Night Demon

by Lisa Kessler

  Colin looked back toward the jungle and finally whispered, “Be well, my brother.”

  Slowly, the three gods retreated into the darkness of the pyramid, through a secret chamber known only to them.

  …

  Lukas landed in front of the research tent, once more returning to his human form. When he saw a Jeep parked beside the door, he froze. Panic shot through him.

  “What is it?” Calisto asked, walking up beside him.

  “I told her to go home,” Lukas said, more to himself than Calisto.

  His heart raced. It had to be Gretchen’s. She was the only other person who knew where their research area was located. But she knew the danger here, she knew about the Demon. He’d told her to stay away…

  He rushed inside the tent and his heart sank. Her things were on the table, but her bed wasn’t being slept in. She was gone. His stomach knotted up so tight he felt ill. He came out of the tent, his pulse pounding through his veins. “I have to find her.”

  Kate walked toward him, no longer a wolf, but a woman reaching out to him. “The sun will be up soon. You don’t have time.”

  He bit back the frustration that threatened to strangle him and forced himself to speak. “She’s all alone. I can’t just wait until tomorrow night.”

  “Who?” Calisto asked.

  “A friend. She’s a scientist, a mortal.” Lukas sighed before meeting his eyes. “I can’t let anything happen to her.”

  “We will help you search for her at the next nightfall,” Calisto said. “You cannot help her if you are burned by the sun.”

  “He’s right.” Kate nodded. “If you want to help her, we should wait.”

  Lukas found himself vacillating from sick with worry to burning with rage. What part of “go home” did she not get? How could Gretchen put herself in danger like this?

  How would he go on if something happened to her?

  “This tent has too many seams for the sun’s rays. Do you have a resting place nearby?” Calisto asked.

  Lukas nodded and started walking. His hands trembled. He found no hope to cling to; instead, dread suffocated him. The same panic that had seized him when he found her unconscious at the hotel overwhelmed him again.

  She deserved better than this mess he had tangled her up in. He had to get her out of it somehow…

  If it wasn’t already too late.

  …

  Zafrina held the oil lamp up beside the north wall of the cavern while Gretchen took in the story painted on the stone.

  “Am I translating this part right?” Gretchen asked over her shoulder. “You were a Priestess?”

  “He’le’.” Zafrina nodded. “How do you read my language? You have no teacher.”

  “A few years ago, someone deciphered the Mayan calendar, and gradually we started to translate more of the glyphs.”

  “So you guess.”

  Gretchen laughed with a shrug. “Yes, you could call it educated guessing. But I’m glad to see that we’ve been pretty close on our translations.” Her laughter died away as she stared at Zafrina through the shadows. “Why are you helping me?”

  “I have not helped you yet. I bring you here to this place so we can talk without fear of the Demon. She does not know you are here. Not yet.”

  Gretchen couldn’t hold back the shiver that ran through her body. “Why does she care about me?”

  “We will talk later, after you have learned to keep your thoughts your own.”

  “But why—” Gretchen tried to ask again.

  “Because I know something about the Demon the others do not. You are wise. You will tell them and make them listen.”

  “There are no others, Zafrina. It’s just me this time, and I’m in no position to cage a Demon. A week ago I wouldn’t have even believed there was a Demon.”

  “You are wrong.” Her eyes sparkled in the dim lamplight. “There are others. The immortal brothers have returned. Our Gods of the North, South, East, and West have joined together again after millennia of separation. They are here, and you will find them.”

  “The priests who trapped the Demon a thousand years ago…the Night Walkers.” She met Zafrina’s gaze. “They could kill me.”

  “Camalotz has already tried.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Zafrina tapped her temple. “Your mind is open to me. I am a Night Walker. I can see your fear of her.” She lowered the lantern. “First you must learn to hide your thoughts. Then we will talk about the past.”

  “If you know the gods are here, why don’t you find them and tell them what you know yourself? They’d be more likely to believe you, anyway.”

  “I have my reasons,” Zafrina answered, turning her attention to the cenote in the center of the chamber. “Come. Wash in the fresh water, and I will fetch you some dry clothes. Then we work until the sun rises.”

  …

  Zafrina gave Gretchen the oil lamp and vanished deeper into the shadows of the cavern. Gretchen glanced around—this was her chance to run. But where would she go?

  The warm flickering light reflected off the painted walls, enticing her to come closer, to read and be transported back into a world of immortal gods and demons. A society that apparently still existed, hidden within a modern world ruled by science and reason instead of magic and faith.

  With a sigh, Gretchen set the lantern on the ground and stared at the small pool of fresh water. Her clothes were soaked in seawater, itchy and uncomfortable, and the lure of being able to wash the salt from her skin tempted her. Gretchen glanced over her shoulder in the direction Zafrina had gone. Did she really want to get naked with a blood-drinking immortal she didn’t know nearby?

  She wet her lips, tasting the tangy sea salt. What did she have to lose? If Zafrina were going to kill her, at least she wouldn’t die in wet, itchy underwear.

  Decision made, Gretchen peeled off her clothes and settled into the cool water. She scrubbed her arms and legs quickly, relieving herself of the gritty salt and sand. Dunking her head underwater, her long, red hair floated around her face. When Zafrina suddenly stood at the edge of the pool, Gretchen gasped from under the water and came up coughing.

  “Wear this.” Zafrina held the dress out at arm’s length, and Gretchen snatched it from her hand, wishing she had a towel.

  “You startled me.”

  Zafrina stepped closer, into the dim light. “Forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you. I am not used to visitors.”

  Gretchen stepped out of the water and quickly pulled on the dress. The fine fabric clung to her damp skin, embracing every curve of her figure. Zafrina’s eyes moved over her so slowly that Gretchen found herself tugging at the material, suddenly overwhelmed with self-consciousness.

  “Thank you for the dress.” She forced herself to stop fidgeting, and noticed the delicate embroidery of flowers all along the neckline. “It’s beautiful.”

  Gretchen was grateful to see Zafrina’s intense gaze melt away as she smiled and came forward to sit on a worn wooden stool. “The Mayan women have always been weavers. What remains of our culture is still woven into the blankets and fabrics.” The soft lamplight shone in Zafrina’s bright brown eyes, making them dance with orange fire. “You know the Night Walker you care for, this Lukas, cannot give you children.”

  Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh. “What?” She hoped her jaw hadn’t hit the ground. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”

  “Because you are a fertile woman.”

  Gretchen rubbed her forehead, completely confused by Zafrina’s sudden obsession with her ability to bear children.

  “It is my calling,” Zafrina answered matter-of-factly. “I am the priestess of the island.”

  Cozumel. Wasn’t that where Zafrina had brought her? Gretchen’s expertise was in translating the ancient written languages. She wished now that she knew more about the different Mayan ruin sites. She’d been so focused on the altar translations that she hadn’t
taken the time to explore any other sites.

  “What does being a priestess on this island have to do with my bearing children?”

  “The white men named this place San Gervasio. This island was the shrine to Ixchel…”

  “The Goddess of Fertility,” Gretchen said. Zafrina nodded. “You’re the priestess of fertility?”

  “Yes. It is both a gift and a curse.”

  “Well, I guess that explains your interest in my having children.” Gretchen smiled. “But Lukas and I aren’t lovers.”

  “You are in your heart.”

  Gretchen felt the lump in her throat return as she pushed away the memory of Lukas’s piercing green eyes and the echo of his pained words calling her a fool and telling her to forget him. It still stung. She wasn’t ready to talk about it.

  “Teach me to protect my thoughts…please.”

  Zafrina nodded and rose from her stool. She stood in front of Gretchen, almost too close to be comfortable.

  “You worry too much about a soft touch from another woman.”

  “I’m attracted to men,” Gretchen said, more quickly than she had intended to.

  “Did I say you were not?” Zafrina smiled.

  “Weren’t you going to show me how to hide my thoughts?” Gretchen tried not to blush and hoped the change in subject would lessen the awkwardness.

  Zafrina’s eyes danced with good humor. “He’le’. Close your eyes, Beautiful One.”

  “Gretchen,” she corrected.

  Zafrina’s laughter was surprisingly infectious. The sound sparkled around her, echoing off the cavern walls until Gretchen found herself laughing with her. As their chuckles faded, Zafrina smiled, her orange eyes sparked with mischief as she spoke. “I will call you ‘Beautiful One’ because you are so. Now, close your eyes.”

  Shaking her head with a smile, Gretchen finally complied and closed her eyes. Zafrina went on with her training. “Now, think of a piece of music, hear it in your mind.”

  Gretchen sighed and struggled to think of some kind of song. It wasn’t that she didn’t like music, she just never had much of an ear for it. Her piano teacher gave up on her after spending a year trying to teach her to maintain a steady beat in her playing. She wasn’t much of a music fan either, really. In school, she’d always engrossed herself in her studies. Music was only a distraction, background noise.

  “That is how you keep me from hearing your thoughts, Beautiful One. Hide your thoughts behind your song. Put a melody in your mind, and it will be the music I hear.”

  Gretchen’s brow furrowed as she searched her mind for a single song, any song. Something simple to mask her true thoughts… Then it came to her. A lullaby she used to sing with her father. Tears welled up behind her closed eyelids as the words filled her mind:

  Hush-a-bye don’t you cry,

  Go to sleep little baby.

  For when you wake, you shall have

  All the pretty little horses.

  She could almost hear her father’s baritone voice singing in her mind. When she was a little girl, he’d stroke her hair away from her temple, singing softly until she drifted off to sleep. She hadn’t thought about it in years. God, she missed him.

  “Very good.”

  Gretchen opened her teary eyes when she heard Zafrina’s voice.

  “I do not hear your thoughts.” Zafrina’s expression sobered. “As long as the song plays in your mind, your true thoughts will be masked from any Night Walker. Practice this, Beautiful One. The moment the song stops, your mind will be opened to any who wish to see into it.”

  Gretchen nodded, holding her breath as Zafrina’s cool fingertips drifted down her cheek.

  “I have much more to tell you, but not until I know the secrets I share will remain hidden in your mind. Practice while I rest, and at nightfall we will talk again.”

  “Why are you helping me?”

  Zafrina met her eyes. “Because you have faced the Demon and lived. You are strong and wise, a warrior of the mind.”

  “I’m no warrior, Zafrina. I can’t look away and let people die, but I can’t save the world, either. If you know how to stop the Demon, why won’t you help?”

  “Mulac, the God of the North.” She spat his name like a bad taste in her mouth, but her bright eyes dimmed. “The sun is rising. I must sleep. Keep the song in your mind.”

  Without another word, Zafrina slipped back into the shadows and disappeared.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gretchen blinked her eyes open, squinting as faint traces of the morning light encroached into the thick shadows of the cavern. Stretching her sore aching body, she rose to her feet with a yawn. Sunlight thinned the darkness of the cavern enough for her to make out shapes without the aid of the oil lamp. Scanning the cave from one end to the other, she frowned. Where was Zafrina?

  Gretchen rubbed the back of her neck and winced when sharp pain suddenly shot through her. Carefully, she reached back up and let her fingertips lightly inspect the skin along her shoulder to the base of her neck. Her blood ran cold. Two tiny bumps. She didn’t need a mirror to know they weren’t scratches.

  Her hands trembled as she dropped her arm and lifted the oil lamp to beat back the sun-dappled shadows. Zafrina drank her blood last night—Gretchen was sure of it. But why couldn’t she remember? Zafrina mentioned having “powers.” Could she have wiped the incident from Gretchen’s mind?

  Gretchen started humming her mental lullaby, shielding her true thoughts while she quickly changed back into her own clothes, grateful to have clean, dry pants again. Simple pleasures reminded her that the world as she knew it hadn’t completely imploded. Not yet, anyway.

  She left Zafrina’s borrowed dress folded on the wooden stool. Old folk tales about vampires haunted her. She’d been bitten. Was she a Night Walker now? Her heart raced with disbelief. Lukas told her she had to ingest the immortal blood herself in order for her body to change.

  I can’t be one of them. The sun is up, and I’m still awake. I’d be asleep if she changed me.

  Heat churned in her belly. She never should have come here. It was a rash, stupid thing to do. She felt betrayed and foolish. She’d trusted Zafrina to help her, not hurt her. Her fingers glided back up to the nape of her neck, wincing as they found the warm, swollen wounds from Zafrina’s bite.

  Gretchen sighed and made her way farther into the cave. Part of her thought she must be insane, but the scientist in her needed to find Zafrina, needed to see the Night Walker. She couldn’t help it. According to Lukas, Night Walkers slept during the day, so theoretically, she should be safe.

  But what if she woke up?

  The thought vanished the moment Gretchen rounded the corner. There was Zafrina, lying motionless on top of a raised stone table, her ebony hair spilling over the edge. Nothing about her indicated sleep, though.

  She looked dead.

  Gretchen moved closer. Her hand trembled, making the shadows cast from the oil lamp dance around her. Her pulse raced while she silently inspected Zafrina’s lifeless body. Her ashen complexion made her resemble a marble statue more than a human being.

  She’s not human, Gretchen reminded herself. Not anymore.

  She’d never seen a body so still. Zafrina’s chest didn’t rise and fall with each breath. Her eyes didn’t flutter behind her lashes. Gretchen supposed her heart wasn’t beating, either, but she didn’t feel comfortable checking for a pulse. There weren’t any wounds on her body, she noted. No stakes through the heart, although who knew if that would even work on a Night Walker.

  Her inner voice screamed at her to keep her distance, and in this case, she trusted her instincts completely. She turned to leave, suddenly hungry for the sunlight, but something made her stop. Looking over her shoulder one last time, Gretchen’s chest tightened. Was this what happened to Lukas every day? Was he out there somewhere right now, hidden away from the sun, his body completely lifeless?

  She ran. Ran for daylight, for fresh air, for freedom from this unbelievab
le truth. At the mouth of the cavern, Gretchen dropped the lamp, not slowing her pace until she reached the sun-soaked clearing. Falling to her knees, she choked on a sob, covering her face with trembling hands. This was all too much. It couldn’t possibly be real, and yet she knew it was.

  She loved an immortal and was running from a Demon she couldn’t see. No one could help her, and no one would believe her. She’d never felt more alone.

  She wasn’t sure how long she cried. Gradually, her shoulders ceased their shaking, and her tears dried until she sat in the sunshine, numb. She took a deep breath and struggled to formulate coherent thoughts. Her life was at stake, and she needed a plan.

  Was Zafrina a friend or foe?

  Her stomach interrupted her pondering with a loud growl that made her smile in spite of herself. She was still human, at least, and a hungry one at that.

  She stood up and her heart sank a little. She knew she was on the island of Cozumel, but she’d never been here before. Cruise ships docked in Cozumel every day, so there must be a city.

  Someplace.

  She had no idea which way to go, and even if she did, she didn’t have any money. She’d left all her belongings back at the research site in the jungle on the mainland. With a sigh, she shoved her hands into her pockets and started to walk, but stopped sharply as she felt something inside.

  Gretchen withdrew her hand and opened it to find a single 50-Pesos bill, with a folded scrap of paper. She opened it and a smile warmed her features. Newly written Mayan glyphs were scrawled on the back of the paper. U we’y, it read. Eat.

  She looked at the cavern as she slid the money back into her pocket. Maybe Zafrina was a friend, after all. It didn’t excuse her bite, but it did give Gretchen a measure of peace. With a little newfound confidence, Gretchen took her lunch money and gazed up at the sun, gaining her bearings. If her memory of the local geography served, Cozumel was only ten miles wide, so she headed west in search of civilization.

  …

  The Guardian awoke, growling in pain when the afternoon sun assaulted his immortal eyes. The Demon was gone. Again. His chest tightened as he sat up. Why was she risking herself during the daylight hours again? What was she hunting?