The Faithful (32 page)

CHAPTER SIXTY

As each hour brought us closer to Wyoming and the
I Fidele
Ranch, Sumner’s anxiety grew. By the time we reached the small town of Encampment, we were all buzzing with nerves.

“It’s happening at midnight,” Sumner said again.

“How much farther to The Ranch?” I asked. It was 10:48 p.m.

“Over an hour in the daylight, but the road is rough. Unpaved, unlit. At night it takes much longer.”

“We’ll make it. Don’t worry, we’ll make it,” Josh said again. It had become his mantra over the last few hours. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, his knuckles ghostly white.

“She’s given up,” Sumner said.

“Ora? What do you mean?” I asked.

“She’s ready to die. But she’s scared. She’s really scared.” I noticed Sumner kept looking out at the moon. It was big and full. Enchanting. His hands were trembling in his lap. His eyes were distant, glazed.

“She knows we’re coming, but she thinks we’ll be too late.”

“We’ll make it! Tell her we’ll make it. Tell her to hold on!” Josh said.

“I can’t. She’s not listening. Phoenix is trying to reach her. Lexy, too. She’s not calm enough for them to get through to her.”

“Where are they? Phoenix and Lexy? What are they doing?” I asked.

Sumner had no answer for me; he was silent for a long time. All I could hear was the steady beat of the tires against the pavement, marking off the miles.

“The turn is just ahead on the left,” he finally said from the backseat. “Slow it down; it’s a gravel road.”

Josh braked and eased into the turn. We left the road behind, diving into the darkness of the forest.

“I’m going to take it as fast as I can. Hang on,” Josh said, gritting his teeth as we rattled along. He flicked on the high beams and switched the guidance system to satellite. It mapped out the route in front of us, turn by turn, so he could see what was coming.

“I’m going to turn off the headlights when we get within a couple of miles, so let me know when we’re close, Sumner.”

“Okay,” Sumner agreed, and then leaned forward to answer my question about Lexy and Phoenix. “I don’t know what they’re planning. They’re guarding it.”

“From you?”

“From the Priests, but they’re sending me cryptic messages. The gist of it is this: Get your ass in gear, we need your help.”

“Ryanne, get your vest on,” Josh said. “Help Sumner. There’s extra stuff in the duffel bag.”

I maneuvered out of the passenger seat into the back of the Suburban, and then climbed over the backseat into the cargo area and started digging through the duffel bag. I handed Sumner a long-sleeved black shirt, and then strapped on my Kevlar vest and pulled a black shirt on over it. One by one, Josh called out items we would need and I rummaged through the bags, found them, and handed them to Sumner, who created a pile beside him. Sumner and I pulled on black caps and loaded and strapped on our weapons.

“There’s a right turn coming up. See that gravel road twenty feet ahead?” Sumner whispered.

Josh nodded and turned. We bounced along in silence for several minutes.

In the dim light, Sumner looked like he was going to be sick. I reached across the seat and grabbed his hand.

“We’re getting close,” Sumner said, and the hitch in his voice was noticeable. “Might want to kill the lights.”

Josh did, and we moved forward in tense silence.

“This is starting to seem familiar,” I whispered.

“It’s all way too familiar to me,” he said breathlessly. “Damn! I’m sweating like a pig!”

Josh ignored us, all of his focus on the blackness in front of us.

“Up ahead on the left. There’s a small road, you’ll have to slow to a crawl.”

It was barely more than a walking trail, and unmarked. Branches scraped across the sides of the car as we pressed forward, making eerie screeching noises against the paint.

“What I wouldn’t give for a nice big bottle of gin right now,” Sumner muttered.

“How’s our timing?” I asked. The clock read 11:58, but that didn’t mean much.

“I think we’re okay. They haven’t started yet. But they’re gathering.”

“Who is gathering?” Josh asked.

“Everyone. All the kids are out in the side yard. The Priests are gathering off the main building. They’re preparing to bring her out.”

“What are they going to do to her?”

“I don’t know, but it isn’t good. There’s a gate up ahead. It’s usually locked, but Lexy’s opened it. She also disabled the camera system that covers the gate and the road to the main buildings.”

We all held our breath as we passed through the gate. I don’t know what we were expecting, but the silence remained unbroken.

Josh let out a shaky breath. “Okay, where to?” he asked.

Sumner seemed incapable of finding his voice, so I answered for him. “Veer left, see that rough track? Follow that. It will bring us around to the other side of the main buildings. About half a mile from where they’re gathering. We’ll have to walk from there.”

Josh looked at Sumner and he bobbed his head in agreement. He swung left and we disappeared into the trees.

“They’re going to strap her to a horse cart,” Sumner wheezed, and the anxiety in his voice made me squeeze his hand. “Then strip her and paint her with lamb’s blood.”

“What the hell is the deal with the lamb’s blood, anyway?” Josh muttered, but he didn’t seem to expect an answer and he didn’t get one.

“The Priests are distracted. They’re all together, and they’re focused on Ora. That’s all good,” Sumner said. “But . . . aw . . .
shit
.”

“What?” Josh asked.

“
He’s
here.”

“Who?” Josh persisted.

“Don’t speak his name!” I hissed at Sumner. “You don’t want to call him.”

“Oh man,” Sumner moaned. “Oh, that’s
such
bad news.”

“He’s the High Priest,” I explained to Josh.

“He’s one scary mo-fo,” Sumner added. He leaned his forehead against the back of the seat and took some deep, ragged breaths. “Okay . . . okay . . . okay . . . I can do this.” He was panting like the little engine that couldn’t. “Okay . . . okay . . . okay!”

His head popped up and he gripped my hand convulsively. “What would the corn dog do, right, homegirl?” His grin looked more like a scream.

“That’s right.” I squeezed his hand in return. His fear was infectious, and I swallowed hard.

“We’re just about there,” I said to Josh. “That big tree is about as far as we’ll get by car.”

Josh pulled up to it and turned the Suburban around so it was facing back toward the gate. He killed the engine and we waited in the ticking silence while he strapped on his vest and weapons.

“What’s the plan?” I finally asked.

“We gonna keel us some honkies and we gonna keel them slooow,” Sumner wheezed.

Josh patted Sumner on the back. “It’s called ‘winging it.’ Let’s get close and see what’s going on.” He hopped out of the car and unlatched the back gate to let me out.

“Why are you smiling?” The smile was more murdery than agreeable, but still. My heart was lodged in my throat and my bladder was screaming.

“It’s called testosterone,” Josh answered.

“Mix it with adrenaline and you’ve got yourself a Molotov cocktail of kick-ass macho awesomeness!” Sumner did a couple of spastic karate chops, quite hampered by the fact that he was in the backseat of a Suburban. Josh snorted.

“Men are weird,” I muttered.

Josh lifted my shirt and pulled on the straps of my vest, making sure they were tight enough. “That’s what makes us lovable, though. Right?”

I looked up at him and couldn’t help but smile. “Right.”

Sumner appeared beside him. “Hurry it up. You wanna live forever?” His attempt at John Wayne came out sounding more like Mickey Mouse.

“Stay near me,” Josh whispered, squeezing my arms. “And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Always with the compliments.” I followed him out into the night.

We fell in line behind Josh. He moved with grace through the dark forest, while Sumner and I tripped over roots and walked face first into low-lying branches and spiderwebs.

“In which the ninja master leads his bumbling sidekicks into battle,” Sumner narrated, sotto voce.

I elbowed him. “Shh!” And then tripped over an unseen tree root and fell into Josh’s back.

“My point.” Sumner snickered nervously.

“Can it, you two,” Josh hissed. A few minutes later, he reached back and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward to stand beside him. He was pointing at a gap in the trees.

“Yup, that’s them,” Sumner whispered.

Several hundred yards away, a crowd had gathered in the flickering torchlight. They cast tall, ghoul-like shadows up against the wall of the main building. They were milling around with hushed excitement.

“How many, do you think? Five-fifty? Six hundred?” Josh asked.

“Yeah, about that,” I answered.

“That’s way more than usual for The Ranch. A lot of adults, too. Father Narda said they were gathering in the troops,” Sumner said.

“So the adults are Disciples?” Josh asked.

“And Chosen. I don’t see any Priests. Do you, Ryanne?”

“How would I know?” I asked, feeling testy for reasons I couldn’t explain.

Sumner wouldn’t take the bait. “They’re wearing the white robes. Except for Narda and . . . the other one, who are wearing the crimson robes of the High Priests. Good target practice, right Josh?”

“There are a lot of children,” Josh objected.

“Yeah. And see those windows?” Sumner pointed at the main building. “There’s a bunch of new kids up there, stashed in a converted classroom. Looks like they got them without my help.”

“So that’s where Leora Wylie would be,” Josh mused.

“Yup.”

I could see Josh’s mind ticking through the possibilities and coming to the same conclusion I had. There was no way we could get those kids off The Ranch by ourselves.

“I guess she’s safe enough. For now. But the ones down here, we need to be careful. I don’t want any of them getting hurt.”

“Of course,” I agreed. My eyes were scanning the crowd, searching for a child with red hair. Boy or girl? No matter what else happened, I was leaving The Ranch with my baby.

“I’m talking to
you
, Sumner. I don’t want you going off half cocked.”

“I’m always fully cocked. That’s why the ladies like me. Besides, my aim is getting much better,” he said, and then pointed. “That’s Lexy. What the hell, man . . .”

“What?” I asked.

“She’s wearing a red robe.” He was clearly stunned.

I spotted a small woman with a cloud of dark curls. If not for the robe, I might have mistaken her for one of the children. She turned, and her gaze fell directly on us. It wasn’t more than a heartbeat before she turned casually away, but the message was clear enough; she knew we were there.

“She’s an
Amante
?” I gasped. My stomach did a slow, nauseating roll.

Sumner was shaking his head. “That can’t be. She’s one of the Chosen . . .”

“Never mind that now. Do you see Phoenix anywhere?” Josh asked.

“Um, yeah. He’s the guy hanging from the stockade.”

“What!” I hissed, and then saw what he was talking about. How could I have missed him? He was hanging several feet off the ground, splayed against the wooden fence on the far side of the clearing. He was dangling by his hands, which were bound to the wood above his head, and he certainly didn’t look comfortable. With his white-blond hair and pale skin, he looked like he was performing in an Aryan version of the story of Jesus. I doubted Jesus had looked quite so monumentally pissed, though.

“Here they come,” Sumner said.

I heard the chanting before I saw them.

“They come with the blood sacrifice,” I whispered.

“And the Faithful shall bear witness,” Sumner added.

“The family will rise as one against the
Blasphemare
.”

“And strike them down with the mighty sword,” Sumner finished.

“Jesus Christ,” Josh said, clearly horrified.

“Don’t think he’s anywhere near this action, bro,” Sumner said.

The Priests formed a ring around the horse cart as they moved into the crowd. The two High Priests led the way, their crimson robes glimmering in the torchlight. The crowd parted before them, picking up the solemn chant and echoing it back to the Fathers. They reached the center of the yard and the cart stilled. With the precision of a well-timed ballet, the Priests stepped away from the cart. They fanned out like the wings of a butterfly opening to the night.

“That’s Father Narda,” Sumner said. “The one on the right.”

“I know,” I replied, but my gaze was on the girl. The girl in chains, laid bare and dripping blood from her flesh. Even her hair had been matted with blood. In the torchlight she sparkled like a ruby.

On the wind, I caught the collective sigh of the family. I could feel it, too. It electrified my skin and pounded through my veins. In some dreadful way, she was breathtakingly beautiful. She was ripe flesh and dripping blood, glorious in her courtship with death.

“And their children shall rise against them. With fire and with water will the battle commence,” Sumner breathed, just as the first stones flew.

“What?” I turned to him, but he was gone. He ran straight out of the shelter of the trees and bounded toward the crowd, screaming like a Scottish warrior doing the Highland charge. In other words, he went off half cocked.

“Well, shit,” I said, and followed him.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

The flames burst forth with an explosion of light and heat that knocked me to my knees. One moment I was running for the crowd, Sumner in front of me and Josh somewhere behind me, and the next I was sliding across the rough earth like Jackie Robinson trying to steal home.

Josh tumbled over the top of me and came down hard on his stomach, managing to kick me in the face with one big shoe on his way down.

“Safe!” I muttered, rolling onto my side and shielding my eyes. The world was insanely bright. And hot.

I pulled myself upright and stumbled directly into the stampede of people fleeing the flames. They pushed me backward and knocked me flat. Someone’s booted foot came down hard on my arm. Another tore across my abdomen, pounding me into the ground. I bellowed like a wounded boar.

And then Josh was there, pulling me to my feet and tucking me up against his side. His arm formed a vise around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground. He plunged forward like a battering ram, knocking people out of the way.

We broke into a clearing and stopped, hampered by the wall of flames that rose toward the sky with insatiable hunger. It encircled the woman on the cart, a perfect barricade. I caught glimpses of her within the inferno. A red goddess. Her eyes were closed against the blaze, her muscles taut and straining against her bindings.

The roar was deafening. The Priests ran about, their white robes flapping in the hot wind, yelling and gesticulating wildly.

One of them got close enough for me to hear him yell. “Ashlyn . . . out!” And then he was gone in a swirl of panicked robes.

I couldn’t hear the gunfire, and doubted anyone else could, either. The first I knew of it was when a crimson bloom spread across the white robe of a Priest on my left. He fell and rolled, a look of eternal surprise on his face as he gave up his life.

I shied away from him in horrified recognition. It was Father Angelo. He had taught me Italian and French. Another Priest landed almost at my feet. I couldn’t help but look. It was Father Manning. He had done the funniest card tricks. He was missing a large chunk of his head. I screamed.

Josh pulled me up against his chest, and that’s when I saw Sumner. He was ambling about like a dark cowboy, a hard smile of determination creasing his face. As they swarmed around the fire, he picked them off, casually trolling for the next good shot and taking the time to do it right.

“Holy shit, it’s Billy the Kid,” I breathed.

“Well, he’s crazy enough to be,” Josh muttered against my ear. I could hear the grudging admiration in his voice. “Do you see either of the High Priests?”

I scanned the area and shook my head. There were plenty of white robes, and a number of Disciples who hadn’t been scared off by the flames were herding children back inside the main building. And of course there was Ora, encased in fire.

“How are we supposed to get to her?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“What about Phoenix? Maybe we can get him down.”

Josh and I worked our way around the edge of the panicked crowd. Some of them were forming a chain, passing forward buckets of water from the Main House. Phoenix was no longer pinned against the wall like a bug. He stood hidden in the shadows, his full attention on the flames surrounding Ora.

Only then did I understand that he was the source of the fire. I could just make out the small figure of a child half hidden behind him, one hand firmly gripping Phoenix’s arm as though to steady him.

I caught a glimpse of red silk beside me, and my stomach lurched. It wasn’t one of the High Priests, though. She was small, with dark skin and eyes, and an unruly cloud of black curls.

“Ryanne.” She squeezed my arm.

“Lexy,” I answered hoarsely.

“I’m glad you’re real,” she said. I blinked at her, unsure how to respond.

“We’ve got this covered,” Lexy said. “Take your boyfriend and go find Jack. We’ll meet you in the north woods, if we can.”

“But—”

“He’s underground. Do you understand what I mean?” she asked.

I opened my mouth to say something along the lines of “Hell, no” but nothing came out. To my surprise, I found myself nodding.

“Good. Now go!” She disappeared into the melee.

We faded back into the shadows like ghosts.