The knocking in Cal’s brain became a physical tumult. The photo, the wheelchair… He rose so fast, he jolted the teacups on the table. “We have to be going,” he said.
Cat looked confused. “Cal? Shouldn’t we tell Lelani…”
“We have to go, now!”
Suddenly, a loud crash blew the front door off its hinges, shaking the home as it bounced off the wall on the far end. Lelani advanced, holding a brown horsetail fastened by four ornate gold rings, and in the other hand rusted iron shackles. She drifted toward Enid holding the horsetail before her.
“Where is Fronik?” she asked in an eerie, calm voice.
“He had to be cleansed,” Enid cried. “I could not wed a filthy beast!”
“Where is Fronik?” Lelani demanded.
Eustace hopped excitedly in his chair, panting. “Fursd! Fursd! Fursd! Heh, Fursd!”
“Daughter of Lilith, I cast ye from my home!” Enid cried. “Leave this sanctuary of the Lord!”
“Lelani, let’s go outside,” Cal said.
“I want to know what happened to Fronik!”
“Now!” Cal ordered her.
“DEAD! HE’S DEAD! WE CUT THE DEVIL OUT, BUT HE WAS MORE BEAST THAN MAN!” Enid cried.
Cal stepped in front of Lelani and pushed her back. She nudged forward with blood in her eyes, moving him backward. Cat joined her husband, grabbing Lelani’s shoulder from the side and pulling with all her strength. Seth sat frozen on the couch.
“HELL HE COME FROM, AND HELL HE GONE BACK TO WHEN THE DEVIL COME CALLED HIS OWN!” Enid continued shouting.
“Seth! Help us!” Cat cried.
Even with Seth’s effort, Lelani crept forward.
Enid backed into the corner in fear. Eustace cackled, banging his cane against the end table. A wet spot grew in his crotch. “Fursd! Fursd!”
“Damn it, girl… I’m a cop,” Cal yelled. “I can’t let you hurt her! No matter what she did, you can’t hurt her!”
“Monster!” Lelani screamed.
Cal sandwiched her face in his hands and locked his eyes on hers. She tried to look at Enid, but he touched his forehead to hers and filled her view. “Listen to me! We cannot leave a trail of corpses behind us. Think of the Blue Forest. Think of your tribe. How will we complete the mission if we’re in jail? How could we search for the boy if we’re dogged by the police?”
At first they thought she hadn’t heard them, but soon, the bloodlust in Lelani’s eyes abated. She pulled away toward the door, throwing off balance everyone who was already pulling in that direction. She went outside. Cat followed, as did Seth. Cal turned to Enid, but was unsure of what to say. These people were indeed monsters. The blue ribbon won eleven years ago taunted him from the mantel piece. Cal tried not to imagine how they disposed of Fronik’s other half. There would be no stopping Lelani if she deduced Eustace’s secret ingredient. They had to leave before Lelani collected her thoughts.
“Get out!” Enid cried. “I’ll have no heathens in my house!”
“One last question. What direction did Fred come from the night he stumbled onto your farm?”
“Why should I help the devil’s minions?”
“Because I’m going to stand right here until I get an answer.” Cal stood there gazing at the old woman as the seconds ticked by. The old woman didn’t realize her life was in danger. She was as ignorant now as she was the day she met Fronik. Centaur codes were clear and absolute in these matters. Every second they lingered there gave Lelani an opportunity to come back and exact justice.
“North,” Enid said, begrudgingly. “Over the ridge. Now git!”
Her words rang true. She was too simple to lie well.
“We’re sorry to have bothered you and your brother. Thanks for the tea.”
Lelani and the others stood by the grave marker. Tears streamed down Lelani’s cheeks. She sang a haunted tune in Centauran that reminded Cal of some old Gaelic dirges he’d heard at cops’ funerals. He joined them, checking his watch sporadically. When she finished, she said, “I have to get off this world.”
Cal opened a map on the hood of the truck.
“Fronik came from that direction. That’s where we were headed before the detour. The gate is in the hills. If we took the road, we’d be spotted by sentries before we arrived.”
“There can’t be many sentries up here,” Lelani said. “Not like a garrison. Dorn’s assets are stretched thin and reinforcements are not likely for a few years our time. I went into the transfer soon after him and arrived six weeks later. There were no enemy forces behind me when I jumped.”
“If the sentries are anything like Hesz or Symian, one is plenty. We’re going to hike it from here, backtrack the path Fronik took over these hills-and hopefully gain some element of surprise.”
“I can stay with the truck,” Seth offered. “Make sure Ma and Pa Hackett don’t mess with it.”
“The truck will be fine behind the barn,” Cal said.
“There’s only a couple hours of daylight left,” Seth argued. “I’m not the woodsy type.”
“Let’s move before the sun sets,” Cal ordered.
CHAPTER 13
1
“Cough,” Dr. Brown said, as he grabbed Daniel’s scrotum. He was a kindly southern gent who reminded Daniel of the doctor on Star Trek.
Daniel stood shirtless and pantless in the examining room, braced against the medicinal atmosphere and the doctor’s stethoscope, which sent a chill down his soul. When the doctor finished, he instructed the boy to sit on the examining table. The paper covering crinkled as he fidgeted; Daniel felt like a pork chop about to be wrapped.
Sheriff Maher stood in the corner, a toothpick sticking out from the bristles of his thick mustache and wearing mirrored sunglasses. The man seldom removed his hat even indoors. Daniel wondered if the sheriff took a crap wearing the hat and glasses, too. It was hard to tell exactly what the sheriff was looking at; perhaps at Nurse Shirley, who was one big smile as she assisted Dr. Brown. The nurse had retained her girlish beauty well into her forties, which, unfortunately, caused the half-dressed Daniel to be excited in a most embarrassing way.
The doctor examined the boy’s welts with soft prodding, but Daniel winced when he brushed the injured rib.
“Might be cracked,” the doctor said.
No shit, Daniel thought.
“You the kid whipped the Grundy boys?” the doctor asked.
“I plead the fifth,” Daniel answered, shooting the sheriff a glare.
Maher smiled.
“I fixed them boys up last night. Gotta say, you sure don’t look like the one who won the fight.” The doctor examined the fingers. Daniel winced again when he applied pressure to one of the joints. “Gotta say, them boys had it coming.”
“Wallace…,” the sheriff cut in.
“Now don’t give me lip, Ed. Know how many kids I treated over the years, them boys put in here? It’s a miracle no one’s sued them out of house and home already. Delinquents! You did good, son.”
“Wallace!”
“Just got to learn to duck once in a while.”
