Return to the Shadows (18 page)

“It’s okay.” Aries touched my shoulder. “Just
do the best you can. I’ll make sure you have a continuously updated
list of every area with a reported zone failure.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “But I still wish there was
more I could be doing.”

“Nonsense. You’ve got one of the most
important tasks there is in this operation. It is vital for us to
have a record of which fences have failed and where so that we can
dispatch rescue teams to those locations. You’re the glue that
holds us all together, Claire. You’re saving lives just the same as
the rest of us. It is a thing to be proud of.”

“That’s another thing, I wish we knew why the
fences are failing. I didn’t think the protection spell cast by the
Matrons had an expiration date,” I remarked.

“They don’t. At least, they’re not supposed
to.”

“Maybe something has happened to the
Matrons?”

“Possibly.”

“But you think it’s unlikely.” I could hear
that much in her tone.

“Honestly? Yes, it’s very unlikely that
something could have been done to even one of the Matrons, let
alone all of them. Not even Kahn is that strong, unless the Matrons
took a whole lot of stupid chances, and they don’t take chances.
Ever.”

“What sort of chances would they have to
take?” I asked, casting worried eyes in her direction.

“Let’s put it this way. In order for Kahn to
have taken out all of them, they would have all had to split up and
walk down a dark alley, alone, in an unprotected region, and even
then Kahn would have his work cut out for him.”

“They’re really that powerful?” I was
stunned.

“Yes.”

“So why the hell aren’t they putting a stop
to this insanity?” I grumbled rather uncharitably. Wasn’t that
their job?

“Maybe it’s time for us to come together as a
people and stand on our own.”

“We might as well go with that. It looks like
that’s exactly what we are going to have to do.”

“It’s fortunate that Mark and his men have
made the decision to stand with us and fight.” Her eyes met mine
over the short utility table in the kitchen.

“So I shouldn’t anger him or otherwise do
anything that would make him want to rescind the offer?”

“That would be wise, yes.” She ducked her
head, eyes twinkling under the fluorescent overhead lighting.

“If you insist,” I deferred. “I can’t look at
these maps anymore right now. I’m ready to go to the store whenever
you are.”

We found Ashley and Bob in the garden at the
west end of the property, taking a minute to join in their fun and
games before jumping into Bob’s closed-in Jeep lookalike and
heading down the drive.

“Ashley seems to be adjusting quite well to
life in Terlain—again, that is,” she quickly added.

“I think you’re right. At first she was more
than a little scared to come back here, and you can hardly blame
her. I mean, she hasn’t exactly had good experiences up to now, not
in Terlain. But she does seem to be coming around,” I agreed. “I
told her this is a magic place.”

“It is that.” A smile played along the
corners of her lips as she navigated the car around a tight turn,
taking us out of town and into a densely wooded area. “Mark seems
to be coming around too.”

“I doubt that.”

“Don’t fret. He will soon enough.”

“I don’t care if he does,” I retorted, waving
away the thought. “Mark can do what he damn well pleases. We’re
both adults and all of us are here to do a job. Mark and I share a
common goal, but that’s it. We are not required to like each
other.”

“Only to love each other?”

“Hah,” I snorted, twisting around to stare
mutinously at the forest we were passing through.

“Fine, deny all you want. But you’re
forgetting one thing.”

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

“I know you and now I’ve met Mark for the
second time. The first time, by the way, he was out of his mind
with grief at your absence. You love him, and he is crazy about
you.”

“He was crazy about me—past tense. A lot has
changed since then.”

“So you do love him.”

“Oh fine, yes, I love him. I never stopped.
And don’t you dare tell him that. Believe me when I say he wants
nothing to do with me now.”

“You’re wrong about that, but of course I
wouldn’t ever discuss your personal feelings with him. Still,
Claire, I think that you should.”

“I’ll consider it,” I hedged, knowing that it
would probably be a long time coming, if such a meeting of souls
occurred at all.

“So.” She exhaled, her eyes on the rutted
dirt road as she took us deeper into the forest. “How is your
brother?”

“Mike? He’s okay. He works a lot.” I
shrugged. Privately, I had been wondering when she would bring up
my brother. “He thinks about you all the time,” I told my friend in
a hushed tone.

“I…miss him,” she admitted, sparing a glance
in my direction. “I miss him a lot.”

“He hasn’t found anyone else, Aries. The man
hasn’t even dated anyone since we returned from Terlain.”

“Tell him…” She seemed to struggle with the
words. “Tell him to move on with his life. Tell him to be
happy.”

“That’s up to him. It’s not hopeless, you
know.”

“I doubt if I’ll ever see him again.” She
shook her head sadly. “You and Mark, now that’s different. Fate
brought the two of you together again for a reason. Trust me,
Claire, talk to him.”

Chapter Nine

Branded

The sun was setting by the time we pulled
into the hard-packed dirt parking lot in front of the wood frame
general store. We sat in the car for long minutes, taking note of
the peculiar and foreboding surroundings. Ours was the only vehicle
in the parking lot of a store that was the only one of its kind in
roughly a thirty-five mile radius.

“Business is usually booming.” Aries frowned,
her eyes narrowed and focused on the brightly lit log cabin style
building. “I don’t like this. Something’s wrong.”

“I agree. The lights are all on, but the
owner’s car is gone. Of course, he may have gotten dropped
off.”

“Hmm. Maybe. Only one way to find out.” The
creak of the car door sounded like a shot ringing out in the
subdued night air.

“Where are the birds?” I whispered, hurrying
to match Aries’s long strides. “They were chirping when we left the
house, weren’t they? And I’m pretty sure I heard them a few miles
back, when I had the window down.”

“I noticed that too. Something is wrong here.
I can feel it. Stay close and stay behind me,” she instructed,
drawing a short but still lethal-looking jagged edge knife from her
bag.

Hinges groaned ominously as the door swung
shut behind us. I took a deep breath, inching close to Aries as we
put our backs against the wall next to the plate glass door.

“Should we call out for the owner?” I
breathed in a barely audible whisper.

“No.” She nodded toward the counter, to the
sticky red mess that oozed around the corner of the bricks.
Blood.

“Oh no. It’s wet, Aries. Do you suppose he’s
still alive?”

“I doubt it. That’s a lot of blood. Damn.
Stay here—watch my back.”

I kept watch as she moved behind the counter,
skirting the blood that was still spreading slowly across the white
tile floor. Nothing moved, but I didn’t dare relax my guard. Blood
that hadn’t even yet congealed meant a recent kill. Despite the
absence of vehicles in the lot, the odds were good that the killer
still lurked in the store. I shivered, willing my companion to
hurry so we could get the hell out of the store. Every minute we
spent inside upped the chance of harm coming to Bob’s automobile,
eliminating our chance for escape.

“He’s dead,” she reported a minute later.

“Are you sure? Of course you are,” I sighed
when she continued to stare at me. “Let’s get out of here.”

“No, we still need supplies. But we have to
be very careful and we have to be quick. Whatever did this could
still be in here.”

“There’s nothing we need that bad,” I argued,
dreading what we might find lurking in the neatly organized aisles
of the general store.

“Claire.” She gripped my shoulders, one hand
holding the knife out to the side.

“What?”

“Breathe. Now come on, I need you. Grab a
couple of sacks and a cart and let’s get moving.”

“Okay.” I nodded, struggling to pull myself
together. “Grocery sacks. Check. Cart—check.”

“Good. We stay together. Let’s start with
this aisle right here. You fill a bag with baking powder, I’ll fill
a bag with flour. No,” she amended. “We’ll need more flour than
that for so many men, and big men at that. I’d better pack two
sacks. Hand me another one, will you?”

“Sure,” I complied before turning to the
shelf at my right and shoveling plain brown boxes that read premium
baking powder into the enormous burlap sack. It was beyond me how
Aries could be so rational despite the danger we were facing. I
envied her competent assurance. The knowledge that
blood-thirsty…things…could leap out from around a corner and
viciously attack us at any given moment was never far from my mind,
and my hands shook as I tied the heavy sack at the top and shoved
it into a corner of the cart that sat between us.

“What’s next?”

“Start on the sugar. One bag. From there
we’ll move to the coffee and tea. It’s two aisles down. After the
paper products.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, tensing at the idea of
moving. It felt like I was rooted to the spot.

The dry goods we hastily packaged filled one
cart to brimming, and we were forced to cautiously backtrack to the
front of the store and exchange it for an empty one. Cured meat
filled ten more huge sacks; butter and lard and molasses filled
several more.

“What about fruits and vegetables?”

“No, they’re in the produce section along the
back wall. It’s too close to the stock room entrance.

There’s no telling what could be hiding back
there. Too risky. They’ll have to make do with what we’ve got.
Besides, there’s an apple grove not far from Bob and Marta’s place.
We need to go now.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll grab
the other cart.” I spoke rapidly, pulling the dry goods cart behind
me and holding the door open for her to pass through ahead of
me.

“The car’s still there, that’s a good sign.
Let’s hope it hasn’t been messed with,” she muttered.

I was halfway out the door and nearly out of
the danger zone when the growl sounded behind me.

White-hot pain pierced my shoulder blade a
moment later. I saw Aries whip around and draw her knife, yelling
for me to get down. She needn’t have worried; I was slumping to the
ground in an ungracious heap before she had even finished the harsh
command. Fire burned through my back, clouding my vision and making
it difficult to breathe. A loud thump sounded before a heavy weight
fell to the floor beside me.

Fight through the pain, I silently ordered
through gritted teeth. I had to make sure Aries was okay. I had to
help her. Forcing my eyes open brought me face to face with a
chalk-white creature, its mouth open in a grimace that revealed a
row of sharp, pointed teeth that were stained red at the ends.
Coatyl.

“Aries,” I managed to gasp.

“I’m here. It’s okay, it’s dead.”

“No—”

“It’s dead, Claire. I promise you it’s dead.
Can you walk?”

“Yes. Oh God, it hurts,” I moaned, forcing
myself upright. I wasn’t sure if I could actually walk or not, but
it was impossible to miss the urgency in her voice.

“Good, because there are more coming. Get to
the car.” She yanked the double doors closed, whirled around,
grabbed a large branch from beside the door, and hurriedly shoved
it between the door handles to create a makeshift bar.

Somehow, I made it to the car, leaning over
the front handle of the cart and using it to stabilize my
movements. That and sheer force of will kept me on my feet and in
forward motion until I made it to our vehicle, barely noticing the
dent that formed in the metal when I failed to stop the cart from
ramming into the side of the car.

“Don’t worry about unloading the cart, just
get yourself in the car.”

“No.” The word was slurred. There was no way
I was leaving her to load our hard won and badly needed supplies by
herself. My vision may have been hazy, but I could see enough to
know that less than fifty feet away, locked in the store, at least
five coatyl beat and scratched at the door. Aries needed all the
help she could get at the moment and I wasn’t eager to stay here
any longer than was absolutely necessary.

My movements were uncoordinated and stiff,
but somehow, I managed to get most of the bags in the backseat.
Aries proved much faster in the task, hurling her packages in
through the side door and then sprinting around the short length of
the vehicle to shove the last of the sacks in my cart to join the
rest, creating a virtual burlap mountain behind our seats. We
wouldn’t be able to see out the back window.

Then again, I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“Get in and hurry! That stick isn’t going to
hold the door for much longer and those things are fast.”

I slumped against the seat, scarcely managing
to pull my door shut before Aries was behind the wheel, tires
spinning furiously as we careened out of the parking lot and sped
along the forest. She didn’t slow down until we were safely within
Grandview city limits, shielded by the gentle illumination from the
fence’s border.

“Are you okay? Shit, I can’t believe he got
you. I should have heard him before he ever got that close.
Shit.”

“I knew teaching you cuss words was a
mistake.” I tried to smile.

“Are you okay?” She alternated nervous
glances between me and the road.

“I’ve felt better. What did that thing do to
me?”