Hidden Talents (22 page)

She threw back the hood of her jacket and crossed the living room to the phone. She had her hand on the receiver when the silk scarf came from out of nowhere. It looped around her throat before she even realized what was happening. In the next instant it was jerked taut, cutting off her voice, threatening to cut off her breath.

“Not a sound, bitch. Not one, single sound. Or you die.”

F
OR A SHATTERING MOMENT PANIC NEARLY OVER
-whelmed her. Serenity's hand fell away from the phone. She could feel the scarf circling her throat like a garrote, but so far it was only a threat. She could still breathe, still swallow. Barely.

“Who are you?” she whispered. “What do you want?”

“Never mind that.” The intruder's voice sounded as if it were being filtered through a potato grater. Everything came out shredded. “Where is she?”

“I don't know who you're talking about.” Serenity remembered the self-defense lessons she had been taught. Her instructor's words came back to her, just as if he were standing beside her.

It all happens first in your head. If you let the fear and panic take control, it's all over. You're dead meat. You got to step into another place where you can think clearly. Just do it
.

“Marion.” An uncontrolled rage throbbed deep in the man's voice. “Where is she? Tonight is the night. I'm going to teach her she can't ever leave me. Where is she?”

“I don't know anyone named Marion.” Serenity's hand crept up to her throat.

“She calls herself some crazy name now. Zone or something. And don't tell me you don't know where she is. I traced her here. She works for you. Last night I let her see me. Knew it would scare her. Make her think she was going crazy.”

“You're Royce Kincaid, aren't you?”

“She told you about me?” He sounded pleased.

“Yes. Said you were mentally ill.”

“I'm not sick, damn you,” Kincaid hissed. “I'm only doing what I have to do. It's her fault. She made me to this.”

“Is that so? She has that much power over you? Are you so weak?”

“Shut up,” Kincaid hissed. “
Shut up
. I'm not weak, damn you. And I'm going to prove it.”

“She isn't here.”

“I know that, bitch. I've already searched the place. I came here after I left her cabin. I thought you might be the one who was hiding her. Where is she?”

“I don't know.” Serenity managed to touch the chain at her throat where it dangled beneath the rope of silk. She could feel the shape of the griffin against her skin.

“You know where she is. A small town like this, everyone knows what's going on. Tell me where she is or I'll choke the life out of you.” Kincaid tightened the scarf.

Step into another place where you can think clearly
.

“Hang on, this really isn't any of my business,” Serenity whispered. “This is between the two of you.”

“Yes, it is between the two of us. You should never have gotten involved.”

“Look, if you'll promise to get out of here right now, I'll tell you where she's hiding.”

“Where is she?” Kincaid drew the scarf a little tighter.

“There's a path,” Serenity gasped. “It starts behind this cabin and goes up through the forest. You can't miss it if you use a flashlight. Just keep going uphill. There's a special place up there. A safe place.”

“There is no safe place for Marion,” the man crooned triumphantly. “Or for you, bitch. You tried to help her, didn't you? I'll bet you're the one who talked her into hiding from me.”

“Let me go.” Serenity had the griffin in her hand.

“I don't think so, bitch. I've got to teach you a lesson, too.” He twisted his hands more firmly around the ends of the scarf.

In a situation like that, you only get one chance. Do it right. Don't pull your punches. Go for the eyes, if you can. Even if you miss, you'll make him lose his concentration for a few seconds
.

Serenity jerked the griffin hard. The delicate chain snapped, leaving the pendant in her hand. She took a quick step backward and came up hard against Kincaid's body. He grunted in surprise.

Before he could recover, Serenity reached up behind her head and clawed wildly at his face with the metal griffin. She felt the sharp edge of one wing rip soft skin. She raked downward with all her strength.

Kincaid gave a muffled yelp of pain and anger. His grip on the scarf slackened for an instant as he tried to jerk his face out of reach.

It was all the time Serenity needed. She whirled around and lashed out at his left kneecap with the heel of her right foot.

Kincaid yelped and fell backward, scrabbling for his balance. Serenity knew better than to wait around to see if he was out of commission.
You don't want to get stupid about things at that point. First chance you get, you run
.

Serenity leaped for the door. Behind her a stack of books tumbled off a table and hit the floor as Kincaid staggered to his feet.

“Goddamn you, bitch. I'll kill you. And then I'll kill her.”

Serenity got the front door open. “
Caleb
!” she screamed. She dashed across the porch, down the steps and into the fog. “
Blade
! He's here!”

She was aware that Kincaid was not pursuing her, but she didn't stop running. She kept going, straight into the mist.

“Caleb? Where are you? Hurry. Please, hurry.”

The dogs found her first. Blinded by the darkness and the fog, Serenity stumbled over Styx before she realized he was directly in front of her. She fell. Styx stood over her and nuzzled her face. Charon came up and looked down at her with obvious canine concern.

“Serenity?” Caleb's voice was fierce. A beam of light sliced through the fog. “Where the hell are you?”

“Over here.” She gently pushed Styx and Charon aside and got to her feet. She was trembling.

“Are you all right?” Caleb strode swiftly toward her through the mist, an eerie, faceless figure in the reflected glow cast by the flashlight and the moon.

Serenity ran forward and threw herself into his arms. “I was so scared,” she said into his coat. “I've never been so scared in my life.”

“What happened?” His arms closed protectively around her.

“He was there, inside the cottage, waiting for me.”

“Kincaid?”

“Yes.”

His arms tightened around her. “The bastard.”

“He tried to kill me. He put a scarf around my neck.”

“Jesus,” Caleb groaned.

“I got away.” Serenity raised her head so quickly she collided with Caleb's jaw. “We've got to find him. I didn't get a chance to warn Zone and Ariadne.
We've got to find him
.”

“We will.” Caleb's voice suddenly lacked any trace of emotion.

“Where's Blade?” Serenity glanced around anxiously.

“Right here.” Blade's dark bulk appeared between two trees. “I heard what you said. The infiltrator went to your place, huh? Shit. Should of thought of that possibility. You okay?”

“Yes.” Serenity realized that her fingers were still clenched around the griffin. Its wings were digging into her palm. “He was trying to choke me from behind. I went for his eye with my necklace. When he let go for a second, I used a flying kick on his kneecap. He went down and I ran.”

“Thatagirl” Blade said with unmistakable satisfaction and pride. “Knew you could do it.”

“Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?” Caleb asked.

“I taught her,” Blade said.

Caleb looked at him. “You did.”

“Sure.”

“I owe you.”

“You don't owe me a damn thing,” Blade said. “Serenity's family. Everyone in the family had a hand in raisin' her. We all taught her something.”

“I think we'd better discuss this later,” Serenity interrupted. “I don't know if Kincaid is still in the house. I also don't know if he's armed. I didn't see a gun, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one.”

“No, it sure don't,” Blade said. “First thing we got to do is see if he's still in the cottage.” He pulled a small pistol from his web belt and glanced at Caleb. “Meant to ask earlier if you could handle one of these.”

Caleb glanced at the pistol. “Yes.” He reached out and took the gun from Blade's hand.

Serenity had a sudden recollection of the marksmanship medals she had seen in the glass-fronted cabinet in the Ventress house. A new kind of fear swept through her. “Caleb, please, I don't know—”

“Let's go.” Blade motioned to the dogs. Styx and Charon instantly gave him their full attention. He switched off the flashlight and moved silently away through the trees. The dogs fanned out on either side of him.

Caleb turned off his own flashlight and dropped it into his coat pocket. He touched Serenity's cheek with his gloved hand. His face was unreadable in the darkness, but his voice was still curiously even. “Follow us but stay behind me until we find out what's happening.”

Serenity nodded, then realized he probably couldn't see the motion of her head. “All right. Caleb, promise me you'll be careful. Kincaid is mentally unbalanced.”

“Believe it or not, I had already figured that out for myself.”

Serenity followed Caleb and Blade through the trees to the edge of the clearing that marked her driveway. In the glow of the porch light she could see that the front door was still open, just as she had left it.

Blade gave a signal to the dogs. Styx and Charon bounded forward, sleek and lethal shadows in the fog. Serenity held her breath as the beasts went up the steps and into the cottage.

There was no sound for a few minutes. Then Styx appeared in the doorway. Charon was right behind him. The dogs came back down the steps and trotted across the driveway to where Blade waited in the trees.

“Looks like it's all clear,” Blade said. “Bastard's gone.”

“He didn't come out this way,” Caleb said. “The dogs would have noticed. Must have gone out the back door.”

“The caves,” Serenity whispered.

Blade and Caleb exchanged glances. Then they both looked at her.

“Why would he go to the caves?” Blade asked.

Serenity stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Because I told him that was where Zone was hiding. Maybe he actually believed me. The man is crazy.”

“If he went up that path,” Blade said, “we've got him cornered. There's no way down except the way he went up. Unless he goes over a cliff. Let's check it out, Ventress.”

“Serenity will have to come with us,” Caleb said. I'm not taking the chance of leaving her alone in the cottage again.”

“Right.” Blade glanced at Charon and Styx, who were poised to receive his orders. He said something very quietly to them.

Again the dogs fell in on either side of him. Blade moved off to circle the cottage.

“I don't like this, but I don't see any help for it,” Caleb muttered to Serenity. “You stay between Blade and me.”

“I'm not going to dash off ahead and play hero, if that's what's worrying you,” she retorted. “I've already had enough excitement tonight to last me a lifetime.”

“You and me both. When I get my hands on this jerk, I'm going to—”

Blade's voice floated back through the shadows. “Quiet.”

Caleb fell silent, but Serenity could feel the simmering rage in him.

Blade used the lights from the cottage to find the path. The moonglow reflecting off the fog provided sufficient illumination to guide the small party up into the woods. They climbed the path in single file with the dogs leading the way.

The tension was thicker than the mist. It seemed to Serenity that the night was imbued with a malevolent quality. The glowing fog creating an alien atmosphere that made the familiar forest appear strange and unnatural. She found herself starting at every small night sound. She took comfort in the knowledge that the dogs would give advance warning of Kincaid's presence.

At the top of the trail, Blade abruptly put out a hand. Intent on finding her footing, Serenity didn't realize he had halted. She bumped into him. Caleb caught her arm to steady her.

She looked up and saw that both Blade and Caleb were watching the rottweilers. Charon and Styx were standing, stiff and still, a few feet from the cavern entrance.

Far back in the depths of the cavern, a flashlight beam bounced off the rocky walls.

“Goddamn you, Marion, come out.” Kincaid's voice rang with a wild, disturbing echo inside the cave. “You can't hide from me. I'll kill you for leaving me. Got to kill you, you bitch.”

Blade put his mouth close to Caleb's ear and spoke so softly that Serenity couldn't understand what was being said. She saw Caleb nod once. Then he did something to the pistol in hand. There was a tiny
snick
.

Anxiety made Serenity's fingers tremble as she touched Caleb's arm. She looked at him, silently entreating him to be cautious. He patted her hand absently and then pointed to a rocky outcropping. It was clear he wanted her to stay hidden behind it.

Reluctantly, she followed his silent instructions. Blade gave another hand signal to the dogs. Charon and Styx took up protective positions near her as the men separated and slipped away into the mist.

Serenity realized that she could hardly breathe. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and found the griffin that had saved her life.
Her parents' gift to her
. She held it fast and told herself that Caleb and Blade would be safe.

The beam of Kincaid's flashlight gyrated erratically around the interior of the cave, bouncing off the stony walls, ceiling, and floor. From the outside it appeared as if a strange, frantic light show was taking place inside.

“I'll kill you for this, you whoring bitch, Marion.” Kincaid's voice was becoming increasingly high-pitched. It hovered at the invisible edge of a precipice, almost out of control. “I'll kill you, and when I'm finished with you, I'll go back and get the one who tried to help you. She won't escape me, either. I'll show you both that I'm not weak.”

Caleb was aware of a ghostly sense of wrongness as he listened to Kincaid's ranting. He felt the fleeting touch of a sensation that he could only call evil.

Crouching low, he made his way to the left side of the entrance and waited until Blade was in position on the right.

“Too bad we can't use the dogs as a distraction,” Blade said. “They could get him in the darkness, no problem. But they won't go inside that cave.”

“The lights,” Caleb said. “We can use them to shake him up a bit. The switch is out here, remember?”

“Yeah. Hit 'em. See what happens.”

Caleb found the metal box beside him and snapped the switch that turned on the row of bulbs that lined one interior wall. The weak lights came on inside the cave.