by R. D. Brady
“I’ve got heat signatures on some of the towers,” Jordan said.
Jen opened the door. “Well, here’s good then.” She jumped.
“Goddamn it, Jen,” Jordan yelled.
Laney gasped, but then she shook her head and dove out after her. Concentrating on the air around her, she created a platform to carry her slowly downward. Below her she spied Jen, and saw that her friend she’d miscalculated—she was going to land on the ground, not the water. Laney extended her hand and willed the air around Jen to grab her. Jen’s fall slowed, and she touched down gently.
Laney came down only a few seconds later. Laney was closer to the tower and Jen raced toward her. “Thanks,” she called as she blurred past.
Laney didn’t say anything as she tore off after her.
Ahead of them, a man stepped out of the tower, his eyes on the helicopter. He held a radio to his mouth. Jen slammed into him with her knee, drilling him into the side of the tower. The wall shook with the impact, and the man fell to the ground and lay still.
Laney reached Jen just as a second man stepped from the interior of the basalt structure. Laney spun, catching him with a back kick to the chest, followed by a round kick to the knee and an elbow to the face.
Laney knelt down next to the second man and grabbed his shirt. “Where are the sacrifices?”
He smiled through his bloody mouth. Foam sprayed from between his teeth. Laney pushed him away in disgust.
Jen climbed the structure and surveyed the scene. Laney started up after her. “Laney, they’re across the canal. It’s at least three hundred yards.”
Laney reached the top and saw where Jen was looking. Across the water, a wood stage had been built on top of another basalt complex, and a dozen people in robes were gathered there. Six of them stood in a circle around a leopard laid out on a stone slab; each held a long serrated knife in their hands. Behind them, the others stood watching.
“I can’t see Lou,” Jen said.
“Me either.” And Laney also knew they wouldn’t be able to get to them in time. It was too far, and they’d be seen as they approached. The water would nullify Jen’s speed.
“My turn,” Laney said, staring at the sky. The clouds rolled and the wind picked up. A few of the people looked upward as thunder rumbled. Lightning slashed from the sky, hitting the ground on either side of the temple.
Laney breathed deep. Here we go.
One bolt after another tore through the robed figures with the knives.
“Holy shit,” Jen muttered.
Laney stumbled to the ground, her legs going weak. “Go.”
Jen needed no further urging. She leaped from the wall and dove into the water. In seconds, she was on the other side and climbing the wall. Distracted by their downed companions, the rest of the robed figures hadn’t even noticed her coming. Jen was practically invisible as she sprinted from person to person—a deadly gust of wind, taking down everything in her path.
Laney pushed to her feet and climbed down the wall, her strength returning. She dove into the water and quickly made her way across. She focused on her movements, one arm up and over, her legs kicking behind her, ignoring the fear building inside her. Lou and Cleo are here. We just couldn’t see them.
She reached the other shore and pulled herself up. Taking a steeling breath, she began to climb the basalt log structure. It was twenty-five feet tall, but the logs were set up almost as if to make it easy to climb.
Jen met her at the edge, offered Laney her hand, and pulled her up.
Jen’s eyes were wide, and her breath came out in gasps. “She’s not here. Lou’s not here.”
Laney’s stomach dropped. “Cleo?”
Jen shook her head. “No. All the cats are young. I’m going to call Jordan.”
Jen stepped away to make the call, and Laney could see the effort it took her to get a hold of herself. Laney couldn’t blame her. She was having trouble holding on to her own emotions. Because if Lou and Cleo weren’t here…
She shut down that train of thought right away, turning to focus on the scene around her.
Six of the robed figures had scorch marks on their chest from the lightning. The rest were unconscious. Well, maybe dead, Laney thought as she stared at the unnatural angle of one man’s neck.
The cats were still strapped to the rock altars. Laney reached out and felt the pulse of the one nearest her. It was beating away. Just sedated.
A movement to her right drew her attention. One of the robed figures, a woman with light brown hair, groaned and sat up. She appeared to be only in her twenties.
Laney strode up to her. “Where’s the girl?”
The confusion disappeared from the woman’s eyes and was replaced with revulsion. “She’s an agent of evil.”
“She’s just a girl.”
“She is the reason the world is heading for destruction.”
“So you’re going to kill her to punish her?”
The woman stared at Laney with hatred. “No, to save the world. You don’t realize what you’ve done. We could have stopped it. You have to complete our work.”
“Sacrificing people? Are you crazy?”
“If you don’t, the world is doomed. You have to kill them. Kill them all.”
“Laney!” Jen yelled from below. “The chopper will be here in two minutes.”
Laney nodded and turned back to the woman, but already foam dribbled from her mouth. She stared ahead, her eyes unblinking, her chest still.
Laney stumbled back. What the hell is with these people? Why are they so committed? What do they know? Or think they know?
She stared at the carnage surrounding her. Lou wasn’t here. And neither was Cleo.
She closed her eyes. The emotions she’d been holding back overwhelmed her defenses. She sucked in a breath, and the world swayed for a moment. Her heart threatened to shatter into pieces as she realized what exactly their arrival at this island meant.
I chose wrong.
CHAPTER 104
Laney and Jen wasted no time getting back to the chopper. Jordan hovered and Jen jumped up with her arms wrapped around Laney. They’d had to leave the cats behind, still sedated, but all the cult members were knocked out—either by lightning, head injury, or suicide—and the Chandler Group would be there soon to clean up the mess. Laney was pretty sure a few more cult members would have taken their cyanide pills by then.
Laney couldn’t get a grip on these people. What exactly is their plan? A little blood seeping into the earth and they think what, everything will be all right? Kill some Fallen and people will be good? Humans aren’t that simple. We weren’t bad because Fallen existed. We made bad choices for all sorts of reasons. This is insanity.
“How long, Jordan?” Laney asked.
“Thirty minutes, twenty if I fly this thing in the red.”
“Fly it in the red,” Laney said. “I don’t care if it breaks to pieces when we get there. Just get us there.”
Jordan gave her an abrupt nod and turned back to the controls.
Jen sat in the back staring out the window at the setting sun, saying nothing.
“We can still make it, Jen.”
“The sun’s going to set in seven minutes,” Jen said, her voice emotionless.
“They could have been delayed. Maybe something went wrong with the chopper or they had trouble getting the cats under control. You know Lou and Cleo. They’d take any opportunity, no matter how small.”
Jen nodded. And then the two of them fell into silence. The hum of the chopper surrounded them as they sped through the air. Jordan was pushing as hard as he could manage.
Laney prayed every prayer she knew and then resorted to straight up begging. But it was no use. Five minutes passed, then another five, and then the sun dipped below the horizon. Laney felt as if a hole had been punched through her chest. Oh God.
She looked back at Jen, who said nothing, who didn’t even move. She just sat, staring out the window at where the sun had disapp
eared, tears streaming down her cheeks.
CHAPTER 105
Lou could hear the sounds of fighting. A gun fired near her. She struggled to open her eyes. But it was such an effort.
A soft voice spoke nearby. “It’s all right. You’ll be all right.”
Lou forced her eyelids open. Everything was fuzzy, and the dim light wasn’t helping. A dark-haired woman stood over her, loosening her ties. “Jen?”
The woman leaned forward, and Lou realized this wasn’t Jen. The dark-haired woman was a stranger, close to her own age. “No, my name is Noriko. Your friends will be here soon. But you are safe.”
The cobwebs in Lou’s brain begin to clear. “Cleo, is Cleo—”
“She’s safe too. Cleo?”
Cleo walked up and licked Lou’s face. Tears rolled down Lou’s cheeks. “Oh, Cleo, I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
“Cleo’s not mad. You saved her family. She’s just glad you are all right.”
Lou nodded, knowing that she was right.
“There you go. That’s the last of them. They’ll be here any minute. Take care, Lou.”
“Wait, where are you—” Lou struggled to sit up, but a wave of exhaustion rolled over her and she lay back again. She swallowed down the bile that tried to rise, waited until the world stabilized, then sat up again—slowly this time. The girl was gone. The other cats were still unconscious and strapped to rock slabs. But there were now bodies littering the ground—over a dozen of them, blood staining their white robes.
Lou carefully stepped off her own stone slab. Her knees gave a little wobble as her feet hit the ground. Cleo pressed against her, and Lou wrapped her arms around her. “Thanks.”
Lou started to walk through the bodies, stopping at one with dark hair. It was Maura. Her eyes were cold and dead. Lou looked around in confusion. “Cleo, who was that? What happened here?”
It obviously hadn’t been anybody with the Chandler Group. So who had come to her rescue?
Her head jerked back to Cleo. “Wait—how did she know you would help her and not hurt her? And how come you let her help you? And me? Who was she?”
Cleo didn’t have any answers for her. Not that Lou had expected any. After all, Laney was the only one who—
Lou went still. Cleo’s not mad. You saved her family. She’s just glad you’re all right. That’s what Noriko had said. But how would she know that?
Cleo licked Lou’s cheek.
Lou stared at her. No one can talk to Cleo except Laney. So how did Noriko do it?
CHAPTER 106
Laney sat hunched forward as the island of Kosrae finally came into view, the full moon giving them some light to see. The sun had gone down eight minutes ago.
She swallowed. I’m so sorry, Lou. She pictured Cleo and the trust in her eyes. I failed you too.
Jen hadn’t said a word since the sun had slipped beneath the horizon. And Laney didn’t know what to say to her. Lou had become Jen’s little sister.
Lou was so popular at the school. Rolly, Danny, and Zach were all going to be devastated.
Danny—he was never going to forgive himself. He would beat himself up for the rest of his life. We’re all going to share that blame, Laney thought as the chopper flew over the basalt structures.
Shadows danced in the lights of the chopper, but there was no sign of movement below. Then the lights of the chopper caught on what Laney thought was a body.
She grabbed the high-powered flashlight and shone it down. Two figures in white lay facedown next to the wall of one of the structures.
Without a word, Laney opened the helicopter door and jumped.
“Damn it, Laney,” Jordan yelled.
Jen was right behind her. Laney used the wind to soften their landings. She pulled her weapon as soon as she was stable. Jen ran to the bodies and rolled them over. There were bullet wounds in both men’s chests.
“Who are they?” Laney asked.
“Not anyone I know.” Jen pulled up the sleeve. A tattoo with three lines and a lotus flower was inscribed there.
“Do you think Lou did this?” Jen asked, hope in her voice.
“I don’t know,” Laney said, looking around.
A vision of Laney standing over the bodies and a kneeling Jen swirled through her mind. Laney whirled around, her heart leaping. Cleo?
Cleo stood silhouetted against the moonlight at the top of the wall. And then a young woman with curly hair stepped up next to her.
Laney grabbed Jen’s shoulder. “Jen.”
Jen turned and gasped. “Lou.”
Cleo and Lou jumped down from the wall. Laney and Jen sprinted toward them, Jen quickly outpacing Laney. Cleo ran at Laney, stopping just as she reached her. Laney dropped to her knees in front of her. Thank God. Cleo licked Laney’s face and nuzzled her head into her chest. Laney wrapped her arms around the big cat, letting her tears fall and then laughing with pure joy that Cleo was here. She was alive. I love you, girl.
Laney lifted her head as Jen and Lou approached. Laney released Cleo and wrapped Lou in a tight hug. “I am so glad you’re okay.”
Lou hugged Laney back just as fiercely. Laney rested her head against Lou’s, feeling shaky. She’d almost lost them both. She would never get used to this. Risking her own life was one thing. Not being able to help when other people risked theirs was going to kill her.
Finally, they broke apart. Jen pulled Lou into her side and kissed her forehead. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?”
“Okay,” Lou said, her voice shaky.
“How are you here?” Laney gestured to the two bodies at the wall. “Did you do this?”
Lou shook her head, and Jen tightened her hold on her. “No. When I came to, I could hear fighting. I thought you guys had arrived.”
“Did you see anyone?”
Lou nodded. “A girl. She was maybe a little older than me. At first I thought it was Jen. She freed me. There were people with her, but with the drugs, I couldn’t see them. By the time the drugs wore off, they were all gone.”
“How’d you find Cleo?” Jen asked.
“I didn’t. The girl did. She brought Cleo to me.” Lou paused. “Laney, I think she could talk to Cleo.”
“What?”
“I swear, she could talk to her.”
Laney looked at Cleo. Cleo, who helped Lou?
Cleo’s yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. A friend.
CHAPTER 107
Aaliyah was frantic. It had been hours, and she couldn’t find Noriko anywhere. By the time darkness had fallen, she was out of her mind. She, Kai, and Oasu had been searching all over the island. The two men were still out looking, but Aaliyah had come home, needing to check once more if maybe somehow she had missed her.
She opened the door and walked in. “Noriko?” she called out as she walked into their house. Silence echoed back at her. In a daze, she looked around the kitchen feeling helpless. She couldn’t think of anywhere else to look. She’d spoken with almost everyone on Malama. She sank into a kitchen chair.
The front door opened and Aaliyah leapt to her feet. “Noriko?”
Noriko appeared in the doorway. Aaliyah let out a cry and ran to her, pulling her into a hug.
“What’s happened?” Noriko asked.
“You’ve been gone. I’ve been looking for you. No one had seen you. Where have you been?”
Noriko pulled back with a frown. “Didn’t the priestess tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Vanessa sent me with the Guard on a mission. I was able to use my gift. I helped save a girl.”
Aaliyah stared at her in shock. “You weren’t on the island?” She had asked Vanessa about Noriko, and Vanessa had said nothing.
Noriko led Aaliyah to the table. She pushed her gently into a chair before taking a seat across from her. “The priestess sent us to help the ring bearer.” Noriko sucked in a breath, her face growing pale. “The people who killed all those people. They were there. They were going to sacri
fice this girl and these cats. The cats… they were beautiful, but there was something different about them. Anyway, the Guard stopped the sacrifice. It was—” She shuddered, her eyes looking haunted. She took a deep breath. “But I just focused on the cats and the girl. They were safe. That is what matters.”
Aaliyah still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “But why would they send you?”
“To help with the cats.”
“Did you communicate with them?”
Noriko frowned. “Only one. Somehow she got loose. She stopped a man who was going to hurt me.”
“You were alone?”
“Only for a short while. But it was fine.”
Fear lanced through Aaliyah. The priestess had ordered her away and then left her alone. “You could have been killed.”
Noriko shook her head. “The priestess never would have sent me if there was any danger.”
Aaliyah swallowed down her fear. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“The priestess wants you to call the ring bearer. Let her know we were the ones who helped on Lelu.”
“Yes, of course.”
Noriko stood and kissed Aaliyah on the cheek. “I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed. I’m exhausted.”
Aaliyah watched Noriko disappear down the hall. A short time later she heard the bathroom door close. The priestess helped the ring bearer. Aaliyah should feel relieved. She had wanted that.
So why didn’t she? Why was it that the only thing she felt was… fear?
CHAPTER 108
The sun rose beautifully over the horizon as the priestess opened her shutters. She leaned against the railing of her balcony and breathed deep. She was going to miss this. There was nothing more beautiful than Malama in the morning.
Her breakfast had been set out on the lanai and she sat down to enjoy it.
A few minutes later, Vanessa stood waiting at the entrance. The priestess placed her fork on her plate and waved her in. “I trust the mission went well.”
