Blood Red Road (36 page)

Well, you was movin so slow I had to do somethin, says Jack.

You was away, says Ike. You was clear. You should of left me to fend fer myself, not turned back an nearly got yerself killed.

I’m still here, ain’t I? he says. He goes over to help Tommo an Emmi.

Damn wurm nearly killed him, says Ike.

Jack’s … different from what I thought when I first met him, says Epona.

Yeah, says Ike. There’s more to Jack than meets the eye.

Jack hands his last bundle of arrows to Tommo an slaps him on the back.

That’s it, he says. We’re ready.

There’s a hot clench of fear, deep in my belly. I know it well. I used to git it all the time, jest before I went into the Cage. An I know how to use it. A slow smile spreads over my face. I look around at everybody.

I dunno about you, I says, but I’m feelin lucky tonight.

We wait.

We sit on the ground, spaced out evenly jest inside our
circle of wood. We face across the lake. I got Jack on one side of me an Epona on th’other. Ike an Ash cover the rest of the circle. Emmi an Tommo crouch in the center next to the piles of stones they collected fer their slingshots. I clutch my flint in my hand, ready to set my section alight.

The night starts to drift in. The crimson fingers of the dyin sun bleed into dark gray. The first stars blink down at us. Not long to wait now.

If I ask you somethin, says Jack, will you tell me the truth?

Maybe, I says. Depends.

What made you come after me? he says. Back at Hopetown, I mean. How’d you know where to find me?

I’m about to give some kinda smart answer, somethin that’ll keep him at a distance, like always. But I don’t. The heartstone’s burnin aginst my skin. An I’m feelin brave. Reckless.

I had a dream, I says. The night before the fire.

You dreamed where to find me?

We talk in low voices, so th’others cain’t hear us.

In my dream, I was in the dark, I says. I couldn’t see, couldn’t hardly breathe. There was smoke an fire an the heat was somethin fierce. An I was searchin fer somebody. I didn’t know who, I jest … knew I had to find him. But I couldn’t an it was … awful. Frightenin. Then I … woke up.

You was … lookin fer me? says Jack.

I think so, I says. Yeah.

But you did find me, says Jack. You found me even though I was locked inside the Cooler. How?

I move over, kneel next to him. Feel this, I says. I take Jack’s hand an bring it to the heartstone around my neck.

It’s hot agin, he says.

I take a deep breath. It’s a heartstone, I says. It only gits warm when I’m near you. The closer we are to each other, the hotter it gits. That’s how I knew where to find you.

He don’t say nuthin. It’s the first time I ever seen Jack lost fer words. After a moment, he takes his hand away.

Must be kinda annoyin, he says.

I’m used to it by now, I says. Listen, Jack. I jest wanna say I—

Shh! He holds up his hand.

We wait. Listen.

Silence.

Silence.

Then. A faint rumble. Like thunder in the distance.

They’re awake, he whispers.

Light the fires! Jack says.

I scramble to my knees, hold my flint to the tinder at the base of the wood circle.

I strike my flint. A spark arcs onto the dry tinder. It catches an I blow on it gently till I git a flame goin. It licks quickly up the twigs an branches. I check over my shoulder. Everyone else is doin the same with their own section. In no time, we got a strong fire goin an we’re standin inside our fortress of flame.

We’re lucky with the night. The sky’s high an clear. The moon hangs low over the mountain tops an throws a wide silver path across the lakebed. We got a clear view in all directions.

I hold my bow in my hand. Two bottles of vodka-soaked arrows stand by my feet. My knife’s in my boot sheath. I ain’t gonna think about havin to use it. It’s my last defense an usin it ’ud mean everythin else had failed.

I feel calm. Clear-headed. Even though my heart’s bangin aginst my ribs.

Emmi, I says, stay close to Tommo.

Okay, she says.

Silence. Silence. Silence. Essept fer the cracklin of the fire. I dart a look at Jack. His head’s lifted, like a wolfdog onto a scent.

Then a creakin noise. A slow, painful groan. The kinda noise a old rusted shut door makes when it’s forced open. But it ain’t a door. It’s the ground.

From somewhere deep below us, from somewhere down down down in the dark heart of th’earth, the lakebed’s ancient body is slowly bein forced open.

The hellwurms is awake. An they’re comin up to feed.

The ground starts to tremble. It starts to shake. Then it shifts unner our feet. I stagger. Epona grabs my arm, stops me fallin over.

Holy crap in a cup, says Ash, her eyes wide.

Everybody git down! yells Jack.

Me an Epona throw ourselves to the ground. Throw our arms around our heads.

The earth groans, deep in its belly, as it’s forced open. Over an over an over it moans its pain. Groanin an shriekin an shakin unner us, around us, it gits louder an louder. Till it takes me over, floodin my body, my breath, my brain till I think I’ll go mad.

Then it stops.

Silence.

Slowly, we all git to our feet. My fingers is clenched tight around my bow. I look over at Emmi. She’s clutchin Tommo’s hand, her face white in the moonlight.

Then, over the crackle of the fire, another sound.

A rustle. The click of claws on dry earth. Somethin’s movin.

It stops. Hisses.

It can smell us, Ike says in a low hoarse voice.

A high pitched shriek rips the night open.

My heart leaps to my throat. My bowels clench.

It’s callin th’others, Jack says. Git ready! An remember what I told you.

Aim fer the eyeholes. An don’t let ’em git close enough to use their claws.

Claws. No eyes, jest dents in the skin where they used to have eyes a long time ago. No point in havin eyes, Jack says, livin unnerground like they do, so they hunt by smell. They sniff out their prey.

Their prey. Us.

Then, not more’n thirty foot away, straight in front of me an Epona, a crack appears in the ground. It splits open, starts to widen.

Here we go! Epona yells.

A claw appears.

The claw hooks itself onto the edge of the crack. It’s got three long scaly toes. Each toe ends in a hooked nail sharp enough to slash to the bone with one swipe. Then another claw hooks itself beside the first.

Don’t be shy, I says. Show me yer face, you scaly-toe sonofabitch.

An, almost like it heard me, a round head appears. Covered in scales an maggot-white with a dip in each side where the eyes oughta be. A long neck. The blunt head sways back an
forth, the scales ripplin like tiny waves. It must be smellin us.

That’s right, I says. Over here. I’m real tasty.

I pull a arrow outta the vodka. Nock it to my bowstring. Dip the arrowhead into the fire at my feet. It flames up right away. I take aim.

The hellwurm slithers outta the crack. Gits up on its hind legs.

Uh … Jack, I says. You didn’t say they could walk.

Sorry, he says. I fergot that bit.

The wurm’s three times my height. Two long arms with claws, an claws on its feet too. A wide slash of a mouth with lots of sharp teeth, good fer tearin flesh. You can see right through its death white skin to its beatin heart an other innards. It gives off the most gawdawful stench. Like a three-day-old corpse in a small room on a humid day. I gag. So does Epona.

It throws its head back an shrieks.

I let fly with my arrow. Straight at the right eyehole. A hit. The wurm’s head bursts into flame. It screams an staggers backwards into the crack it jest come from.

Nice shot, says Epona.

But there’s more comin. From all around us. Hunnerds of ’em by the look of it. The lakebed’s alive with their scuttlin stinkin bodies.

We start pickin ’em off with our crossbows, as fast as we can. Epona an me, Jack an Ike an Ash. Emmi an Tommo fire away with their slingshots, dartin in between us to git a closer shot.

Hellfire, Jack, I says. You didn’t say there was this many.

They must of bin busy breedin, he says. He shoots me a grin, but I can tell this is worse than he especkted.

The night rings with the screams of the hellwurms an our shouts. The air’s filled with the filthy smell of ’em an the crackle an smoke of the fire.

I keep firin. Dip the arrow, nock, let fly, hit. Dip, nock, let fly, hit.

Around me, everybody else is doin the same. Em an Tommo run around stuffin arrows into our bottles but, no matter how many wurms we shoot, more keep comin.

There’s too many, says Epona. We ain’t gonna do it.

I’m gittin low on arrows, I says.

Me too, says Ash.

More arrows here, Emmi! I yell.

That’s it! she cries. There ain’t no more!

Jack grabs my arm as I’m about to fire. By the silvery white light of the moon, I can see his face is all streaked with smoke from the fires.

Git outta here, he says. Take Emmi an Tommo. Ash an Epona’ll cover you.

My heart stops. There’s a roarin in my ears. You want us to go? I says.

He nods. Ike an me’ll stay, he says.

No, I says.

I pull myself free. I grab twig bundles, shove ’em into the fire.
They catch light an I launch ’em at the wurms. More screams as they burst into flame. Beside me, Jack keeps on shootin his bow.

If you leave now, he says, at least you got a chance of findin yer brother.

Ferget it, I says.

I snatch my bow agin an start firin.

Use the torches if they git too close! yells Ike. Don’t waste yer arrows!

I look around. The hellwurms is closin in. Closer an closer they come. Some slither along the ground, some walk upright, their heads swayin. They won’t try to cross the fire ring, but once it starts to die down, that’ll be it.

Jack pulls the bow outta my hand. If you don’t do this, he says, everythin you bin through to find yer brother counts fer nuthin.

I stare at him. I feel like my throat’s closin up. Leave him. Leave Ike. But I gotta find Lugh. I’m so close to findin him.

You know I’m right, he says.

Okay, I says. We’ll go.

Saba! yells Ash. Behind you!

I whirl around.

One wurm, bigger’n the rest, darts forwards through a dyin section of the fire ring. Jack grabs my arm an goes to yank me back but the wurm’s claw flashes out. A hot pain slashes through my right shoulder. I cry out.

A blast rings out an the wurm’s head explodes in a million
pieces. Putrid flesh an blood splatter down on me like rain. I look over my shoulder. Ike’s holdin his bolt shooter. He gives me a little salute.

You all right? says Jack.

I close my mind to the pain. Like I used to do in Hopetown.

I’m fine, I says.

Time to go, he says. He grabs up a torch in each hand an lights ’em. Ash! he yells. Epona! C’mere!

They start to run over to us.

The ground rumbles. We all stagger an I grab onto Jack to keep from fallin.

The wurms stop. They raise their heads. Then they scatter.