Kateri stood completely still as those words sank in. She wasn't sure what reaction to have to his news. But it was a good thing that she'd told them she didn't overreact, otherwise, in spite of her bravado, she'd be running for the door.
Probably screaming the whole way.
Maybe ... if her shaking legs could manage it.
Instead, she took a deep breath and met her cousin-in-law with the calmest stare she could muster. "Have you been into Uncle Danny's peyote?"
Talon opened his mouth to respond, then closed it.
Cabeza laughed.
Talon cut a menacing glare toward him before he softened his features. "I know this is hard for you to hear and I know you're not going to believe me. But..." He hesitated as he visibly searched for words.
Cabeza gave him no reprieve. "We need to get out of here. Chacu will return for her and he'll bring reinforcements."
"Who is Chacu?" Kateri snapped, wanting real answers from both of them. "Why was he here?"
Most important, why the hell was he after her?
Cabeza put his hands on his hips. "Do you know what the Snake Kingdom was?"
Something to be avoided at all costs, no doubt. But she kept that sarcasm inside. "Not a clue."
"Of course not..." He growled low in his throat as if he found her lack of knowledge offensive, then he mumbled in Spanish under his breath. After a second, he took a breath and spoke. "Really short version, Chacu's name means 'to pillage' or 'to ravage.' The other puta with him, and yes, I'm using the feminine on purpose, is called Veneno-as in 'venom' or 'bane.'" He narrowed his gaze on her. "Is the picture starting to paint in your mind yet?"
With a clarity that horrified her. After all, their parents hadn't named them "Fluffy" or "Bunny." Obviously Chacu and friend were hard-asses. "And this time stone thing that Chacu wanted from me?"
"In short, it's called the Kinichi. With it, he can rule the world and even time itself. Your grandmother was one of the sacred keepers of the Kinichi. Your mother should have followed her into that role, but since she died before your grandmother, that role went to you."
Fabulous. She was overwhelmed with gratitude, and yes, that was sarcasm, too. "Why me?"
"The stone passes from daughter to daughter to ensure the bloodline."
Mama's baby. Daddy's maybe. That had been the philosophy her grandmother had used when Kateri had asked her why the Cherokee were matriarchal while most societies weren't. Everyone knew who their mother was without a doubt. But paternity, especially in the past, could be dicey and relied solely on the mother's character and morals ... provided she wasn't raped.
But that still didn't leave her as the sole heiress. "I'm not the only female in my family." She gestured to Talon, who was married to her cousin.
"Sunshine is half white," Talon said simply. "The stone has to go to a full-blood, Teri.... You."
Great. Could she win the lottery?
No. With her luck, she'd win the multi-mega-millions and still end up owing someone a check for it.
A sweepstakes once in a while?
Again, double heck no.
Mother of the Apocalypse ...
Well, of course, honey. Come on up and claim your prize.
Life was so unfair. And just once, Kateri would like to see the bad-luck fairy prey on someone else. Preferably not someone she liked, but still ...
Was the bitch bored today? Or could she really not find another victim?
"We also have a bigger problem," Cabeza said to Talon.
By all means, let's pile it on.
Talon stepped back. "Dare I ask?"
Cabeza snorted. "I wouldn't. But unfortunately, you need to know that someone unearthed the Seal of the Anikutani."
Talon gave him a dark scowl. "You say that like I should know what you're talking about."
Cabeza mumbled under his breath. "It's a ... kala kratu ... A..." He paused, struggling to find the right word. "How you say in English? Guard stone? Spell stone? Not the right word, but you know what I mean. It was placed over the tomb where the last seven Anikutani warriors were imprisoned. Now that it's uncovered, anyone can summon them back to this world. Whoever does such, they owe a favor to, and they will do what he commands them to. Then they will breach the gates and fight with the evil they unleash. You see the problem now, Celt? Chacu knows the seal is missing and he knows what that seal is."
Kateri cursed at that knowledge. No wonder Chacu had been so interested in the calendar when he'd seen it on her table. Why did she feel like she was suddenly in a horror movie?
Cabeza grabbed her arm and pulled her in to Talon. "Take her and go. We have to get her to her stone and then to safety so that she can seal the gates again."
"What about you?" Talon asked.
Someone should bottle Cabeza's evil laughter for a haunted house. It would definitely put the fear of death into any living being. "I live to fight, m'ijo. If they're dumb enough to come back, I have some questions I want answered and I'm sure I can pound it out of them.... Adios."
Talon inclined his head to him. "A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar."
Cabeza was less than amused. "You're a cold bastard, Celt. Hombre prevenido, vale por dos." With that said, he walked backward, out of the room.
Kateri arched a brow at Talon. "I understood your 'Eat, drink, and be merry 'cause we're dying tomorrow.' But what did he say back to you?"
"One man forewarned is worth two. Now let's get you-"
Before he could finish that sentence, something dark pooled around her. Eyes wide, she reached for Talon, who lunged toward her.
He didn't make it.
Just as her fingertips brushed his, she was sucked into some kind of spiraling vortex. Nausea rose up as she sank downward. I am not Dorothy. But if someone dropped a house on her, she was going to be even more put out than the Wicked Witch had been.
Fear me....
At least that was her thought until she slammed hard into utter darkness. There was no light whatsoever. The blackness was so thick it made her eyes hurt as she strained to see something. Anything. Pushing herself up from the earthen ground where she'd landed, she tried to get her bearings.
A low whine sounded in the distance.
Her mind struggled to name it. Dog? Child? She couldn't tell for sure. She started to call out, then stopped herself. Just in case something meant her harm, the last thing she wanted to do was let it know where she was.
I've seen that horror movie a few times. That stupid puta always buys it first.
At least I don't have on high heels or a short skirt. Screaming or not, that character always died.
She reached out with her arms, trying to find a wall or furniture or-
"Ow! Son of a..." She pressed her lips together as she reached down to rub her shin. Surely, there had to be another purpose to that body part other than finding furniture in the dark.
Only she hadn't hit furniture, she realized as she explored the hard surface with her hand. It felt more like rock.
What I wouldn't give for the flashlight in my purse.
Something brushed against her leg.
Gasping, she twirled, trying to find out what it was. Please don't be a rat. Please don't be a rat....
That was her worst phobia.
"Where's the stone?"
She jumped at the sudden raspy voice. "Who are you?"
"Where's the stone?" That was another voice from the other side of the darkness.
When she didn't answer right away, light flared. Horror froze her into place. Never in her life had she seen anything like this.
The entire cave-and she now knew it was a cave she was in-was filled with ...
Chupacabra?
El peuchen?
Where was Enrique when she needed him? Better yet, his great great-grandmother's drum to drive them out.
The small area she stood in was packed with creatures possessed of sharply pointed teeth. Their bodies were painted from head to toe in designs that reminded her of a totem pole caricature. Paint that gave them the illusion of frowning in displeasure.
Even more terrifying, they appeared to be splattered with dried blood.
Her bravado gone, she knew she could never win a fight against this many. Their sheer number would beat her down and kill her.
One of them hit her from behind. "Stone!" he snarled. "Give it. Now!"
"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."
Wrong answer. They beat spears against painted round shields as they screamed their displeasure at her.
I'm so dead. Her limbs shaking, she ran to her right, where there appeared to be a shaft.
The monsters cut her off.
With a move Peyton Manning would envy, she stopped, dodged, and reversed direction, heading toward another tunnel.
This time, by some miracle, she made it. But that didn't say much. She slowed down as it became dark again and she could no longer see anything.
And again with the whining and hissing.
Now that was just mean ... toying with her like this when they knew she couldn't see them. They better be glad they outnumbered her. Otherwise-
I have lost my mind. It was the only explanation for her strange panicked calm. How could somebody be both petrified and in full control of themselves?
Be grateful. She could be screaming....
Then again, maybe she was. Maybe this calm was a fabrication of her inability to cope.
The cave began to thump around her like some deep, heavy heartbeat. Everything echoed and pounded.
Everything.
Kateri turned to run. She'd barely taken two steps before something slammed into her so hard, it stung.
No, not stung. It'd wounded her. Suddenly light-headed, she touched her ribs where it hurt the most. Sticky blood coated her fingers as the sounds grew louder.
Closer.
They were everywhere now.
She moved as fast as she could, but it was no use. No matter what she tried, she couldn't escape the creatures after her-whatever they were. They continued to toy with her as they whispered over and over, "Give us the stone."
"Shut up!" she snarled. "I don't have it!"
Something slapped her across the face.
She kicked out at it and was happy to hear it groan in response. Good. I hope you feel it for a while.
But that didn't change the fact that she was in serious trouble. Clutching her injury, she limped through the darkness, hoping to find some kind of exit.
I'm going to die.
She knew it. There was no alternative.
Her hand trembling, she applied more pressure to her wound. It wasn't that deep, but it throbbed unmercifully and made it all the harder to breathe. Worse, it was making her extremely dizzy, and if she didn't get it tended, she could bleed out.
Through the darkness, she heard more shrill cries. Different ones this time.
Cries she knew all too well from her dreams.
Raven mockers.
Even more terrified, she fell back further into the shadows, praying they wouldn't find her.
As she felt her way down the wall, she cringed at what was happening. She just didn't want to believe her grandmother's stories were real. They couldn't be.
Because if they were ...
I am not that person. I'm not. I don't believe in magic or spells.
But what other explanation could there be? She wasn't stupid and her denials were bordering on that at this point. No matter how much you believed something-how much something had been proven-part of being a scientist was learning how to accept new findings that completely changed the way people viewed things.
So accept it. Your grandmother was right.
All of it was real.
Yet it was hard because she didn't want to have the responsibilities her grandmother had held. Everyone had depended on her for every little thing. She'd been responsible for people's lives and their immortal souls....
As if her thoughts reached across the worlds, she felt her grandmother's presence in the room with her. Smelled the Jurgen's and peppermint. "Kateri? Help me. I need you, child. My soul will die if you don't come."
She took a step forward instinctively, then caught herself. It wasn't her grandmother calling out to her. Her grandmother had been dead for years and she would be using the name only the two of them knew. They're trying to trick me.
"Help me, child!"
Hoping to put more distance between herself and the things after her, Kateri pressed her back against the cold stone wall and took another step away from the opening.
Someone tsked in her ear. "Where are you going, tidbit? You're not trying to leave us so soon, are you?"
Her vision dimmed as a bony hand sank like a claw into her shoulder, piercing it with pain. Unlike the other things in the cave, she knew this one. It was a raven mocker.
Suddenly, a deep masculine voice thundered, speaking a language she didn't know.
But the raven mocker knew it. She could tell by its sharp, angry intake of breath. Releasing her, it lunged at the voice and shrieked so loudly that it made her ears ring.
The moment it struck the man, light bathed the small shaft with an orange glow. A glow that came from the man's skin ...
Kateri wanted to run while they fought, but she couldn't. She felt as frozen as Enrique had been in her lab. Her entire body tense, she watched closely, praying the newcomer was friend and not foe.
She was so over her foe quota for the day, and it was barely noon....
As she watched, her gaze went from the twisted, hideous raven mocker to the man it fought. Swathed head to toe in black, he was even larger than the raven mocker. Because of the eerie glow he was giving off, she couldn't make out his features clearly, but his long black hair was loose, falling to the middle of his back as he turned and dodged, then attacked the raven mocker with movements so graceful they reminded her of a dancer's.
The raven mocker slashed at his throat.
In an elegant, quick move, the man jerked back.
Instead of the raven mocker cutting his throat, it caught his bone-and-turquoise necklace, and snatched it free. It flew through the darkness to land on the ground at her feet.
Kateri picked it up, then froze as her gaze focused on the silver circle that held the imprint of a thunderbird.
From the east, the Thunderbird will fly into the direction of the death lands. Beware the Thunderbird, child. For in his path, all will perish. None can stand against him.
Not even you.
Her grandmother's words had barely whispered through her head before the warrior caught the raven mocker a blow that caused it to explode into bright, flickering flames.
The man turned toward her.
In that instant, her heart stopped beating as she clearly saw his entire body. His eyes were as black as his hair and clothes. Every line on his handsome face sculpted to perfection, he held the expression of a merciless fighter who was more used to taking lives than saving them.
And as he focused that cold, dark gaze on her, she felt the hand of death brush her cheek.
For all time ...
This was the man who always killed her in her dreams.