The Suicide Forest (The River Book 5) (11 page)

The officer used his radio to call for more help, and while
waiting for the additional backup to arrive, Roy related the events once again.
“I believe they’re dead. I don’t think you can stop what’s going on in there.
If you go in, you’ll die, too.”

“And what is going on in there?” the officer asked.

“You need to catch the daughter,” Roy said. “She was covered
in blood when she drove off, not five minutes ago.”

“We’ll do that,” the officer said, “but I want you to tell me
what’s in there.”

“As far as I know, Robbie is in there, and the other two
officers,” Roy said.

“And who is Robbie?” the officer asked.

“June’s grandson,” Roy said. “He’s ten years old.”

“Anything else?” the officer asked.

“Things are confusing in there,” Roy said. “I think your
officers might have shot each other. If you go in, the same could happen to you.”

While they were talking, three more police cars arrived,
making a total of five lined up along the street outside June’s house. The
noise from the house was increasing.

“What’s that we’re hearing?” the officer asked Roy.

“I don’t know,” Roy said. “When we were at the door, it
sounded like a hurricane in there. Maybe something is wrong with the air
conditioning?”

“Wait here,” he said, eyeing them both. “Don’t move.”

“We won’t,” Roy said.

The officer left to meet the other police who had arrived.
Soon they were removing rifles from their vehicles.

“Oh god,” Roy said. “I’ve created a nightmare here.” He
walked over to them. “You can’t do that,” he shouted at them.

“Stand back,” one of the officers said, holding his hand up
to stop Roy as he approached.

“You’ll all die in there,” Roy said. “Please don’t go in
there like that.”

“We’ve potentially got two officers down,” the policeman
said. “We’ve got to go in.”

“And a ten year old boy,” Roy said. “Can’t you treat this
like a kidnapping? Try communicating?”

“Not with officers in danger,” he said. “Please stand over
there and don’t move.”

“You’ve got to believe me,” Roy said. “I’m trying to save
your lives here.”

“Stand back or I’ll cuff you,” the officer said. Roy turned
and walked back to Steven.

“They won’t listen,” Roy said. “Cops only play by their
rules. They only understand one way. I should have waited until the demon had finished
with Robbie before I called them. This is my fault.”

“Finished with Robbie?” Steven asked. “You’re writing him
off?”

“I have no idea how to stop it,” Roy said. “Do you?”

Steven stuck his hands in his pockets and turned from Roy.
“Some help we are.”

A group of six officers, geared up with vests, safety masks,
and rifles, moved in unison towards the house. Two broke off and moved to the
back of the house.

“God, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Roy said. Just then, the
sound coming from the house began to slow. “Let’s hope that means the demon
finished,” Roy said. “I’m going to trance, Steven. Watch over me.”

“Right here?” Steven asked.

“No one’s watching us,” Roy said. “I’ll just have my eyes
closed. Shake me if I need to come back.”

“Alright,” Steven said. “No blindfold though.”

“No,” Roy said, closing his eyes. “No blindfold.”

Within a minute the sound came to a stop. The officers looked
at each other for a moment and conferred on their radios. Then they continued
into the house.

Later that afternoon they returned to Steven’s home, and
Steven made a pot of coffee for the two of them. They were detained at June’s
house for at least an hour after the cops raided it, finding June’s dead body
in the living room, one policeman shot dead in the hallway and another
critically injured. They found Robbie dead in his bedroom. The cops wouldn’t
let Steven or Roy enter the house, and they seemed content to blame the events
on Evie, whom they were searching for. They took Steven and Roy downtown for
questioning, and they spent another hour there, giving a statement and
recounting the events several times. Then they were released.

“What did you see in your trance?” Steven asked Roy, waiting
for the coffee to finish.

“The officer that was injured radioed the others that it was
OK to enter,” Roy said, “just after the noise stopped – which is when the demon
left. The cops from outside stormed into the hallway, checked the fallen
officers, then opened the door to Robbie’s bedroom. Robbie was lying on the
floor, splayed open. Just like if you had carved a cross in his stomach and
chest, then pulled each of the corners back. Organs spread all over the room. And
his hands were gone.”

“Christ!” Steven said, holding his head in his hands. “That
poor little kid. And June. I can’t believe it. It sickens me.”

“The cops will start scratching their heads when they analyze
the bullets,” Roy said, “and discover they shot each other. They’ll rationalize
it somehow; crossfire, something like that.”

“I hate lying to them,” Steven said, “that whole story we
made up.”

“Which is why I try not to involve them,” Roy said. “Had I
just waited five minutes before we called them, that officer might be alive.
That was a huge mistake on my part.”

“Waiting five minutes might have implicated us,” Steven said.
“What if someone had come by while we were waiting?”

“We could have said we knocked but no one was answering,” Roy
said.

“Another lie,” Steven said.

“Well,” Roy said, rising to pour some coffee, “it’s over
now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s over. The demon won.”

“Evie’s still out there!” Steven said.

“What, you want to hunt her down?” Roy said. “Let the cops do
it.”

“What if it gets more of them killed?” Steven said.

“It’s over, we lost this one,” Roy said. “You can’t win them
all.”

“I can’t believe you,” Steven said. “This is like when you
were going to leave Pete in the lurch because you didn’t want to face down
Jurgen.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Roy said. “You tell me what we
should have done. Tell me. What’s your plan for Evie?”

“I don’t know,” Steven said, “but half the time we don’t know
what we’re doing. We research, consult people, work on it until we know what to
do. I say we go after Evie, find a way to locate her and stop her.”

“I don’t think you know when you’ve been beat,” Roy said.
“We’ve been completely out of our depth on this one. I’m like the blind leading
the blind. The cops will find Evie, and they’ll take care of her. The life of an
officer was lost on this, and god knows if the other will survive – they won’t
stop until they find her.”

“And what if they don’t?” Steven asked. “Evie must have had a
plan. She’s not stupid.”

“She might be stupid,” Roy said. “She never impressed me as
particularly witty.”

“From the moment Robbie was born,” Steven said, “she knew he
was going to be sacrificed. For ten years she raised him, knowing he was
doomed. Can you imagine that? She’s the worst of the worst. I’ll hunt her down
myself if you don’t help.”

“What’s that light flashing?” Roy said, pointing at Steven’s
answering machine.

“Don’t change the subject,” Steven said. “It’s a message.”

“Well shouldn’t you play it?” Roy said.

Steven walked to the machine and pressed the play button. It
was from Jason:

“Dad. I’ve finished my move, why don’t you stop by and see my
new place. The address is 3710 South 34th. Stop by and you can meet Jennifer,
too. And I meant what I said earlier, about the dream. Bye.”

“Maybe you should worry about him,” Roy said, “and not Evie.”

“Maybe I should,” Steven said. “At least he wants to help.
I’ve decided I’ll talk to him. If he agrees to stay in school, I’ll tell him
about it. Start the tutoring. But I’ll need you to accelerate
my
training. I can’t even trance for god’s sake, how am I going to teach that to
him?”

“When?” Roy asked.

“As soon as we’re done with Evie,” Steven said. “I don’t want
this demon thing hanging over my head when I talk to him.”

“I don’t like dealing with demons,” Roy said. “Ghosts are bad
enough, but these evil creatures, they’re not for me. I don’t understand them,
I don’t have experience with them, and I think they’re best left for experts,
like Judith.”

“So we go tell her what happened,” Steven said, “and see if
she has any suggestions.”

Roy hung his head. “I guess,” he said, feeling defeated. “I’m
bushed.”

Steven had to agree with Roy about being wiped out. The loss
of June, Robbie, and the officer was weighing heavily on him, and part of him felt
the need to keep in motion to avoid the pain of thinking of them. Roy, on the
other hand, looked tired and ready to sleep.

“Alright,” Steven said. “We’ll go tomorrow. I’ll pick you up
at 9.”

◊

Steven drove Roy home and asked to borrow Roy’s book for the
evening.

Back as his place, Steven began reading through the book,
looking for information on his markings. He had brought two other books back
from Eximere, and he hadn’t the time to go through them yet. He drank the rest
of the coffee and continued reading, searching for anything that might help him
understand the red diamonds on his hands.

He thought once or twice about calling Jason, but he never
got around to picking up the phone. He really didn’t want to have any
conversation with Jason about the gift, not right now. What he’d just seen
occur between a mother and her son, both of whom had the gift, turned him off
the idea of sharing with Jason.
I’ll call him later, when I’ve got a better
attitude about it,
Steven thought, returning to his reading.

Before he knew it, sun was streaming through the kitchen
windows. He’d fallen asleep with the books, and it was morning. He checked his
watch – 8 a.m. Just enough time to get cleaned up and over to Roy’s for the
trip to Gig Harbor.

◊

Roy seemed cranky the next morning, getting into Steven’s car
and not saying much.

“We need to discuss Evie,” Steven said.

“I have nothing to offer,” Roy said. “We’ll have to listen to
the old windbag once again.”

“I wish you’d be nicer to her,” Steven said. “She’s helping
us out.”

“She tricked me into stripping naked for her,” Roy said. “You
won’t change my mind.”

“At least civil, then.”

“I’ve been civil!” Roy said, getting upset. “Look, you’re
dragging your feet with Jason, you’re making me track down Evie, now I have to
spend more time with this snooty bitch and her goddamn cucumbers. I don’t like
any of it, and I have a right to be crabby about it.”

Steven pulled into a drive thru for some coffee.
This is
about the cops,
Steven thought.
He blames himself for what happened to
them.
Steven decided to let the rest of the drive occur in silence.

◊

“I fear you do not have a good report for me,” Judith said as
they walked into her sitting room. She was staring out the window at the water.
The hair piled on her head had slipped a little.

“No, we don’t,” Steven said. “Robbie killed June. Two police
officers shot each other; one died. The demon ripped Robbie open and took his
hands. How it could have been worse, I don’t know.”

“Mmm,” she said, still looking out the window, as though
she’d heard it a million times.

“Evie was there,” Steven said. “She told us the process had
started, and we couldn’t stop it.”

“If she said that, then apparently Aka Manah tricked her
too,” Judith said, “into thinking he was the demon to whom the debt was owed.
The debt remains unpaid, and her mate is no doubt being taunted by Aka Manah as
we speak.”

“What will happen?” Steven asked.

“He’d take her instead,” Judith said, “but she’s nothing
compared to the power of the marked hands of gifted demon spawn. That’s what he
really wants. He may force her to get them from Aka Manah, but she’s no match
for him. She’ll die trying.”

“What can we do?” Steven asked. “We feel responsible.”

“Robbie’s fate was sealed the day he was conceived,” Judith
said. “There’s little you or anyone could have done. The grandmother, that’s
another story. She must have intervened, tried to stop it. Aka Manah would have
made Robbie think that attacking his grandmother was the right thing to do.”

“Same with the police officers,” Roy said. “He made them
believe that shooting each other was correct.”

“People want to do what they think is right,” Judith said. “Once
you convince them that something is right, they will do it regardless of how
horrible it is. It’s what makes Aka Manah one of the most powerful demons. He
doesn’t force them into anything – he uses their own free will against them.
The child
chose
to kill his grandmother.”

“Can we hunt down Evie?” Steven asked.

“And do what?” Judith said. “I suppose you could. What would
you do, kill her?”

“I guess,” Steven said. “Make her pay for Robbie and June’s
death.”

“And her father’s,” Judith said. “Don’t forget that. She
probably had a hand in his death, too, based on what you’ve told me.”

“Yes,” Steven said. “For all those reasons.”

“Well,” Judith said, “she should be easy enough to kill. But
keep in mind, she’s got the police and a powerful demon against her. I doubt
you’ll get to her before they do.”

Her pessimism bothered Steven. “Are you suggesting we just
leave it like this?” Steven asked. “Really?”

“For all you know, the demon has already killed her, or
enjoined her to recover the hands, which is a death sentence in and of itself.”

“Perhaps the rival demon let Aka Manah have the boy,” Roy
said, “as part of a deal between the two of them. This father demon has been mysteriously
absent.”

“Surprisingly keen observation,” Judith said. “Usually brains
and brawn are rare companions but in you I see they are happily married.”

Roy blushed.

“There must be something we can do,” Steven asked.

“Unless you know how to kill a powerful demon like Aka Manah,
I don’t see how there’s much you can do.”

“What about Aka Manah’s rival, Robbie’s father?” Steven said.
“Is there a way to take him out?”

“I don’t know,” Judith said, “he wasn’t in the glass. I have
no idea how powerful he is. If he’s a contemporary of Aka Manah, he’ll be
similarly powerful.”

Steven felt flustered. No approach seemed like a good one.

“What can you tell me about these?” Steven said, holding out
his hands.

“Your hands?” Judith said.

“The markings,” Steven said. “The double diamonds.”

“I told you before, they’re a warning,” Judith said.

“A warning of what?” Steven said. “What exactly can I do?”

“This falls in your area of responsibility,” Judith said,
turning to Roy, “if you’re his tutor.”

“I have no idea what they do,” Roy said dismissively. “I
didn’t even know he had the markings until you showed them to him.”

“You’re jealous,” Judith said. “Aren’t you? Why would a
strong, virile man like you feel jealous of your son? It’s some kind of
masculine one-upmanship, isn’t it? I’ve never understood males, always seeing
battles where there are none, or inventing them if they’re bored.”

“No, it’s not that,” Roy said.

“Oh you needn’t lie to me,” Judith said, “it’s written all
over your face.”

“I have no idea what to say to him about it,” Roy said. “I’ve
never see it before, I have no idea what it does.”

“There’s been no history of it in your family?” Judith asked.

“Not that I know of,” Roy said. “Nothing about it in my
father’s books, either.”

“That’s rare,” Judith said, “it’s usually inherited.”

“Not in this case,” Roy said.

She turned back to Steven. “It’s different for everyone,” she
said. “The exact ability is unique to each person. But in general, it’ll be
something that’s dangerous to them.”