'I know that, Sam Balon.'
'Then … ?'
'I love you.'
'Sam?' Nydia spoke from the rear of the short column, 'How far are we from the main house?' 'Five or six miles, I'd guess.'
'You said we would encounter boundaries. Where are they?'
'Honey,' there was an edge to his voice. 'I don't know. We'll know them when we see them.'
'I'm tired,' Janet said. 'And I'm hurting real bad.' Linda looked at her, a strange light in her eyes. Then unexpected, she walked to the child's side and put her arms around her. Janet smiled up at her.
'We're all tired and edgy,' Nydia said. 'Let's take a short break, Sam.'
But the rest was to be a very short one. Sam had just eased out of the straps of his heavy pack when he heard a sound to his left, slightly behind him. He tensed, thumbing the Thompson off safety. He spun, throwing himself to one side, coming up on one knee, the SMG leveled, on full auto.
What he saw numbed him momentarily.
A demon griffin, a winged horror that, until now, had been only a part of mythology. Its ugly head lowered, the creature charged Sam, howling as it came.
Sam pulled the trigger, a one second burst of heavy, .45 caliber slugs. The griffin screamed, humanlike, and fell to its knees, blood gushing out of the holes in its chest and throat. It kicked on the cold forest floor for a few seconds, then, with a terrible shrieking, it beat its wings and died.
'What in the name of God is that thing?' Sam asked.
Only one among them knew the answer to that, but she had no intention of explaining.
Nydia screamed, Sam whirling around. Rats had encircled the young girl, and Nydia was beating at them with a stick. Linda stood with her back to a tree, her face pale with terror. The rats, much larger and bolder than their earthbound cousins, seemingly had no fear of humans, and no interest in attacking anyone other than Janet. The child was kicking at them with her tennis shoes. One of the rodents leaped at her, yellow teeth snapping.
Sam slapped it to the ground and stomped on it with a heavy jump boot, smashing the guts from the devilish rodent. He looked up, and only then did he see the white slash on the bark of a tree about fifty yards from their rest stop.
Fifty yards behind them.
'Run!' Sam yelled, grabbing up his pack. 'Get the weapons and the packs and run. Toward that big oak,' he pointed. 'Get past it.'
Nydia grabbed Linda and shoved her into action literally forcing her to stop and pick up her pack and the shotgun she was carrying.
The rats pursued them to the slash-marked tree, but would not attack them once they had passed the line. The rodents raced back into the forest.
Janet looked at the slash on the tree. Whatever, or whomever had marked the tree had done so with a mighty sword or knife, wielded with awesome power. 'Those boundaries you people were talking about? I think we found them.'
Sam lay on the ground sheet, his head resting on his pack. His thoughts were many. It was late afternoon, and turning colder. Already a few flakes of snow had fallen, and it felt as if it might start snowing in earnest at any moment. If that happened, he would have to build a fire and a lean-to. The lean-to didn't worry him, but a fire might bring some unwelcome visitors.
Why are they waiting? he mused. We are few and they are many, and with their powers, they must know where we are. Surely they can't be that afraid of me?
'Do not flatter yourself so, young warrior,' the voice boomed into Sam's head. 'It is I they fear.'
'I wondered where you had gotten off to,' Sam spoke, oblivious to the others looking at him, listening to the one-sided conversation.
'I have been busy. Now hear me, young one: you must be on guard, but you need not fear the evil forces as much as you believe. I will take care of those spawns of hell. They will harass you, worry you, but they won't harm you—if you remain careful and maintain your faith.'
'You mean, I can kill them, but they can't kill me, or us?'
'I didn't say that.'
Sam sighed, an exasperating expulsion of breath, 'Riddles again, huh?'
'Only if you believe they are riddles.'
'Study your words, huh?'
'That is correct.'
'Is it against the policy of … Him for you to come right out and say things in an understandable fashion?'
'How like your father you are.'
'You hedged the question.'
'Correct. Young warrior,' the voice held a slight note of puzzlement. 'I have spoken to many mortals over these thousands of years, but you baffle me.'
