The Watchers (38 page)

The demon thrashed madly around the space,
running into furniture, its pain a harsh lament as it searched for
a way to extinguish the fire. Its death throes brought it too
close. Running blindly, it barreled directly at me. With only
seconds to react, I threw Cobb away and jumped to my left and
rolled. It ran over Cobb, crashed into a table, and collapsed. I
found my feet again. Ignoring the dying demon and Cobb, I took
another step towards Thomas. Towards Daniel.

“Release him,” I said.

Thomas finally dropped Daniel’s hand and
rose, his feet sliding into a defensive stance. He had finally
caught up to the situation. I sensed him assessing me, looking for
a weakness. I was doing the same, my brain working three steps
ahead. He started edging to his right, away from Daniel and the
other creature. I followed him with my eyes, keeping both him and
the last Nightstalker within view. Daniel struggled feebly against
the Nightstalker, but didn’t rise. He had been beaten worse than
I’d imagined. How much pain could he take?

Satisfied that he had me where he wanted me –
between Satan’s spawn and Satan – Thomas stopped moving. I counted
the seconds before he would attack me.

He started forward, his hand reaching for me,
but stopped again just as quickly. His eyes widened as he stared
past me to where the burning demon had stopped crashing into
things. The smell of burnt, dead flesh was overwhelming, but Thomas
wasn’t looking at the dead Nightstalker. He was looking at
something much more frightening.

A deep, rumbling growl pierced my ears. I
didn’t have to turn to know it was another Nightstalker. They had
kept one in reserve. I was surrounded. The Nightstalker on top of
Daniel responded with its own hair-raising growl. What now?

Without warning, the Nightstalker at the foot
of the stairs launched itself across the room. But it wasn’t aiming
for me or for Daniel. It was aiming for the demon on top of Daniel.
It crashed into the Nightstalker pinning Daniel with the sound of
two freight trains crashing in to one another. They rolled away
from Daniel, fighting tooth and claw, gouging huge chunks of
reptilian flesh from each other as they rolled across the floor. As
odd as it was, I had an ally in the Nightstalker.

I returned my focus to Thomas. He was the
main threat now. I leapt at him, trying to take advantage of his
surprise. I went for his head, but he gracefully ducked out of
reach. Although he didn’t react well to new situations, he was fast
and agile. His eyes turned hard as I kicked at his knee, and I knew
we were in a dance of death; only the best dancer would keep their
life.

Thomas tried to capture me in his arms, but I
danced out of his way – a tango to his box step. He pursued me
across the room with kicks and punches, his blows turning
increasingly deadly. I blocked his attacks with my forearms and
knees, falling back on the karate Ellen had forced me to take years
ago. Our dance took us around the room, destroying any furniture
that wasn’t already broken. The room became a swirl of color and
sound as we matched blow for blow, the world fading into the
background as I fought to keep my life and protect Daniel’s. As we
danced, I searched for a way through his guard. I sensed him doing
the same to mine.

I found a flaw in his defense first. Thomas
favored his left, which caused him to compensate by guarding his
right too much. I started aiming for his left side giving vent to a
rapid set of moves that put him off balance. He tried to block, but
I could see the fear begin to form in his face. He knew what was
coming; probably more than I did. I twisted his hand out of the way
– a desperate punch at my gut – then jammed my hand towards his
heart. Instead of the debilitating move I had intended my hand
punched through to his actual heart. I jerked back, tearing it from
his chest, before I had tie to stop myself.

Thomas looked at me in shock, all his hatred
draining away. I stood there, holding his heart, which was dripping
silver blood on to the expensive carpet, and stared into his eyes.
What had I just done? His knees buckled under him and he collapsed
to the floor with a sigh, his regret his death mask.

I was motionless as the chaos surged around
me. I heard the Nightstalkers fighting, furniture tearing, and
flesh ripping. I heard someone yelling, but none of it registered.
All the anger and power had drained out of me. I had killed. Twice.
I was a murderer. I sat down heavily, the heart still in my
hand.

It took me a moment to notice I was next to
Sheriff Cobb. At first I thought he was dead, but then he started
coughing. He looked at me, blood running across his forehead. His
thoughts were pain filled and incoherent, his mental shield gone.
His thoughts told me my throw, coupled with the Nightstalker’s
charge, had hurt him bad.

“Just a drop of blood,” he pleaded. “Just a
drop and I’ll live forever. I would be your greatest protector. You
would live forever as my granddaughter. We would rule the world. We
would stop the war and the killing. There would be peace forever.
Just a drop given willingly…Please?”

He clutched at my arm, the arm holding
Thomas’s heart. I cringed and leaned away from the fevered light in
his eyes, more afraid of him then my fight with Thomas.

“For a drop of blood, you would ruin so many
lives? You would hurt so many?”

I thought of Gavin Nichols and Ryan Holt. I
thought of Amanda. I thought of the Adamses and Daniel. Cobb didn’t
respond. I didn’t see how my blood would help him live forever, but
I knew one thing. “You don’t deserve to live forever. You’ve proved
that much.”

His hands dropped away from my arm, all the
fire leaving his eyes. His voice was hardly a whisper, a ragged
plea, “Just a drop? I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.
Please, God, I’m scared to die. Please, God…” He never got to
finish.

That made three. I had killed three.

The silver heart slipped from my limp hand. I
started crying, unable to stop the remorse and the guilt. I bent
forward and cried a lament to the night and to my deeds. I couldn’t
understand what had happened to make me so strong, so capable, but
that didn’t matter. What mattered was that I had killed. Three
lives were gone because of me. I looked at the silver blood in my
hands knowing I would never feel clean again. I cried harder, my
head and chest pounding with the pain.

“Clare!”

The call swirled on the edge of my
senses.

“Clare!”

It was no good. I was still lost.

“Clare! Answer me, damn it!”

Did I know that voice? Did I know that
frustrated worry? It sounded familiar. My crying lessened a
fraction as I tried to remember.

“Clare! Alex is hurt!”

I stopped crying at once, and looked up. The
room, which had been a cacophony of noise and confusion during the
fighting, was silent. The lights were off, the room impossibly
dark. Would this dark tomb be the place I stayed in forever
lamenting the death of the three?

“I think she’s broken an arm! Please help…I
can’t.”

The voice was tired but familiar. I crawled
to the sound needing it more than I needed air. That voice had the
power to take the darkness away. I felt glass and wood cutting into
my hands and knees, tearing my jeans and skin with equal
indifference. I ignored the stinging, desperate for an end to the
pain crushing my chest. I heard two more snaps as I crawled to the
sound of Daniel’s voice. I flinched, knowing what it meant; he had
just reset his broken fingers. In the dark, my crawling felt as if
I was going nowhere, as if I were in a black hole. I would never
reach him. In a panic, I called out to him to tell me where he was,
the tears still running down my face.

I felt a hand reach out and touch my neck. It
was electrifying and wonderful, instantly calming. “I’m here,” he
said

“Are you okay?” I asked, my throat hoarse
from crying.

We had come so close. So close to losing
everything.

“I’m fine. I just need to recuperate for a
minute. Are you okay?”

Not wanting to answer, I turned away from him
and felt around for Alex. He had said she was hurt. I found her arm
first. It was bent back at an awkward angle. Even though I had
bumped into it, she didn’t cry out. I moved to check her pulse. As
I did, I realized she was naked.

“Is there a blanket nearby?” I asked.

“Yes. But I can’t reach it.”

“Why not?”

“I’m waiting for my broken pelvis and back to
heal.”

He said it so calmly. I swallowed around the
lump in my throat.

“Oh…well... Where is it?”

“To your left…” he started directing me.

We managed to find a cover, which was more of
a drape, and I went back to wrap it around Alex.

“What should we do next?” I asked.

“I need a couple more minutes,” Daniel said
“Then we should leave and torch this place behind us. That’s the
only way to make sure they stay dead.”

“You mean they could still be alive?” I asked
hopefully.

Even though they were evil, I hated having
their deaths on my hands.

“No. Not like that.”

“Like what then?” I demanded, not in the mood
for vague hints.

“Ever seen a zombie movie?” he asked
dryly.

“Yeah...”

He could tell I needed more of an answer.
“Our regenerative abilities work even after our…our soul is gone.
Our body still wants to heal, and acts as if it’s still alive, even
though we’re gone.”

“Oh.” I glanced down at the dark shape that
was Alex. “We need to get her to a hospital.” I caught up with the
oddity of her being here. “Wait, how did she get here? And why is
she naked? I don’t remember…” I trailed off.

I didn’t want to think about what had just
happened. Not yet. He raised his unhurt hand and placed it on my
neck. He grunted in pain with the effort. I moved his hand back to
the floor and held it for a minute.

“I think I can carry Alex to the top of the
stairs. Then I could come back for you,” I offered.

I was tired, more tired than I had been after
sharing that first vision with Daniel, but for these two people, I
could do anything.

“No. In a couple more minutes, I should be
okay.” He paused thoughtfully then continued, “There’s something
from the vision we shared that I’ve been meaning to ask you
about.”

Resigned that I would have to wait, I
welcomed the distraction. “Yeah?”

“I saw you in a city somewhere. You were in a
garden surrounded by wild flowers. You turned and looked at me then
smiled like you’d never been happier. That’s all. You just smiled.
What was that about?”

I frowned. “Nothing. I don’t remember the
memory. How old did I look?”

“Like you do now.”

“Maybe you were seeing the future or
something.”

“I don’t think I was,” he said. “I can only
see things that you experienced.”

“Maybe it was a dream,” I suggested.

“Maybe.”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

“With you, I am sure of nothing.”

In the long moment of silence that followed,
I worked furiously to block out what I had just done.

“Clare?” Daniel’s voice was thick with
emotion.

“Hm?”

“It gets better. It doesn’t get easier….just
less painful.” My heart caught. “And I promise I’ll be here no
matter what. Whatever you need. Just remember that I’ve been
through it as well.” I struggled with the proper response. Finally
healed, Daniel stood up. He reached down and pulled me up. “Don’t
say anything. Just know I’m here. And, Clare?” I had turned away to
pick Alex up. He put a hand on my neck. “Thanks for saving my
life.”

I shrugged, wanting to downplay what I had
done. Was this how he felt all the time? I had no idea how to put
words to all the emotions I had felt when saving him. “Call it
even?”

Daniel’s laughter was bliss. It echoed around
the tomb, bringing life back to my senses. Laughter and light were
possible in the darkness I was experiencing!

“Deal.”

Daniel picked Alex up and cradled her gently
in his arms, careful to touch nothing but the drape. Together, we
walked up the stairs, putting the room behind us.

Chapter 20

Smoke drifted past my face. A lazy wind moved
the smoke along, disturbing my hair with its hazy fog and making me
smell of cheap wine and demon dog. I leaned against a poplar tree
and watched the building burn, knowing all the once beautiful
furniture would make good tender.

Once we had reached the surface, Daniel had
set the building on fire using wine from Cobb’s feast and a lighter
he had in his pocket; one he said he always carried. Then he had
called the others to meet us. Our first priority had been to get
Alex to the hospital. She hadn’t stirred at all since we’d brought
her out. Jackson had volunteered to drive her, wanting to check on
Margaret, who was taking Amanda to the hospital. They had found
Amanda shivering and hypothermic, but alive. She would live. It was
something good in a night filled with bad.

Beatrice explained how they had been confused
by images of Amanda and me being taken away in a variety of
directions. Apparently the woman Seeker, whom Daniel and I had
found torn to pieces when we’d come outside, had a gift for
illusion. Finding Amanda had been pure luck…or fate. I was starting
to warm to the idea.

After we had all played catch up, Beatrice
and Daniel started arguing about what to do with me. I listened to
the argument without joining in. “I don’t care what you say,”
Daniel said forcefully. “She’s not getting tests done on her right
now.”

“We need to study her and find out what
caused her to act like that,” Beatrice replied.

“She’s not a lab rat to be studied!” he
snapped.

“A lot happened down there. We need to
understand what, so we know how to proceed. With tests we can get
answers,” Beatrice said calmly. “Besides, there’s nothing else we
can do here.” She gestured at the burning structure.