Flame Unleashed (Hell to Pay) (26 page)

One good collision and the car would be destroyed. He struggled to avoid the largest boulders and winced at every jolt as they plowed over smaller rocks. The worst of the flow had diverted down a chute on the mountain to his left, though some of the slushy death still flowed in his direction.

Damn this horrible windshield. He was driving blind, going too fast for what little visibility he did have. Veering around a hairpin turn, the downhill front wheel slipped off the road. With force of will, he pulled the car back onto the pavement and hit the accelerator once more.

Rolling down the window, he stuck his head out. The ice-cold air stung, but he could at least see where he was going.

“Ok,” he yelled. “There’s an area to our right that makes another natural gulch for water and avalanches to flow down the mountain. Can you see it?”

“Yes.”

“Can you follow it on the map all the way to the bottom of the mountain?”

“Yes.”

“We have to outrun anything coming down that gulley. I’m sure that mess is picking up steam. This road crosses that gulch a few more times. At the bottom of this road, near town, there are side roads we can use to get out of the lava flow path. Can you find them?”

“I’ll try.”

She tapped on the screen while he continued to drive as fast as he dared. The road snaked to the right around the front of the mountain and then zigzagged down the face. The switchbacks might be dangerous, but it was at the bottom of the hill where death would collide with them.

At the base of the mountain, the road had been built over a chute where the folds of the mountain naturally funneled water. That was the alley he desperately wanted to reach before the avalanche did. On one switchback, he glanced up the mountainside only to see glowing mud, entire trees, and hot ash rushing directly toward them.

He had to go faster. Speeding up, he fishtailed down more switchbacks, at times only mere feet away from the roaring flow and inches away from a sheer drop-off.

The right back tire lifted as the leading edge of the liquefied mountainside caught the wheel.

Ruth. After everything she had sacrificed, he had to get her down this mountain alive. He couldn’t fail.

How could he come this close to having a normal mortal life with a woman he loved and not survive?

Loved?

Damn it. No time to contemplate that conclusion.

He needed more time with her. Their lives couldn’t end like this, buried on Mount Shasta.

The defroster finally caught up with the ice on the windshield, and he flipped on the wipers. Recklessly, he applied brakes and accelerator, nearly running them off the road as they careened around yet another corner. How many turns were on this road? Ridiculous.

In the valley, he saw the brighter lights of the town below. Almost there. The terrain had relaxed into a long, rolling stretch of road. Maybe they would make it after all.

“We just passed McBride Springs campground,” he called out. “You see it on the map?”

“Yes. Get ready to make a right turn.”

A wall of ice and debris coursed next to the road. Everything was funneling to the same point. He had to get there first. He accelerated through a dip in the road, only to see the molten mountainside cross behind him as the two chutes merged, cutting off the road up the mountain. One more gully to avoid.

“Turn right—now!” she yelled.

He slammed on the brakes and skidded the car onto a gravel road.

“Oh God,” Ruth whispered, her voice barely audible above the destruction only feet away.

She pointed. A house’s light flickered and went out. He cringed, hoping no one was in the structure as it had been either buried or pulverized.

They jolted down the gravel road. Unfortunately, the road angled directly into the path of the flow.

“We’re getting close,” he warned her.

“I see that.”

Tap, tap on the screen.

“Can you go faster?” she said.

“I can, but the car might not make it.”

“You should probably try.” Her voice was much too calm.

The sweat on his damp skin turned to ice.

He accelerated, and the car bottomed out, scraping the oil pan against a rock. Not caring how badly he jarred them, he sped up again. Twice, he caught air as they sped downhill. The mixture of liquefied mountainside and ice rushed next to them, now only about ten feet away and quickly closing the gap.

“We’re too close, Ruth. Get us out of here.”

“Ok, there should be pavement soon. When you hit it, go faster and turn right onto the next road.”

She studied the illuminated GPS. The bumping ride abruptly smoothed out, though the sludge now licked at the left side of the vehicle, lifting the back tire.

“Right turn, now!”

He swerved, almost missing the turn. After a dogleg through a residential area, she navigated them to a final right-hand turn onto a frontage road that led them uphill and out of the path of destruction.

He exhaled and eased off the gas pedal.

Braking at a turnout several miles up the road, far away from any ice flows, Odie slammed the car into park. The tapping, spent engine, their sharp gulps of air, and the muffled rumble in the distance met his ears. His arms shook as he forced cramped hands to let go of the wheel.

Silence settled over them.

“You’re alive. We’re alive!”

He pulled her across the seat to him, kissing her lips, forehead, and cheeks. Her whole body quaked, so hard did she tremble. He tasted salt and pulled away.

“Tears,
chère
?”

“We almost—”

He clutched her to him, unwilling to let go. From start to finish, they had cheated death in the most improbable way. Only fitting, since death cheated them so many years ago.

She startled as fire engines with sirens blaring sped past them down the frontage road, toward the destruction.

“The people back there? That avalanche, the volcano ...”

“I know. I’m sure people were hurt and possibly died.
Mon dieu
, those poor people. Family members lost. I know how that feels, without a doubt. But what we did saved so many more people from centuries of pain, death, and suffering. Jerahmeel’s dead. We just rid the world of that evil. And we survived.”

“I can’t believe it’s really over.” She sniffed.

Easing back into her seat, she unbuckled the remaining snowshoe. He walked around the car and opened her door. At his offered hand, she stepped into his arms and clung to him. He pressed his lips to her forehead, inhaling her sweet lavender and mint smell, now combined with a scent of sweat and dust. She was so very alive.

He turned so they could both see the spectacle occurring on the mountain. The top of the massive peak flickered as lava ejected thousands of feet into the air. The ground still moved beneath their feet, though much less at this distance.

“Wow,” she said.

“You’ve got that right.”

“All of our loved ones ...”

 He tightened his arm around her shoulders. “You know what? As Jerahmeel was exploding, all I could see were the faces of my dear Ada and Vivienne smiling at me. Now, some day when my natural life ends, I might see my lovely daughters again.”

“Of course you will. You were a wonderful father.”

“And you were a loving mother.”

“I should have done more. Like you did.”

He dropped a kiss on an uninjured area of her forehead, then pressed his face to hers. “Well, now you’ve found your family again. I’m sure you’ll want to be with them, learn more about the family you missed out on having.”

“Yes, but—”

“All that catching up doesn’t leave a lot of time for other things.”

“But—”

He pulled back to appreciate her beautiful face, possibly for the last time. “I understand if there’s not a lot of room in your life for anyone else right now.”

“Odie—”

“You have a new life to live.”

She stomped a booted foot. “Odie, stop talking. We are both very old people now. We’ve lived for hundreds of years enslaved to evil. You’re right, I’ve found my family and I do want to spend time with them. But ...”

Irrational hope welled up as his heart flipped over.

She sniffed again. “It’s taken hundreds of years to find someone like you. I don’t intend to walk away now. Unless you want me to leave so you can have your own human life?”

It took several seconds for her words to sink in. The roaring of the mountain coming down nearby receded into a low resonance behind him.

“There’s nothing I want more in this world than you in my life. Every day. I love you more than my own life,” he said.

Damn it, if his chest didn’t threaten to explode. That’s right, he was susceptible to cardiac arrest as a human now.

She flung her arms around him, and he returned the embrace with interest.

“I love you, Odilon Pierre-Noir.”

“I’m no longer that man. I’m Odilon Martin Turcot. My given name, not that killer’s name. Ruth, you are more precious to me than the air in my lungs and the blood in my veins, and it would do me the greatest honor if you’d agree to be my partner for as long as the rest of our lives are meant to last.”

“Oh, yes. I want to be with you, Odie.”

She paused, her dusty face lit by the glowing mountaintop.

“But?” he asked.

“I like how you have been a secret sponsor for your family. Maybe I can become a covert fairy godmother. I’d love to find out more about my extended family, possibly visit some of them. Maybe I can still bring some happiness to the world. What if there are others in the family with similar gifts who could use guidance?”

“I think that’s a wonderful use of your mortal life.”

“Would you be my genealogy guru?”

“At your service,
chère
. Now and always.” He captured her lips in a searing kiss that heated the cold night. A kiss that demanded to be repeated for the rest of their lives.

The scent of turkey and all the trimmings wafted into the living room of Allie and Peter’s home in eastern Oregon. Bouncing baby Emma in her arms, Ruth inhaled the smells of good food and sweet baby. Behind her, the low voices of Peter, Dante, and Odie blended with Allie and Hannah’s higher tones.

Ruth could remain here forever, surrounded by newfound family and loved ones.

Minus Barnaby. A bubble of sadness lodged in her throat, but she pushed it down. No, she would relish her mentor and friend’s memory. He had completed a long, rich life and lived it to a natural if not abrupt conclusion.

And she would live her life like Barnaby, enjoying every human moment.

With Odie at her side.

Emma’s silky, fine hair reminded Ruth of her own babies. The aroma of a home-cooked meal hearkened to family gatherings in Maryland before the Civil War.

It was as though she’d lived the past 150 years in black and white, and now sudden color flooded her entire existence.

Relief meant relaxing with a baby in her arms. Relief meant no more looking over her shoulder and no compulsion to kill.

She was free. Odie was free.

And her family was now safe from Jerahmeel’s spindly, fiery fingers of death.

“Ruth?” Allie had quietly entered the living room.

Ruth turned away from the living room window and offered Emma back to her mother.

“She likes you.” Allie slid her arms under her daughter and cradled Emma. “You’re the best great-times-six grandmother.”

“The
only
one in existence.”

“You might be right.” She rubbed her cheek against Emma’s soft forehead. “Any thoughts on what you’ll do with your whole life ahead of you? Maybe I could see if there’s a nursing position open at the hospital here?”

“Thank you, but no.” Ruth studied the pine trees and mountains outside the window. “Being a nurse? That portion of my life is over, and I’m satisfied.”

“So what will you do?”

“She will make this old man happy for years to come, that’s what she’ll do.” Odie slid his arms around Ruth, making her shiver. Every time he caressed her, the sensations were so real, so vivid, it felt like the first time they touched.

Ruth leaned back into his chest and smiled over at Allie. “You know what I’d like to do? Odie’s family tree program has revealed some interesting branches. I’d like to meet a few of my descendants.”

“Sounds like fun,” Allie said.

Odie tightened his arms around Ruth. “Anyone going with you on this wild goose chase?”

“Me and one other goose.”

She sighed and relaxed, surrounded by the man she loved and the family that grounded her and added meaning to her life. Just knowing these people satisfied the gnawing emptiness that had consumed her entire soul. She didn’t realize she’d been starved for human connection and warmth until now. Now, the hunger had abated and was replaced by love.

“Hey, old fogies, dinner’s on.”

The boom of Dante’s voice startled Emma from her slumber and she fussed.

Dante raised one arm in defense as Allie stalked toward him, brandishing the crying baby. Hannah nudged him out of the way with her hip. Peter guided his wife and daughter into the dining room.

“Was it worth it?” Odie’s tenor voice next to her ear sent frissons of desire straight through her body.

“What?”

“Giving up everything.” He kissed her temple.

“I gave up nothing. We had hell to pay. The tab is settled. I’m looking forward to some peace and quiet. No killing, no pain, no evil.”

He nipped at her neck, drawing goose bumps. “Not even a little evil?”

“Maybe a tiny bit of evil.”

“Come
on
, you two love birds, I’m hungry!” Dante shouted.

Emma wailed as Allie shushed her.

Peter muttered a curse.

Hannah giggled.

Home. Ruth had found her way home.

The real Ruth had found love and discovered her true self.

Jillian David lives near the end of the Earth with her nut of a husband and two bossy cats. To escape the sometimes-stressful world of the rural physician, she writes while on call and in her free time. She enjoys taking realistic settings and adding a twist of “what if.” Running or hiking on local trails often promotes plot development.