I can see Chad thinking the same thing.
“You’re not giving up your weapons for me,” he says.
“I told you . . . ,” I begin.
“Don’t feel bad, Jessie,” he interrupts. “There’s no way I was ever going to leave this island alive.”
With that Chad twists against Viper, snarling like a wild animal in her grip, and she’s forced to slit his throat just to stop him from hurting her.
Which is exactly what he wanted her to do.
“No!” I cry.
Nordra sees I’m crushed. He reaches up with his hands and . . .
I snap his neck. I twist his head so far around he’s facing forward when I’m finished. Every cervical vertebrae in his neck cracks. He slumps to the ground, dead.
Viper drops Chad’s lifeless body and vanishes.
I can see her outline in the moonlight, though, and can follow her footsteps in the heavy ash. There’s no question of her destination. She’s heading for the cave.
I hurry to Kyle’s side. He’s still on his knees, the spear poking out both sides of his body. “I’m so sorry,” I moan.
“Not your fault,” he gasps. “I forgot about the ‘shit.’”
“Should we try to remove it? Can you heal fast enough?”
“I think it’s the only thing that’s keeping me from bleeding out.” He coughs weakly, spitting up blood. “I need to get back to the cave.”
“What’s in the cave?”
He peers at me through agony and smiles. “I didn’t want you guys to know, but I can read Tarora. The petroglyphs—I know what they say. And I know the water there, in the stream, has powerful healing properties.” He adds, “You must have noticed when you splashed it on Marc’s head, how his fever went down. That wasn’t a coincidence.”
“You should have told me. I would have had him drink it. It could have saved him.”
“He did drink it.”
“Well, I would have had him drink more,” I say.
Kyle nods, sweat pouring off his face. “When we first met, it was all an act from my side. I planned to kill you all. I thought I had to. I thought that’s what you had to do in this kind of place. I didn’t trust anyone.” He struggles to breathe. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“What didn’t you know?”
“How wonderful you are.”
I feel foolish how much his words mean to me. Sure, he’s on the verge of death and he’s telling me that all along he planned to kill me and my friends. I should feel nothing but scorn for him. And yet I understand. Because I had the identical thoughts—kill Kyle and Sam before they kill me. I doubt that anyone who’s been sent to the Field hasn’t thought the same.
Of course, it doesn’t mean I suddenly trust him.
Tearing off strips of his uniform, I make a crude tourniquet for his leg and then a bandage. The bleeding slows but doesn’t stop. The only way I can get him to the cave is to carry him. I tell him as much and he nods.
“It’s probably too late anyway,” he says with a sigh.
Slipping Nordra’s machete through the back of my belt, I heave Kyle into my arms. “There’s hope. Just don’t black out. Don’t go into shock.”
His eyes wander in the direction of Chad.
“He was a sweet kid,” Kyle says.
The sweetest. Tears roll over my cheeks.
But there’s no time for grief.
All I can do is keep moving forward and pray Marc’s alive.
The hike back to the cave is an ordeal. I move too fast, I jar Kyle and the spear stuck in him, and he cries out in pain. But when I move too slowly, I’m forced to watch the blood leaking from his body. I don’t even know how many quarts of blood the human body holds, but I keep thinking he’s got to run out soon.
Kyle’s conscious when we reach the cave.
We stop behind a boulder and peer around.
All six ghosts guard the entrance.
And they’re armed. They have made the impossible.
All six are equipped with bows and arrows.
“Ora swore there was nothing to make bows and arrows with,” I say.
Kyle speaks in a feeble voice. “They’re industrious critters. I’m not surprised they found a way.”
I study his pale face in the moonlight. His skin is as white as the moon. “Is that why you dragged their leader up here? Or was there another reason you never told us about?”
Kyle grins slyly. “To use the ghosts to kill you all?”
“Was that your reason?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing so dark, I’m afraid. I captured Jelanda because I know more about the ghosts than I let on. They can form a group mind only when close together and only when they’re next to their leader.”
“Like now.”
“Exactly. Look at them—for the first time they’re ready to fight. It’s ironic, though, at this moment they’re also vulnerable.” He struggles to breathe. “I dragged Jelanda here because I knew she was the key. I knew if I survived and had only the ghosts to contend with, she’d be my ticket off this island.”
“How so?”
“We can only imagine what a group mind’s like, but it’s probably safe to assume that what one feels, they all feel. Hold on to that idea. And keep in mind that Jelanda is the glue that keeps them linked together.”
“Are you saying the ghosts cannot survive without a witch for a leader?”
“That’s what my Lapra friends taught me. Don’t look surprised, I told you I have a foot in both worlds. It might be the reason the ghosts have survived for so long, I don’t know and I don’t care. What matters is that if you kill their leader while they’re fused as one mind . . .”
“You kill them all,” I finish.
“That’s it.”
I study the path of Viper’s footprints that we’ve followed back from the wall. They appear to sweep right past the ghosts and enter the cave. I share the information with Kyle, but he doesn’t seem surprised.
“She might have got here before the ghosts arrived,” he says. “They might not be able to see her while she’s invisible. What difference does it make? We knew she’d get to the cave before us.”
I slump low, the constant stress of worry I’ve felt in my chest all day swelling with each painful beat of my heart. I feel I’ve come so far only to fail those I care most about.
“It makes a lot of difference,” I say bitterly. “There’s no reason for Viper to keep Marc or Sam or Li alive.”
Kyle winces and I don’t know if it’s because of his wounds or my words. “You’re wrong. There’s not a chance in hell she’ll hurt Marc. Viper’s watched us, studied us. She saw you practically beg Nordra for Marc’s life. She knows you’re attached to him. He’s the only lever she’s got when it comes to you.”
“What does she need with a lever?”
Kyle shakes his head. “Jessie, for a smart girl you’re pretty dumb sometimes. Viper’s terrified of you. You cut off her hand. She saw you kill Nordra. She’ll do anything to avoid having to face you one-on-one. At least on an even playing field.” He pauses. “Marc’s her ace in the hole.”
“Almost worthless,” I mutter.
“Huh?”
“Just something a guy named Russ told me.”
Kyle stares at the spear sticking out his front. “To think, last week I was worried about how to choreograph my next video. Pretty hilarious if you think about it.” He wipes away the blood that continues to leak from his mouth. “I don’t want to rush you or anything but I need to get in that cave.”
I nod and study the organization of the ghosts’ defense. It’s pretty basic. Jelanda and another ghost are focused on the interior of the cave. The other four stand poised with arrows in their bows, facing outward. I can see only one way to approach without being seen.
&nbs
p; I explain my plan to Kyle and he nods his approval. He’s closed his eyes again and is having trouble staying awake. I warn him again about going into shock and he just grunts and tells me to hurry.
The ghosts are looking everywhere but above. I retrace the first part of the path we took to the wall and then veer off and head straight up the side of the cinder cone before cutting back toward the cave. Soon I’m a hundred yards above the entrance, hugging the side of a very steep incline.
I know I can creep silently down to the entrance, without sliding off, but I worry about the ash I’ll knock loose before I reach my goal. The stuff is everywhere: in my hair, my eyes, my mouth, my nose. Bump it and a tiny cloud inevitably floats in the air. I’m not sure how intelligent the ghosts are, but if they’re suddenly hit with an avalanche of ash, I’m sure at least one of them will turn his or her eyes upward.
I have no course but to move slowly, to waste time, the one commodity I can’t afford to waste. Crawling down the cinder cone on all fours, I have to fight the temptation to just scream at the top of my lungs and drop in on them with my machete swinging. Yet if I do that, I know what they’ll do. Circle the leader, protect her at all costs. Hell, they’ve already formed a ring around Jelanda. All I’m hoping for is one clean shot at her brain.
Fifteen minutes later I’m in position, crouched above the entrance, peering down at the four ghosts guarding against a frontal attack. I can’t see Jelanda and her partner but I’m not surprised. Unless they’ve moved, they were so close to the opening, they should be directly beneath the stone ledge where I’m perched.
I’ve managed to stir up a handful of ash but none of the ghosts pays it any heed. But suddenly I have a more urgent problem.
I have to sneeze.
I try to stop it and fail. I let out a loud one.
All four of the ghosts start to turn. I don’t give them time to point their arrows at me. Pressing my palms flat on the ledge, I do a backflip over the edge and land cleanly on my feet less than five feet from Jelanda.
She blinks in shock. I smile.
“All of you are going to die,” I say as I step forward and cut off her head. Even before her skull hits the ground, the other five ghosts start to fall like puppets whose strings have been cut. In two seconds all six lie motionless on the ground.
I don’t waste any more time on them. Quickly, I check on Kyle, find he is still alive but slipping in and out of consciousness. Then I stride into the cave.
* * *
The cavern has changed since I was last here. The lava pools have risen and like a dozen campfires fed by a fresh supply of logs, they throw off continuous showers of sparks. More important, the hot springs bubble with renewed ferocity and the steam is so thick, I can’t see the rear of the cavern from the front. I can’t even find the walls and am forced to stalk forward at a cautious pace.
It’s at the back of the stone chamber where I find the last of my foes. Once again, Viper stands with a knife to the throat of a friend of mine—Sam. She doesn’t act so casual as she did with Chad, no surprise. Holding a witch instead of a human being in her hands is different and she knows Sam might break free at any second.
But I wonder if there isn’t more to Viper’s lack of confidence. I notice her hand trembling and a vein pulsing fast on her left temple. Her eyes are bloodshot, although the smell of sulfur inside the cavern is not strong.
A simple explanation would be to say Viper is exhausted.
Yet my intuition says no. Her weakness goes deeper.
Still, she holds the advantage. She’s cornered Sam with a knife and Li, as usual, stands helpless.
Yet Viper’s hold over me relies on Marc and she knows it. The bitch has shoved him into the stream and keeps a grip on him by pressing her bare foot to his head, wedging his skull in place with the help of a stone.
Since I splashed Marc’s face with the same water less than two hours ago, I know how cold it is and how fast he must be losing his body heat. He could be dead for all I can tell; his skin is icy blue.
“He’s still alive, barely,” Viper says, answering my unspoken thought.
Her voice is soft, somehow lonely, and it occurs to me that I’ve never seen her people. Perhaps Nordra killed them. Perhaps she killed them herself. Nothing would surprise me when it comes to Viper.
“I killed Nordra, now what do you want?” I ask, acting bored.
“Throw down your weapons.”
“In exchange for what?”
She strokes Sam’s hair, trying to mock both of us. But the gesture is wasted on me since all she has to brush his locks with is a crusty stump.
“In exchange for Sam’s life and your boyfriend’s life. Drop your machete into the lava. We wouldn’t want it to suddenly fly off the floor and hurt someone, would we?”
“Don’t do it, Jessie,” Sam calls.
“She slit Chad’s throat by the wall,” I say.
Sam sighs. “She’s going to slit mine. You know you can’t bargain with a monster like her.” He adds, “Where’s Kyle?”
“Dead,” I say.
“Nordra?” Sam asks.
I nod. Better Viper think Kyle’s no longer in the picture.
“Sam’s wrong,” Viper interrupts. “I am here to bargain. I want off this island as much as you do, Jessica.”
“I’m sure you do,” I reply. “But since the rules of the Field say there can be only one winner, I can’t see us forming a partnership.”
Using her stump, Viper points to the petroglyphs on the wall behind her. “Tell me what these mean.”
I take a step forward. “I can’t.”
“They must mean something!” Viper cries, sounding like she’s trying to convince herself. “You speak to the Council. You know Cleo. She must have told you a secret way off this island.”
There’s no question Viper is under immense strain and handling it badly. She looks and sounds nothing like the ruthless girl Cleo described or the lava-spewing creature who attacked us by the hot springs. She keeps putting her stump to her forehead as if trying to halt a pressure that’s building inside.
“There’s no secret,” I say. “The last one left alive wins and is allowed to leave the island. You’ve known that since the moment you arrived here. What I don’t get is why you suddenly want to change the rules.”
“Don’t come any closer!” she warns, pressing her knife deep into Sam’s throat. She’s already broken his skin and I see blood spilling over her blade.
I take a step closer. “Why are you afraid to fight me one-on-one?”
“Back up or I’ll kill both of your boys!”
I take another step toward her and chuckle. “Go ahead and try. I’ll kill you before you can finish with the first one.”
Viper is scared but still shrewd. She’s not going to fall for a simple bluff. Her eyes fall on Marc, who floats on the surface of the stream beneath the heel of her foot.
“You forget how well I know you,” Viper says, changing her tone. “I have to kill only one to destroy you.” She pauses. “Dump your weapons in the lava. Now.”
“No!” Sam hisses.
I shrug as I toss the machete I used to decapitate Jelanda in the lava. The wood ignites in a line of fire before sinking beneath the somber surface.
“It doesn’t matter. I only need my hands to kill you,” I say.
“Your knives, too, both of them,” Viper orders.
I hate giving up my knives. Whether using my mind or my hands, I had hoped to plant one between her eyes. She must have seen them on me back at the wall.
I toss Ora’s favorite blades into the lava.
I sneer. “What’s next? Want me to strip down?”
Viper hardens her voice despite the fact that sweat drips from her face. Her eyes meet mine through the red steam. Her knife hand continues to tremble; if she presses any har
der, she’ll open Sam’s jugular.
“Last chance,” she tells me. “What are the secrets of this cave and that wall out there?”
“I have no idea,” I say.
“Die, you bitch!” Sam cries as he suddenly rams an elbow into Viper’s gut, causing her to double up, and spins away from her knife. His neck bleeds freely but he’s full of fire and ready to fight. Rather than retreat to my side for support, he stands over her slight figure with arms and hands outstretched, ready to strangle the breath from her body.
Off balance, with the wind knocked out of her, Viper struggles to stand upright. For a moment I see a chance to take her out. But Sam’s blow has forced her to release her hold on Marc, who floats over the top of the stream toward the spot where the water disappears beneath the wall. It’s obvious the water that keeps him afloat has only appeared for a brief stretch and that it’s about to return to its natural state as an underground stream.
And that it’s going to take Marc with it.
I want to rush Viper. Like Sam, I want to rip off her head. Instead, I have to race toward the other side of the cavern to catch Marc. But out of the corner of my eye, I see everything that happens.
Sam has definitely caught Viper by surprise and it looks like he stands an excellent chance of killing her. She’s only a few feet away and has only one working hand. But I should know better. Viper’s never used her hands to torment us, not without telekinetic sparks flying through her fingers.
Sam takes a bold step forward before suddenly becoming aware of a thin but bathtub-size-wide sheet of lava slowly rising from a molten pond on his left. I say slowly because it takes far longer to stand than the sheet of lava Viper drenched Ora with the last time we fought her. Indeed, I feel the sight has Sam hypnotized. He’s close to Viper. He needs to kill her before . . .
The lava suddenly flies toward Sam, drenching him from head to toe. In an instant he’s transformed into a human torch. He opens his mouth to scream but inhales lava and his throat swells like a balloon. His skin drips off like melting wax, changing to black ash before dripping to the floor, and I’m bitterly reminded of the way Russ died last month.
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