The radio stopped working.
Shannon fiddled with it, but try as she might, she couldn’t get a response. Finally, she glanced at me, brow furrowed. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”
I shrugged. “It could be that killing England gave the spirits closure and now they’re gone. But we still have Cooper to deal with.”
“And that’s not going to be easy,” Saldana predicted.
Chance stared beyond us into the dark tangle of trees. The wind wailed through their skeletal limbs, giving no hint of human movement. “What do you know about him?”
“He’s a hunter,” Shannon answered.
That meant he wouldn’t have panicked, wouldn’t have broken beneath the mental strain. He’d probably hunkered down somewhere until the smoke settled. Now he’d be clearheaded and rested, ready to stalk his prey. A shiver ran through me.
My voice sounded thin. “So what do we do?”
“Get off the path,” Saldana said at once.
Chance led the way into the undergrowth. I couldn’t help the prickling sensation that we were being watched, but that might be the demon, though I couldn’t smell the dank, decaying vegetation that marked his presence. Shannon stuck close to my side, and I ached for her. Though she might seem cool, soon it would hit her that her mom was dead—and how Sandra died couldn’t help but scar her. I could still see the shadows swarming as she fell, as if feeding on her despair.
“Here are the problems as I see them,” Chance said quietly. “One, this is Cooper’s home ground, and he’s had ample time to lay in snares for us. Two, he’s an expert tracker and hunter. Three, we’re tired and shaken, not at the top of our game anymore. Four, I lost my luck tablet back there, so we can’t expect things to swing our way in this fight.”
Summed up that way, it sounded worse than I’d realized. Stillness and silence seemed to offer some protection, so we didn’t move as we tried to hammer out a plan in nearly inaudible whispers. As if to exacerbate our situation, the rain shifted from drizzle to downpour, inhibiting visibility further. Between the dark, the trees, and the weather, we’d be lucky to make it out of these woods.
“We could make for the SUV,” I murmured. “Try to avoid Cooper. And then get the hell out of town.”
At my suggestion, the earth trembled with outrage. The wind whipped up, tearing at our clothing. Two tree limbs cracked and fell, crashing to earth nearby. I, for one, took that as a threat.
Shannon leaped backward. “I don’t think that’s an option, Corine. If we leave, Cooper will just recruit eleven more. Missy England will take her dad’s place. I have cousins. This will
“She’s right,” Chance said softly.
“I wish Butch were here,” I muttered. “He might be able to track him.”
Everyone regarded me dubiously. Who ever heard of a Chihuahua being used as a bloodhound? But Butch wasn’t your average purse dog.
Jesse stilled. “I might be able to too.”
Shannon and Chance looked puzzled. After a moment, I remembered how he’d sensed Butch, homing in on his location. Tapping into the emotions of someone like Cooper might drive Jesse crazy. It was his call, though.
“How?” the girl asked.
“I’m an empath,” he explained. “I can scan, pick up all emotional states within a certain radius. Takes a lot out of me, hurts like hell, but I can do it.”
Based on what I’d seen previously, that was an understatement.
“Go for it,” I said, before I could change my mind.
Jesse closed his eyes. I studied him in the half-light, watching his face go vacant. We stood motionless for a good two minutes before he jerked and staggered. He would have fallen if I hadn’t caught him around the waist. Jesse twitched and Shannon came to his other side, her big eyes round with worry.
“West,” he rasped out. “Lying in wait. He’s the only thing left alive out here besides us. But Jesus. Jesus . . .” Jesse fought free of me and bent at the waist, wracked with endless waves of dry heaves. “I’ve never felt anything like him.”
“Inhuman?” Chance asked.
“I . . . don’t know,” Saldana answered at length.
After a couple of minutes, he managed to straighten up and put on his game face. His skull probably felt like it was splitting in two, but I didn’t step close as I’d done before and let him put his head in my hands. I didn’t want to hurt Chance, nor was I ready to declare myself open to a relationship with Jesse. It didn’t seem like the time. I needed to get back to the pawnshop; needed some time to mourn and move on.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
Jesse gave a curt nod, but he let Chance take the lead. Shannon kept a hand on Saldana’s arm, as if she thought she could steady him. Even if I thought it was fruitless, it was still sweet. And maybe she was stronger than she looked.
There was no path. We pushed west, forcing our way through underbrush and dead wood, avoiding sinkholes and tangled vines. I could sense the demon lingering nearby, but it didn’t interfere with us, nor did it try to communicate. The rain spilled down my hoodie, soaking me to the skin. I doubted the others fared any better, but nobody complained.
“The ground’s softer up ahead,” Jesse said. “Watch your—”
Chance dove wide as a bed of leaves gave way. I skidded downward, grasping in vain at slick roots that gave no purchase. Someone snagged the back of my sweatshirt, and I tried to scramble backward, heels digging into the slick soil.
Stomach churning, I shuddered as my gaze dropped and I saw that I was hanging above a pit trap full of spikes.
“Be still,” he begged. “If we’re not careful, we’ll both end up down there.” I couldn’t see what was going on behind him, but he added to the others, “No, don’t come up here. The extra weight might crumble the edge. I’ve got her—you hold my feet.”
I don’t know how long I hung there, feeling my shirt slip, and then tear. A sob shook me. I found myself dependent on Chance’s strength. He cursed low and virulent in Korean as he worked me upward. His arms had to be burning, but he never faltered until he had his arms all the way around me.
Then we wriggled backward inch by inch until I felt the solid ground beneath my back. It seemed safe, so I began to use my heels to push upward until we fell back onto Jesse and Shannon. She looked pale as milk, rain slipping down her cheeks like tears.
“Everyone okay?” the girl asked shakily.
“More or less. Did you tear your wound?” Chance checked Saldana’s shoulder and found blood trickling down his biceps.
Jesse waved a hand. “It’s nothing. Let’s move before he has time to leave us any more surprises.”
Chance took the lead again, but this time he tested the path with dead limbs and heavy bark. He chucked them as we walked, triggering the traps Cooper had left for us. We found two snares and a trip wire that way as we pushed west. I stood watching the blades dance on the line, silvered with rain. Though that trap might not have killed us, it would have sliced us up, weakened us for the final confrontation.
“This is one sick son of a bitch,” Chance said softly.
A cold chill ran through me. I’d nearly been impaled. I’d have nightmares about falling now, but at least it would be a change from the fire. In my mind’s eye, I could see the spike piercing my guts, and I imagined the way blood would burst from my mouth as I died.
“Stop,” Jesse whispered. “We need you here with us. He didn’t get you, and he’s not going to. I promise.”
As if in answer, a shot rang out. If not for the darkness, wind, and rain, it would have drilled through my skull instead of into the tree beside me. Splinters and bits of bark sprayed my face, and I hit the ground.
Shannon crouched next to me, hand on my back. “Did he get you?”
