by Simone Pond
Chapter Thirty
Sibyl
The onslaught of vicious dogs continued charging forward. Eli collapsed against me, exhausted from overexerting himself. He’d need at least thirty minutes to recharge. I was on my own. I set him down and grasped at the dirt for more rocks. I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. As I scraped at pebbles and clumps of useless mud, one of the evil shifter dogs pounced on my back, knocking me over. As I scrambled to get back up, my foot slid off the edge and I lost traction. I began to slip off the side of the peninsula. I clasped at the loose dirt and pieces of crumbling rocks as I dangled against the cliff, but it was useless.
“Sibyl!”
Eli shouting was the last thing I heard as my stomach scraped against the craggy terrain and I plummeted to the wet rocks below. The air blasted out of my chest and I thought for sure I’d be paralyzed for life. An icy wave rushed up, soaking through my thin cotton dress. Frosty hell is what it felt like. But I was alive. Then something thumped next to me on the rock. I glanced up to see a pair of crimson eyes glaring at me. A wave rushed up over the beast, knocking it back a few feet, giving me time to move. But I couldn’t. My arms and legs were frozen by my sides. Was it from fear or was I really paralyzed?
The dog stood up, growling as he shook off the water. He wasn’t coming after me, so I figured he was waiting out another wave. I braced myself for the shock of freezing water. The roar of waves crashed against the rocks. Though I couldn’t move my limbs, I shook and shivered. I needed to get up and get off of this rock before hypothermia set in. And Eli was alone and unprotected with that pack of evil dogs. I needed to get up there and help him before the rest of the pack reached him and attacked.
The dog barked, making horrible snarling sounds. I ignored his intimidation tactics. If he was afraid of some waves, how fierce could he be? I forced myself to wiggle my fingers and toes, making fists and rolling my ankles until I could move my limbs, and then my torso. I pulled myself up and balanced on the rock, hoping and praying another wave wouldn’t come and knock me over. The dog glared at me from about ten feet away, barking and gnashing his teeth. That’s when I realized he wasn’t afraid of the waves—he was stranded on one of the rocks. His red eyes burned through the blackness like laser beams as he prepared to pounce. I wobbled on the rock, stretching my hands out for something to give me an inkling of direction. My fingers grazed the side of another rock. I patted it down. It seemed to be a large boulder wedged against the peninsula. If I could hoist myself up the giant rock, maybe I’d be able climb up the side of the cliff back to the top.
I reached up, feeling for something to grip. A thunderous wave crashed against my back and knocked me off balance. I slipped down to the rock I had landed on. Pitiful defeat. But I wasn’t about to let the ocean or that evil shifter dog win. I stood up and reached for the boulder, and that’s when the dog decided to lunge at me. His weight propelled both of us forward right into the blisteringly cold ocean. I floundered and flopped, trying to keep my head above the surface, but the waves were powerful and relentless. Mouthfuls of water. The undertow tugged at me. The dog was the least of my concerns. I’d either get hurled into the rocks, or pulled under.
I stopped kicking my legs. It wasn’t for a lack of will to live, I just couldn’t feel them anymore. The cold water had numbed my entire body. Too weak to fight the relentless pulling, I closed my eyes and settled into the surrounding darkness. At least I’d be with my parents again. Maybe my vision would be restored. It was time to let go.
“Bye guys,” I muttered as a wave rolled over my head and took me under.
As I sank, something yanked me and jerked me backwards. Arms wrapped around my waist. An explosion of light the color of turquoise sparkled through the murky black water. I was no longer drifting or sinking or spinning. I was exploding into billions of fragments, blurring at the speed of light, and then reassembling like an implosion.
My body lay on solid ground. Grass under my fingertips. I heard the waves crashing, but they were now far away. Air. Wonderful, dry air filled my frozen lungs.
“Coooold … freeeeeezing …” Marlo’s trembling voice chattered in my ear. She held me in a tight embrace, either unable to let go because we had become an ice statue, or not wanting to let go so our body heat could keep us alive.
“Hurry with those blankets,” someone yelled overhead.
“Whaaaat haapppened?” I murmured, shivering so badly it hurt.
Vago leaned down and stared at me, peeling open my eyes and examining them carefully. “Marlo teleported you out of that shit storm.”
“Eli?” I gasped. “Did the dogs get him?”
“My pack got here just in time. We took a bunch of them down, most of them were chased off. I’m sure my boys finished them off.”
“But … Eli?”
“Your beau’s fine.”
“Are … you … naked?” I asked, trying to smile through my chattering teeth.
He grinned. “Not completely.”
Someone’s footsteps rushed over.
“Here, wrap her up. Quick!” Eli tossed something to Vago, then dropped down, covering my head with a thick wool blanket and wrapping another one around my legs.
Two spirits ran up and stood behind him—pinkish lavender for Aunt Ruthie and sea foam green for Stanley Chambers. Eli huddled me against his warm body, while Vago tended to Marlo.
“What in heaven’s name happened?” Aunt Ruthie asked.
“Wouldn’t believe … me if I … told you,” I panted.
“We need to get them inside and into dry clothes immediately!” Eli said.
“Noooo …” I shivered out.
“Eli’s right, we need to get you inside, immediately. You’ll freeze to death!”
“I’ve got a fire goin’ in my quarters,” Mr. Chambers said. “We can take ’em there. Get some hot tea. Warm ’em up a bit.”
“No!” I gasped.
“What has gotten into you, Sibyl?” Aunt Ruthie asked, astonished.
“Whitmore … Where is he?” I moaned.
“He’s finishing up with a few guests, and his car is waiting for him,” Aunt Ruthie explained. “Why are you concerned about him? This doesn’t have to do with that nonsense you were telling me this morning, does it? Oh, Sibby. Not this again …”
Turning to Marlo, I asked, “What happened?”
Marlo sat up, wrapping the blanket around her tightly; she wasn’t nearly as cold, since she hadn’t been exposed to the icy water too long. “It was strange. But as ladies got their books signed, they just left … Then as he was signing my book, I got the text from Eli and came out here right away. Eli, where’s the book?”
Eli reached around and grabbed something, then handed it to Marlo. She thumbed through the pages. I could actually see the book in her hands. “Just an overpriced hardback with a bunch of mumbo jumbo and Whitmore’s creepy signature. But nothing else happened. The women are safe, Sibyl.”
Aunt Ruthie interjected, “Of course, they’re safe. The event was a wonderful success! Now, let’s stop all of this talking and get you girls inside.”
“Noooo … We need to … follow him,” I stuttered through my chattering teeth.
Aunt Ruthie tried to hoist me up. “You’re not going anywhere, missy! Except next to the fire and into some dry clothes.”
I reached for Eli. “You recharged? Can you … fix me?”
He glanced at me, then to Aunt Ruthie and Mr. Chambers. “You sure?”
I blinked because I could no longer find the strength to speak. My heartbeat seemed to be flatlining. I collapsed against Aunt Ruthie. Mr. Chambers rushed over and helped my aunt hold me up.
“Put her down,” Eli said.
“What? No! We need to get inside, pronto!” Aunt Ruthie argued.
“Please, just trust me.” Eli’s voice sounded like he was talking from inside a cave. My knees buckled again. I let myself drop that time, not caring what happened next.
As I lay peacefully
in the grass, an inferno of adrenaline shot directly into my heart, causing me to jerk upright in a convulsion. Eli jumped back.
“Whoa!” I choked.
“What on God’s green earth …” Aunt Ruthie’s spirit glittered like hundreds of pink diamonds. Oh, how I longed to see the look of wonderment on her rosy face! Eli would have to recapture it for me.
I jumped to my feet, Esther’s cotton dress clinging to me. I hugged Aunt Ruthie and whispered into her ear, “I tried to tell you.”
“But … I don’t understand … You … Eli just …” she stammered.
“I’d love to chat about the details, but we have a lizard demon to go after.”
“A what?”
“You’re sure Whitmore hasn’t left the manor?” I asked her.
She didn’t reply.
“She’s shaking her head,” Eli informed me.
“Look, you can’t go back in there,” I told her. “I know this sounds crazy, but Whitmore is evil. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay. But Mr. Chambers, do you think you can take my aunt back home?”
“Will do,” Chambers said.
“But … who will lock up?” Aunt Ruthie mumbled as he escorted her away.
“It’s okay, Ruthie. I’ll take care of it,” he said.
Chambers was perfectly calm. I intuited he knew a lot more than he was letting on. All of those books. His private collection of artifacts in his secret room. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chambers had supernatural gifts of his own.
I turned to the others. “Okay, down to business. Please tell me you have some extra clothes in the trunk for that one.” I was addressing Eli, but pointing to Vago, who only had a small flag from the garden wrapped around his waist.
“We’ll figure it out,” Eli said.
“Here’s what I think we need to do. Get to Eli’s car and wait by the exit for Whitmore to leave. We follow him. You know this isn’t over. The sacrifice must be happening tonight. Esther said it was occurring on the Blood Moon. So, we’ll just stay on him and eventually he’ll lead us right to it. Sound good?”
Everyone gave a noncommittal nod, which I took as an opportunity to pump up the team. It was the right thing to do. Even if I risked coming off as incredibly annoying. We all needed encouragement at different points in our day. I stood before my friends and smiled with confidence.
“We’ve got this, guys. Remember, it’s our calling. Right?”
Vago winked and nodded at me, probably remembering the year he spent trying to motivate me to leave the house. “She’s right,” he said. “Our powers are improving. We can’t give up hope at the eleventh hour. Let’s go after this ugly-ass demon and take him down.”
Eli laughed. “Okay, enough of the pep talk. Obviously, we’re in. I’m just in the midst of a full recharge. I’m hoping it goes a little faster.”
“And I’m hoping I dry off a little faster,” Marlo added.
We walked back to Eli’s car.
“So are there a bunch of dead shifter dogs all over the place?” I asked.
Vago chortled. “I tossed the ones we got into their watery graves.”
“Anyone in your pack get hurt?”
“A few scrapes. Nothing serious. But you’ll never believe who the pack leader is. Shit. Don’t know if I’m supposed to keep that a secret or not.”
Eli laughed. “Well, now you have to tell us.”
“Sandy Walsh.”
Somehow that made perfect sense to me. Sandy Walsh was a born leader. He had always coached me along, giving me tips for improving my pitch. Gave my father pointers for training me. And then there was the whole Beep Baseball thing he was encouraging me to look into. Our small town of Coastview was getting more and more interesting by the minute.
Eli found a pair of shorts in his trunk for Vago and grabbed some more baseballs. I replenished my wet messenger bag with about seven of them. We might’ve been a little thrown off course, but this wasn’t going to deter us from doing what we set out to do: stop Whitmore from harming anyone.
Chapter Thirty-one
Sibyl
We sat inside Eli’s car with the heat blasting. I propped my head next to the vent, hoping the hot air would dry my hair. The dog attack had put a real monkey wrench in our night. And our assumption that Whitmore would hold the ritual at the manor was another mistake we had made. I tried to remember any details from the vision, but all I kept getting over and over were images of the women in chains. They were bound like slaves. What did that mean? Slaves to Whitmore?
“So where do you think it might be?” I asked Vago.
“No clue. But the mansion in the vision kinda reminded me of that Kubrick movie. That ballroom scene where they’re all standing around in a circle and Cruise is looking over their shoulders.”
Marlo was using the blanket to dry her wet hair. “Maybe it’s back at Whitmore’s place? Does he live in a mansion?”
“Nah. He’s got a cabin in the woods,” Vago said. “Overheard a couple of the girls in class bragging about going there with him.”
I thought about the vision some more. May his reign reach to the sea and beyond. What did that really mean? A gathering of more souls? More land?
Marlo leaned forward. “Um, guys. That’s Whitmore’s caravan. He’s leaving.”
Eli waited a few minutes before pulling out of our parking spot, giving Whitmore’s train of SUVs enough time to get ahead so we wouldn’t be detected.
“This guy must think he’s the President or something,” Eli said.
“Pride goeth before a fall,” Marlo said.
We drove along the twisting coastal roads, Vago giving me navigational updates. “Looks like he’s heading back to town,” he said.
“So weird. Doesn’t he have a blood sacrifice to get to?” Marlo joked.
“We’re at our town square,” Vago informed me.
The car decelerated. I rolled down the window and listened to the outside sounds. The scent of cheese drifted past my nose. We were near Mr. Rosen’s shop. Some horns honked. The dinging of the local trolley sounded in the distance. I touched the face of my watch to check the time, but apparently my run-in with the Pacific Ocean had killed it. I hoped it was under warranty. But if the trolley was still running, it was before midnight.
Eli pulled over and parked.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Looks like Whitmore is having a late dinner at Il Cortile,” Eli said.
“Dinner?” I asked.
“He’s with some hot chick. She’s a little older. Maybe one of the professors from school, but I’m not entirely sure,” Vago said.
“She wasn’t at the event,” Marlo said.
I pulled my damp hair back and tied it into a braid. “So he has a book signing event with a bunch of women, finishes, then leaves to go have dinner with some mysterious woman? Are we sure a blood sacrifice is on his agenda? Maybe we got it wrong?”
Vago stared ahead, squinting his eyes in deep thought. “No, it’s him. Esther said we were on the right path.”
Marlo groaned from the back seat. “Not exactly a confirmation.”
“My grandmother isn’t all that black and white,” Eli said.
“Yeah, but in the world according to Esther, this is as good as a yes. What else did she say?” I asked Vago.
“She knew about the Holy Rock,” he said, pausing to look at Eli. “Don’t worry. She’s not pissed. Nobody is. She said it was meant to be. Something about the physical manifestation not mattering anymore. But then she mentioned protecting the one who stands on the rock, which totally contradicts what she said about the physical manifestation not mattering. Your grandmother gives me a headache, dude.”
Marlo opened her door and stepped out of the car.
“Where are you going?” I called.
She slammed the door and walked off into the blackness.
“Maybe she has brain freeze?” Vago joked.
She kept walking.
“Marlo!” I yelled,
then grabbed Eli’s hand. “Where’s she going? Stop her!”
Eli jumped out of the car and ran after her. Vago and I followed. We caught up to find her clutching Whitmore’s book against her damp dress.
“It’s time to go,” she murmured.
“Go where?” I asked.
Marlo stared off in a hypnotic trance. Her brown, almond-shaped eyes were glassy and distant. I waved my hand in front of her face, but she didn’t flinch. She just held onto that book and mumbled how she had to go over and over. Whitmore was using mind control on her. He must’ve known we were outside the restaurant.
“Can he see us?” I asked Eli and Vago.
“Whitmore?” Vago asked.
“Yeah.”
“He’s engaged in what looks like a deep conversation at the moment. I don’t think so,” Vago said.
“He’s controlling her!” I said.
“How?” Eli asked, peering into Marlo’s eyes.
She tried to pull away from us, but we formed a circle around her, locking her in tight. She clung to the book, trying to shove her way through our arms.
“That’s how he’s doing it,” I said, pointing to the book. “He did something with the signed books. He’s luring them to another location for the blood sacrifice.”
“That has to be it,” Eli said, trying to yank the book out of her grip.
Marlo rammed her body against Vago and Eli, harder and more violently that time. I grabbed a hold of her arm, twisting it behind her back to get her to calm down. And that’s when she teleported out of there, taking me with her.
Chapter Thirty-two
Vago
Marlo and Sibyl disappeared in a flare of blue light. Marlo might’ve been under Whitmore’s mind control, but she was still able to use her powers.
“That’s great,” I said to Eli.
“You can track her, can’t you?”
“Yeah …” I closed my eyes and listened for Sibyl’s call, but I heard nothing.
