know what all these places have in common?”
“People?” Even as he said it Sam knew that it wasn’t the right answer. There were people here — so what was missing?
Big Tom shook his head knowingly. “Churches.”
It didn’t come as much of a shock as Sam had expected. A part of him, he realized, had already worked it out — he just didn’t want to acknowledge the fact.
“We had our suspicions,” continued Big Tom. “Every church I’d heard about had been desecrated, which meant it was no longer holy ground, but we needed proof. One night, just before dark, me and my boys staked out the chapel. Sure enough, as soon as it got dark, a glowing symbol appeared on the floor and they started to crawl all over the place.”
“What did you do?” asked Sam, his voice almost a whisper.
“We did what any sensible person would do. We burnt it to the ground.”
Sam sat in stunned silence for a moment. The thought of someone actually burning a church was a horrific one. But it did make sense. He couldn’t blame Big Tom for what he had done. It was, as he’d said, the sensible option.
“That didn’t solve the problem though,” said Big Tom. “The demons kept coming through and I have to admit we were a little puzzled. And then we met the Preacher. He was just passing through — on his way to God knows where — and he suggested we bless the ground. We got bucket loads of water from the spring out back and he blessed it, turned it into holy water. He said all we had to do was sprinkle it over the ground, but we did one better. We drenched the ground,” he said, smiling happily. “Absolutely soaked it. Made sure we didn’t miss one spot.”
“And it worked?” asked Sam.
“Of course it worked. Do you hear any demons around here? We get the odd flying one overhead but it’s nothing that me and my boys can’t handle with a few iron rounds. The next closest town or city is about fifty miles away and I really don’t think the demons can be bothered travelling all that way for six puny souls.”
Sam nodded again and a smile slowly made its way onto his face. At last, one mystery solved. He was sure this knowledge would help him in the battles to come.
Big Tom chuckled. “I can see this makes you happy. I’m glad. That’s why I think you going overland is a wise choice. You’ll be away from the population centres and hopefully away from the demons, too. At least until Las Vegas anyway.” He suddenly stood. “Come with me, fellas, I’ve got something to show you.”
Big Tom led the way through a thick iron door. Sam was surprised to see that Grace had also followed himself and Joshua. Outside, two tethered horses with bulging saddlebags were pacing the ground nervously.
“I thought these might hasten your journey a bit. You’ll have to take most of their feed with them as there’s precious little to eat out in the wilderness, but they’ll be better than going on foot.”
“Thanks,” said Sam. “There’s only one problem. I don’t know how to ride.”
He walked up to one of the horses. As he approached, it started to foam at the mouth, the whites of its eyes showing. Sam reached out a hand and the horse reared up, frantically trying to break free of its tether. Its companion was starting to do the same. Hastily, Sam backed off. Almost immediately, the horses quietened down.
“Hmmm,” said Big Tom. “That could be a problem. I’m guessing, but I’d say they don’t like you much.”
“I can ride,” said Joshua. “I can take all the gear and Sam can run behind. I know he can run; I’ve seen him do it so many times.”
Sam nodded. Joshua was right. Unencumbered by his pack, he was easily capable of running twenty or thirty miles in a day. He was confident that he’d be able to keep up with the horse.
“What about me?” asked Grace. The others turned to her in surprise. “I’m not staying here,” she said. “I’ve got relatives in L.A. I want to go with you.”
“Do you know how to ride?” asked Joshua.
Grace shook her head.
“No big deal,” said Joshua. “You can ride behind me and we’ll use the other horse for the baggage.”
Big Tom nodded. “Sounds like a sound plan to me. You may as well get going as soon as possible. Haven’t seen any of those flying demons so it looks like the coast is clear. With the moon out, you should be able to find the hiking paths alright, but I’ll send one of my boys with you for the first few miles, just to make sure.”
Sam and Joshua accepted his offer readily. Sam had to admit, it was a good plan, but he was worried about taking Grace along. The girl was clearly suffering and he didn’t need any more complications. But, she appeared adamant and he wasn’t about to tell her she had to stay behind. He’d tried to tell Aimi to do something once, and that hadn’t gone well at all. One thing he did know: when a woman got an idea into her head, there was no changing it.
“Can I have some more, please?”
Sam passed the pan of snake and beans over the fire to her. Grace took it and ladled some more onto her small bowl. She smiled gratefully at Sam and put the pan back on the makeshift stand above the fire.
It was good to see her talking properly and Sam had noticed that she’d actually smiled once or twice. Despite what she’d been through, Sam thought she was going to be alright.
They were three days out from Bryce Valley city now. By Sam’s estimates, he reckoned they’d covered maybe sixty miles; pretty good going really, but they still had maybe another week to go until they got to Las Vegas.
“Where do you think we are now?” he asked Joshua.
Josh, his mouth full of food, consulted the map lying open next to him. He frowned at it and swallowed. “I think we must be in Arizona.”
“You think? I’m hoping you can do better than that.”
A flash of annoyance crossed Josh’s face. “Ok, I think those trees in the distance to the east are the start of the Grand Canyon National Park. I think those towns we saw yesterday were Kanab and Fredonia. Kanab’s still in Utah and Fredonia is in Arizona. I’d say that would put us firmly in Arizona.”
Sam nodded and peered in the direction Joshua had mentioned. Sure enough, despite the fading light, he could just make out a line of dull greenery well past the ash-covered red and white soil of the canyon area they were in.
They were camped in a ravine which was almost completely devoid of any vegetation. It was sheltered enough that their fire wouldn’t draw unwanted attention, and they’d found enough dead branches though to make a small one. The fire itself was only used for food preparation — it was far too hot for anything else. That was part of the reason that they only travelled at night. During the day, the heavy cloud cover kept the heat in, making travelling unpleasant.
Their routine was well established by now. They’d have a cooked meal as the sun went down, travel through the night and sleep when the sun came up. Most of the time, they tried to shelter in caves, careful of snakes that seemed to be the only thriving form of animal. At least they wouldn’t go hungry — snake meat was surprisingly tasty.
Water was a problem and they’d had to ration it out carefully, ensuring that the horses also got a share. Some of the streams, clogged by ash, had dried up completely. Luckily, Big Tom had supplied them with several quarts.
Sam stood and stretched, feeling good despite his lack of sleep. Meditation would have to suffice for now — he didn’t want to risk sleeping and there was no-where to draw a pentacle in this terrain. His body still felt strong and fit. All that running he had done in Jacob’s Ladder was certainly paying off. He’d found it was easy to keep pace with Joshua and Grace on horseback. They’d often had to slow to a trot or a walk to navigate around the canyons which Sam found frustrating. By himself, he was sure he could’ve moved much quicker. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Joshua would be able to help him when they got to Las Vegas. And Grace? Grace was just another human in need who desperately wanted to find some of her family in L.A. He couldn’t deny her.
A cooler breeze was rolling in from the west. It felt so good that without thinking, he turned and lowered his hood. When he turned back to the fire, Grace was looking at him. More to the point, she was looking at the horns on his head. Strangely, she did not seem scared.
“What are you?” she asked calmly.
Sam wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never encountered this sort of reaction before.
“He’s half-demon,” said Josh, looking up from his meal.
