“Look at me.”
She opened her eyes and focused on his strong unshaven face. “I’m all right, but he’s getting more powerful.”
“He still can’t get through. He was only a vision, not solid,” Ian said.
“Look what they did to my plane,” Asher said with the despair of a child.
* * * * *
Prayerland, Texas was barely a dot on the map, “Population 980” according to the sign. They drove into town in search of some tools to repair the damaged plane.
“Do you think Asher will be okay at the airport alone?” Aileen asked from across the bench seat of the old pickup they’d found at the airport.
“I think his theory has merit. We should have some time before the next attack,” Ian said.
“His power is growing,” she said softly.
“I know.” He drove the truck into a parking lot of the sheriff’s office. The small building was little more than a trailer but they made their way around it and found what they were searching for. A carport filled with tools. Ian took what he thought they might need and threw it into the back of the pickup.
“Can I help you folks?”
Aileen gasped at the sound of the thick Texas drawl. She turned toward the building just as a light breeze came through. As soon as it did her stomach convulsed. How did he get so close to them without being noticed? The smell of rotting flesh filled the air.
Ian grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to stand just behind him.
The sheriff was still in uniform. From the looks of it, it was the same one he’d been wearing in December though now it hung loosely around his withering body. His eyes were clouded over and the flesh of his face had rotted away around his left cheekbone leaving a gaping hole.
What was left of his right hand rested comfortably on the gun strapped to his hip.
“We just wanted to borrow a few tools to make some repairs, Sheriff,” Ian said.
The specter sniggered. It was a gritty sound and Aileen’s stomach churned from both the sound and the stench.
“You don’t look to be borrowing, boy. Looks to me like you’re stealing from the law here in this fine town.”
Ian reached through the window and wrapped his hand around the .38 lying on the seat. “You may not have noticed, Sheriff, but there’s not much town left. You seem to be the only thing still living here and I think that’s a stretch of my imagination.”
Aileen crouched down and Ian backed away from the truck slightly as he opened the door.
She could hear his thoughts screaming in her head. “Get in and if I don’t make it, drive.”
“Still, it’s my town and I don’t take kindly to thieves coming through thinking they can take anything they want. You are a thief, Ian Scott. I know all about you and that whore you travel with. For some reason my boss wants the girl and I have to do my job here and take her to him.”
Ian shot, blowing the left side of the sheriff’s face off. At the same time he opened the driver’s side door and yelled, “Go.”
Aileen got in and drove forward. In the rearview mirror she saw what was left of the sheriff stumble off the stoop and lunge at Ian. She stopped, threw the truck in reverse and hit the gas and the horn at the same time.
Ian turned and jumped out of the way just as the truck bed rammed the sheriff. He got up roaring and continued his pursuit. Ian raised the .38 and fired the remaining eight shots directly into the sheriff’s head. What was left finally fell to the ground oozing almost black blood onto the gravel.
Ian jumped in the cab. “Drive.”
Aileen stomped on the gas pedal and the truck spit gravel out behind them.
“We have to get out of here,” she said as they left town and turned onto Highway 96 toward the airport.
“We have to fix the plane.”
Turning left down the drive toward the airport she stomped the brakes so hard that the truck fish-tailed. Panic started to seep into her heart. Asher, was he okay? Had Mictlan sent more than one creature this time?
She threw the truck into park outside the small hangar and raced across the lot calling his name. “Asher!”
Ian was only a step behind her.
“Asher!”
She looked left and right. The Cessna had been left in the middle of the repair bay. Tools were all around as if thrown haphazardly.
“Asher!” Ian called.
“What?” the boy called back from a catwalk to the right and above them.
Aileen sat down on the floor and put her head in her hands. “Thank God,” she said to herself.
“You okay?” Ian asked.
“Yeah,” he said taking the stairs down to them at a run. “What happened to you two?”
“Undead sheriff in town. We don’t have much time. I got all the tools I could find. How long do you think it will take to get that nose to where we can take off?”
Asher didn’t stop until he was crouching in front of Aileen on the floor. “An hour, maybe two,” he said to Ian, but his eyes were on Aileen. “Are you all right?”
Her eyes were filled with terror. “I thought we’d find you dead or worse.”
His eyes grew large. “Worse? I hope you’ll put a bullet in me if it’s worse,” he said with a laugh but she knew he was not joking.
“I was worried.”
He took her hand and yanked her to her feet. “I’m fine. I got the nose pulled back. The interior looks okay. We need to get the aerodynamics in order and we’ll be good to go.”
“We have to hurry,” she said.
* * * * *
They were back in the air with a full tank of fuel and nearly two hours of rusty daylight remaining in the autumn sky. The farther south they traveled the longer the day. That would buy them a little more time before they would have to find a place to land and sleep.
It was nearly dark when Ian pointed toward the right and said, “There, you see it?”
Aileen followed the direction he was pointing. In the middle of the desert she could see a small house.
“I see it. I’m going to put her down on that road,” Asher said.
It was totally dark when they rolled to a stop a hundred yards from the house. The land was flat and barren. If anything or anyone approached they would likely be seen for miles. It also meant that if anyone was watching, they could easily see the trio approaching the house.
The house was empty. It must have been some kind of a hunting cabin but it had not seen occupants in a very long time. The men searched the house while Aileen went to the kitchen. In the small pantry she found a case of bottled water and some army rations. She broke open one of the foil packs and smelled. Shrugging, she took all of them and the water and brought it into the living room.
Ian took water from her and went to the fireplace.
“Do you think it’s safe here?” Asher asked also taking water.
“No,” Ian said. “But no place is. We just have to hope Mictlan needs time to recover from that show he put on in Texas. We’ll sleep in here and take turns on watch.”
* * * * *
She took the first watch. Asher needed sleep since he had flown for so many hours. The boy was practically asleep on his feet.
“At least it’s warmer,” Ian said from the doorway.
She didn’t move from her seat on the porch steps. “Yes, it’s warm.”
He sat down beside her. “You sound like you lost your best friend. What’s wrong?”
“Tomorrow we’ll reach Teotihuacan. This may all be over in twenty-four hours,” she said staring out into the darkness.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” He drew her close and situated himself behind her so that her back lay tight against his chest and she was cradled between his legs.
“Only if this battle goes our way,” she whispered.
Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. She settled in against him and allowed his warmth to seep into her body.
“I don’t think I’v
e heard doubt from you before. Why now?”
“Ian, you don’t understand.”
“Enlighten me,” he said, moving to one side and turning her head to look at him.
Even in the red dark of night she could still make out the deep green of his eyes. She didn’t see judgment there, only concern and perhaps love. Shaking her head, she pushed the last thought away.
“Today, on the runway, Mictlan was in my head. He spoke to me. He tried to bring me back to him and for a moment I was tempted to let this all end.” Shame filled her as she admitted her failure.
“But you didn’t go back to him. You stayed with us. You’re here now and tomorrow we’ll go to those pyramids and fight.”
Her stomach clenched painfully. “And if we lose?” she asked looking up into his eyes.
He watched the sky and pulled her tight against him once again. “Then it was still worth these days with you, Aileen. I would not trade a single moment with you in my arms for a lifetime of average days.”
She rested her cheek against his chest. His heart beat steady and strong. “I meant what I said today in the plane.”
When he didn’t comment she said, “I love you, Ian Scott.”
His arms tightened around her and his lips pressed to where her neck and shoulder met. He trailed kisses up the side of her neck tracing an arc around her ear.
She gasped. “Shouldn’t we be keeping watch?”
“Mmmmm… I’ll watch,” he said. “You turn around.”
She turned and straddled his lap on the steps. He held her in place with both hands on her bottom where he kneaded her flesh through her jeans. Her lips opened on his. She held his face in her hands plunging her tongue into his welcoming mouth. She moaned into his mouth and deepened the kiss. She could not draw him close enough. No amount of touching was sufficient. If she could have crawled inside his skin she would have, but she knew that she would still want more of him.
The buttons of his flannel shirt opened easily and she kissed down his chest. Lean muscles and golden hair spread across his chest and abdomen. He was beautiful and she leaned back slightly to get a better look.
Smiling, he took one hand away from holding her in place and covered her breast. She leaned back when his thumb found her nipple and squeezed it tightly between his fingers.
“Ian, I can’t wait,” she said. She quickly unbuttoned her jeans and let them drop to the porch before kneeling down over his bulging lap.
It seemed to take him forever to unbutton his own jeans and with each attempt his hand and fingers rubbed her wet slit. She gasped and pressed into his hand. His buttons forgotten, he turned his hand and slid one finger inside her pussy while his thumb rubbed the already sensitive bud. Aileen bit her lip to keep from screaming out.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
She opened her eyes and gazed down into his. He had not said the words, but she could see his love so clearly in his eyes and the sharp lines of his face. He wanted her, yes, but he also loved her.
“Ian,” she said in a desperate whisper.
His fingers became more aggressive. His thumb circled around her clit while two fingers created friction on the sensitive tissue inside her cunt. She could not hold back and like a fierce current, her orgasm overtook her. The sensation started where his fingers met her clit but from there traveled to every nerve in her body.
The waves were still rolling over her when she felt his cock slide inside her. She lifted her bottom and sat down around him. Again and again she rose and fell above him until she felt the stirring of completion growing.
Using his shoulders for support she pushed up and down never taking her eyes from his.
“Ian,” she cried unable to think of any other words. She repeated his name over and over.
“Aileen,” he called back.
Pressing her hips down hard around him he erupted just as her inner tissues clenched in overcoming waves.
Chapter Nine
Before dawn the three climbed into the now beaten-up Cessna and took off into the red sky. A flock of crows started after them but the powerful plane was soon out of their clawed reach.
“Hey, that looks like grass down there,” Asher said somewhere over the center of Mexico.
“It does,” Ian agreed. “The sun must manage to get through now and then down here.”
He glanced back at Aileen and smiled, but she looked troubled and scared.
A bit of sun actually peaked through the red clouds in the afternoon.
“Do you think it’s because we’re getting close, Aileen?” Asher asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Her voice sounded small, like a child’s answering the teacher when she really has no idea of the subject matter.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” she said.
“How do you know we are supposed to go to the pyramids? Why Mexico? I know it’s a little late to be asking since we’re only hours away but I really want to know,” Asher asked while still keeping his eyes focused on the horizon.
She was quiet for so long that he added, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “You will think it’s foolish. To tell you the truth I was not completely sure myself until yesterday.”
Ian turned toward her. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I had a dream on December twentieth, the day before the world ended. I saw myself on top of the Pyramid of the Sun surrounded by Mayan kings. I saw the sky go from red to black and when I searched for the moon I saw Mictlan. He grinned as if he already ruled the world. Lightning shot from my fingers and he faltered, but when he rose up again his fury filled the sky. I was so afraid that when I woke up my body was covered in sweat and I was crying.
“The next day everything was different. I got in my car and started for Mexico but Mictlan found me in the summer. I’d run out of gas and couldn’t find another car that I could take. I was asleep in my car and the dream came again except this time he was on the Pyramid of the Sun with me. His hands were on me. I tried to fight him but it was useless. I never woke up from that nightmare. Not until Ian rescued me from the jump bolt.
“Mictlan kept me trapped in my own nightmare for over four months. He told me that I was his. He almost broke into this world using my strength and now he will use other means to break through. The power that exists in Teotihuacan will help him.”
“So why go there? If he’s following us then why are we taking him to the place where he can get more power?” Asher asked.
“Now the Earth is in a kind of purgatory. It is not quite Hell but it’s close to it. If we do nothing, it will remain this way or Mictlan will find a way in and create the world in the image of Hell. If we can draw him into our mortal world and defeat him then there’s a chance that the Earth will be reborn.
“The Mayans believed that if humanity could survive the End of Days then we could be prosperous for thousands of years.”
“You learned all of this from a dream?” Ian tried to keep the skepticism from his voice.
She beamed at him. “You don’t believe me yet you made this trip anyway?”
“I didn’t say that I don’t believe you, Aileen. And you know why I made this trip.”
“Dragon,” Asher said loudly.
Ian turned to the pilot. “No, not dragons. I did it for her. I did it because…”
He never finished the thought because Asher was pointing and yelling, “No… Look! A dragon!”
It was debatable as to whether the object flying toward them was actually a dragon. It had wings and a tail. It could have been a bird but it was not like any bird that Ian had ever seen. Its wingspan must have been twelve feet and from those wings, claws protruded at the tips. There were no feathers as the wings appeared more sinew than angelic. A bat-like face with dead eyes peered at them as its high scream pierced the air.
It was headed straight for them at an alarming speed.
“P
ull up,” Ian yelled.
Asher pulled hard on the yoke and the plane lifted higher. The dragon missed them and flew below but they could hear its scream.
“I think we’d better get out of the air,” Asher said breathlessly.
“Agreed,” Ian said searching the sky for the dragon.
The nose of the plane dropped and they headed for a flat patch of dirt. In the distance Ian could see a giant hole in the ground.
“Is that…” Asher never finished the thought.
“Mexico City,” Aileen said.
“No time,” Ian said pointing to the right. “Stay north of the city and to the east if you can.”
Asher did as he was told turning the plane to the right.
“Watch out!” Aileen called.
The dragon had also come around and was now headed straight for them. Its toothy mouth remained open emitting a deafening cry. Asher dived toward the ground causing the dragon to miss once again. He continued lower and lower at a speed far too fast for a landing.
“Asher,” Ian said.
“I know.”
“Too fast.”
“I know. Help me pull back.”
Ian dropped his gun in his lap and took hold of the yoke in front of him. He heaved as hard as he could. The craft and the wind fought them.
“It’s coming,” Aileen yelled, the panic evident in her voice.
The two men continued to fight the wind shear. They were getting close to the ground and finally slowing down but still the earth rushed toward them.
A great thud wrenched the plane to the right. Aileen went to the other side of the cabin.
“It’s on the wing,” she cried.
Ian looked to the right and saw the dragon or bat or whatever it was with its claws digging into the wing of the plane. Pieces of steel were flying off.
“Asher, I’ve got to let go.”
“Got it.”
“Ready?”
“Go,” the boy said.
As soon as Ian released the yoke, the plane jerked and bumped but Asher held it.
Ian opened the small window and suffocating wind filled the cabin. Gripping the gun in his lap he pointed toward the creature and fired. It screamed louder as the bullet ripped through its left wing.
Mayan Afterglow Page 7
