across the water, Moloch swept toward the remains of a small structure against the shoreline and settled tentatively atop the peak of its roof, relaxing comfortably once he determined that despite the groaning it made it would not collapse beneath his weight. He lowered his wings to his sides, so he could listen to the night around him without distraction.
Through the holes in the roof, Sam watched as the Nightshade lowered his frame upon the roof above them. Sam froze, not daring to move, even to breathe, the fear like a grapefruit stuck in his throat. He was terrified that the beast would hear them.
A sound suddenly intruded on the silence, a deep, rhythmic drumming from somewhere close. Sam frantically swung his head around, seeking the source, praying that it wouldn’t draw the Nightshade’s attention. He was surprised to see that Jake seemed to be ignoring it, his attention on the dangerously sagging structure around them, and it took Sam another moment or two of confusion before he realized that the sound was the drumming of his own heart in his ears.
Jake, too, was worried, but for an entirely different reason. For one long moment he had been certain the rotting structure would give way when the beast had landed above, plunging it down into their midst. The roof had held firm, though, and now they were trapped not an arm’s reach from the very creature that was hunting them.
Now what? he asked himself.
He had no ready answer.
A quick glance in Sam’s direction confirmed his worst fears. His friend’s face was drawn and pale from the blood he had lost, his lips blue from the cold. If they didn’t get out of the water soon, Sam would be finished.
He began carefully examining their surroundings. Maybe there was something that could be used as a weapon; something that could hold the creature off long enough for the two of them to climb out onto the shore.
A few minutes were all it took to dash such hopes. There was nothing but water and rotting wood, slick with many years’ accumulation of lake slime.
The boathouse groaned as the beast shifted its weight.
Glancing up in dismay, Jake wondered if the damn thing was going to just hunker down and wait them out.
If it did, the wait wouldn’t be a long one.
Lucky for them, that proved not to be the case.
Moloch didn’t know the prey he sought was scant inches away because the high, thick scent of the marshy shore hid the usually strong scent of the humans and the lapping of the lake against its banks masked any telltale sounds they might make. The rising sun in the east forced Moloch to abandon the chase. He took one last look around the immediate area and then unfurled his great wings. Anger coursed through his veins like quicksilver as the realization struck that the humans had escaped. Never before had such a thing occurred. It was obvious to him that the humans had grown more cunning during the years of his confinement and he vowed not to let them outwit him again. For now, he would return to his haven in the garret across the lake to await the setting of the sun.
It didn’t really matter that they had escaped; they would not go far. When night once again spread its glorious wings across the world, he would find those two humans.
When he did, he would kill them.
Slowly.
With that satisfying thought in mind, Moloch leapt from the roof, a few quick thrusts from his wings carrying him up into the brightening sky and across the lake to the mansion.
Beneath the boathouse, Sam’s strength finally gave out. The pain and the cold had taken their toll. With dismay he watched as his fingers lost their grip on the support piling and his body slipped down beneath the surface.
Frantically, Jake grabbed for him, his fingers snaring the folds of Sam’s jacket. He hauled him above the surface and close to his side, keeping Sam’s head above the water through sheer adrenaline-driven strength.
The two of them stared fearfully overhead, every nerve in their bodies tight with anticipation as they waited for the wood above them to splinter beneath the awful force of the creature’s blows, waited for the descending claws to savage their unprotected flesh.
No attack came.
Was it waiting for them to make the next move? To dash out from their protective cover, so it could cut them down in the open?
Still, nothing happened.
'Where is it, Jake?' Sam asked, his fear giving back a little of his energy, enough so that he could cling to the pilings unassisted again.
'I don’t know,' Jake whispered in reply. He hung there in the water, listening intently for some small sign that might detect the presence of the beast.
Nothing came to him.
He glanced up at the roof and this time noticed something different.
It was easier to see.
Not by much, but certainly better than it had been several moments before. A gray light was seeping through the holes in the roof, allowing him to make out some details of the structure and to see Sam’s face more clearly.
Had the rising sun driven the creature off, like some vampire out of legend? Or was it now crouched above them, out of sight, trying to fool them into believing it had taken off? Maybe it had left, yet was only circling high above, ready to plunge down as they emerged from the water and stood exposed on the bank?
As he debated the question, the light coming in through the roof grew discernibly brighter and in the end it was this fact that Jake used to make his decision. Jake decided that if the beast were still on the roof waiting for them, then the light would in some way be blocked by its bulk. At the very least, it would throw a shadow that they would be able to see. Therefore, the creature must have taken to the air. If that was true, and they moved quickly, they might just be able to get out and onto solid ground before it attacked.
It was only a slim chance, sure, but it was all they had.
Jake hoped they could pull it off.
He explained his idea to Sam, who by know was too weak to protest even if he’d wanted to. Jake slipped his arms under Sam’s and around his chest.
'All right,' he said to his friend, 'a quick breath, then down we go. I’ll do all the work, you just hold on. Okay?'
Sam nodded.
'I’ll get us to the surface. Once we’re there, get yourself another deep breath, just in case that thing is waiting for us and we need to dive again. If we do, I’ll get us back here under cover and we’ll think of something else.'
Jake paused, looked Sam over, and then said, 'Are you sure you can do this?'
'Let’s do it already.'
Behind him, expression hidden from view, Jake smiled.
Maybe they’d get out of this alive after all.
Breathing a silent prayer that the beast had truly left, Jake said, 'Okay. One. Two. Three.'
Each took a deep breath and they dove.
Chapter Thirty-one: Repercussions
'We’ve got to go back.'
From his seat at the kitchen table, where Katelynn was disinfecting the wounds on his shoulder and preparing to cover them with a heavy padding of surgical gauze, Sam looked over at his friend.
