called, crying, and that made it worse. Had she sensed something?

Abby returned from the garden. Her eyes had the empty look I’d seen on some children I’d rescued. The underpinning of their lives, their parents, disappeared in an instant as they experienced the lonely reality of an adult world. She walked past us without a word.

Waiting, the worst kind. I’d wanted to be in the Barrows before dark, but Dacardi had called earlier. A problem with the bronze ammo. He’d sent a truck to St. Louis, where he’d had it made in a factory he owned. My ammo guy couldn’t make anything like the amount we needed in time, but he did deliver two hundred rounds, a hundred for me and a hundred for Flynn’s .357. Flynn grumbled but loaded them anyway.