Rapture Falls (40 page)

             
Lucifer quickly examined the deserted parked
cars pausing to check
the ignitions
, she
found a sleek Porsche and a rusty Renault van both still held their owners keys, not wanting to draw any un-necessary attention and with some reluctance
s
he took the van.
Her strength was slowly returning but somewhat diminished, she knew that it would never fully return, McCullum would be stronger now as her life would pulse through his veins, just what his limitations would be she had no idea, as far as she knew no one had ever attempted to bond with a human as she had before. Sh
e drove the rattling vehicle on its shot suspension
up to the farmhouse entrance, McCullum quickly hoisted Baine into the rear of the van without much subtlety or concern for his wounds and leapt into the passenger seat. She drove out
over the cattle grid and
onto
the rutting lane
beyond
,
the sun was beginning to rise casting a soft red glow across the horizon as morning approached. S
he could see throu
gh the dirty windscreen that their
location was desperately rural, after about ten minutes of fruitless driving
s
he paused on the poor excuse for a road,
s
he debarked and climbed onto the bonnet for a better view. The green fields stretched beyond the horizon on all sides only broken by the distant blue shimmer of the ocean
, try as
s
he might
s
he could not spot any kind of main road crisscrossing the farming landscape,
Lucifer
sat down heavily upon the increasingly dented bodywork. As tranquil as the view was it did nothing for
her
agitated mood,
s
he had lost
Baines
book and with it possibly
their
only chance of salvation,
s
he had searched the farmhouse, barn and the body of Azazel for the book but it was missing and
s
he had no idea to whom the arrogant sod had passed it to.
All
s
he had now was
Baine and whatever
secrets that
his m
emories
still
held.

             
Baine lay as still as he could in the bouncing rear of the unstable van,
he
fought the raging tide of
frustration, all he could feel now was the crushing weight of expectation, it was an emotion that he was not used to, to have the responsibilities of others was not something
that he would have placed upon h
is
own shoulders.
H
e closed h
is
eyes and sought to find h
is
centre, a peacef
ul interlude that would calm h
is
raging thoughts and allow clarity to rule over his usual head down crash ball approach, after a moment, there she was, his dancer moved with poetry through his mind, her flowing hair sparkled in the bright lights and her light skin glistened with sweet perspiration.
Her influence soothed his troubled mind and allowed his breathing to slow and relax, the first thing that he needed was somewhere to hole up and heal,
his ability to regenerate was still intact but without the book its speed was greatly reduced and he needed somewhere safe. He had no idea just how far and wide the followers of either the Grigori or the 11
^th
Order reached, judging by his experiences so far he could not feel confident in trusting anyone and he was beginning to feel li
ke an extra from The Wickerman. The bitch was driving and now appeared to have the Cardiff detective in tow, the effortless nature with which he had been thrown over McCullum’s shoulder told him that the man was no longer a man at all if he ever was, she was different and so was her pet, in his current weakened state he had no choice but to accompany them, an unwitting passenger to wherever they were taking him. If she had wanted him dead then he would be already, of that he had no doubt, the truth was that she had saved his life, he was under no illusions that he may well be out of the fireplace and into the fire but for now he had no choice, so he concentrated on his dancer and made her silent promises.

             
Lucifer
climbed back into the van
, her detective looked at her with total devotion
, she leant over and kissed him softly, she wiped away a little dried blood from his check, his lips were warm and she wished that they had the time to linger. She tore herself reluctantly away and
decided to head downwards towards the coast figuring that commercially there must be a greater chance of civilisation next to sea than heading into the green hills
. The van bounced and jolted her
along the winding lanes, the narrowness worried him
and
s
he drove the van slowly as any approaching vehicle would not have time to stop if they met on a corner and the last thing
s
he needed at the moment was an accident requiring the attendance of the police.
Eventually the dangerous lane became a tapered road, the water grew closer and
s
he could see buildings coming into view,
s
he paused at a weathered sign, the wood was splintered and worn, the paint was peeling
but still legible, it read “Bay V
iew Guesthouse” with an arrow pointing downwards,
Lucifer
followed the directions and pulled into a well kept driveway.
The house was large and beautifully formed,
s
he exited the shabby van and saw and appreciated a front garden that was immaculate with endless colours and rich aromas, flowering greenery climbed wooden structures forming a coloured guard of honour along a walkway leading from the driveway to the house,
momentarily leaving her passengers behind she
could see a manicured lawn stretching beyond the house as he moved towards the front door.

             
“Hello” a cheery voice sang from around the side

             
Lucifer
followed the voice and found a gardening dressed woman pruning and digging over a small flowerbed, her age was difficult to determine, her hair was pure white and her face wrinkled, she stood without the aches and pains associated with the elderly, she looked strong and healthy with a maternal aura.

             
“Was it a room that you were after?” she asked, her glowed with a soft Irish lilt

             
“Please” responded
Lucifer
,
s
he felt an unchar
acteristic smile etch across her
mouth, the woman seemed to illicit a friendly warmth even from his cold demeanour

             
“Well now I don’t get many visitors anymore” she walked over to him and extended a firm hand “I’m Marie, Marie Leary and you’re more than welcome” she pumped his hand enthusiastically and
Lucifer
smiled for one
of the few genuine times in her
life.

NEARLY THERE

“
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother
”

Matthew 10:34-35