“Amazing,” said Ustagov. “You were gone five days down here. How long were you in Purgatory?”
“It felt like months.” Sasha shifted her gaze toward Jason. “The only comfort I had was in knowing that, eventually, I’d be back with you.”
Jeanette bristled.
“Doctor, you have to remember that time is measured differently in Heaven and Hell.” Father Belsario stood up. “A few hours here on Earth correlates to weeks in the other realms. And Purgatory is a no-man’s land. None of the rules of Heaven, Hell, or Earth apply.” The cleric moved over to the campfire. “If you’ll excuse us, Sasha and I have to man our posts for the night watch.”
As Sasha stood to join her commander, Jeanette jumped up and stormed off, throwing Jason a hateful glare as she passed. He did not know how to respond.
Haneef took the initiative. “Sook-kyoung and Vicky, check on the horses one final time before turning in. The rest of you, pick up the area and get some sleep.”
At first, no one moved. Haneef clapped his hands. “Come on. Asses and elbows, people.”
This time they responded.
As the others left Jason alone, he reached out and petted Lucifer and Lilith, both of whom were curled up beside him. His mind raced with a dozen thoughts at once. He had no problem leading the Demon Hunters across Europe and Asia, battling hordes of Demon Spawn, and closing the portals. When it came to his situation with Jeanette and Sasha, however, he had no idea how to handle it. He loved them both, though in different ways. To be honest, Jason wanted to be with Sasha as much as Jeanette, although that would never happen. That opportunity had long since passed. He still valued her friendship, her advice, and her combat expertise. He needed her as part of the group as someone who provided valuable input and was not be afraid to challenge him if she thought he acted incorrectly. The fact that he often fantasized about Sasha made it more difficult. As for Jeanette, Jason had no idea how to deal with her. Sure, he understood her being angry and jealous that Sasha kept on returning as part of the Purgatoriati. Jason may not be the smartest person in the wasteland, but he was smart enough to know that falling in love with someone while on an expedition as dangerous as this played with fire; a double romance would be disastrous. He wished he could get Jeanette to understand that.
A soft whimper came from his left. Lilith stared at him with her big soulful eyes, sensing his discomfort. He scratched behind her ears.
“You’re a good girl.”
Lilith’s tail wagged furiously.
“I wish I could make Sasha and Jeanette as happy as easily as you.”
* * *
Father Belsario waited until they were out of earshot before he spun around and stood in front of Sasha, forcing her to stop short.
“What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t understand.”
“When you told Jason the only good part about dying was in knowing you would get to come back and be with him again.”
“It’s the truth,” Sasha protested.
“It shouldn’t be. I allowed you to come back from Purgatory to help Jason, not to rekindle an old romance.”
“I’m not trying to do that.” Her words lacked conviction.
“Really? Ever since you met up with us, you’ve been fawning all over him.”
“All right.” Sasha walked away, pausing after a few steps. She took a deep breath and faced the cleric. “So maybe I am trying to get Jason to like me again. What’s wrong with that?”
“You weren’t brought back to Earth to fall in love.”
“Why not? Why can’t Jason and I be happy? We’re probably going to die soon anyway.”
“You’re already dead.” Father Belsario spoke the words like a father who cannot comprehend why his teenager fails to understand his argument. “Not only are you distracting Jason, you’re causing problems between him and Jeanette, which is adding to his confusion. He has taken upon himself a difficult enough task and has found a group of people who have enough faith in him to risk their lives for the cause. You’re putting them all at risk.”
“How?”
“By making Jason think with his heart, not his head. Once he does that, he’ll make wrong decisions, decisions that will get people killed, and which will mean the failure of his quest.”
Sasha lowered her head, sniffing back the tears. “You don’t know how hard it is to keep coming back to life to be with the one you love and not be able to let them know.”
Father Belsario’s tone softened, though only slightly. “I admit, I can’t relate. But we’ve been given a chance to accomplish something that is much greater than ourselves.”
Sasha did not respond.
Father Belsario sighed with frustration. “If I had my choice, I’d send you back to Purgatory before you do any more damage. I can’t. You’re here by the grace of God to fulfill a special task.”
“Which you won’t tell me about.”
“Because I can’t!” the cleric snapped, and then immediately regretted his outburst. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
“It’s okay. If I upset you this way, I can only imagine what I’m doing to Jason.”
Father Belsario suppressed a grin. Maybe he finally got his point across. “Sasha, you still have free will, so I can’t stop you from pursuing Jason if you want. Just remember, if he dies, he’s not coming back. It’ll be permanent. If you truly love him and are not just doing this for your satisfaction, then leave him alone and let him do what is necessary. Otherwise, what happens from here on is your cross to bear.”
The cleric moved past Sasha and went to take up his watch station. Behind him, he heard the young woman sobbing.
Chapter Ten
Sook-kyoung and Vicky left to check on the horses. Antoine followed, veering off at the last minute to find a secluded spot in the trees to relieve himself. The two women went from animal to animal, securing each one and making sure they had enough to eat and drink. Sook-kyoung saved her own for last. As she petted its mane and talked to the horse, she heard Vicky crying. Sook-kyoung walked through the pack until she found the young woman leaning against one of the horses, her left arm resting on the animal’s side and her face buried against it.
“Is everything all right?”
Vicky stood up and faced her friend. “The horses are fine.”
“I was referring to you.”
“I’m fine, too.”
“Bullshit.” Sook-kyoung moved to face Vicky. “What’s wrong?”
“I shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s okay to be scared. We all—”
“I’m not scared,” Vicky snapped. “Okay, I am. Every single day I struggle to keep it together. But that’s not why I shouldn’t be here.”
“Tell me why.”
“I’m a liability to the team.” Vicky sniffed back the snot in her nose and used the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears. “Most of you have been fighting Demon Spawn since the portals opened, or you have skills useful to what we’re doing. I’m a teenager who worked in my parent’s apothecary. The worst I ever dealt with was an angry customer.”
“You dealt with a lot worse at Mont St. Michel.”
“That was the reason I asked to join Jason’s team.” Vicky began to cry again. “Because of my selfishness, I’ve put everyone in danger.”
Sook-kyoung hugged Vicky. “We’re all in danger, but not because of anything you’ve done. Jason would never have brought you along if he thought you’d be a liability. As for developing the skills to fight the Demon Spawn, you’ll learn those like the rest of us did.”
“Are you sure?”
Sook-kyoung broke the hug and stepped back.
“Give it time. Soon you’ll be as experienced as the rest of us.”
“If she lives that long.” Antoine emerged from the trees, zipping up his pants.
“Stop teasing her.” Sook-kyoung cut the Moroccan a withering glance that belied the friendliness in her tone.
“
I’m telling the truth, which you won’t do.”
Sook-kyoung turned away. “That’s enough.”
“No, it’s not. She deserves honesty.”
“What do you mean?” Vicky asked.
Antoine spoke in a soft manner. “Most of us learned to fight the Demon Spawn by going on search and destroy missions around Mont St. Michel. In the beginning, we only ran into a handful of demons at any one time, which gave us the chance to build up our experience with few losses to the team. All that changed when we started closing the portals. We’ve lost twenty-two people in France and Russia.”
“Casualties are a part of war,” Sook-kyoung argued.
“Not at this rate. We’ve only closed half the known portals at the cost of two-thirds of our people. The odds are not in our favor.”
Vicky shook her head in confusion. “Then why did you agree to come?”
“I’ve done terrible things in my life, things that someone like you can’t begin to imagine. The opening of the portals has been a wake-up call that there’s an afterlife and that I probably won’t fair to well. I’ve known no other way of life than fighting and violence. I figure if I use those skills to help save the Earth, maybe it’ll pay off some of my past sins.”
“Do you believe in what we’re doing?” Sook-kyoung asked.
“I never said I didn’t. What we’re doing is noble, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Antoine shifted his attention back to Vicky. “I also want to make sure you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into. You’ll either learn how to battle the Demon Spawn or won’t last long enough to let us down. No matter how much experience you get, no matter how skilled in combat you become, the odds are still against you. Only a handful of us will live long enough to be there for the closure of the final portal, if that many. I’m not trying to scare you any more than you already are. I’m just being honest.”
Antoine strolled back to camp. Vicky watched him leave.
“He’s telling the truth, right?”
Sook-kyoung nodded. “Are you okay?”
“Believe it or not, I feel much better.”
“Knowing that your chances of survival are slim?”
“Knowing that I’m not a liability to the team and that I’ll pick this up eventually.” Vicky feigned a Moroccan accent. “If I last long enough.”
Sook-kyoung laughed, and Vicky joined in.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning began with the same routine—up early, breakfast, hit the road thirty minutes after sunrise, and travel along miles of highway through uninhabited towns. As had happened over the last five days, the hours dragged by without event.
As the late afternoon sun began its descent toward the horizon, Jason led his team to the crest of a nearby hill to search for a location to spend the night. Through his binoculars, he spotted something unusual. Three miles south long the G1 stood a town like the dozens they had passed since leaving Harbin, except someone had fortified this one. A makeshift wall composed of corrugated iron sheets surrounded the perimeter, supported on the exterior and interior by steel girders welded to the surface and dug into the ground at a forty-five-degree angle. From this distance, Jason guessed the wall to be twenty feet high and well maintained. A closed gate sat on the southbound lanes of the G1. Two enclosed watchtowers stood on either side of the entrance, with similar towers erected along the wall at three-hundred-foot intervals. Jason studied the town for any signs of life, such as movement in the towers or the streets, smoke rising from chimneys, livestock, or tended gardens. After ten minutes, he had not observed anything.
Father Belsario and Ustagov moved their horses beside him. The cleric asked, “What do you see?”
“Not much of anything. Someone fortified that town, but it looks deserted.” Jason lowered the binoculars. “Where are we?”
“A sign about a mile back listed it as Shaoguodi.” The doctor withdrew his map and studied it for several seconds. “It’s so small it’s not even listed. The closest town is Biangangxiang, which is two miles northwest of here.”
Haneef, Slava, and Sasha joined them. Sasha maneuvered his horse close to Jason. “What’s up?”
Father Belsario motioned toward Shaoguodi. “Someone fortified that town.”
Jason raised the binoculars again and scanned the wall. “There’s no activity or signs of life. And I’m not detecting any Demon Spawn presence nearby.”
“What about human auras?” asked Haneef.
“Nothing.”
“Let’s go around it,” suggested Sasha. “It’s small enough that the detour won’t take us much out of our way.”
“I agree,” added Ustagov. “The residents left it for some reason, and I don’t want to find out why.”
“Maybe they bugged out like everyone else in China,” Haneef suggested.
“It’s still too risky,” warned Ustagov.
“We do need to find a place to bunk down for the night,” said Sasha.
“And if the residents bugged out in a hurry,” added Slava, “maybe they left behind some supplies.”
“If it hasn’t already been looted,” said Father Belsario.
Jason concentrated on the entrance. “The main gate is closed, and it doesn’t look like it’s been ransacked.”
Ustagov rubbed his eyes in frustration. “Why don’t you go up, knock on the door, and see if anyone’s home?”
Jason slid the binoculars back in their case. “That’s a good idea.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“I know. It’s still the best option.” Jason scanned the surrounding area for several seconds before pointing to a small hillock south of the G1 eight hundred feet from the compound. “Haneef, take the team over there and wait on the leeward side. If anything happens, cover us. Father Belsario and Slava, you’re with me.”
Jason gave his team time to cross the field to the hillock. At first, Lucifer and Lilith stayed beside him, refusing to leave. Only after Sasha called the werehounds did they reluctantly trot off to be with her. Once the others had taken up position, Jason, Father Belsario, and Slava urged their horses forward. The three men took as non-menacing an appearance as possible, with Jason and Slava keeping their AK-47s slung over their shoulders; Jason unbuttoned his winter coat and pulled the flaps aside to show he did not conceal any weapons. He shifted his eyes from one tower to the next, searching for movement, and checked the road ahead for traps or tripwires. They approached within three hundred feet of the wall and still no signs of activity. With luck, the gate would be unlocked, and there would still be something useful inside for them to stock up on.
A loud buzz passed Jason’s left ear. He leaned to the right and waved his hand across the left side of his face, hoping to shoo away the insect. A second buzzed by. Jason thought they had disturbed a nest. Then he heard the distinctive sound of a bullet ricocheting off metal and, out of the corner of his eye, saw a spark fly off Father Belsario’s breastplate. It took a moment for the reality to settle in.
“Someone’s shooting at us!” The cleric spun his horse around.
Jason focused his attention back on the wall. A flash of gunfire emanated from a slit in the side of one of the watchtowers. A bullet passed by his head and thudded into flesh. Father Belsario groaned and clutched his back near the abdomen. A circle of blood stained the cleric’s cloak and seeped between his fingers.
Damn it, Jason chastised himself. The residents suckered them into an ambush.
Jason spurred his horse and yelled, “Head for cover!”
Haneef heard the first two shots yet had no idea where they came from. He scanned the wall and saw the third round being fired.
“Father Belsario’s been hit,” Jonah cried out.
Jason and the others were caught in the open. Haneef knew he had to get them out of there or they would be cut to pieces. He raised his AK-47.
“I want suppressing fire on those watchtowers. Now!”
Return fire erupted from the hillock, pelting th
e firing positions on each tower and silencing the incoming rounds from the town. Jason took advantage of the temporary lull and raced for cover, while Slava stayed close by him with Father Belsario slightly behind, hunched over in his saddle. They had ridden a hundred feet when Haneef and the others expended their ammunition and paused to reload, which allowed the attackers to emerge from behind cover and resume fire.
Slava’s horse whinnied as a bullet tore into its right rear thigh. The animal toppled to the side, throwing Slava. He wrapped his arms around his head and lowered his chin into his chest so he wouldn’t break his neck in the fall. The Russian landed on his back and, for a moment, blacked out. Although dazed and winded, he had the presence of mind to seek safety. He crawled toward his wounded horse, collapsing face-first into the dirt. Slava hid behind the animal as two more rounds slammed into it. One bullet punched through its abdomen, missing Slava by inches and splattering him with blood. The horse yelped and kicked violently for a moment before going limp.
“Get to safety,” Jason ordered Father Belsario. “I’m going to rescue Slava.”
Jason spun his horse around and galloped back for his friend.
“Shit!” Haneef watched Slava topple from his horse, although he could not tell if he had been shot or thrown off. He felt sick when Jason headed into the gunfire to save him.
“Use single shots. Keep their heads down for as long as possible.”
Sasha sidled up beside him. “It won’t be enough. We have to draw away fire.”
“How are we going to do that?”
As she thought, Jonah and Gabriel rushed out from cover to rescue Father Belsario, the former grabbing the horse’s reins and leading it to safety while the latter propped up the cleric in his saddle. Rounds from the towers kicked up dirt around them.
“I have an idea.”
Calling for Matthew and Luther to join her, Sasha explained her plan. The three Purgatoriati mounted their horses. Sasha rode around the right flank of the hillock and the other two headed for the left. Once clear of cover, the trio veered their horses toward the town, zigzagging as they stormed the gate from two different directions. As expected, the shooters switched their attention from Jason and Slava to those charging the wall. Leaning forward, she covered the left side of the horse’s neck and head as best she could with her body.
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