Chapter 23
Tuesday Late Afternoon, January 11th
Harper stopped for a moment once he had passed the tree line. He had heard Jerry shouting his name, but had ignored him and run on into the woods. Louis and Billie had been gone long enough that someone could have easily taken them. If that had happened, Harper knew that the children would be long gone by now. But he could feel their presence and knew that they were nearby, somewhere straight ahead of him. He had always been able to feel the presences of his sister’s children, though not as strongly as he could feel the presence of one of his people when they were near. Every Aes Sidhe could feel the presence of other thinking creatures, as well, including humans, but only if they were very close to them. With his nieces and nephews, the feeling was stronger even at a distance. On school days, he had been able to feel the general direction in which each child was from the Ambrose house. It had made him less fearful about leaving the children alone at their schools. And now the feeling that Billie and Louis were just ahead of him lessened his fear again. He only hoped that they hadn’t run into the demons or their allies.
His eyes scanned the snow near him for any signs of the children’s passage and within moments he saw a single pair of small boot prints. Next to the prints ran the paw prints of an animal that Harper was certain was Aidan. What worried him was that there was only a single set of human prints, not two. He wanted to search for signs of a second set of prints, but didn’t want to delay. He just hoped that the children were still together, as the prospect of having to conduct two searches was even more daunting than just the one.
The prints led in the direction from which he could feel the presences of Louis and Billie, straight ahead of where he kneeled in the snow. He lifted his spear from where he had placed it next to him on the ground and then jogged in the same direction as the tracks. He was careful to move as quietly as possible, while listening for any sounds of the children or of anything that might be pursuing them.
As he ran, Harper thought of how quickly their situation had spiraled out of control. He had been trying to think of a way to get the children away from the McCallister house, away from what he believed would become a trap. But he had never imagined that he would get what he wanted in this way – two of the children missing in the woods, and the rest of them trying to find them. Had he been given a choice, he would have chosen for all of them to remain at the house rather than the current crisis.
The distance between him and the children felt as if it was closing, so Harper slowed to a jog. He was eager to get to the children, but didn’t want to stumble upon a situation in which they were in danger and put their lives at risk. If they were being held by the demons and he suddenly appeared, the creatures might do something rash. He had to avoid such an encounter at all costs.
Suddenly, he heard a brief sound of movement behind him. Something had managed to sneak up on him, which he couldn’t believe was possible. He had never been surprised by an enemy in his life. He turned to face what he guessed to be one of the demons, raising his spear in readiness to do battle.
Jerry moved through the woods with his gun in his hand, but with the safety on. He wanted to be ready in case they stumbled upon a tricky situation, but didn’t want the firearm to accidentally discharge. He looked down every few steps to confirm that he was still on the trail, and could still see the three sets of footprints, and off to the side, a set of small paw prints. He assumed the third, larger set of footprints was from his brother-in-law, and that he had found their trail. He hoped that Harper had already found the children and was waiting ahead.
Tina jogged a few feet behind Jerry, appearing to have no trouble keeping up. He was surprised at the resilience of the young teacher. Nothing had seemed to faze her in the past twenty-four hours, and she had a quiet strength in her that Jerry could sense. In many ways, Tina reminded him of Arianna. She had decided to help him and his family and nothing he or anyone said could dissuade her. He had barely known her just two days ago, but had come to admire her a great deal. He only hoped that her decision to help the Ambrose family didn’t cost her life.
Jerry could sense the presence of Vaughan several yards ahead, but they had seen no sign of Billie and Louis other than the trail they had left.
“Anything yet?” Tina asked from behind him.
Jerry stopped and looked down at the snow as Tina moved to stand next to him. “The tracks are still there,” Jerry answered. “And they’re still heading in the same direction, with Harper behind them, but nothing new.”
He didn’t tell Tina that he could still feel that his youngest children were nearby. He couldn’t explain his reasoning in keeping this newfound ability from the others, and knew that it didn’t make sense to do so, especially considering everything that they had all seen in the past day. And yet he kept it to himself anyway. But he was grateful that the link to each of his children existed. It made being separated from them bearable, knowing that all of them were alive and well.
“You okay?” he asked Tina. She was breathing hard, but no harder than he was.
“Probably better than you are,” Tina answered with a smile. “You’ve got about twenty years on me, you know.”
Jerry chuckled and shook his head as he answered, “I’m doing alright, but thank you for your concern.”
“Well, what are we doing standing here?” Tina asked drily. “Let’s get going.”
Jerry smiled, but didn’t answer. He started jogging along the trail again, with Tina right behind him. The light-hearted moment had buoyed both of their spirits, but both of their minds were still filled with worry for the two young children.
Vaughan ran through the trees, with Cody at his side. His eyes scanned the woods ahead as he moved, but dropped to the ground periodically to confirm that he and Cody were still following the trail of footprints. He hoped that the larger set of prints belonged to his uncle, and not someone following his younger siblings with more sinister intentions. He tried to make as little noise as possible, and tried to imagine himself being invisible. He didn’t want anyone hearing or otherwise sensing his approach, unless it was either of his siblings. A tingling passed through his body as he ran, and he assumed it was the rush of adrenaline. But something about the feeling was different, and it reminded Vaughan of the feeling he got when fighting against the demons.
As his eyes looked up again, he saw a shape ahead of him that didn’t belong among the trees. It was the shape of a person standing in the snow, facing away from him, with some kind of weapon in their hand. Cody seemed to see the person at the same time that Vaughan did, and came to a stop in the snow before crouching down.
Vaughan came to an abrupt stop, trying to cause as little noise as possible, but failing. Snow sprayed from his feet and the sound of it seemed deafening. He knew that the person ahead of him had to have heard it, and when the figure began to turn toward Vaughan, his fears were confirmed.
Vaughan continued to try to will himself to be invisible while ducking behind a tree, but pulled his sword from its sheath in case he needed to defend himself. He looked over at where he knew Cody to be standing, and saw the dog looking back at him in apparent confusion. Cody’s head turned from side to side, as if he was looking for something. Vaughan turned around in surprise to see what the dog was looking at, but saw nothing behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw the person standing ahead complete their turn and face him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the face that was staring back at him as his Uncle Harper. He moved away from the tree and smiled.
“Who’s there?” Uncle Harper asked as he looked directly at Vaughan. His eyes met Vaughan’s, but quickly moved away as they scanned the trees around him. It seemed to Vaughan like his uncle couldn’t see him, even though he had been looking right at him.
“Uncle Harper, it’s me,” Vaughan answered as he placed his sword back in its sheath.
He saw his uncl
e’s eyes widen in surprise as he finally seemed to see Vaughan.
“How did you do that?” Harper asked softly and with narrowed eyes.
“Do what?” Vaughan answered. He had no idea what his uncle was talking about.
Harper hadn’t lowered his spear and he looked around briefly, as if searching for something.
“I couldn’t see you standing there,” Harper answered his nephew. “And I didn’t sense you coming. It’s like you weren’t even there. The only reason I turned was because I heard something move in the snow.”
Harper finally lowered his spear as Cody walked over to where he stood. He looked over at the dog for a moment before looking back at Vaughan.
“Cody said he couldn’t see you either,” Harper told him. “He said you were there one moment and then gone the next. He said that for a moment, he couldn’t even smell you.”
Vaughan walked over to where his uncle stood and looked up at him in confusion. “I didn’t do anything.” He paused for a moment as he remembered what had been going through his mind just before he had come across his uncle standing in the woods. “But I didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t know it was you standing there.”
Harper stared down at his nephew for a moment in silence. “I’ve never seen anything like that, Vaughan,” he finally said. “It was like you appeared right before me. But the fact that I couldn’t sense you coming was what surprised me the most. I can always feel where each of you is, but for a moment I couldn’t sense you at all.”
Vaughan guessed that his uncle was talking about him and his siblings. He didn’t realize that Uncle Harper could sense where they were, but it didn’t surprise him. He remembered that his mother had always seemed to know exactly where each of her children was, no matter where she was or how far away she was from her children. He could ask her where any of his siblings was and she would answer him instantly, even if she had just walked through the front door of their house. It made sense that her brother would have the same ability.
“I didn’t want to be seen,” Vaughan repeated softly. He remembered that he had felt a tingling sensation passing through his body after he had wished himself to be invisible. “I must have done something…I don’t know what, but it must have…must have made me invisible or something.”
Harper stared at his nephew for a moment in silence again before nodding. “Alright,” he told him. “Where’s your father?”
Vaughan was surprised by the question. He hadn’t realized they had changed the subject. He had to think for a moment before responding, “Um, he’s a little ways back…he and Ms. Waverly. We were coming to find you.”
Vaughan suddenly remembered why they had gone into the woods in the first place. “Did you find Billie and Louis?” he asked.
Harper shook his head as he answered, “Not yet, but I’m still on the trail.” He looked behind him for a moment before adding, “I can feel them just up ahead. They’re very close.” He was surprised to hear that the young teacher had come along, and even more surprised that his brother-in-law had let her. Harper couldn’t think of anything that she could contribute to their search for the two youngest children, but he knew that Jeremiah wouldn’t have done such a thing unless he had a reason. He trusted his brother-in-law’s judgment in such things, and guessed that Tina had some part to play in the search for the two children.
He felt the presence of Jerry and Tina a moment before he heard the footprints in the snow.
“There you are,” Jerry said as he spotted them. “Any sign of Billie or Louis?”
“Just up ahead,” Harper said as Jerry and Tina walked up to stand next to him. Cody was still standing next to Vaughan, and Harper looked at the dog as he added, “But I don’t know if they’re alone. I was going to ask Cody to scout ahead.”
“I’ll go with him,” Vaughan offered.
Jerry seemed to consider for a moment before telling his son, “If you see anything…”
“I know Dad,” Vaughan said with a smile. He didn’t wait for his father to say anything else. “Come on, Cody,” he said as he ran off into the woods. Cody followed behind him and within moments, they were both gone.
“Let’s stay as close to them as possible,” Harper said as he lifted his spear and started to walk after Vaughan and Cody. Jerry and Tina followed behind, their feet crunching through the snow as they passed through the trees.
Aidan came trotting back to where Billie and Louis had stopped for a moment to rest. Louis sat in the snow, with Billie huddled against him, each of them trying to share in the warmth of the other. Their winter clothes were waterproof and kept away most of the chill, but they couldn’t completely keep out the cold.
“We should get going again,” Louis said softly to his sister after a shared moment of silence. “We’ll feel warmer if we get moving.”
“Okay,” Billie answered. She shivered once before getting up and offering her hand to Louis.
Louis let his sister help him up before looking around him. There had been no sign of the guide that had been promised by the strange man in his dream. He had expected that the guide would show up somewhere along the way to their house. But Louis recognized the woods around him and knew that they were almost to the end of the trees near their driveway. He wondered if the guide was going to be waiting for them at the house, instead. The thought of seeing the burnt remains of their home caused a twinge of sadness within him, but a shiver that passed through his body pushed it aside. They had to start moving again if they were ever to meet up with the person who was supposed to guide them to the place in the mountains. And if they didn’t move again soon, he knew they might freeze to death.
“Louis, do you even know where we’re going?” Billie asked with a hint of irritation in her voice. She was tired and cold, and was starting to resent her brother’s decision to leave the warmth and safety of their neighbor’s house.
“Of course I don’t,” Louis answered testily. “That’s why we’re supposed to be meeting up with a guide.” He looked around him at the trees for a moment before adding in a softer tone, “I know that we’re near our house, though.”
“What’s left of it,” Billie said sullenly. She didn’t like the thought of seeing their house any more than her brother did, but she also didn’t like sitting in the cold doing nothing. “Ready?” she asked him finally.
Louis nodded as he reached out his hand to his sister. She took it and they began walking together in the direction of the house. But Billie stopped suddenly, released Louis’ hand and reached into the top of her jacket. Louis looked over at her in confusion until he saw her pull a glowing shape out and hold it in her hand. The locket that Ms. Waverly had placed around her neck when Mr. McCallister’s house was under attack was now glowing brightly.
“Louis,” Billie said with fear as she held the locket up and stared at her brother. They both knew what the glowing locket meant – demons were nearby.
“It’s okay,” Louis said as he looked around him in fear. He couldn’t see anything in the trees around them, but he didn’t doubt what the glowing of the pendant meant. “We shouldn’t wait around here,” he told his sister as he held out his hand. “Let’s go. And put that back in your shirt. Someone might see it.”
Billie nodded as she placed the locket back under her jacket. She had heard the tone in Louis’ voice. He had said someone, but had meant something. She took Louis’ hand and they started moving again, heading through the trees in the direction of their house with Aidan trotting beside them.
Jerry walked up to stand next to Vaughan and Cody where they waited with Harper. They were looking at something in the trees ahead, but Jerry’s view was blocked by a tree and couldn’t see what it was.
“Why have we stopped?” Jerry asked. The more times they stopped, the longer it would take for them to find his two youngest children.
Harper turned to him and placed his finger in front of his lips before w
hispering, “There’s something up ahead. We think it might be Billie and Louis, but we’re not sure.” He looked at the trees around them in concern before adding, “There are demons nearby. I can feel them.”
“Me too,” whispered Vaughan. His sword was suddenly in his hand, though Jerry hadn’t heard or seen him draw it.
Jerry looked around him in concern and reached back to pull Tina closer to him. He looked past the tree and saw what his son and brother-in-law had been looking at. He could see ahead that there were two small shapes huddled upon the ground near a tree. The sun had set a few minutes before, removing what little light there had been in the forest. His first thought was that the shapes were two children sitting on the ground. But in the darkness, he couldn’t be sure if that was what they were seeing.
“Can you see if it’s them?” Jerry whispered to Harper. He had figured out that Harper’s eyesight was very sharp, and what seemed indistinct to him was likely to be crystal clear to his brother-in-law.
Harper shook his head in response as he answered, “I can’t see under the hoods. The shapes are small and probably children, but I can’t be sure until I can see their faces.”
Harper could feel that Billie and Louis were very close, and his eyes were indeed much sharper in the darkness than Jerry’s. But he knew that one of the demons’ best weapons was illusion and treachery, and their ability to take on different shapes meant that they could easily have impersonated the two children to set a trap for Harper and the others with him.
Another shape that ran on all fours came trotting up to the ones that huddled on the ground, and Vaughan sat up higher as he recognized it.
“It’s Aidan,” he whispered before turning to look at Harper with a smile.
He stood up to move toward what he now believed without a doubt was his brother and sister, but Harper restrained him with one hand.
“Hold on,” Harper told him in a whisper. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Harper could still feel the presence of demons nearby, and his instincts were screaming at him that this was a trap. The appearance of Aidan should have dispelled the warning of his instincts, but they hadn’t.
He watched as the two forms stood up while still facing away from him. He wished that he could see under their hoods to confirm that they were his niece and nephew, even though he had little doubt that it was them. What worried him was that the feeling that demons were nearby had grown stronger, which meant that they were getting closer. He worried that springing forth without warning would place some or all of them in grave danger, since he had no idea how many demons were nearby. Billie and Louis were safer than any of them at that moment, since he knew that Tim Matheson and his minions would have guessed that Louis was the Solas, and therefore would not harm him. It also meant that they wouldn’t harm Billie to try to ensure Louis’ cooperation. Of course, it was also possible, even if unlikely, that the three forms that stood in front of them were those of demons in disguise, waiting to ambush him and the others with him.
Something started glowing in front of one of the standing forms and Tina grabbed Harper’s arm. “It’s the pendant that Jason made,” she whispered from next to him. “I put it around Billie’s neck last night on the porch.”
“That means it’s definitely them,” Jerry said quietly. “Now we know it’s them.”
Jerry moved to go to his youngest children, who had begun to walk away from where they stood watching. Harper no longer doubted that it was Billie, Louis and Aidan in front of him, and he began to move forward too. But something moved in the trees ahead of the little ones and when he looked to see what it was, the feeling that demons were nearby became almost overpowering. He staggered and reached out to Jerry for support, who looked back at him in concern as he steadied Harper. Harper looked over and saw Vaughan on his knees in the snow, one hand reached down to steady himself. He had felt it too.
Harper looked again at where he had seen the movement and saw three people walking toward Billie, Louis and Aidan. The person that walked in the lead was a woman with long blonde hair. Harper recognized her instantly as one of the people who had stood behind Tim Matheson when he had appeared the night before in front of the McCallister house.
“Anna,” Jerry whispered, mystified. It was the second time that he had seen the young woman in the company of their enemy. It should have caused feelings of anger toward her, but something inside of him reached out to her, and he felt pity for her, instead.
Harper looked at his brother-in-law briefly in surprise at the sound of recognition in his voice, but quickly returned his attention to the three who had just appeared. The other two with the woman who Jerry had identified as Anna were tall, stocky men wearing all black. Harper could feel the darkness rolling from them in waves of pure evil. This was the source of the feeling that had caused him and Vaughan to swoon. They wore the forms of men, but Harper knew that these were demons. And from the darkness that they emanated, Harper knew that these demons were far more powerful than anything they had yet encountered. Even Harper could never remembering encountering such powerful demons in his nearly three thousand years of fighting the creatures.
Harper’s first instinct was to run forward and grab the children, but he was struck dumb by the power that was evident in the two demons flanking Anna. Having never fought such a powerful enemy, he had no idea if he and the others with him stood a chance of even holding them off long enough to escape. Before he could decide on a course of action, Anna crouched down a few yards in front of Billie and Louis.
“You must come with me, Louis,” she said with a flat voice.
Aidan moved in front of the two youngest children and began to growl softly. Louis took a step forward and gently placed his hand on the back of the dog’s neck. She stopped growling, but refused to move from in front of the children. Harper could finally see the faces of both Louis and Billie, and saw the fear on both of them.
“Are you our guide?” Louis asked with a break in his voice.
Harper looked over at Jerry in confusion, but his brother-in-law shook his head. Neither of them understood what Louis meant by a guide. Harper wondered if it was related to the reason that Louis and Billie had left in the first place.
Anna looked confused for a moment, but then smiled slightly as she responded, “Yes, of course…your guide.” Her smile widened as she said, “I am your guide.”
Louis stared back at her, but didn’t say anything. Jerry put his hand on Harper’s arm, pulling his attention from the conversation.
“We’ve got to do something,” Jerry whispered fiercely and with obvious fear on his face.
Harper could only nod in response, since he didn’t know what to say. He also didn’t know what to do. He agreed with Jerry that they needed to get the children away from Anna and the two men with her. But he had no idea how they were supposed to do that. And he had no time to come up with something other than the most straight-forward plan that he could think of. He motioned for the others to gather around him and explained.
“We charge them as one on my word,” Harper whispered. He looked at Tina and told her, “Once Billie and Louis are clear, grab them and run as fast as you can for the driveway on the other side of those trees. James and the others should be there waiting.”
“What if they’re not there,” Tina asked. She looked over at where the children stood, trying to judge the distance between her and them, and wondering how quickly she could cover it.
Harper thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. We just need to pray that they are.”
No one said anything. They didn’t have to. Each of them knew that their options were limited and that some plan was better than no plan.
“We get one chance at this,” Harper whispered as he looked at each of them in turn. They each nodded once in response, but again didn’t say anything.
Harper turned his attention back to where Billie
and Louis stood. Nothing seemed to have happened and the two children still stood facing Anna, who continued to stand crouched in front of them.
“Well,” Anna said to Louis. “Shall we be going?”
Anna held her hand out to Louis as she stood up. Louis looked at her hand for a moment and then over at his younger sister. She nodded once and he reached out for Anna’s hand.
“Now!” Harper screamed as he ran forward with his spear raised in his hand.
Anna turned in surprise at the sound and her eyes widened when she saw Harper charging toward her, with Vaughan and Cody following closely behind. She tried to reach for Louis, but Billie quickly pulled him away from the woman when she saw her uncle and brother running toward them.
“Louis, look!” she screamed as she pointed at her Uncle Harper and Vaughan.
Louis looked over in surprise and then back at Anna, whose expression suddenly became twisted with rage. He grabbed Billie’s arm and pulled her with him as he ran away from Anna and the two men with her. Before she could reach for Louis again, Harper had reached the first of the men with Anna. A sword appeared in the man’s hand and he turned to face the charging form of the Aes Sidhe. Harper swung at the man with his spear, but the man easily dodged aside. The speed with which the man had dodged his swing amazed Harper. He had never seen any of the demons move so quickly.
Vaughan ran past the first man as Harper engaged him and charged straight at the second man, who turned to face him. Several shots rang out and tore into the man in front of Vaughan as a sword appeared in one of the man’s hands. The man staggered backward two steps, but then straightened, seemingly unaffected by the bullets that struck him. Vaughan didn’t wait for him to recover. He slashed at the man’s unprotected midsection as he passed and then quickly turned around.
He saw the tear in the man’s coat where his sword had passed, and looked down in satisfaction to see a smearing of the creature’s black blood on his mother’s sword. He looked up again and saw the man turn to face him, blinding the man against the sight of Cody charging for his back. The dog leapt on the man’s back and sunk his teeth into his enemy’s shoulder as his claws dug into his back. A scream of rage and pain erupted from the man’s mouth as Cody’s teeth sunk in and the sound was deafening. Vaughan staggered back as a wave of force hit him. He couldn’t believe it had come from the man’s scream, but there was no other explanation.
Vaughan shook his head and ran at the demon, his sword raised high. The man looked up as Vaughan closed to within a few feet and raised his sword in response. Vaughan swung at the man, going for his unprotected midsection. But the man was faster than Vaughan could have imagined. He barely saw the man’s sword move, but it was there to meet Vaughan’s sword with a loud clang that sent a painful wave of vibration along Vaughan’s arm. He nearly dropped his sword in surprise and was only barely able to avoid the thrust that the man made at his abdomen.
Time had slowed down as the man had attacked Vaughan, but just barely. He realized that this enemy was far quicker than anything he had faced before. He knew that his superhuman abilities had made him far more formidable than his lack of training should have. But the speed, strength and skill of this opponent removed that advantage. He barely saw the man’s sword arm move again, and was narrowly able to dodge the slash at his head. But he was unable to move away from the backhanded blow that followed it and struck him across the face, sending him flying back several feet.
Vaughan landed in the snow and couldn’t move. His face throbbed with enough pain that he was sure something had been broken. He remembered how quickly the man had moved and knew that he was dead if he didn’t get up. He pushed himself up on his elbows and realized with surprise that he had somehow managed to hang on to his sword. Another bellow of pain and rage filled the clearing, nearly knocking him down again. He looked over at where the man stood and saw that Cody was still clinging to the man’s back and had managed to sink his teeth into flesh again. Vaughan wanted to help Cody, but still couldn’t move.
The man reached behind him with his free hand and managed to close his fist on fur and skin. He pulled Cody away from him, while the dog tried to reach back and close its jaws on the man’s hand, but failed. The man looked at Cody while holding him aloft and smiled before tossing him aside as if Cody weighed nothing. The dog sailed through the air for several yards before slamming into a tree. Vaughan heard a yelp of pain and a loud snapping noise and then Cody fell to the ground and was still.
Vaughan looked back at the man, who began walking toward him. The sound of gunfire suddenly split the air, and the man staggered several times as bullets tore into his side. Vaughan was relieved that he wasn’t fighting alone. He could see the impacts as the bullets hit the man, along with small sprays of the black fluid that was the blood of the demons. He lost track of how many bullets hit the man, but he guessed that it was at least a dozen. When the bullets had stopped, the man fell to one knee in the snow, reaching down to steady himself with his sword.
Vaughan heard a scream and looked over to see that it had come from Billie, who stood in the snow with her hands over her ears, screaming at the sounds of gunfire. Louis quickly pulled her down beside him and covered her with his arms. Vaughan looked over at where his father stood, facing the man that he had just shot several times, and saw him struggling with the clip in his gun. He met Vaughan’s eyes once, and the fear in his eyes was obvious. Vaughan knew that his father’s fear wasn’t for himself, but a fear for the safety of his son.
Vaughan looked back and saw the man with the sword slowly raise himself back to his feet. The man looked over at Jerry, who was still struggling with the clip, and smiled. And then his attention turned back to Vaughan. His grin widened, and he began to walk to where Vaughan still lay in the snow, helpless.
Vaughan gathered all of his strength and slowly stood, leaning heavily on his sword. Finally, he stood up straight and faced his enemy, who continued to stalk toward him. Vaughan doubted that he stood a chance against the man’s strength and speed, but he refused to face death willingly. He would fight.
Tina saw Harper charge the men in black, followed closely by Vaughan and then Cody. Her heart was racing and she felt the flush of adrenaline as it poured into her veins. She was ready to do her part to save Billie and Louis, but had to wait until she was sure that she could get them clear. The woman Anna ran at the sight of Harper, leaving the children unguarded, and Tina saw her opportunity.
She ran forward and straight at where Billie and Louis were standing, trying to close the distance between her and them as quickly as possible. She didn’t move nearly as fast as Harper or Vaughan, and stumbled in the snow when the shots from Jerry’s gun rang out. She managed to get to her feet in time to see one of the men in black hurl Cody through the air and into a tree. The dog hit the ground and was still. Tina stared in horror and was dumbstruck for a moment before she remembered her mission. She had to get to the little ones and get them to safety.
A series of clanging noises stole her attention and she looked over to see Harper dueling with one of the men in black. They both moved so quickly that their arms blurred, making it impossible to see if either one of them was winning. She saw several bright red spots on Harper’s body and as many black spots on the body of the man he dueled. She felt a twinge of worry for Harper, but quickly pushed it aside as the sound of gunshots tore through the air again. She had to get to the children. She ran toward Billie and Louis, who were now sitting in the snow, and saw Louis’ hands wrapped protectively around his sister. If Tina was going to get them away from the clearing, she had to get them on their feet.
“Louis! Billie!” Tina shouted as she ran through the snow.
Billie turned at the sound of her name and saw her teacher running toward them. “Ms. Waverly!” she screamed with relief and a huge smile.
The two children stood as they saw the teacher running toward them. When Tina rea
ched them, she picked Billie up and grabbed Louis’ hand. She looked around her, trying to get her bearings. She saw where the trees ended and remembered that Harper had said the driveway would be on the other side. She ran as fast as she could in that direction, pulling Louis behind her.
“We can’t leave them,” Billie cried as she reached her hand out to where her father stood, still trying to change the clip on his gun.
Tina ignored Billie’s plea and ran as fast as she could for the tree line. But just as she neared the end of the trees, Anna stepped out from behind one of them and into her path.
Tina stopped so quickly that Louis ran into her, and she thought she heard him swear softly. But she didn’t ask Louis what he had said. Instead, she stared at the woman in fear, not sure if Anna had any weapons that she could use against her.
“Get out of my way,” Tina said softly to her through clenched teeth. She had no intention of letting anyone stop her from getting the children to safety. She only hoped that the fear she felt hadn’t carried through to her voice.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Anna replied without emotion. “Leave the boy with me and I promise you that we will leave you alone. I assure you I have no intention of hurting him.”
“For some reason, I just don’t believe you,” Tina said with a slight note of sarcasm. She knew that she was Louis’ only hope of getting to safety, and if she had to fight the woman in front of her to do it, she would. “Now please, get out of my way,” she said to Anna.
Anna shook her head slowly and Tina was surprised to see an expression of regret on the woman’s face. What was even more surprising was that it looked genuine.
“We all have responsibilities, Tina Waverly,” Anna said softly. She was quiet for a moment, and looked like she was struggling with what to say next. “And mine is to take that boy with me,” she finally added.
“You don’t have to do this,” Tina said to her, instinctively changing her tactic to one of persuasion. She didn’t know how Anna knew her name, but it didn’t matter. The regret that Tina had seen on the woman’s face made her wonder if Anna really didn’t want to be there at that moment, or even at all. Tina had seen her the night before, standing with the maniacal Tim Matheson and the others with him. That alone should have told her that the woman was evil. But now she wondered if Anna was simply a pawn of Tim and the demons he controlled. If that was the case, maybe she could be persuaded to let them go.
“I don’t have a choice,” Anna answered softly. A single tear fell down her right cheek, but she ignored it as she swallowed once before adding, “I am sorry.”
A streak of brown fur on Tina’s right shot past her and straight for Anna. Tina only realized that it was Aidan as the dog leapt at Anna’s face. The woman waited until the last second before Aidan’s jaws would have closed on her neck, and then her hand shot out so quickly that it blurred. She smacked Aidan aside casually, sending the dog flying through the air several feet. Aidan landed in the snow, tried to stand up once, and then collapsed and didn’t move.
“No!” Billie screamed as she reached her arms out to Aidan, and then she began to cry.
Tina felt Louis’ grip tighten on her hand, and she looked down at him and saw that his eyes were huge with fear. She pulled him closer to her, and tightened her arm around Billie, who buried her face in Tina’s jacket.
Anna looked over at the dog, and the same expression of regret crossed her face for a moment before it was replaced with one of determination.
“Stop this!” Anna screamed at Tina. Her accent became stronger as emotion filled her voice. Tina wasn’t sure, but she thought Anna sounded Russian. “I am taking that boy…now!” Anna screamed. Another tear fell down her face, and she angrily brushed it aside. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
Tina looked at the determination in Anna’s eyes, and believed what she had said. Some power was compelling her to do what she was doing, and it was a power greater than anything Tina could say to convince her to do otherwise. But Tina had no more choice than Anna did. She refused to let either of the children go with the woman, even if it meant her death. The stubbornness that she had carried with her for her entire life was only part of the reason for her refusal. The other part was the love that she had always felt for children, and which had grown even stronger for the Ambrose children. Had Billie or Louis been one of her own, from her own body, her determination to protect them would have been no greater. And while the others with her were fighting with the men in black, she was the only one who could protect them. She only had to hold Anna off long enough for the others to deal with the two men, and from what she had seen Harper and Vaughan do the night before, she was confident that it would only be a few moments more before they were done. At least, she hoped that it was only a few moments.
Tina kneeled down and lowered Billie to the ground, and then pushed the little girl behind her. With her other hand, she pushed Louis behind her as well.
“Ms. Waverly,” Billie whimpered softly. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at her teacher. She knew that Ms. Waverly was trying to protect her and Louis, and she was thankful. But she didn’t want anyone else who she cared about to be hurt that night. She didn’t know if Aidan was still alive, and her family was behind her fighting for their lives. And she knew that Ms. Waverly didn’t stand a chance against the blond woman named Anna.
“It will be alright, Billie,” Tina said soothingly as she smiled down at the little girl. “Now, both of you close your eyes.”
Tina straightened and looked at Anna, hoping that the determination she felt showed in her eyes. She would not let the children be taken without a fight.
“I’m sorry too,” Tina said. “But you’re not getting your hands on either of these children. If you want them, you’ll have to get through me.” Her voice had only broken once, and she surprised even herself at the iron that had been in it as she answered.
“Very well, then,” Anna said softly as she raised her hands. “You leave me no choice.”
Darkness gathered around Anna’s raised hands, coalescing into a ball the color of night. It covered her hands for a moment before streaking at Tina, who raised her arm as she prepared for horrible pain, or even death. But the darkness hit an invisible wall a few feet in front of the teacher, and then disappeared.
Tina looked up in surprise when she didn’t feel anything, and saw that the bracelet on her wrist was glowing brightly. She looked behind her and saw the children crouched behind her with their eyes closed, but both of them were unhurt. The bracelet that Jason had given her had saved them again. She whispered a quick prayer of thanks for the strange but intriguing teacher, and the even stranger gift that he had given her. It had already saved her life twice.
Tina looked at where Anna stood with her arms still raised, and saw the uncertainty on the woman’s face. “Someone powerful is protecting you,” Anna said, mystified. “But it doesn’t matter.”
Anna dropped her arms and then raised them again. Her palms were raised and her fingers were clawing upwards. Tina felt the ground near her tremble and looked down in surprise a moment before the earth beneath her feet exploded. She managed to raise her arms to protect her face and close her eyes just before she felt the sensation of flying through the air. She opened her eyes in shock just in time to see the snow rushing up to meet her. She hit the ground with a loud thud and then everything went black.
Louis and Billie watched in horror as the earth exploded beneath the young teacher, sending her flying through the air. They both managed to cover their faces as small pieces of dirt and rocks hit them. When the debris had stopped pelting them, they both looked up and saw the crumpled form of Ms. Waverly, lying completely still in the snow. Her eyes weren’t open, and they couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.
“No!” Billie screamed as she stood up and started to run to her teacher.
Louis grabbed his sis
ter’s arm, holding her back as he shouted, “Billie, wait!” He pulled her next to him and she buried her face on his shoulder and sobbed. There was now no one standing between them and the woman Anna, and Louis was afraid. But he was also angry.
He felt the familiar tingling sensation passing through his body and looked down to see the glowing lines of power flowing through his arms. The magic had come to him when he needed it, and now he would use it against this woman who had hurt poor Ms. Waverly. It was the only way that he could think of to stop Anna and the two demons with her. He readied himself to release the magic, but then something moved to his right.
He turned his head and saw one of the large men that had appeared with Anna walk up to her. He was dragging something behind him, but at first Louis couldn’t see what it was. And then he dragged the object in front of him, and Louis saw with horror what the thing was.
“Vaughan!” Billie cried as she too saw what the object was. “Louis, we have to help him,” she told him quietly as she continued to cling to him.
Louis remembered the precision with which he had been able to strike at the demons when he had last summoned the flame, and felt confident that he could destroy the demon dragging Vaughan without harming his brother. He risked a glance behind him and what he saw there only strengthened his resolve to use the magic.
His father was lying face-down in the snow and wasn’t moving. Louis could see a plume of steam escape from his open mouth and breathed a quick sigh of relief to see that his father still lived. And then he looked over at his Uncle Harper and saw him kneeling in the snow, breathing heavily. He was covered in blood, but was still conscious, if barely. Next to him was the shuddering form of one of the demon creatures, though this one was at least twice as large as any others Louis had yet seen. Its thickly-muscled form was shuddering as its life left it, and Louis was glad that his uncle had managed to kill one of the creatures. But when he looked at his uncle again, he knew that there was no way Uncle Harper could survive another battle. It was up to Louis to protect his family.
“Stay behind me, Billie,” Louis told his sister as he gently pried her arms from around him and pushed her behind him.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Louis,” Anna warned him as she watched the little boy face her with determination on his face. “If you come with me now, I’ll leave your family and friends alive.”
“No way,” Louis answered defiantly. “You couldn’t pay me to go anywhere with you, Lady. You’re a nutcase!”
“Charming,” Anna said under her breath, though she didn’t look pleased by Louis’ refusal. She looked over at the man who had been dragging Vaughan, and nodded her head.
The man started to grow and change into something else. Louis knew what was coming, that the demon who had taken the form of a man was changing into its true form. But seeing the transformation again did not diminish the horrifying impact that it had. His already bulging muscles bulged even further, straining against the clothing covering them until they could no longer contain the growing mass within. The tearing sound of fabric was accompanied by the wet cracking of bones breaking and realigning. Thick black fur pushed its way through the exposed skin, quickly covering what the torn clothing no longer hid.
When it had doubled from its original size as a human, the huge demon reached back as its face was still forming its final shape and grabbed one of Vaughan’s legs in its hand. It lifted Louis’ older brother above its head and grasped one of Vaughan’s arms with its free hand. Then the demon pulled Vaughan’s limbs in opposite directions until his body was held tautly between its raised arms. Vaughan’s eyes snapped open and a grimace of pain erupted on his face.
“Release your hold on the magic, Louis,” Anna told him solemnly. “Or your brother dies.”
Louis looked at his brother and the expression of agony on his face, and couldn’t decide what to do. He knew that he could incinerate both Anna and the demon at the same time, but he didn’t know if the magic would be quick enough.
“You won’t be quick enough,” Anna told him, as if reading his thoughts. “Your magic is powerful, but I can block it for a moment. And a moment is all my friend here will need to rip your brother in half.”
Louis looked at Anna, and rage filled him. He wanted to prove to her that she was wrong, that she didn’t have the strength to block him. The magic raged within him, begging to be released. But he couldn’t risk Vaughan’s life to prove that he was stronger.
Anna nodded at the demon again and Louis heard a wail of pure agony escape his brother’s lips. He looked over in horror and saw the demon’s muscles flexing as he pulled harder on Vaughan’s limbs. Billie sobbed next to Louis and turned her face away.
“Stop!” Louis finally shouted as he raised one arm at the demon. “Please! I’ll do what you want. I’ll go with you. Just leave him alone, please.”
Louis sobbed as he waited for Anna to acknowledge what he had said. Finally, she nodded at the demon again. At first, Louis was afraid that she was going to have Vaughan killed anyway, but the demon obeyed and lowered him to the ground far more gently than Louis would have expected.
“Come here,” Anna told Louis as she held out her hand.
Louis walked forward, but felt something holding him back. He looked back and saw that Billie was holding him around the waist, refusing to let him go.
“Billie, I have to do this,” Louis told his little sister as he tried to pry her hands from him. He was unable to remove her hands and was surprised at how strong her grip was. “Billie, please!”
“I told you,” Billie whispered fiercely. “I’m going with you.”
Anna sighed loudly and shook her head in exasperation. “I don’t have time for this,” she said before beckoning the demon to her. “Take them both,” she told it as she pointed at the children.
The demon walked over to where Louis stood with Billie still clinging to him. It reached down and took Louis in one arm, and then reached for Billie. A bright flash and loud, snapping noise tore through the air and the demon howled in pain as it pulled its arm back in surprise and dropped Louis. Anna stared in shock at the demon’s inability to touch Billie, but then saw the glow of something beneath Billie’s jacket.
“Whatever that is under your jacket, remove it now!” Anna said angrily as she pointed at the glowing shape.
Billie looked down in surprise. She had forgotten that the necklace was still around her neck. She reached into her jacket and pulled it out, and found that it was warm to the touch and continued to glow brightly. She hadn’t taken the time to look at it before, and noticed now how beautiful it really was. The intricate lines of carving that were worked into the silver-colored metal reminded Billie of leaves and flowers. She looked back at Anna, hesitant to leave their one source of protection behind.
“Drop the necklace or Vaughan, your father and your uncle will die,” Anna told her softly, but with a menacing tone. “I will not tell you again, child.”
Billie stared back at the woman angrily for a moment before she moved the chain around to the front of her neck and found the clasp. She unhitched it and removed the necklace from her neck before refastening the two ends together. She stared back at Anna defiantly as she dropped it in the snow, where it continued to glow brightly.
The demon snarled triumphantly as it grabbed Billie roughly and held her in one of its arms. It reached down and grabbed Louis and held him in its other arm and then walked back to stand next to Anna. Billie and Louis both nearly gagged at the musky, sulfuric smell of the demon and the greasy feeling of its fur against their skin, but neither of them struggled. The lives of their family depended on their cooperation.
Anna took one last look around at the clearing and then shook her head quickly before brushing something from her face. Louis swore that he had seen another tear fall before Anna had wiped it away. He couldn’t understand why the woman would be helping the demons if what she did ma
de her sad. But adults were so confusing sometimes that he assumed that this was something a kid like him was too young to understand.
Louis looked back and past the demon’s shoulder as Anna led them away from the clearing and toward the end of the tree line. He saw his Uncle Harper where he must have fallen when Louis wasn’t looking. He was pushing himself up on one arm, and when his head turned, he made eye contact with Louis. There was a look of despair on his face as he watched the two children being carried away. Louis looked at where his father lay in the snow, and he saw him lift his head and look around in confusion. But Vaughan wasn’t moving at all, and neither were Ms. Waverly and Aidan.
Louis looked past the demon’s massively muscled neck and made eye contact with Billie, who stared back at him with tears in her eyes. He could tell from the look of fear on her face that she was thinking the same thing he was. They both hoped that it wasn’t the last time that they would see any of the ones behind them, and that all of them were still alive.