“Go,” I said, “I"ll leave the door unlocked. If I"m not out in two minutes, come in and rescue me, okay?” I closed the door, dressed and was out in one minute. As I walked out, I grinned and stuck my tongue out at Carlos, making him chuckle behind me.
We met Billy, Bahiti, Aduviri, Ramon, Rashidi, Stefan, Penelope and Missy in the Grand Hall. “Good morning everyone,” I said. “My plan for this morning"s assembly is first to announce to everyone what"s going on. I"m going to tell them that Carlos and I will be gone a lot, and when we"re gone, that Billy is in charge.”
Billy shook his head. “Sarah, you don"t have to do that.”
“I know I don"t, but I want to. I want everyone to know that they have someone here to turn to if they have a problem or an issue.” He nodded and I continued. “Stefan, can you take over Carlos" duties while he"s away?”
Stefan nodded. “Of course, Sarah.”
“Thanks, just work with Rashidi on anything you want posted to the site, or any changes you want made, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he said. “I think the site should remain business as usual though. I don"t think it"s wise to let the outside world know about the security breach and kidnapping.”
Heads nodded all around. “Agreed,” I said. “Ramon, you"re acting head of security now. You"re the eyes and ears of this place. It"s up to you to keep her from getting back in. My suggestion is to step up security at the gate. Give everyone inside a code word that they must say to enter, and change it weekly, or daily even. We have no idea what she"s capable of, if she can change her appearance to look like someone else, or if it"s just me. Are you up to this?”
Wide eyed, he took a deep breath and nodded. “Definitely, Miss Sarah. I won"t let you down,” he said
“I know you won"t Ramon,” I said. “The other item I want to show everyone is the DVD of Malina, or Malina looking like me actually. I want to point out to everyone the differences between us, so they can look for them. That"s all I needed to cover, did anyone else have anything?”
They all shook their heads then Billy answered for everyone, “This is your meeting Sarah. If we have anything to cover, when can do it later.”
“Thanks everyone,” I said. “Rashidi, can you please make sure the video is set up, and lower the screen? And Ramon, station your people at each door, please check everyone carefully. If anyone seems… off… or doesn"t know someone"s name or anything, remove them until you can thoroughly check them out, okay?”
They both nodded. “Okay,” I said as I took a deep breath, “let"s get everyone inside and seated.”
Ramon walked to the center of the room and motioned his guards over, speaking to them briefly before sending them back to their posts. He nodded and they opened the doors. One by one, the guards whispered something in each person"s ear then nodded when they answered and let them in. It took about twenty minutes to get everyone in and seated. I walked over and took my place at the podium that had been placed in the front corner of the room and the talking quickly died down. “Welcome everyone,” I began. “Thank you all for coming. I wanted to update all of you on what most of you have already heard about. Two days ago there was a serious security breach here at the compound. There was a break in, and Matthew,” I hesitated when I said his name, “was taken. He was kidnapped.” I heard a few gasps, but mostly I saw heads nodding, obviously the word had gotten around. I went on, “There hasn"t been a ransom demand, and we don"t really expect one. He was taken by someone who despises me. He was taken to punish me. He was taken by someone most of us know well: Malina.” There more murmurs and gasps as I continued, “Until he"s found, both Carlos and myself will be absent frequently from the compound, but please be assured that we will keep in close contact, and that you will all be in the very capable hands of Billy. And Ramon will be initiating some increased security measures to keep you all very safe.”
Several voices in the crowd spoke up,“Be safe in your travels, Miss Sarah,” said one, and I heard several, “We hope you find him quickly,” and even, “Is there anything we can do to help?” said another.
“Thank you so much,” I said. “I will carry your good wishes with me always. At this point, the best thing you can do to help is to keep yourselves safe. We really have no idea what else she"s up to. And most of us who have dealt with her know that she"s capable of great evil and horrendous pain. Now, I have a video showing the break in and the kidnapping. I need you to watch it very closely, study her movements, listen to her voice. Malina got in because she was somehow able to change her appearance to look like me. But, while she may look like me, if you look closely you can definitely tell it"s not. And her voice does not sound like mine,” I pressed play on the remote, pausing it at strategic times to point out her differences. I paused it just before she entered our bedroom and just stared at the screen for a few seconds. I heard Carlos" chair shift slightly as he started to stand up. He stopped, halfway up, and we stared at each other for a second. Finally I smiled slightly and mouthed, “It"s okay.” I thought to myself„I can do this," and I turned back to the screen. I forced my eyes to watch the final scene play out. I took a deep breath and turned back to the crowd. “You all know my voice. I know everyone"s name and will always greet you by it. And she can"t duplicate my scar, so please don"t be afraid to ask to see it. I"d rather you be safe than sorry. I"ll gladly raise my hand anytime to show it to you,” I said as I did just that. Confusion filled my face as I heard loud gasps from the crowd. Carlos sprang to my side as my head turned to look at my hand. My brows furrowed and my head tilted as I slowly brought my hand down onto the podium in front of my face. I stared at the blood trickling out of my scar.
Carlos leaned down to the microphone and said, “Thank you all for coming.” He turned and quickly led me out of the room.
“Carlos? Why? Why is my scar bleeding?” I mumbled as I stumbled out of the room while Carlos steadied me. Once in the hall it hit me. “Musetta! I have to speak to Musetta right now, Carlos. I know what she"s doing!”
Ramon spoke up, “She"s waiting in your office, Sarah.”
I ran down the hall with Carlos by my side, and burst into my office, startling Musetta and her daughter Marie. “I"m sorry I scared you,” I said as I held my palm up. “But it"s Malina, she"s trying to duplicate my scar! Can you do something to stop her? Please?” She took my palm and ran her finger over the scar then she sat down and started chanting and digging through her large bag. She pulled out a mortar and pestle, poured a few items in it and ground them up. She lit some incense and let the smoke fill the room as she sang. She dipped her finger into the bowl and spread the concoction over my scar. I felt it burn slightly. She stopped singing and touched her hand to my forehead– this was how Musetta communicated with others because she was unable to speak. She sat back and I stared at her. “Really?” I said. “It"s invisible to her now, she can"t even see his scar anymore? Huh. Will it stay like that always?”
She touched my forehead again, then sat back and pulled a small bottle from her bag. She pulled the cork out of the top of it and poured the mixture into it. Then she handedit to me. “How often?” I said. Again, she touched my forehead. “Okay,” I nodded. Carlos looked at me. “Whenever it starts bleeding, I have to add more.”
“Oh, okay,” he nodded.
I looked back at Musetta. “Can you help us stop the pain she puts in our heads?”
Musetta looked at her daughter and Marie spoke for her, “She needs you to describe the pain, tell her everything about it.”
Carlos said, “It"s like a balloon is expanding in your head.”
Stefan, who had joined us in my office, spoke next, “It"s an unimaginable pain. You can"t move or think when it"s there. It"s a blinding pain, like a red hot vise squeezing your head in reverse.”
Every face in the room turned to me when I said, “It feels like a snake.”
“What?” I said. “It does. The first time she used it on me, she was searching for information and I felt it moving th
rough my brain and then down into my heart, just like it was a snake.”
Musetta became very animated. She pulled a notepad and pen out of her bag, wrote something down and showed it to her daughter. Marie nodded and turned to me. “She"s using a serpent spirit to cause the pain. Mother can make something to stop it, but she needs the blood of a mongoose, does anyone know if there are any around here?”
Stefan jumped up. “Probably not around here, but I"ll bet Bahiti knows where to find one. I"ll be right back.”
“Once we take this, it will always stop the pain?” I asked. Musetta nodded her head slightly. “Okay,” I said, “but we"ll need enough for everyone, can you do that?”
Musetta turned to her daughter. Marie said, “Yes, but we"ll need to return to Haiti to make that much. We can have it ready in a few days.”
I looked at Carlos. “Okay,” I said, “we"ll fly to Seattle first then out to Haiti to pick it up.” I turned back to Musetta to thank her for coming, but she suddenly grabbed my hand and gasped. I stared at her as she closed her eyes and rocked back and forth. She reached over and touched Carlos" forehead for a few seconds, then took his hand and put it in mine. She opened her eyes and stood up. “Wait,” I said as I looked from her to Carlos and back. “What did you see? Tell me? Please! What?” I said with the panic and fear filling my voice.
Musetta shook her head as Marie spoke for her, “What she saw, it wasn"t clear. She"s not sure how to interpret it. It would do you no good to know right now, it might change how you react.”
“React?” I whispered. “React to what?”
Marie shook her head too, and then placed her hand on my cheek. “No,” she said. “No more, just be strong. You have to be so strong.” They walked out, leaving me standing there, holding Carlos" hand and my mouth hanging open. I was afraid to, but I turned and looked at him. Trying to hide overwhelming sadness from his face, he barely smiled. “You ready to go?” he said, trying unsuccessfully to distract me.
“Carlos,” I whispered, “what did she tell you?”
He shook his head. “Please, Sarah,” he whispered, his eyes were begging me not to ask.
I opened my mouth to say something, to ask him again, but then closed it and nodded my head – something told me that I didn"t want to know what she told him, that I couldn"t handle knowing. We walked silently down the hall, grabbed our bags and climbed in to the car waiting to take us to the small airstrip.
Chapter Five
The silence screamed at me during the short flight to the main airport in Lima, and then on the flight to Seattle. I was terrified of what we would find, terrified of what we were walking into. I felt the tension in Carlos too, as I gripped his hand tight. I leaned my head onto his shoulder as he stared out the window. I squeezed my eyes shut as the absence of his calming words screamed in my head. Not a single, “It"s going to be okay, Sarah” or “We"ll find him, Sarah.” This is bad, really bad, horribly bad, I thought. Sleep didn"t come for either of us, despite the long seventeen hour flight. Landing at Boeing Field at six a.m. the next morning, we rented a car and drove to the dock to wait for the ferry to Bremerton. More silence as we waited for the 7:35 ferry. I finally whispered the only thing that I could say, “If he"s gone Carlos, don"t bring me back. When I lose it, please promise me you won"t bring me back, just let me go. No more pain. I can"t take any more pain. Please?” I turned to look at him. His eyes were squeezed shut with pain written all over his face, but he nodded slightly and kissed the back of my hand. We drove onto the ferry and walked topside, ignoring the stares from folks who thought we were crazy. It was overcast, windy and cold, but that didn"t matter to us. It was nice because it meant we"d be the only ones out on the deck. The one hour ferry ride was followed by the short drive to Matt"s house, enough time for me to push down my panic and the horrible thoughts that were running through my mind. There was no room for any of that right now. We had too much work to do.
We parked in an alley a few miles away and approached the house from the back. Jumping the fence, we landed behind some bushes in the yard then made a quick dash up to the house. Glancing in the living room window, the house looked quiet, too quiet. We watched for at least ten minutes, looking for any signs of Malina. Everything appeared to be deserted, eerily silent. I walked up to the back door and was slightly relieved to find it locked. I quietly inserted my key and we walked silently into the kitchen. Her scent was everywhere and I felt myself instantly go into predator mode. Carlos tapped my shoulder, pointed to me and upstairs, then pointed to himself and downstairs. I nodded and we separated. I made a quick search of his office and the guest room. She hadn"t spent much time in either of these. I couldn"t hold back the hiss when I opened the master bedroom door though. She had been in here, a lot. And, by the looks of it, she had slept in the bed. “That bitch!” I muttered. I turned and ran up to the third floor attic and did a quick search. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I ran back down the stairs, expecting to join Carlos in the basement. But at the bottom of the stairs, something in the living room caught my eye and made me stop dead in my tracks. I didn"t want to, but couldn"t stop my feet from moving closer to the small item hanging on the front of the TV. I reached out to take Matt"s wedding ring in my hand as I read the note taped to the TV. “He won"t be needing this anymore,” it read, “push play and watch.” My hand shook as I turned on the TV and pressed play on the DVD player. I cried out and sank to my knees as the first image I saw on the screen was my son and me– the beautiful son who had been taken from me when he and my first husband, Rob, were killed in a car accident. It was a scene I knew all too well. It was the morning of the last day of his life. Rob had decided to grab the camera and film me helping Scotty get ready– he was going on his first fishing trip with his Dad and he was so proud.
I heard Carlos come up the stairs and stop in the doorway, but I couldn"t move my eyes from the screen. I reached out to the screen as Scotty said to me. “Don"t worry, Mommy, I didn"t forget anything, I promise.”
I mouthed the words I knew so well, as onscreen I said, “I know you didn"t, cause you"re my big boy.”
“I"m going to bring you back a big fish, a really big fish. The biggest fish you"ve ever seen, Mommy.”
“Of course you will, honey,” I said, then I leaned in to kiss him.
I hung my head as the screen went black then snapped it back up when Carlos gasped behind me. I shot backwards from the TV, landing on my butt, as I saw Matthew. Looking beaten and weak, he was unconscious and strapped to a table in his basement. “I saw that table downstairs,” Carlos said from behind me, “but…”
“But what,Carlos?” I said, afraid to take my eyes from the screen. I glanced quickly at him, saw him shaking his head then I turned back to the TV, hissing as Malina came into the picture. I reached my hand back to Carlos as she walked up to Matt, smiled into the camera and seductively ran her finger down his chest and stomach. I squeezed Carlos" hand tight when she walked up by his head and licked his cheek. I growled when she planted a kiss on his lips. I could see that he was starving– she had drained most of the blood that was in him when she had taken him. She taunted him by holding a pint of blood in front of his face, just out of his reach. His fangs dropped, he licked his lips. He tried to bite at it when it got close, but she never got it close enough. The screen faded to black, then came back on again. By the date and time stamp it was the next morning– yesterday morning to be exact. Matt had been here, with her, in this house just yesterday. Why hadn"t we left earlier? We could have found him. I forced my thoughts back to the screen. She had the pint hanging from a stand now, with a tube coming out of it. She took the end of the tube and tauntingly held it over his opened mouth. She turned opened the valve long enough for one tiny drop to fall into his mouth.
“Oh God, please,” he gasped. The camera shook slightly as the angle changed, revealing more of Matt on the table.
“Oh hell, no,” I growled when I saw that he was now completely naked.
�
�Sarah, maybe you shouldn"t watch this,” Carlos mumbled behind me.
“Like hell I won"t,” I spat.
My focus returned to the TV. “You want more?” she said as she set down the camera so that the entire table was in view. He nodded weakly and swallowed hard. My God, give him more. He"s starving, I thought. She walked to the far side of the table, took the tube and dropped one more drop of blood into his mouth.
“Give it to him!” I yelled at the television. “More?” she said.
He barely nodded again.
“Then you know what I want. Are you going to give it to me?”
“I, I can"t,” he mumbled.
“Can"t? What do you mean, you can"t, Matt? Give her what she wants so she will give you the blood,” I said to the screen as if he could hear me.
“Sarah. I don"t think you want to watch this,” Carlos said again.
“Carlos! Shut the hell up. I don"t care what he has to give her if it means it will keep him from starving to death. Look at him. He"s got nothing in him. He needs it and I don"t give a shit what he has to do to get it.”
“Yes you do, Sarah,” he whispered.
“Carlos, what the hell are you talking about?” I said then I gasped when I turned back to the screen.
Malina was smiling into the camera as she reached up and pulled the bag off of the stand.
“You"re too weak to give me what I want right now, so here"s what I"m going to do for you. I"m going to let you have this first. I don"t want you to think that I would take what I wanted and then not give you the blood. You can trust me Matthew. I"m going to let you feed first and then you"re going to give me what I want.”
Matt turned his head to the side. “Please. I can"t,” he whispered.
She smiled into the camera again and said, “I"ll tell you what. I"m going to put this up to your lips. If you don"t drink it, then I"ll walk away and leave you alone. But if you do drink it then I"ll take that as my answer that you are going to give me what I want. Deal?”
Malina's Revenge Page 5
