Nick was feeling feisty. The smell of explosives still lingered in
the air. No one else could smell it,
but he could. He’d enjoyed seeing the
town burn. There was a definite spring in
his step as he strode along the sidewalk toward the wood.
Over the street, Alex and Philip were
almost matching him stride for stride.
Alex was slightly in front.
She’d told Maria to stay behind, to take charge in her absence.
“Let the children play. Jumping rope. Leapfrog. Chase. Tag.
Whatever. But make sure they
have a really great time and that they do not
talk to their parents. It’s important,
Maria. No matter how much their parents
may call, the kids have to ignore them.
Make sure they understand that.”
Maria had nodded. She hadn’t really understood the reasons
behind the request but she knew there had to be a reason.
“Watch them closely,” Alex had
concluded. “I’ll be back later.”
“Good luck,” Maria had said, and
squeezed Alex’s hand. “God go with
you.”
Alex had smiled. “I think I’d prefer God to stay here and
watch over you. I’ll take Philip ..
he’s almost the next best thing.”
Now she strode along, her expression
resolved. Somewhere, in that house, the
cause of a whole lot of misery was .. sitting in splendid comfort.
Philip, too, was resolved to get some
answers, mainly .. why? Why was all
this necessary?
If anyone was lagging behind, it was
Merlin. It wasn’t because she was
reluctant, she wasn’t. She was
disturbed by Alex’s reaction and that had turned into doubts about her tactics.
Am I being too pushy here? Is the one situation I feared coming
true? That my strength will be the way
I’m twisted out of shape, and thus made weak?
I haven’t kept secrets. I’ve
done a hell of a lot to help Alex and Philip.
I didn’t argue her choice,
only his. Philip’s weaknesses would
have dragged him under. Maybe .. I
should’ve asked Nick to go with Alex.
Let Philip come over here. I
could’ve stopped him straying … But
that would mean I’m giving orders again.
“You okay?” Nick called back.
“Yeah. Peachy.”
He slowed. “What is it?”
“I’m fine,” she said, sighed, then
went on, “Nick, am I taking over?”
“You challenged Hicks. I hope
you’re taking over.”
“That isn’t what I mean. I mean … ”
She shrugged, trying to put it all into words. “This is Alex’s case.
We’re the cavalry. I’m not just
stamping on her toes, I don’t even notice they’re there.”
He dropped an arm around her
shoulders. “Ask yourself this – does
Alex have your experience in dealing with situations like this one?”
“Does she?” Merlin asked.
“No.”
“Actually .. you’re wrong. She does because I’ve never been in a
situation like this before. Look ..
I’ll deal with Hicks, an’ trying to find a way to .. successfully prosecute an
endgame scenario, an’ let Alex, Philip an’ you take the lead with everything
else. I’ll be around if you need
me. You go on.”
His eyes narrowed. “Alone?”
“Hell, you’re Legacy people. You coped before I showed up. You can cope here, no problem. Tell you what, after a couple of hours, if
you’re not back, I’ll send Aquila to check on you.”
“You sure about this? You’re not just doing it to make a point?”
“Well .. yeah, in a way, I am, but not
the point you think. I’m not doing it
to be pissy. I’m doing it because ..
maybe Alex has a point. I’ve given too
many orders, Nick. I’m used to doing
that and, here, it’s wrong. This is an Enforcer case but it’s also a
Legacy one. Who does what is a little
blurred so I’m backing off. If you need
me, call me in.” She smiled
quickly. “Isn’t as if I’ll be going
anywhere.”
“You’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Someone should stay down here in case Hicks
tries something. It should be me.”
“I think you’re making a mistake but
.. okay. Two hours, then you check to
see how we’re doing. An’, if we call
you in, you come.”
“Yes, sir.”
He smiled briefly, winked and turned
away. They were almost at the wood now
and he stepped off the sidewalk to hurry after Philip and Alex who were
approaching the shadowy eaves.
Alex glanced round as he joined
them. “Where’s Peri?”
“She isn’t coming,” Nick replied.
“Why not?”
“Something about .. giving too many
orders, this is Alex’s case, I’m backing off unless you need me.”
Alex’s shoulders fell. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“That’s how she took it. She’s doubting herself, Alex,” Nick
replied. “I’m not sure if that’s a good
thing to have happen here. Whatever,
we’re on our own.”
*****
Merlin wandered back down the
sidewalk, trying to ignore Aquila’s lecture on letting Legacy people go into
danger without backup.
You are doing it to make a point.
You’re doing it to show Alex she
should be the one to back off. I won’t
say she isn’t strong, nor incapable, but she lacks the skills needed here. You don’t.
This is an Enforcer matter. You
should take control.
“It’s Peri, right?” a voice remarked.
She glanced round. “Yeah.
Kevin, right?”
He nodded. “I don’t know how you do it.
Live with him every day. It’d
drive a normal woman crazy. Although I
suspect the nights must make it worthwhile.”
“Yeah, some. You got something you wanna say to me, Kevin?”
“He doesn’t deserve you.”
“I don’t deserve him is closer to the
mark.”
“Then .. find a guy you do deserve.”
Merlin smiled. “Are you trying a line on me?”
“Why not?” he grinned. “Lizzie wants Nick. I can’t fight that. I’ve tried, God knows, all these years. Doesn’t work. I’ve learned that here.
I’ve given up trying.”
“You shouldn’t. You love your wife – ”
“My wife doesn’t love me.”
“She does. It’s this place. It ..
looks for weakness an’ then uses it.
Liz has a tender spot for Nick.
She always will, here, outside, won’t matter. But that doesn’t mean she’ll give up her family. You can’t go
back, Kevin. Nick’s told her he isn’t
interested. He has me.”
“An’ you could have me instead of
him.”
Her head angled. “You really think so little of
yourself? You some kinda sponge? Soaking up Nick’s castoffs?”
His nostrils twitched. “Don’t put it like that.”
“It’s the truth! First Liz, now me? Get a grip, Kevin. Go
home, make your peace with Liz. Make
plans on how you can work things out.
You have two kids together. Look
– ” she invited. “That girl over there,
jumping rope. That’s your
daughter. That woman over there – she’s
holding your son. Wouldn’t it be better
if Liz were holding him? I bet she
wants to.”
Kevin took a step forward as Marilyn
stumbled and fell. She began to cry as
she held her knee. “It’s okay,
baby! Daddy’s … ” He bit it back as he watched another man go
to his daughter’s aid. “It won’t work,”
he said to Merlin. “Hicks told us that
you’d try something like this.”
“I’m not trying anything, Kevin,”
Merlin responded. “I didn’t put the
kids in the street to play. I didn’t
push you forward just then. You did
that all by yourself .. an’ it should tell you something very important.”
He watched her walk away and he shook
his head. “Damn … ”
*****
Rafael Ramirez had spent a sleepless
night, agonizing over the why and how and what of it all. He rose early, restless to be doing
something other than enjoying himself.
He felt twisted with guilt .. and realized that feeling had never gone
away, it had only been hidden from him.
He’d heard the sounds of laughter from
outside and he’d been drawn to them. He
wasn’t a parent, not yet. He didn’t
have any reason to go out and watch the children playing, unlike a lot of
others who lived over here, but he loved the sound. It was refreshing.
Honest. Different. The only laughter he’d become used to
hearing was drunken or semi- hysterical.
Clean, crisp laughter, caused by nothing more than having a good time ..
he’d almost forgotten what it sounded like.
He went out to the sidewalk and stood there, smiling.
And then he saw her. She was wearing the same dress she’d worn to
go to her interview. It was worse for
wear, mended, a little grubby. Her face
was sallow thru lack of sun. But she
was smiling as she watched the children and cradled a baby in her arms. Rafael thought he’d never seen anyone as
beautiful as Maria.
He stepped into the street and began
to walk. Maria noticed the movement and
turned her head. Rafael kept
going. Her eyes widened. He didn’t care what happened to him. He wasn’t concerned with punishment. He just wanted to be with her. He didn’t hesitate when he set foot on the
opposite sidewalk.
“Maria .. can you forgive me?” he
asked.
“Forgive what?” she said, blinking
back tears.
“I chose to live over there but my
heart was here. I know that now.”
“You’ll be seen as a traitor.”
“Then I’m a traitor,” he
shrugged. “God will understand. I was forced to do it; now I make amends.”
He was the first defection that day
but not the last. Paul and Christine
Brompton also crossed the street because they couldn’t bear to be parted from
their children any longer.
One other was tempted, sorely tempted,
but wouldn’t go alone. Liz Sumner ached
to be with her children. She wanted to
kiss Marilyn’s knee to make it better.
She wanted to hold her son. And
she would .. one day. First, Kevin had
to see it was the right thing to do.
The only thing to do. Defy
Reverend Hicks, accept the consequences, and stand up for what was right.
*****
Blackbirds flew among the trees. Alex, Philip and Nick kept to the path this
time. It was broad daylight and they
weren’t attempting to hide their approach.
There was an atmosphere in the wood – tense, brooding – and they were
wary but not challenged.
About halfway between the town and the
house, Nick heard a sound and held up his hand.
“Take cover,” he said curtly and they
hurried into the bushes off to one side where they crouched down. Several moments later, someone strode by,
arms swinging, face lit with pleasure.
They watched, not moving till the path was clear again.
“So .. Hicks is free to come an’ go as
he wants,” Nick remarked, cautiously rising.
“I wonder why he went up there,”
Philip commented.
“Peri says the guy’s evil an’ he’s the
only human being in town who is. She said
the stink up here is even worse.”
“Yet .. she let us come up here
alone?” Alex queried.
Nick rounded on her. “You can’t have it both ways, Alex. She told me you have as much experience here
as she does cos she’s never been inside a phenomenon like this before.”
“But .. I don’t. She’s the warrior, trained to eradicate
evil.”
“An’ this is your case. She said she’s given too many orders. You take the lead. Tell us what to do.”
Alex glanced at Philip. He shook his head. “I was okay with the way it was working. The explosions last night were a surprise
but it needed to be done. Life here is
much too complacent. People have no
reason to examine their allegiances.
Things had to be shaken up. And,
anyway, I’m not Legacy. I’m here to
find the Bromptons and get them out, if I can.
I’ll help you, but I’m not telling you how to resolve the entire
situation.”
“Derek ordered us in, remember? Four way team, only you got trapped early,”
Nick added. “We’ll include Philip cos
he’s helping. You began this, Alex, but
you can’t finish it. Peri can, an’ you
just shoved her away .. again.”
“I was frustrated!” Alex
protested. “I did say it wasn’t a
personal attack. I just wanted to be
kept in the loop, that’s all, and not learn about things after the event. What is this, Nick? It seems to me Peri is very capable of
fighting her own battles. She doesn’t
need you to explain her reasons. Or is
it that you can always speak out of turn an’ no one gives a damn because it’s
Nick an’ that’s just the way he is whereas the rest of us daren’t say a word in
argument or protest cos we’re getting too personal?”
Nick’s eyes hardened. Alex’s chin lifted. Philip watched both and stepped forward.
“That’s enough,” he said
solemnly. “Fighting between us gets us
nowhere. In fact, it helps our
enemy. Divide and conquer. You two are friends, have been for
years. Will you lose it all now and
give it to the man in charge?”
“It’s those .. seven deadly sins at
work again. Three of ’em at least,”
Nick muttered. “Anger. Jealousy.
Envy. Alex, you don’t like it
when Peri takes control, even when inside you know it’s the good thing to do. You have to trust me on this an’ accept it.”
She hesitated then nodded. “Okay.
Here, this place, you’re right.
But it isn’t right every time.”
Alex put her hands on her hips.
“Are we going up to the house or not?”
“Hicks went up there. Maybe His Majesty’s got an open door
policy,” Nick commented.
“Well, let’s find out,” Alex muttered.
*****
“I don’t know how we could’ve … ” Christine Brompton shook her head. She held Joanne on her lap, her arms wrapped
around her daughter as if she’d never let her go.
“I understand,” Maria nodded. “You did it because you had no choice.”
“And now you’ll be seen as
traitors. Renegades,” Sam Thompson
remarked. “Don’t take this wrong cos we
are mighty glad you’ve seen the light an’ joined us .. but I don’t think you
should show your face out front for a while.”
“We’ll help inside,” Paul Brompton
replied. “Cook, clean, whatever needs
doing. I gotta say .. it’s better in
here than we’d imagined.”
“We’ve had help,” Maria smiled. “God sent us Father Callahan.”
*****
Hicks went to the door and pounded on
it then tried the handle. It burned and
he snatched his blistered fingers away.
Merlin opened it and regarded
him. “Come to surrender?”
“No, just to tell you that I hold you
responsible for destroying the church, for damaging houses, inconveniencing
your neighbors. How you hope to win
their allegiance by such tactics, I don’t know.”
“You got me all wrong, Reverend
Hicks. Come on inside, we’ll talk.”
He shook his head. “I don’t consort with troublemakers.”
“Yet you’re one evil
sonofabitch.” Merlin shrugged. “You must be lazy then. You want it all handed to you on a golden
platter. Souls for your congregation,
forced there by a loaded choice, kept there by a hedonistic lifestyle provided
by .. whoever’s pulling your strings.
You haven’t worked for any of it.
How is what you’re doing working for evil? Just what kinda deal did you strike when you came here? You’ve been in this town nearly a hundred
years .. you’ve done squat to further the cause. I don’t want to win their allegiance, Reverend Hicks. I wanna scare ’em so bad that they run away,
straight into the open arms of your enemy.”
She watched his eyes narrow. “It may come as something of a surprise to
you but not one of your congregation is evil.
They come – came – to your church, they listened to your .. rather
overblown rhetoric, then they left for the night. In one ear, out the other.
It never touched their souls.
You never got thru to them.
Whereas me … One night of fire,
destruction, unholy terror .. an’ three people have gone over the road.”
“I still have two hundred eighty
five,” Hicks retorted.
“An’ I have tonight. I wonder how many houses will be standing
tomorrow morning?”
He nodded and stepped back. “Do whatever you feel you must. You’ll pay for it.”
Merlin laughed softly. “How will I do that, Reverend? You can’t touch me. You can’t beat on me, not like you beat on
Agatha.”
He blinked. “How ..?”
“How I know isn’t important.”
Hicks shuddered. “Agatha is in a better place. And you will pay. In blood.”
“Really. Takes a lot to make me bleed.”
“Who said it’d be yours ..?” he asked,
smiling coldly.
*****
Alex walked to the end of the road and
found it became a courtyard. There was
an arch of stone, beyond which was a paved yard with a fountain in it and,
beyond that, a large, imposing door.
She hesitated for a moment then walked
under the arch, across the yard and around the fountain.
“You don’t want to knock,” said a
voice. “It’d be a mistake.”
They looked round to their left. A woman, rather plain of face, slightly
hunched in attitude and certainly submissive in personality, stood at the
entrance to a garden. She beckoned to
them.
“Should we go?” Philip breathed.
“We want answers, maybe she can give
’em,” Nick replied.
“C’mon,” Alex said.
They hurried to the garden entrance
and ducked out of sight of the castle.
“You’re from the town, aren’t you?”
the woman said. “He won’t see you, so
don’t bother trying.”
“How long have you been here?” Alex
asked.
“I can’t remember. A long time.”
“Why is he doing this? Why did he create the town an’ then trap
people in it?” Alex went on.
The woman cautiously looked all
around. “Because he has to. It’s part of the bargain.”
“What bargain?” Philip frowned.
She gestured for them to come closer
still. “Souls. He counts souls. Adds them up in his ledger.
All of them, good an’
evil. He owns them all. He rejoices whenever any more come into
town.”
“Is he a demon?” Nick queried.
“No.
He’s a man.”
“Does he have a name?” Philip asked.
She nodded. “Castle. Eric
Castle. Now, while it’s been real nice to have someone to talk to,
you have to leave.”
“Does no one ever get to see him?”
Alex wondered.
“No one,” the woman replied.
“Well .. thank you,” Alex murmured and
they left.
Once they were back on the road and in
the wood, they slowed.
“If no one ever sees him,” Nick began
quietly, “who did Hicks go to see ..?”
*****
Ron Mayweather was showing Rafael
around. “You’ve been busy,” Rafael
remarked. “A play area ..? We’d always believed .. you had nothing over
here.”
“Well .. we’d expect him to lie to you
but .. till only very recently, it would’ve been the truth. We didn’t have much. Then Alex turned up an’ things started
happening. Food on the table. Cleaning supplies. Blankets. Books an’
magazines. Fresh water. Soft lavatory paper. Sounds kinda funny but .. till you’ve had to
manage without it, believe me, soft lavatory paper should be one of life’s
essentials. Then the roofs got fixed
an’ the rats disappeared. I don’t know how
she an’ Father Callahan did it, an’ so fast, but I’m grateful they did.”
Rafael was nodding but then he
stiffened. “What’s that?” he asked,
pointing.
Ron stretched his neck to see. “It looks .. like – ” He broke into a run. “Go get help!”
*****
When Philip and Alex got back, they
walked into a growing crisis. Some
sickness was spreading among the children and three were in critical
condition. The others were listless,
feverish, pale yet with burning spots on their cheeks.
Alex raced from one room to the next,
one bed to the next. She couldn’t recognize
the illness and she had no medication to treat the symptoms.
Philip didn’t know the illness either
but he recognized what it was.
“Retribution,” he declared
quietly. “Don’t you see, Alex? Three defections to our side. Three very sick children. This doesn’t balance the scales. It’s vengeance, pure and simple.”
“I don’t care what it is, Philip,” Alex retorted. “Unless these children get medical assistance, they are going to
die. We need Aquila over here. Now.”
“I don’t know how to call to her.”
“Go out into the street,” Alex
suggested, “and shout.”
*****
Merlin came to the door again. “Kevin.
Something else I can do for
you?”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking …
You’re right. This place is all
wrong. I want to leave. I .. want to help. I was wondering .. is there a way out thru the barn? That’s how we got in.”
“I think that’s the way out too. But we can’t leave yet.”
“Can we go check it over? It’d .. make me feel I’m doing something.”
“Okay. Now?”
“Yeah. Now’s good for me.”
Merlin went out and closed the
door. She was intrigued. Kevin wasn’t telling all the truth but, when
he said he wanted to help, wanted to do something, he wasn’t lying. She went with him to learn more about his
ambiguous, ambivalent attitude.
They hurried down the sidewalk and
passed the solitary halfway house, passed the copy of George sitting motionless
at his bench, and started up the path toward the barn.
Nick was just arriving home when he
saw Merlin and Kevin go hurrying away together. He paused, frowning.
“Nick ..?”
He glanced back. “Liz.
Where’s Kevin’s going?”
“I don’t know. He isn’t saying much to me. He’s been acting strange all day.” She sighed.
“Just when I decide our marriage is worth fighting for, he goes distant
on me.”
“Nick! Is Peri in there?” Philip called.
“We need urgent help over here.”
“What’s happened?” Nick asked.
“The children.”
“What about them?” Liz demanded
shrilly.
“They’re sick. Three are very sick.”
“The baby?” she swallowed.
“He’s one of the three,” Philip
confirmed. “Hurry!”
“I’ll go find her,” Nick said. “Liz?
You wanna go be with your son?”
She was obviously torn. “I wanna find Kevin. He should be here.”
“Let’s go.” Nick wasn’t going to try to argue her round. He just took her arm and hurried her along,
his face a mask.
“Nick .. don’t hurt him,” Liz
begged. “He isn’t himself.”
“Maybe not now, but he was.” He glanced sideways at her. “When he came to find me, fight me for you,
he was himself then. What I can’t
figure is why he’s going someplace with Peri.”
“What makes you think he’s behind
it? It could be her idea.” Liz dragged her
upper arm from his grip but didn’t slow down.
“What? Why would she do that?”
Liz twitched her shoulders in a
shrug. “If she’s challenging Hicks for
control over this side, she has to be worse than him. How could you marry someone like that, Nick?”
“Looks like they’re heading for the
barn,” Nick muttered. “Liz, you got
Peri all wrong. I am so tired of having
to defend my wife an’ her reasons to other women! Yeah, she challenged Hicks for control. He isn’t doing you any favors.
Peri will do her best to get you out.
She can’t do that if half the town’s still under his influence an’
fighting her. He doesn’t want anyone to leave.”
Liz blinked. “She’s a good person?”
He looked back again. “She’s the best, Liz. It must hurt you to hear that from me but
it’s true. I’m sorry. I never had the guts to take that final step
with you. I had reasons, excuses,
whatever. They always worked. With Peri .. taking that final step was all
I could think about. That’s the
difference.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“I’ll always be your friend, Liz. You can call on me for anything. You need help, you know where I am. That won’t ever change.”
They were getting close to the barn
now. Only sixty yards or so to climb.
Inside the barn, Kevin was walking
around, tapping the walls. Merlin
watched him.
“Kevin .. why exactly are we here?”
“I told you.”
“You lied to me. I wanna know the real reason.”
He laughed softly and rubbed a hand
around the back of his neck. “Man, how
embarrassing. I have to .. explain that
I wanna be alone with a stunning woman.”
“We’ve been thru all this. I’m going back.”
He pounced before she could get to the
door and dragged her back, knocking her feet from under her and pushing her
down onto the dried grass.
“I told Hicks I’d do this. Get you alone so Liz could get Nick
alone. Let things take their course.”
He was kneeling over her, unzipping
his fly with one hand while the other was over her mouth. Merlin didn’t struggle.
“Then, when we were done, Hicks would
take you away. Dispose of the both of
you, quietly, and things’d go back to normal.”
He was fumbling with the zipper on her
jeans.
Merlin went very still. Kevin paused and looked at her. She was staring hard at the roof, her face
devoid of emotion. Warily, he took his hand
away. Her eyes shifted to his face.
“Touch me again, I’ll break both your
arms.”
“Peri, don’t you see - ?”
“I mean it. I won’t kill you because you’re just under a bad influence here,
but I will hurt you if you touch me again.
Back off, gently, while you can still move.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’re a woman. Women aren’t strong enough to – ”
He fell silent. Her hand had closed around his forearm and
she was squeezing. Not hard, not yet,
but it was a relentless, invincible pressure which said two things – it would
increase, and it would increase to the point where the bones snapped.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Nick
demanded from the door.
“Kevin ..? What are you doing?”
“Liz .. she .. she forced me to come
up here.”
“Yeah, right, as if she’d have any
need,” Nick remarked.
“Peri ..?” Liz began, inching closer.
Merlin’s gaze slid round.
“Please, don’t hurt him. If you let him go, we’ll follow you rather
than Hicks.”
“I never said I’d do that,” Kevin
argued.
“Kevin, Martin is very sick. He could be dying,” Liz told him. “I want to be there with him. You are his father. Marilyn .. all the children are ill but
Martin’s critical. She didn’t do that,
Kevin. Hicks did.”
“If you’re done playing in the hay,”
Nick said, “you’re needed.” He could’ve
been speaking to either.
“Martin’s sick?” Kevin echoed, rising
and zipping his pants. “Hicks wouldn’t
do that.”
“He told me the three defections today
would be paid in blood but not mine,” Merlin said, getting to her feet. “He did it, Kevin. The children are the enemy.
They live on the other side of the street.”
She moved to the door.
“What we do now is make him regret
that action.”
*****
“Well?” Alex asked.
Aquila straightened. “I can do so much, Alex, but I can’t cure
them. I can stabilize them. I can make the required medical equipment and
meds, but I can’t heal them.”
Alex took Aquila’s arm and turned her
away. “Is it because these children
aren’t Legacy? Or Enforcer?” she
hissed.
“It’s because they’re here,” Aquila
replied. “I can make them well but
they’ll only fall victim again. The
only way to effect a lasting remedy is to get them out.”
Alex released her. “Do what you can. Make what we need.”
Aquila nodded.
Outside, Merlin was standing with
Nick, waiting for news. They were in
the road. Philip was on the sidewalk
and Alex joined them.
“She can’t do it. It’s this place. We have to move them out.
We’ve run out of time. It has to
be soon.”
Merlin nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Peri .. you have the lead on this
one,” Alex said. “I was wrong. When we were on the boat, and it wasn’t an Enforcer
matter, you obeyed every order. You
didn’t take unilateral action. I forgot
all that. I’m sorry. Here .. we really need your expertise. In fact, I really want to see you in action
against Hicks and the guy in the castle.
I know Philip does too.”
Merlin nodded again. “Accepted.
Okay. We have tonight, and first
thing in the morning. People feel
urgency more in the dark. There’s a
saying – things look better in daylight.
It’s true. So we work to a dawn
deadline. By then, Hicks will be gone. The castle will be taken. The people will have started the evacuation
to the barn. Children in first, then
women, then the men. We won’t all fit,
that’s the problem. Keeping a measure
of calm outside is going to be crucial.
They have to stay in the area immediately adjacent to the barn, not go
running back into town.”
Now, they were all nodding. “Can the kids last that long?” Nick asked.
“Fifteen hours, give or take a few
minutes,” Merlin considered.
“Aquila will do what she can an’ then
it’ll be down to us,” Alex replied.
“We’ll keep them alive.”
“Okay. Tell me what happened when you went up to the counting house.”
“Hicks was on his way down,” Nick said
at once. “But he hadn’t gone to see the
king.”
“Eric Castle,” Philip recalled. “The king.
The collector of souls. Every
soul here is his. He writes it in a
ledger. Balances his books. Counts us.”
“He never sees anyone,” Alex related,
“which is how we know he didn’t see Hicks.”
“How’d you do know all this?”
“I guess we spoke with the maid,” Nick
answered. “She was in the garden .. but
there was no laundry in sight.”
“She said he’d created this place as
part of the bargain,” Philip went on.
“Not quite,” Alex corrected. “I asked why is he doing this, why did he
create the town and then trap people in it, and she said because he has to,
it’s part of the bargain. She also said
he’s a man, not a demon.”
“There have to be more,” Philip
muttered. “George – ”
“Who was a demon,” Nick cut in.
“Was he? Well, he said he was staff, that he didn’t fight on any
side. And he said there were more
staff. I’ve not seen one.”
“Nothing intervened last night
either,” Merlin remarked, frowning.
“The balance has been upset.
Five defections now. I’ve not
seen any effect beyond Hicks taking retaliation against the kids courtesy of ..
someone in the castle. Couldn’t be the
maid. Can’t be the king. Has to be the queen .. or one of the staff.”
“Not castle staff,” Nick
commented. “There’s only the three who
live up there.”
“I got the impression that George
meant it more like .. town staff,” Philip ventured.
“Like .. cast members at Disneyland?”
Nick queried.
“Something like that, yes,” Philip
nodded.
“Okay,” Merlin said. “It’s enough to be thinking about. Anything else occur, just come over an’ tell
us. The boundaries are cracking. I don’t see why we have to keep to
them. Alex, I need those kids ready to
be moved before dawn. By sunup, they
have to be in the barn. Philip,” she
went on as Alex nodded. “be warned,
there will be a lot of noise an’ smoke tonight. I doubt anyone’s gonna get any sleep. Before it all starts, you have to spread the word about these
children. Their parents deserve to know
an’ make a fresh choice. An’ tell ’em
who’s responsible an’ why.”
“I will,” he promised.
“Nick, you an’ I have some planning to
do.”
“Aye, skipper,” Nick replied.
*****
Alex quickly explained to Maria and
her small band of helpers that the night would be long, loud and rough but,
despite all that, they had to pull together.
“These children are our prime
concern. They’re stable right now an’
we have to keep them that way. At four
thirty tomorrow morning, we have to be ready to evacuate.”
“Evacuate .. where?” Kevin asked.
“For now, the barn. After that .. well,” Alex replied, “we have
to wait an’ see. I’m hoping that,
during the night, all the other parents will come to us for sanctuary and to be
with their kids. Philip’s out there
now, telling them what’s happening in here.
Okay, Maria – Kevin? Where are
you going?”
“They won’t believe him,” Kevin said
from the door. “They’ll say he’s lying
just to get converts. If I back him up,
we may have a stronger chance.”
“Okay,” Alex agreed.
“Be careful,” Liz begged and he
nodded, smiling briefly at her.
“Maria, you an’ I will set – ”
“I’m going with Kevin,” Paul Brompton
announced and left.
“Maria,” Alex began again, “you an’ I
will set up the beds as close to the end house as we can. When we disconnect the kids from the drips,
they’ll start to get worse. We can’t
waste any of that time in just covering ground. We’ll do that now. Okay?”
Maria nodded. “Yes, Alex.”
“Liz, Rafael, Christine, you start
bringing the children along in around ten minutes. Ron, Sam, we don’t have much an’ we can’t take a lot with us, but
.. essentials, enough to last us a few hours, start gathering them
together. I want everyone in place at
the end of the street by midnight. All
that’ll be left here are a few sentinels to direct refugees to where we
are. Everyone straight?” She looked at their grim, determined
faces. “Then let’s move!”
“Alex ..?” Rafael asked and everyone
froze. Her eyes were fierce with
impatient resolve as she swung round to look at him. “Are we going home?”
“I’ve had enough of this place,” Alex
replied. “Haven’t you?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
“Then let’s move!”
*****
Philip, Kevin and Paul Brompton walked
the street and spread the news.
“Reverend Hicks is punishing our kids
because we changed sides. Not just my
kids but all the kids, yours too,”
Kevin said.
“You might not believe me,” Philip
said earnestly, “but you should at least cross to see if I’m lying to you or
not. Come under a flag of truce. If you thought last night was bad, tonight
will be a thousand times worse. This
place will be Hell. We’re preparing to
leave. We’ll take your children to
safety. Come with us!”
“I prayed,” Paul confessed. “Right from the start, I knew in my heart
that .. living over here was wrong. It
was easy, sure, everything was given to me, but .. I should be with my family.
Whatever happens, we should be together.
Making us choose to separate is a far greater evil. An’ now the kids are paying the price. Don’t you want to hold your children? Cradle them? Settle their fears?
Please, there are so many little ones, an’ all of them are sick. We need your help.”
“C’mon, all you Moms out there!” Kevin
dared. “Don’t be scared. He can’t hurt us, not over here. You stay there, he’ll hurt you a lot because
you’ll know he killed your children, murdered them .. an’ you let him. Hicks is a bastard. He’s spiteful an’ cruel. Don’t let him do this to you.”
Certainty was replaced by suspicion
and then doubt. Arguments broke out,
some soft yet seething, some louder but over more quickly, and, in ones and
twos, they began to cross the road ...
*****
By contrast, the atmosphere in Nick’s
house was quiet and serene. Nick was
preparing the remaining C4 into walnut size chunks with detonator caps. They wouldn’t create huge explosions, not like
on the previous night, but they would create chaos. Loud noise. Smoke. Small craters. He had already made bigger bombs for taking down bigger
targets. The backpacks were by the door
ready for evac. Merlin cooked supper in
silence, her mind twisting and turning along many different tactical avenues.
“By dawn, I want this half of town
demolished,” she said as they sat down to eat.
“No problem,” Nick murmured.
“You start it, I’ll finish.”
He nodded. “Immediate targets?”
“Empty houses either side of an
occupied property. Start two hours
after sundown.”
“Okay.”
They ate quickly and left the
dishes. There didn’t seem to be any
point in clearing up. All they had to
do now was wait.
“You okay?” Nick asked into the
silence.
She shrugged. “I can’t figure out why, if there are demons
here, they did nothing last night. I
can’t understand how .. at the top of all this, there’s only a man. Eric Castle … Who is he? How did he get so much occult power to be
able to make this? To command demons? And yet be so completely anonymous? Winston Rayne .. powerful guy yet he
couldn’t do this.” She shook her head. “Hicks is nothing more than an
obstacle. Take him out, nothing much
will change in the underlying structure because he isn’t controlling this. The best I can do .. is make an example of
him. He doesn’t deserve a spectacular
death but I’ll have to give him one.”
Nick leaned forward. “Did he execute all those people? Did he cause the bones in the field?”
“I don’t know. Derek said he was into live sacrifice and
beheading but I’m not sure if Hicks did it here. Maybe I can drag a confession outta the asswipe before he
dies. I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“He has friends, or a friend,
supplying him with power. He won’t be a
pushover,” Nick warned.
“That isn’t strictly correct. He has a friend who puts on a show when he
calls.”
“Even so.”
“I know. I’m as ready as I can be.”
“What about getting out?” he asked
quietly.
Merlin’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t have the first idea.”
I do, Aquila softly murmured.
*****
Rachel pored over Derek’s research on
James Hicks. Knowing the others were on
a countdown when they didn’t know was
slowly ratcheting up the tension. She
doubted either would get any sleep that night.
Going thru this old history was a way of passing the time but not a very
friendly one. Every so often, she
glanced at her watch and saw another thirty minutes had been sheared off the
time Nick and Alex had left.
“This is kinda amusing,” she
remarked. “Ironic, knowing what we know
about the guy.”
“What’s that?” Derek asked, looking
up.
“According to this newspaper report
dated .. nineteen-oh-eight, Hicks expelled two people, man an’ wife, from his
church for .. unholy practices. Talk
about the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Does it say who they were?” Derek
inquired, more to pass a little extra time than to know the answer.
“Yeah.” Rachel scanned back thru the paragraphs. “Eric an’ Iris Castle.” She read on again. “It says the scandal was enormous an’ they both left the area.”
“I wonder if the reports were
genuine. Not the newspaper reports but
the reason why they were expelled,” he mused.
“It could’ve been a blind, a frame, designed to .. divert attention from
his own ritualistic leanings.”
“It could,” Rachel agreed. “You hungry? I could go pick up a sandwich.”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t think I could eat again until
they’ll all safely back with us.”
*****
Sunset came. Lamps were lit. Aquila
leaned forward.
“It’s an idea, nothing more, but it
has to be better than no ideas.”
“We’re listening,” Nick invited.
“The situation, presently, is that we
can access the interior of the barn.
The hole in the barrier is secure.
Of course,” she added, “once things start to collapse here .. that may
change. For now, it’s constant. But the barn isn’t anywhere useful to
us. It isn’t in the field. Getting the people into the barn isn’t a
problem, getting them out on the other side is.”
“Right,” Merlin agreed.
“We know that the barn can be made to
appear. We summoned it, in effect. We entered deliberately by this method.”
“Yeah,” Nick prodded.
“So .. we need to get someone on the
other side to trigger the storm.
That’ll make the barn materialize.
We anchor this end, we ship people thru. In one door, straight thru the other.”
“May not be quite that simple,” Merlin
pointed out. “Last time, there was an
interval while the dimensions circled round.
No one leaves the barn because it sounds like it’s pouring with rain and
it’s foggy.”
“We’ll have to take that chance,”
Aquila replied. “It’ll mean an enormous
output of energy to keep this end stable, anchored and open. Can we do it?”
“We have to,” Merlin answered.
“So .. who’ll trigger the storm?” Nick
wondered. “As if I didn’t already
know.”
“We have to get a message to Derek,”
Aquila said. “We always suspected we’d
need his help on the outside.”
“When?” Merlin asked. “Timing’s gonna be critical here. We have nearly six hundred people to ship
thru the barn. A lot of ’em are kids. Sick kids, an’ they’ll be heading into a
really bad storm. We should ask Derek to warn Rachel an’ get
some paramedics in the area too.”
Aquila frowned. “It works best when he’s asleep. Chances are, he won’t be asleep until the
early hours. We’re going to be a little
busy then.”
Merlin shrugged. “We’ll have to find a way to cope.”
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