by Susan Murray
Alison smiled and nodded at him. “That’s settled then. We’ll take my van.” Rutgers glanced from Max to Alison to Marley then disappeared out the door of the pawn shop. Moments later they heard the van start up, its engine idling. Max turned to Marley again, obviously unhappy with her decision and ready to argue the point some more, but before he could say a word Marley followed Rutgers and Alison out the back door of the pawn shop.
Silently, Max locked the door behind them.
CHAPTER 34
October 31st – 8:00 a.m.
“The entire place is under lockdown.” Marley worried aloud. With Rutgers at the wheel of Alison’s van, the four of them were driving slowly down the street outside the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, where in an hour The Dark’s next event was scheduled to begin. The general plan was to get inside and ambush him at the first opportunity, then remove him from the premises for private questioning.
A crude plan, but hopefully effective.
But even though it had still been quite early when they arrived, the Target Center was already surrounded by a massive contingent of security guards. This was strange considering the peaceful nature of the city streets and general lack of activity in the surrounding neighborhood.
Rutgers parked the van on the street a block away from the Target Center, in front of an as-yet still closed Mexican restaurant and idled the engine while the four of them regrouped. No one had anticipated such an active security presence.
Max squinted at the cement barricades, guards and dogs patrolling the perimeter of the Target Center. “Well, one thing’s for sure. We’re not walking right in the front door.”
“Maybe not through the front door, but I have another idea.” Alison said. “That building across the street from the Target Center is the Medical Center where I had my MRI.” She was using the laptop built into a special console on her wheelchair as she spoke. “So here’s what we’re going to do. Go across the street and take a left turn into that underground parking lot over there.” Rutgers pulled out from the curb. “I need to double-check but I think we can get into the City service tunnels from the basement of the Medical Center. I saw the access tunnel when I was in for tests last month.”
“Left turn it is.” Rutgers pulled the van into a grungy parking ramp across from the Target Center, drove down to the first level of underground parking, then pulled into a parking space far from the entrance. Max and Marley got out of the back seat of the van to unfurl Alison’s ramp from the passenger side then rolled her out into the deserted underground parking lot beneath the Medical Center.
Alison’s fingers still flew over the keyboard of her computer. “Now, according to the blueprints, that door right over there should open onto a maintenance tunnel that goes under the street and ends in what looks like a loading dock below the Target Center. From there we should be able to access the service elevator.”
“Nice.” Max grinned at Alison appreciatively and Rutgers headed for the locked door, moving with fluid grace. Something jingled in his gloved hand, he fiddled with the lock for a moment and then the door swung open. Rutgers held the door open for Alison who rolled into the tunnel, still studying the blueprints she’d hacked into from City Hall’s online repository.
“This way,” she whispered. The service tunnel was dimly lit until Alison pushed a button on a side panel of her wheelchair and a spotlight brightened their way. As evidenced by the tracks they left in thick dust underfoot, the tunnel was rarely used.
Rutgers repeated his trick with the lock on the door at the other end of the tunnel, and they stealthily entered the basement of the Target Center, one by one. Uncle Max went first, Marley followed him and Rutgers stayed with Alison, keeping a watchful eye out.
Taking the left branch of the tunnel, they walked a hundred yards, turned a corner and came out into a large open space which smelled strongly of exhaust and echoed with the rumble of idling trucks. Bingo. This was obviously the shipping and receiving bay under the Target Center.
“Shhh! Get down.” Signaling the sudden need for secrecy, Uncle Max gestured them all to ground before Marley’s eyes even had time to completely adjust in the gloom from dirty fluorescent lights dangling above. “Over there.” Max led the way back along the wall to a temporary hiding place in a corner where piles of empty cardboard boxes had been stacked for recycling.
They were just in time. A forklift passed within inches of their former hiding place. Silently, the four of them peered out from their hidden vantage point, watching the bustle of activity near the loading dock. Two semi trucks were parked about fifty feet away and as they watched dozens of pallets of cardboard boxes bearing The Dark’s logo were wheeled on forklifts from the parked semis into the basement of the Target Center. These looked like the same boxes that had been stored at the warehouse on the outskirts of town where Marley had briefly been held hostage.
There was dust everywhere in the shipping bay. Thick dust. Never since the day it had been built had anyone vacuumed the dark corner in which they were hiding. Marley pinched her nose really hard to stop herself from violently sneezing. As she stifled a huge sneeze the sound of a soft meow distracted Marley and she looked down to see Uncle Max’s cat sitting at her feet, staring calmly up at her.
Nudging her Uncle, Marley whispered, “What’s up with your cat?”
Max glanced back, nonplussed. “Say what?”
“Your cat?” Marley repeated as Uncle Max stared at her, completely uncomprehending. Silently Marley pointed at the animal crouched at their feet.
“It’s a cat.” He whispered, baffled by her behavior. The quizzical look in his eyes told Marley he was seriously wondering about her timing and good judgment. Holding a finger up to his lips in silent warning, Max turned his attention back to the activity at the loading dock. Marley dropped the subject. Explanations would have to wait. The cat groomed its left ear.
Still crouched behind the recycling, Max, Marley, Rutgers and Alison watched as one of the boxes fell to the ground and broke open, spilling several plastic-wrapped headsets onto the floor of the warehouse. The Dark was preparing to distribute a truly staggering number of headsets, if the box count could be believed.
There were enough headsets for all of the Darkers in attendance at his seminar, as well as enough for the entire population of Minneapolis and maybe even parts of St. Paul. Marley had to wonder, exactly what did The Dark have planned for his followers?
Fifteen minutes later both trucks had been emptied, the noise of the forklifts had finally faded into the distance and the semis rumbled away to retrieve another load. Max stood up and moved out from behind the pile of boxes, scoping out the big room to see if it was safe for them to emerge from their hiding place.
He called softly, “Clear.”
They followed another service tunnel to the east, the direction in which the boxes had been taken. According to the City blueprints, the tunnel should lead directly to the service elevator shaft in the basement of the Target Center. Marley began to hope that they’d made it safely inside.
But then Werther rounded a corner ahead of them. He already held his gun drawn and pointed right at them so all four of them froze in place.
CHAPTER 35
October 31st – 9:00 a.m.
“Well look who’s back from the dead.” Werther gave Max a bad-tempered smile as Rutgers hauled Alison’s wheelchair backwards, out of the line of fire. “Where do you think you’re going?” Werther snapped, “Stay right where you are, all of you.” Favoring Marley with a frown he continued, “Marley let’s not play games. You know what we want. Give me the Eye of Inanna.”
“The what?” She knew her disingenuous approach wouldn’t work but Marley played innocent anyway. Stalled for time.
&nb
sp; Werther didn’t believe her for a second. “Don’t be stupid, The Dark told me everything that happened. We know you found the book. The Eye wasn’t with the book so you must have the Eye.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Marley insisted, glancing at Uncle Max from the corner of her eye. He couldn’t reach for his gun while Werther had them covered.
“I think you do. And I think you’ll tell me what I want to know.” Werther unwisely pointed his gun at Alison and said, “Tell me where the Eye is or I’ll shoot your friend right now.”
Rutgers moved so quickly that Werther never even had a chance to regret his words. There was a kind of blur and slapping sound then Werther crumpled down to the floor with a dazed look on his face. Rutgers was holding Werther’s gun.
“Thanks,” Alison grinned up at her butler. “See if you can make him talk.”
“My pleasure, Miss.” Rutgers reached down and hauled Werther up into a standing position then smacked him lightly across the face with one easy hand. “Where’s your boss?” Werther stared at him blearily then muttered thickly, “I won’t. . . You can’t make me ...”
Rutgers lifted Werther off the floor entirely and shook him like a rag doll for several long seconds then repeated, “Where is Mr. Dark?”
“Upstairs.” Werther mumbled. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Rutgers shook him again. “Where, upstairs?”
“Sixth floor.” Werther elaborated. Rutgers gave Werther one more shake then dropped him to the ground where he remained, heaped on the floor where he’d fallen and either unconscious or wishing he was.
The black cat stepped daintily over Werther’s leg, following the four of them as they found and boarded the Target Center’s service elevator. The elevator had been locked at the basement level but opened for them when Alison swiped the universal security card key she had invented for just such occasions.
The card key took them up all six levels to the VIP lounge without any further interruption while John Denver crooned a soothing musical accompaniment to their tense journey from treble-heavy elevator speakers. Marley fingered the Eye of Inanna restlessly, turning it over and over in her pocket as the elevator ascended. All this trouble over such a small bit of metal.
On the sixth floor the elevator doors opened up onto the lobby of the VIP lounge area.
“Clear.” Max muttered, after taking a quick peek around a corner that protected the three of them from sight. From somewhere up ahead of them came The Dark’s voice, calling loudly and impatiently.
“Werther? Is that you? Where have you been? You’re late again.” His tone angry, The Dark came around the corner, stopping in his tracks when he saw the four of them standing there.
CHAPTER 36
October 31st – 9:15 a.m.
“Stay where you are,” Uncle Max told him, drawing and pointing his gun quite competently at The Dark. “We just want to talk to you.”
But The Dark simply flicked a rude, contemptuous finger at him, somehow effortlessly silencing Marley’s Uncle with a mere gesture, paralyzing and stopping him in his tracks completely. No one had expected this. Even Alison and Rutgers were rendered motionless, completely frozen in place. The gun and all their plans were useless.
“She hass itt.” The Dark’s creature slid out from under the cape, coil after coil of its body undulating down his arm toward Marley as its tongue flickered out. That was when Marley realized in horror that she hadn’t hallucinated everything that had happened to her the night before after all. “She hass the Eye.”
Somehow, the impossible had all been real.
And as Marley watched The Dark began to change right before her eyes and those of her companions. “Give it to me.” His eyes glowed hot and red in his face. “Give the Eye to me.” The Dark repeated, more loudly. His outstretched hand looked clawlike and his fingers seemed to actually stretch and lengthen as he reached out toward Marley.
Closing her eyes she took a deep breath against the feeling of nausea that rose again in the back of her throat. “No.” It was an effort for Marley to speak.
“Give the Eye to me right now.” The Dark was closing in on her slowly. By this time his eyes had gone completely black and his hair had thickened into bristles. Rows of needle-sharp teeth lined his gums and his mouth had widened significantly into a sharkish grin that stretched from ear to ear.
Something bumped into Marley’s leg gently. This touch and the soft sound of a ringing bell released her from that unnatural paralysis caused by The Dark. Marley looked down to see the cat gazing up at her. It seemed to be waiting for something and Marley again remembered the Oracle’s instructions.
Why not give it a try? What did she have to lose? With shaking hands Marley reached into her pocket to retrieve and flip the Eye of Inanna up into the air in a perfect, shining arc right over The Dark’s head. Her maneuver was perfectly executed.
Alas, what Marley hadn’t counted on was The Dark’s pet. At the sight of the long-coveted object of its search thus flying from Marley’s fingers, the Dark’s creature popped out from under his cape like a rocket, launching itself from The Dark’s shoulder and snatching the Eye in its mouth before the Eye could make more than two revolutions in mid-air.
Fortunately for Marley, what the creature hadn’t counted on was Galea and Zage appearing just then. Through the shimmer of their arrival from thin air Marley could see the familiar room in Uruk behind them both and realized that, although she and Galea had left Uruk at the same time, they’d been heading for two entirely different times and places.
“I’m going to help!” Galea shouted, darting forward.
Zage reached out to grab Galea, shouting, “Galea no! It is too dangerous!”
Marley felt an intense flash of hyper-awareness and watched in awe as Galea leaped into the air like a basketball player making a slam-dunk and batted the Eye loose from the creature’s mouth.
Galea caught the Eye as it fell floorward and flung it back to Marley smoothly, never missing a beat before she and Zage shimmered back out of existence. Marley stared dumbfounded at the sweetest reprieve she had ever been given. The Eye of Inanna was once more in her hands.
The second time around, Marley tossed the Eye of Inanna really high up into the air over The Dark’s head where his creature couldn’t reach it (she hoped). Hanging in the air far above his head The Eye spun and shimmered, a radiant sphere of light blazing down on The Dark and his pet. Closing her eyes Marley focused her mind completely upon the image of The Dark being somehow magically gone. Prayed the thing would work.
The wailing shriek that arose at this point came from The Dark’s creature. His pet was elongating, swelling rapidly and bloating out like some kind of unholy blimp as it reared up, and up, and up, filling the room with its monstrous torso and multitudes of squirming, flailing legs. Marley cringed back.
And as the creature unfurled length after hideous length of itself, it abandoned its host and The Dark dropped unconscious to the floor. With an unearthly howl of agony and rage the creature gazed upon them all in pure red-eyed hatred then plunged down toward Marley in what was obviously meant to be a killing strike.
The black cat at Marley’s feet shifted and changed in the twinkling of an eye. Everyone saw what happened next. One second there was a large cat standing quietly beside Marley and the next moment a huge black lion stood facing The Dark’s creature with fire glinting in its big eyes. In shock, Marley recognized the animal she’d seen in the road the night she’d met Galea for the first time. Not a dog after all.
The black lion emitted an ear-shattering roar. A stream of molten, flaming wind emerged from its mouth and for a split second The Dark’s nasty pet was completely engulfed in fire. Then there wa
s a loud popping noise and the creature disappeared entirely. With a ringing clink, the Eye of Inanna fell to the floor.
Marley’s quick glance at Rutgers, Max and Alison revealed them all to be equally slack-jawed with astonishment, wearing matching looks of did-you-see-that-too? She later swore that the lion winked at her before it turned and sauntered off. Before it got five feet away it disappeared from sight, fading into thin air.
“Well then.” Uncle Max said finally. “That’s that.” He ran right out of words.
CHAPTER 37
October 31st – 10:00 a.m.
Alison broke the silence first, her voice hushed with awe. “I believe you Marley. Every single word you said earlier, even that bit about the Oracle. Please, can I have another look at that thing?” She pointed to the Eye of Inanna and Marley picked it up off the floor and tossed it to her.
Without meaning to Marley put a bit of a spin on the Eye and as it flew through the air toward Alison it began to emit that shimmering supernatural-type glow. Alison was so unnerved by this phenomenon that she fumbled the otherwise easy catch and the Eye of Inanna struck her squarely in the chest then fell again to the floor. Alison grimaced with frustration as she leaned down from her chair and tried, but couldn’t reach the disc herself.
“Sorry.” Apologetically Marley picked the Eye up again and handed it to Alison. As she bent over, her key chain with the ring given to her by the old woman swung forward against her chin and Marley held the silver ring in both hands for a moment, looking at it thoughtfully and remembering what the old fortune-teller had told her about using it to mend what had been broken.
At the time Marley hadn’t actually believed anything the old woman had told her. But given events of the past five minutes or so, it seemed obvious that pretty much anything was possible. If house cats could turn into lions and defeat evil monsters then why couldn’t magic gypsy rings grant wishes?
