by Sharon Joss
I basked in the compliment. “This isn’t the first one you’ve caught.”
“Nope.” Rhys turned right at 6th Street, which rimmed the lower edge of Sentinel Hill. The road rose before us, the pavement eventually giving way to packed dirt. We bounced along, and the caged demon hissed with each jolt. Rhys stopped the truck in front of a locked gate stretching across the road. He got out and pulled a large ring of keys from his pocket, selected a key, and unlocked the gate. We drove through and continued our drive up the hill, after he locked the gate behind us.
“I’m asking for an explanation here, Rhys. At least two more of those things are running loose in the basement of St. Agrippa’s. How did that happen? Does the FBI know? Wait a second.” The hairs on my scalp prickled. “Could a djemon made flesh be the serial killer?”
“That’s what I think, although the djemon would have to be much larger than the one we caught today. If the killer is a demon master, he’s had that djemon a long time. It takes decades for one to get big enough to do any real damage. My guess is that the big one has gotten too powerful to control. In that case, the master may have started naming new demons.”
I felt sick. “Have you told Porter?”
“Of course. He was with me when I caught the first one. Let’s just say the local field office doesn’t think much of Frank Porter or his theories.”
I sat back in my seat, stunned. We’d stopped at another gate, this one merely a locked chain across the track. Rhys unlocked this one too, and we drove through, and again, he locked the chain back into place behind us.
“One of the first victims found was a registered demon master. So was the most recent, Joanne Reynolds. But all the most recent victims were individuals known in the AI community to have unregistered demons. All the paranormals and supernaturals want this guy caught, but they dare not expose themselves to federal scrutiny, so as far as the FBI is concerned, the two demon master deaths aren’t significant. But I think the Night Shark is using a demon to kill demon masters.”
“I thought the FBI kept track of all the demon masters.”
Rhys smirked. “The FBI doesn’t know everything Mattie, and the anomalous community here in Shore Haven wants to keep it that way. Most demon masters keep their identity, as well as their demons, a secret. Law enforcement in this town is particularly suspicious and antagonistic toward the supernatural, and the AIs cannot afford to risk exposure.”
“Didn’t you show them the djemons?”
“Sure. They said the same thing you did. How can something so small be dangerous? And to be honest, the first one we caught was about half the size of this one here. None of the injuries on any of the victims found so far match up with the bite radius of any known djemons. If the killer is a djemon, it’s big. The FBI insists the marks on the victims are man-made, but they can’t identify the tool yet, and so far, no DNA has been found. But djemons don’t have DNA. They’re animated, but not alive. There are no skin cells, saliva, or hairs shed.”
Goosebumps rolled up my arms.
Rhys stopped the truck and turned off the engine. “From here we walk. Come on, I’ve got coveralls and gear in the back.” He grabbed the cat carrier and I stepped out into the sultry wilderness on Sentinel Hill. The forest dripped with moisture, a mist of sweat flies surrounded us.
Rhys handed me a set of white coveralls, a pair of scuffed leather gloves, and kneepads. “These belong to a friend of mine. She’s about your size.”
They were clean, at least. I tried to get them on over my jeans, but they wouldn’t button. I told Rhys not to look, and hid on the other side of the truck, while I took off my pants and put on the coveralls. They were still snug on the bottom, and way too big on the top. I had to roll the pant legs up four times. The giant cavewoman must be built like Barbie. Great.
Rhys passed me a miner’s hardhat and showed me how to work the headlight, then slung his daypack over one shoulder, and grabbed the cat carrier.
“Come on, it’s not far.”
I followed him through wet woods toward the entrance of the cave, a million questions poised on the tip of my tongue.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
“Been here a few times.”
“Shouldn’t Agent Porter be with us?”
“Frank’s a big guy. He can’t fit through the entrance. That’s why he gave me the keys.”
Sweat trickled from my hair into the collar of my coveralls. Rhys set a brisk pace, and I had to trot to keep up with him. Ten minutes later, we emerged into a rocky clearing.
“Here we are.” Rhys rummaged around in his pack until he came out with a couple of small flashlights and handed one to me.
“You ready?”
I looked around, but didn’t see anything. “Where is the entrance?”
Rhys pointed to our feet.
CHAPTER 19
“You have got to be kidding.”
The half-hidden entrance wasn’t much more than a crack in the ground between two rough granite boulders. I’d imagined something grander; more along the lines of an Open Sesame kind of entrance. Anchored to the surrounding rocks, a sturdy grate covered the aperture and must have been in place for a long time. The lock looked shiny new.
Rhys grinned like an idiot as he unlocked the gate and turned on his headlamp. I did the same, my discomfort growing every second.
“Take it slow, mind your head.” He sat down at the fissure opening, dangled his legs, eased the cat carrier through, then lowered his body feet first and disappeared from sight.
I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. What was I doing here, anyway? Crawling into a hole in the ground with a guy I barely knew? Sure, he’s a great kisser and all, but what if I got lost and couldn’t find my way out? What if something happened? Mina would be left at school again, and no one would even know where to look for me. Hell, I could be dead.
“Mattie?” Rhys scraped his way back to the entrance. Things sounded pretty tight inside. I bet Agent Porter wasn’t the only person who couldn’t fit through the entrance. I bet Cavewoman Barbie didn’t fit either.
Rhys’s face popped into view from beneath me. “I thought you weren’t afraid of the dark?”
“I’m not.”
“What’s the problem?”
I didn’t answer.
He hoisted himself out of the entrance with a grunt, and approached me with a small coil of blue nylon cord in his hand.
Instinctively, I backed away. For a half-minute of eternity, I wondered if Rhys could be the Night Shark.
He froze, his green eyes twinkling.
I pointed at him. “Don’t you laugh at me. I just remembered, I need to make a phone call, that’s all. You know, in case I’m late.”
“Cell phone service doesn’t work up here, Mattie. I should have said something earlier. Don’t worry. We’ll be back in time for you to pick up Mina.”
Panic flooded through me. “What’s the rope for?” I thought about running back to the truck, but Rhys had the keys. No one would ever find me.
“Come ‘ere.” He grabbed me by the baggy front of the coveralls, pulled me toward him, and wrapped a length of the nylon cord around my waist before I could react. He tied a fancy knot and gave a it a tug.
“There. Now you can’t get lost or separated from me.” He tied the other end around his own waist, using the same knot. “Better?”
Oh. Good thing I hadn’t made a total fool of myself. What a ninny. “I’m not scared.”
“Most people get scared the first time.” He grinned that bad boy grin again. “This part of the country is riddled with caves. I wish I could take you someplace special for your first time, but as caves go, this one’s not bad. Once we get inside, you’ll be fine. You okay?”
I’d met Rhys less than twenty-four hours ago. I chewed the inside of my lip. “Yeah.”
“Liar.”
I had to do this. I took a deep breath. “No, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Rhys lowered himself int
o the darkness. He flashed his light around to show me what it looked like.
“Any bugs in there?”
He gave an encouraging tug to the line around my waist.
“Come on, girlie. Time’s a wasting. Who needs bugs? We’ve got monsters to find.” The little-boy-chasing-pirates look on his face sold me. Plain and simple, this guy loved crawling around in the dark. I’d be as safe with him as anybody. And he was right about the monsters.
I descended into the portal.
#
The narrow passageway led downward. Loose rocks and scree made the trail dicey, and the low ceiling made forced us to crawl or walk hunched over. Rhys showed me the best handholds, and we made good progress. The cold sank right into my bones, and I wished I’d brought a jacket. I was glad for the rope connecting me to Rhys.
Now that I was down here, the cave didn’t bother me. I couldn’t understand the allure, but I even turned off my headlamp. With Rhys leading the way, and Blix and Larry and the gang bringing up the rear with their eerie eye-glow, I felt like I was part of some strange underground safari. If worst came to worst and the lights went out, there was more than enough light from my weird little herd to guide me back to the entrance. A reassuring thought.
We alternated between creeping, crawling, and sidling our way through the dry tunnels. The few tight spots we encountered had been harder on Rhys than me.
“Sooo. Have you been here with Miss Cavewoman?”
“Why do you ask?” I heard the amusement in his voice.
“Just curious. Based on this custom rig of hers, I wondered if she would have the same problem as agent Porter.”
“This is official business. I wouldn’t bring her here.”
“But if you did. Would she make it past the entrance?”
“You jealous?” He grunted his way through another narrow spot. “Careful, you’ll need to step up to get through here.”
“Not at all. I’m a natural girl. I don’t need any artificial enhancements.” I squeezed through the narrow spot without grunting.
“Okay cave girl. Turn on your headlamp and take a look.”
We reached a spacious chamber, about forty feet across. The cold air sharpened here, and I shivered in the draft.
“I smell licorice,” I said. “Pretty strong.” I had gotten used to the muted scent of my own flock, so I hadn’t noticed the stink had gradually grown stronger as we edged our way along.
A row of cat crates lined up against one wall of the cave, and each one, I assumed, contained a captured djemon made flesh. Rhys set the new crate down next to the others.
“What are they doing here?” I crouched down to get a better look. Five pair of luminous eyes stared back at me from homely faces. Two of them hissed at me.
“This is where they stay. They can’t get out, and no one can get to them so they’re safe.”
“But you can’t leave them here. How can they live?”
“They’re not alive. Not like you think. They don’t eat or sleep. They don’t die. They exist to obey the demon master who named them. Until the government figures out what to do with them officially, they stay here.”
“What if their master calls them?”
Rhys shrugged. “So far, none have escaped. Either he’s forgotten about them, or they’re not strong enough to get out.”
I shivered. “I can’t imagine a worse thing than spending my life locked up in the dark. It seems so wrong.”
“You’re anthropomorphizing. These creatures are eternal, Mattie, like a rock or stone. Whether they’re sealed up in the cavern or in a crate doesn’t matter. And they’re too dangerous to be let loose. Come on, I want to show you something.”
I followed him into the next cavern, and where he pointed out murals of primitive graffiti painted on the walls all around us. In the light from our headlamps, a series of silhouetted figures and creatures danced across the sooty walls of the cavern.
I stared in awe. “Oh wow, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“This one depicts the story of a major battle between the indigenous local spirits and the ancestors of the Senequois people. Here the tribal shamans are driving the spirits into the caves and imprisoning them beneath this hill.”
I sensed the chaos and fear of the tribesmen as they battled the strange spirit figures. The energy of the conflict was palpable. “They’re beautiful.”
We approached the cave wall, but Rhys cautioned me from touching the mural’s surface.
“The images are incredibly fragile. These two here, are the shamans of the village. Medicine men. They’re chasing the djinn back under the hill. This part here depicts the ceremony of celebration, after the tribesmen seal the cave, and to the left here, are warnings not to disturb the spirits within.”
“The colors are so bright.”
“You’re one of only a half-dozen people on the planet who has seen these images since the ancestors of the Senequois first painted them.”
“So where’s the sealed cave?” The temperature in the caves had to be close to freezing.
“This way,” he said, and headed to the left.
“Wait a second. The djinn smell is coming from over there.” I pointed into the darkness in the other direction.
“I don’t smell anything.” He shrugged. “There’s not much over there. Let’s check the seal first.”
“You go. I want to check this out.” I was already halfway across the cavern when the cord on my waist pulled taut. I started to untie it, but Rhys stopped me.
“Nobody goes exploring alone. That’s rule number one.” He retied the knot I’d undone, and checked it again.
“Yeah, but there’s something over there. I can smell djinn, Rhys. I just want to look.” I felt certain another entrance was close by. “Besides, this place isn’t that big. I won’t get lost.”
“We stick together. There are a few cracks in the wall over there. They lead to the bat cave. You won’t be able to get through, Mattie. The fissure is too small, even for you. Come on. We’ll check the seal first, and we can check those cracks on the way back. That’s what we’re here for, remember?”
Focus, Mattie. “Okay, you’re right. Lead on, captain.”
A short time later, we reached yet another locked grate. Rhys searched his key ring again for the correct key and unlocked the grate, then slipped the lock into his pocket.
“This is the last gate, up ahead.”
“Why are you taking the lock with us?”
“I wouldn’t want to get locked in here by accident.”
After all we’d been through to get here, the thought that we might not be alone worried me. We passed through the entrance and the path widened enough to allow us to walk side-by-side. We arrived at the seal a few minutes later. An irregular chunk of concrete and metal looked to have been poured into a crevice less than a foot wide. Rhys took off his gloves and ran his hands over the rock face, searching for cracks. Rhys grunted, apparently satisfied.
“Is the seal intact?”
“Appears to be. If the seal hasn’t been breached, the influx of djinn into the Shore didn’t come from here. But we are back to square one with where those djinn are coming from.”
“You mean maybe they got kicked out of someplace else and moved here?”
“I don’t think so. This whole area has been a magnet for spirits since before the first humans arrived. It doesn’t make sense to me that a new population would move in. At least without someone noticing. Let’s take a look at what you smelled in the main cavern.”
After re-locking the grate, we returned to the main cavern. I followed my nose to the far wall of the cave, and stopped beneath a fissure some ten inches above my head.
“Here. This is where the odor is most intense. It’s almost overwhelming, really. You can feel a draft blowing through here, too.” I took my glove off, and held my hand in front of the gap. “Can’t you smell it?”
“We can’t get through. I explored this chimney with a scope
a few years ago. The crack leads downwards for eight feet or so, and opens into to a fair-sized cavern. Other than a big colony of bats, there’s nothing there. I never found any other exit.”
I was itching to get into that tunnel. “Boost me up, Rhys. Let me try.”
“Nobody goes anywhere alone. In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s no rescue crew or cell phone service down here.”
“No, no, it’s okay. I just want to look. I’ve got to, Rhys. Come on, give me a boost.”
I pulled on his collar until he bent down and I stepped into his hands. I gripped the edge of the tunnel as he boosted me up, and brought me high enough to see inside.
The stench of anise, bat urine, and guano smacked me back. Rhys was right about the crevice; the rock floor slanted sharply downwards. The entrance was tight, but definitely doable. Now that I was here, I couldn’t stop myself. I had to see.
“Higher,” I said and he raised me up another half a foot. I leveraged my elbows over the edge of the crack and pulled myself forward far enough to squeeze my shoulders through. “Give me a push. I know I can make it.”
I thought for a minute he wasn’t going to, and I started to wiggle forward on my own. Then strong hands grabbed my legs and pushed my hips through. Blood rushed to my head. I was nearly vertical. I was lying on my stomach in the tunnel, Rhys’s hands on my ankles.
Rhys tugged at the line around my waist. “This cord isn’t strong enough to hold your weight. If you fall, I’m not sure it will hold you.”
“I have to look, Rhys; there is something in here. I have to.”
“I’m serious Mattie. No fooling around.”
“I smell a boatload of djinn in here, Rhys. Of the two of us, I’m the only one that can fit through and see if they’re in here. Isn’t this why you brought me?”
After a long moment, he patted my boots. “You win. Keep three points of your body in contact with the surface at all times.”
As I inched forward, the tension on the cord around my waist increased. The smell of licorice and ammonia was choking. Rhys gripped the sole of one boot, but from my vantage point, I couldn’t see the cave floor. The end of the tunnel was still a foot away. My hands stretched out in front of me, and I figured I would need to get my face close to the entrance in order to see the floor of the cavern. Once I did that, my hands wouldn’t be able to push me back. The light from my headlamp reflected off the cave wall opposite, some hundred feet away. I noticed a few bats flying around, but unless I inched toward the mouth of the tunnel, I wouldn’t be able to see anything else.
