“Interesting,” was Adriana’s only comment while the others just nodded.
But I saw a pretty big downside. “So, basically, if they can’t find any instructions, we can’t go look. Nobody can. You’re saying we’re screwed if they don’t come back.”
Another small twitch of his lips. “Not at all. It’s quite possibly the best thing that could ever have happened. Whatever’s inside the cave Adriana saw is completely protected from anything—including demons. The magic’s all-inclusive and keeps this one small bit of the world safe from even the rift. It has all the strength of every heavenly body in space and the molten core of the Earth. It means the world can never be fully destroyed and with careful planning mankind can survive, because this place will always be. So long as there’s an owner who truly believes the magic’s real, that is.” He smiled brilliantly, with the exuberance of a child. “It’s a very cool thing.”
I guessed if he was happy about it, I should be, too. He was a true student of magic. Just then his face contorted into a small grimace and he reached up to press on his torso near his diaphragm.
“You okay?’
He shook his head in tiny movements. “Probably pulled something when the magic knocked us back. I need to walk it off. Wanna go with?” He pushed off and got his knees under him. I did, too. We might as well walk around. It sure beat sitting and staring at the lack of scenery.
He reached out his hand to me and I took it. I said to the others, “We’ll be back in a minute.”
We started down what looked like it was once a wagon path—two narrow lines of hard-packed dirt tracing through the weeds and grass. When we were mostly out of sight, I quietly asked, “So, what did you want to say that you couldn’t say in front of the others?” The I’ve got a stitch in my side ploy was one we’d used before.
“Actually, I really did need to walk.” He pointed to the first place he’d touched. “It’s starting to bug me.”
We stopped and I looked at him with concern. “Did you maybe get a spider bite or something? Lift up your shirt.” He rolled his eyes, but I twirled my finger in the air. “C’mon, Bruno. Don’t be such a tough guy that you wind up with something really wrong.”
It was hard to fault that logic. He sighed and pulled the pale blue cotton shirt out of his pants. It would have been fun to watch him lift it up to expose bare skin, but what I saw when he did made me suck in a harsh breath. He noticed the look on my face and turned his eyes down. “What…? Oh, crap.”
There were three raised red marks in a long diagonal line across his chest. That was no spider bite. It looked like something had clawed him. “Is that from the barrier? Are you sure it’s a friendly one?”
He turned his head fast and stared at the seemingly empty air. “I don’t sense anything hostile. Nothing at all.”
Then, while I watched, a fourth line ripped across his stomach muscles. This one was deeper and caused him to let out a pained sound. “What the hell!” He put a hand on the new scratch, and when I crouched down in front of him and pulled it away I saw blood on his palm. But more important, there was also an odor I recognized—brimstone.
“Definitely what the hell. We need to get you to a priest. Now. These are demonic. They’re identical to the ones I got when I fought the greater demon at the ballpark.”
His breath stilled and he looked down at me with wide, suddenly frightened eyes. “Oh, God. The barrier. It’s figured out how to attack us through our magic.” He winced again and his head rocked to the side like he’d been slapped. A red mark appeared near his temple. An inch to the left and he would have lost the eye. “I’ve got to get back to California. Now. If it’s doing this to me, the other casters could be dead by now.”
Fuck a duck.
He held out his hand to help me to my feet. I took it and we started to run back across the landscape. I didn’t know if the demon could somehow sense Bruno’s location or what he was doing, but it was a pretty weird coincidence that the next strike was to his right leg. It buckled and I grabbed him to keep him from tumbling into a cactus patch. He started muttering swearwords in a blue streak and put a hand to his thigh. He took a tentative step and let out a low growl. When he tried to put weight on the leg, it held. Barely. “Just do the best you can, Bruno. It’s only a few more feet.” The others were in sight now. Okalani, watching, noticed that something was wrong and disappeared from sight to appear right next to us.
“What’s wrong?” Then she saw another claw mark tear down the side of Bruno’s face and she knew. Her mouth opened wide. “It’s a demon, isn’t it? Like the one that attacked you at Pili’s house.”
I nodded. “He needs to get back to California. The mages who put up the shield are being attacked and need to be blessed by priests. Can you take him? Come right back. We may need to make multiple trips.”
She nodded and took my place at Bruno’s side, holding his weight on her slender shoulders. For once he didn’t argue, but he did hold out a hand to me with a concerned look. “Be careful, Celie. This could just be another ploy by the demon to get to you.”
I leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips that had more emotion than heat. “I don’t think I have anything to do with it at this point.”I hoped and prayed I was right.
They disappeared and I ran the short distance to the others. “We’ve got a problem. Bruno was attacked by a demon. Okalani took him back to the rift barrier. As soon as she gets back we need to start moving people around, fast.” I pointed at the young redhead. “Beverly, can you cross the barrier?” I was hoping pagan magic recognized the family connection—giving ownership to her as an heir of Mick’s. “Concentrate on the need to tell your dad what’s happening. Think really hard about him, because this is important.”
She took a deep breath, set her jaw, closed her eyes, and started walking. Her forward progress stopped, but she pushed against the invisible barrier like a street mime, using her whole body weight. Panic showed on her face. There was a shimmering of the air around her, a sparking of magic that flowed over her skin and raised her hair in a cloud. Then she was inside, so suddenly that she fell to her knees.
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Okay, good. Go find your dad. Scream; yell; do whatever you have to do to get his attention. When you find him, bring him back here and wait for us if we’re not here. Most important, stay behind the barrier.”
“But you need me to blow the horn.”
I was frankly hoping neither of us were needed. “If we need you, I’ll send Okalani to get you. But we may be beyond that now. I won’t know until I get there.”
She nodded and then sprinted into the distance, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Dad! Come quick!”
Adriana was alert but hadn’t moved from her comfortable seat. “I’ll remain here. It’s quite possible the instructions will be written in Atlantean. Someone will have to translate them and bring them to you.”
Good point. If the spell needed to be spoken, a faulty translation would be bad.
“Okay, I’m back. What’s next?” Okalani had appeared right next to me.
“What’s going on at the rift? Is that where you took Bruno?”
She nodded and let out a heaving breath like she had been running. “Yeah. He also had me transport his brother and another man in robes to him and the other mages. I would have been back sooner if not for that.”
In robes? “Was he an older white man with an accent? Were his robes all white?” Had she actually transported the Pope to the rift? I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“No. He had tan skin and black hair and the robes were red and black.”
Ah! Archbishop Fuentes. He was a friend of Matty’s and a damned tough former warrior priest. “Okay. Good job. Now, here’s what I want you to do.”
* * *
I arrived to a scene of pure chaos. I looked around, searching for Bruno or Matty or anyone else I knew, with no luck. “Ma’am, you can’t be here.” I turned my head to see a uniformed Highway Patrolman with his hand on the butt of his service revolver.
I still had the FBI badge Rizzoli had given me and now I hung it so the cop could see it. His stance immediately relaxed. “Sorry. Ma’am. But your friend will have to leave. No kids allowed.”
“What friend?” I didn’t even turn my head. Okalani should already be on the way to her next task. When he looked around for her, she was gone. Just like we’d planned. “Sorry, Officer. The heat must be getting to you.”
He shook his head and wandered off, muttering to himself. I pulled a little on the hair I’d put into a ponytail to keep it out of my eyes, loosening some strands to cover the tops of my ears. Sunscreen can only do so much good.
“Ceil! Where have you been?” I turned to see Creede headed my way. There was a stitched gash across his forehead and a patch of gauze covering half his neck. I felt a pang at the sight. He pulled me into a hug so hard my backpack fell off my shoulder. “I’ve been worried sick about you. Why haven’t you returned my calls? DeLuca said you were right behind him when he got here. That was an hour ago.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but he put his lips over mine and the speed and pure energy behind the kiss left me breathless when he finally pulled away. “Um. Wow. I’ve been…” Where had I been? I looked down at my forearms and held them up. “Weapons. I had to get my stuff together. Where are Bruno and Matty? Are they okay?”
Creede nodded as he put me back on my feet. Oh yeah—he definitely noticed that the kiss had gotten to me and I was trying to change the subject. “DeLuca got here just in time. All of us got beat up pretty bad in that first attack. As you can see.” He motioned to his forehead and then stared at the black gash of space with undisguised anger. “We might still lose Panna and Bordan. They were the first two hit, before we could get a secondary circle up.” He grabbed my hand. “C’mon. I’ll take you to our staging area.”