I looked to the screen. Cotton stood framed in the center of the shot, his stricken arm tucked against his body as usual, his left held straight up in the air. My mind leapt back to the forest—to the moment the Axe-Man had prepared to cut me down with his horrible weapon. His right arm, down by his side, bone hand clinging to Ethan’s shoulder. His left, held up just like that, brandishing the axe.
My phone buzzed, startling me into dropping it. I bent down to grab it, too shaken to acknowledge the look Collins gave me. I had a text message from Garrett. Did I even want to read it?
Just let it be, the singing voice cut in. He can’t hurt you anymore. No one can.
I pushed that thought aside, invigorated by what I had just learned. I opened up the message and read: Sorry babe. All part of the plan. Wish I could have warned u ahead of time. Hope u get this.
“All part of the plan?” I read aloud, my brow furrowing. I had to know what that meant. I texted back: What are you talking about?
He replied immediately: The things I just said. Meant none of it. I didnt get there fast enough 2 explain. All for show. Talk soon. Im sorry. Love u.
I had fifty questions—more like demands—but my anger and hurt yielded to my need to discuss the information I had obtained.
I typed: Yeah. Talk soon. Did you read the papers you gave me? Cotton bullet wound was not from Vietnam. I think he is the Axe-Man.
My husband’s reply appeared right away. We know. Mom & dad on their way.
A second later, Maggie and Gordon Clegg came into the station. Collins stood up reflexively. So did I. Gordon approached the desk while Maggie ran around it and right up to me.
“It’s alright now, dear. I’m here.” She reached through the bars and roughly clasped my hands in hers. “Look at you, you’re so pale. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I have,” I said, pointing to the man on the TV. “We have to do something. He’s got the boy. He’s got the whole town doing exactly the wrong thing. He did the same thing he did in 1915. He’s got control of the mayor and the chief of police. I don’t know how I didn’t see it until now.”
“None of us did,” Maggie said. “We’ll fix this.”
“Joe,” Gordon said, leaning on the desk, “let her out.”
“I can’t do that, Pastor Clegg,” the officer replied. “I have orders from the chief to hold her here until morning.”
“On what grounds?”
“I can’t talk about it.”
Gordon rubbed his beard. “How long have we known each other, Joseph?”
“Jeez… since I was a little kid, I guess. I remember going to Sunday school classes with Garrett when we were, I don’t know, seven or eight. Why?”
“What did we learn from Scripture about judging others?”
Collins drew back. “I have to follow procedure. I’m not going to just set her free because the Bible says I can’t judge her.”
“I’m not talking about Kelly, Joseph. I’m talking about you. Look at me honestly and tell me what’s in your soul. Is this right, what Pastor Cotton and Chief Branchett have done to her?”
The young officer’s face drew out in shame. “No. I think she was right, this was motivated by wanting to look good to the county. They don’t have a solid lead and no real reason to hold her. It feels like something else is going on. Now that Cotton admitted he made the call in the first place… this whole thing stinks.”
“Do what is right, then,” Gordon said. “Branchett is not God. He cannot judge you. No matter the consequences here on Earth, God will know that you followed what He called you to do and did the right thing. I will help and support you, as I always have.”
Collins faltered. “I… yeah. This is nuts. I’m going to get fired, but whatever. This is wrong. The chief and the holy man are up to something.” He strode over to the cell, yanked the key ring off his belt, and unbolted the cell door. I fell into Maggie’s arms.
Gordon smiled and shook the young cop’s hand. “Thank you, Joseph. Now you can face what comes next with your head held high, good or bad.”
Collins nodded. “Yeah… I do feel better. Wow.”
Pulling on my jacket, I ran out of the cell and threw my arms around Collins’s shoulders. “Thank you so much. You won’t regret this. I’ll come through. You have no idea how important this is.”
Unsure of what to say, he nodded again.
Maggie took the file from the cell and left it on the officer’s desk. “Have a look at that when you have time. A very interesting read.” She took me by the arm and led me out into the cold late afternoon where their car waited in the parking lot.
“We have a lot to talk about in a very short time,” she said as the three of us got into the car. “Let’s get you to our house. Garrett will meet us there.”
“Good,” I said. “I want to talk to him.”
“You should be upset at all of us, not just him,” she answered. “I’ll explain everything. Luckily, I made pecan pie. You can’t have any hard feelings over one of those, can you?”
Chapter 30
Garrett wasn’t there when we got to my in-laws’ home. Maggie had me take a seat at the dining room table. I waited in silence for twenty minutes before he came in the front door. He was sweaty and covered with dirt and twigs, as if he’d been hiking. He slumped into the chair at the head of the table.
“I’m so upset with you,” I said. “Luckily for you, this is way more important than both of us.”
The most infuriating part was not what he had said. It was the look on his face. He was so pleased with himself. He slid his father’s chair over so he was next to me and put his hand on mine. His face cracked into a broad grin. “I sure put on a hell of a show, didn’t I?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s you. The great storyteller. Mind telling me what possessed you to use that, of all things, just to fake a fight for Cotton’s benefit?”
Garrett sat back. “My parents and I came up with the plan after the cops took you away. My mom figured Cotton wouldn’t make his move until he was sure you were done, goose cooked, out of the game.”
“Yeah, she told me that. So?”
“So I came to the jail with the plan to fake an argument so he’d think he’d taken your whole support system away. I was going to let you in on it, but the hospital held me up when I was trying to get out. I didn’t have time to explain before he showed up.”
I relaxed and laid my head on his shoulder. “You’re such a jerk. I was heartbroken. I’m still mad at you.”
“I know. But I had to think on my feet. You saw his face. He looked so smug when he was revealing things you’d said to him in private. He straight-up handed me the opportunity. He was so sure he’d beat us, he let his guard down. Sure enough, he made his move after I left.”
“Yes. He took the boy. Did you even try and stop him?”
“I did you one even better than that. I hid outside and waited until they came out. He threw the boy in the trunk of his car and went to the press conference. After everyone went their separate ways, I followed him while I sent my parents to get you. We were suspicious after reading the file, but we wanted to be dead sure. So while we were texting, I was knee-deep in mud by the bridge. Cotton definitely took the boy into the forest.”
“I think I get it,” I said. “It made Cotton think he’s all clear. But he’s still got what he needs for his plan.”
“That’s true, but now you and Momma Kodi are going to get the drop on him. At least, you will as long as Joe doesn’t call Branchett. I don’t think he will.”
“Joe won’t say anything,” Gordon said as he came into the dining room. He carried two plates of what looked like reheated leftovers, which he set in front of us. Maggie came close behind with two more for herself and her husband.
“Eat,” she said. “We’re going to need our strength.”
“We?” I inquired.
“Well, yes. Our son is very capable, but he’s not in top shape. Gordon and I sure aren�
�t letting you go into those woods alone.”
“I’m not going to be alone.”
Garrett cocked an eyebrow at me. “Who else would be coming along?” he said with a mouth already crammed with sliced carrot.
I couldn’t hide my smile anymore. “Oh, you know. Everyone.”
He swallowed. “What?”
“Just like you said. Cotton handed me the opportunity. He told me that I needed to really understand what motivates people. I think I’ve got it now. I’m going to give Grunwald what they want.”
“Yeah?” my husband said. “What’s that?”
I leaned back in my chair. “Bruja.”
✽✽✽
I found myself wishing I’d had time to wait another half hour or so. I was running so hard that my stomach was protesting against the dinner Maggie had fed me. As I had done the night I searched for Emma Lee, I used my jacket as a shield while I pushed through the branches. I emerged into the relative open space of the riverbank before slowing my pace.
I descended into the riverbed, the heels of my boots sinking into the moist dirt and pebbles. I stopped in front of the Fangstone to catch my breath. As my eyes wandered to the pointed crest above my head, I propped my arm against the rock to rest. My fingers traced the sharp, water-worn edge that had killed Drag-Belly last night.
I felt the buzz of my phone in my pocket. It was the text I had been waiting for from Garrett.
Talked to Joe, the message read. He is on board. Its on.
Good, thanks, I replied. After a minute, I followed up with: Are we sure everything else is in place?
He will be there, came my husband’s answer. Dad says he wont waste any time. As soon as sun sets and black beast emerges, the axe will fall.
Then here I go. I sent the message and put my phone back in my pocket. I dropped my other arm and leaned my shoulder against the Fangstone, watching the sky’s slow fade from blue to orange. I kept as still as I could, listening for movement.
I breathed in the cold evening air, savoring its sting against my nose and inside my chest, letting it pull me out of my own head and into the present. I was still riding the gut-wrenching hurt that Garrett had inflicted by not telling me of his scheme. But something else was rising alongside that sickness.
I would have done the same thing.
Garrett had said the things he had so we could get Ethan back and save Laylah. That was worth this hurt. I could bear it. I would have done it to him if this were what was at stake. Even if he couldn’t forgive me afterward.
I’ll pay any cost.
I smiled on the inside as I thought those words. Now I understood the source of the dreams. The source of that otherworldly ferocity that had taken me while I was searching for Emma Lee and when I had first faced the Axe-Man.
Mother Bear.
Then I heard another voice, light, soft, reassuring. This inner voice had spoken to me for the first time while I was sitting in the holding cell.
It’s alright to seek help. Don’t fight it anymore. You’re just making it worse for yourself. You inflicted that injury on your husband. You kidnapped an orphaned boy and paraded him around town. You are emotionally ravaged by everything that has happened and that is perfectly fine. You can be helped. But first you must admit it to yourself.
Could that be true? Had I broken my husband’s arm for the crime of refusing to indulge in my delusions of valor?
My phone buzzed again, this time for a call. I rolled my eyes. I had thought Garrett and I had gone over everything several times. Wondering what he could want, I pulled my phone out and looked at it.
It was Sammie. I answered.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“Kelly, please stop,” she begged, sounding frantic. “I shouldn’t have run you off. We can fix this. Just come home and tell us where Laylah is. We’ll tell the police you need help. We can get past this.”
“It’s way too late for that,” I said. “You didn’t believe me when I came to you for help. Now the darkness is going to take her.”
“Oh, God… Kelly, don’t hurt that child.”
“It won’t be me, Sammie. It’ll be the shadow. All you had to do was listen.”
“Kelly… we know what happened. Branchett told us everything.”
“Branchett doesn’t know anything.”
“Sweetie, please try to stay with me. There’s no darkness. There’s no curse, OK? You need help. Garrett went to the police when he found out they let you out. He told them everything.”
“He told the truth!” I shrieked. “He told them how we fought the monsters in the river and met with the Axe-Man!”
“Kelly, honey. No. He told them that you hit him with a bat and put him in the hospital when he wouldn’t go along with this. Do you remember doing that? He said he didn’t want to get you in trouble, but when the police let you out he felt that you were a danger to the community. Don’t be that, Kelly. We’re all trying to look out for you. Can you just come home?”
“No. I have to find Laylah.” My voice was so shrill I sounded ridiculous to myself. “No one else will help me, so it’s all on me.”
“The whole town is out there,” Sammie said. “We’re looking for you and Laylah both. We all want to help you. If you see the lights from Phil’s truck, just head this way, OK? We’re going to make this better.”
“You want to help?” I laughed “Or are you hunting me? How much longer does this call have to last before the cops get their trace on my phone? Or has that been done already?”
She didn’t answer, but I could hear sobbing on her end.
“Thought so,” I said. “Do you want the Axe-Man to win? Some friend.”
I hung up, feeling like the worst person on Earth. A second later, I heard the diesel engine. A powerful beam of light appeared from somewhere uphill, forcing me to step around the tree to get it out of my eyes.
The light moved to my left, sweeping along the riverbed. It must have been the mounted searchlight on top of Phil’s truck. As soon as I was out of its path, I dashed up the far side of the bank. I ducked between bushes in case he brought the light back the other way. Then I heard him putting the truck into gear. If the cops had really been tracing the call, they were probably only a few minutes away from surrounding me.
That was fine.
Chapter 31
The daylight was almost gone. I stood in front of the bent red cedar. The bare, angular branches hung around my sides. I got the distinct impression of a giant gin trap, just straining to snap shut and break my bones. I moved my palm along the rough, chiseled surface of the stone block.
Well, this is the place, I thought. It started here and it will end here.
As I stared at the ominous tree, I heard footsteps.
“You’re making a mistake,” said a small but severe tone I recognized. “You think you know anything about the Eld King? The instant he takes his first breath, he will have no more need for you.”
“Shut up,” replied an unmistakable baritone.
It was the boy and Cotton. I dove behind the tree and crouched down, hoping the underbrush and the settling night were enough to hide me. I squinted into the dusk.
The pastor’s wide form came into view. Laylah was slung over his left shoulder, dangling like a marionette. Cotton turned his body and gave a jerk. I saw a coil of rope across his chest and over his other shoulder, trailing back into the trees. The rope pulled taut and then the boy stumbled into the clearing, bound around the waist. His arms were behind his back.
“Stagger will toss you away, Halberdier,” Ethan yelled, red in the face. “Or feed you to the shadow to bring back the badger and crocodile.”
Cotton ignored him, lumbering up to the twisted cedar and roughly slinging Laylah onto the stone slab as if she were a bag of deer feed. I almost lunged at him there and then, but I bit back on my rage.
Ethan punished him for me, giving a mighty heave that caught Cotton by surprise and nearly caused him to fall. But the man was just
too massive and he regained his balance.
“You never met Stagger!” Ethan shouted. “You mean nothing to him!”
Cotton used his now-free good arm to grab the rope and yank Ethan down. The boy hit the dirt on his knees and chest. The pastor kicked him over onto his back and bent down so they were face to face.
Now was my chance to start moving.
“You’re way out of line, kid,” Cotton growled. “I knew Stagger, Drag-Belly, and Anvilback when they were all one beast.”
Even in this light I could see Ethan’s look of horror and confusion.
Cotton took a deep breath. “Oh, yes. The pride, the hunger, and the tenacity. They were one, before our arrival to this messed-up little dollhouse world split them into three. And with my help, they’ll be one again and your self-righteous bear will have no chance.”
“Why, Cotton? Following the Eld King brought you misery and death. I’ve seen you in your new life. People throw money at you. You have wealth beyond anything most people could reasonably achieve. Why throw a comfortable life away?”
“You don’t get it.” Cotton stood up. “When you too are back under Stagger’s control, you’ll understand. You’ll learn to love it. This is the life. I use my particular skillset and, of course, my charm.” He flashed his television smile. “I amass the influence I need to do what Stagger needs of me. That’s the job. I get to enjoy every earthly pleasure I earn along the way. Call it payment for services rendered. And when it comes time to lay waste to that world and move on, we do so. I don’t lament what I’ve lost, because I just get to start over somewhere else.”
“You’d go against the pale man? He spared this world, you know.”
“Yeah, and how long ago was that? The pale man may have appreciated this place at one point, but now it’s become as corrupt as every other world. This place is an abomination, just like you. The creature of shadow is the only thing worth keeping around here, and Stagger will have it.”
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