Mayan Afterglow (8 page)

When he didn’t comment she said, “I love you, Ian Scott.”

His arms tightened around her and his lips pressed to where
her neck and shoulder met. He trailed kisses up the side of her neck tracing an
arc around her ear.

She gasped. “Shouldn’t we be keeping watch?”

“Mmmmm… I’ll watch,” he said. “You turn around.”

She turned and straddled his lap on the steps. He held her
in place with both hands on her bottom where he kneaded her flesh through her
jeans. Her lips opened on his. She held his face in her hands plunging her
tongue into his welcoming mouth. She moaned into his mouth and deepened the
kiss. She could not draw him close enough. No amount of touching was sufficient.
If she could have crawled inside his skin she would have, but she knew that she
would still want more of him.

The buttons of his flannel shirt opened easily and she
kissed down his chest. Lean muscles and golden hair spread across his chest and
abdomen. He was beautiful and she leaned back slightly to get a better look.

Smiling, he took one hand away from holding her in place and
covered her breast. She leaned back when his thumb found her nipple and
squeezed it tightly between his fingers.

“Ian, I can’t wait,” she said. She quickly unbuttoned her
jeans and let them drop to the porch before kneeling down over his bulging lap.

It seemed to take him forever to unbutton his own jeans and
with each attempt his hand and fingers rubbed her wet slit. She gasped and
pressed into his hand. His buttons forgotten, he turned his hand and slid one
finger inside her pussy while his thumb rubbed the already sensitive bud.
Aileen bit her lip to keep from screaming out.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

She opened her eyes and gazed down into his. He had not said
the words, but she could see his love so clearly in his eyes and the sharp
lines of his face. He wanted her, yes, but he also loved her.

“Ian,” she said in a desperate whisper.

His fingers became more aggressive. His thumb circled around
her clit while two fingers created friction on the sensitive tissue inside her
cunt. She could not hold back and like a fierce current, her orgasm overtook
her. The sensation started where his fingers met her clit but from there traveled
to every nerve in her body.

The waves were still rolling over her when she felt his cock
slide inside her. She lifted her bottom and sat down around him. Again and
again she rose and fell above him until she felt the stirring of completion
growing.

Using his shoulders for support she pushed up and down never
taking her eyes from his.

“Ian,” she cried unable to think of any other words. She
repeated his name over and over.

“Aileen,” he called back.

Pressing her hips down hard around him he erupted just as her
inner tissues clenched in overcoming waves.

Chapter Nine

Before dawn the three climbed into the now beaten-up Cessna
and took off into the red sky. A flock of crows started after them but the
powerful plane was soon out of their clawed reach.

“Hey, that looks like grass down there,” Asher said
somewhere over the center of Mexico.

“It does,” Ian agreed. “The sun must manage to get through
now and then down here.”

He glanced back at Aileen and smiled, but she looked
troubled and scared.

A bit of sun actually peaked through the red clouds in the
afternoon.

“Do you think it’s because we’re getting close, Aileen?”
Asher asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Her voice sounded small, like a
child’s answering the teacher when she really has no idea of the subject matter.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she said.

“How do you know we are supposed to go to the pyramids? Why
Mexico? I know it’s a little late to be asking since we’re only hours away but
I really want to know,” Asher asked while still keeping his eyes focused on the
horizon.

She was quiet for so long that he added, “You don’t have to
tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “You will think it’s foolish. To
tell you the truth I was not completely sure myself until yesterday.”

Ian turned toward her. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “I had a dream on December twentieth, the day
before the world ended. I saw myself on top of the Pyramid of the Sun
surrounded by Mayan kings. I saw the sky go from red to black and when I
searched for the moon I saw Mictlan. He grinned as if he already ruled the
world. Lightning shot from my fingers and he faltered, but when he rose up
again his fury filled the sky. I was so afraid that when I woke up my body was
covered in sweat and I was crying.

“The next day everything was different. I got in my car and
started for Mexico but Mictlan found me in the summer. I’d run out of gas and
couldn’t find another car that I could take. I was asleep in my car and the
dream came again except this time he was on the Pyramid of the Sun with me. His
hands were on me. I tried to fight him but it was useless. I never woke up from
that nightmare. Not until Ian rescued me from the jump bolt.

“Mictlan kept me trapped in my own nightmare for over four
months. He told me that I was his. He almost broke into this world using my
strength and now he will use other means to break through. The power that
exists in Teotihuacan will help him.”

“So why go there? If he’s following us then why are we
taking him to the place where he can get more power?” Asher asked.

“Now the Earth is in a kind of purgatory. It is not quite
Hell but it’s close to it. If we do nothing, it will remain this way or Mictlan
will find a way in and create the world in the image of Hell. If we can draw
him into our mortal world and defeat him then there’s a chance that the Earth
will be reborn.

“The Mayans believed that if humanity could survive the End
of Days then we could be prosperous for thousands of years.”

“You learned all of this from a dream?” Ian tried to keep
the skepticism from his voice.

She beamed at him. “You don’t believe me yet you made this
trip anyway?”

“I didn’t say that I don’t believe you, Aileen. And you know
why I made this trip.”

“Dragon,” Asher said loudly.

Ian turned to the pilot. “No, not dragons. I did it for her.
I did it because…”

He never finished the thought because Asher was pointing and
yelling, “No… Look! A dragon!”

It was debatable as to whether the object flying toward them
was actually a dragon. It had wings and a tail. It could have been a bird but
it was not like any bird that Ian had ever seen. Its wingspan must have been
twelve feet and from those wings, claws protruded at the tips. There were no
feathers as the wings appeared more sinew than angelic. A bat-like face with
dead eyes peered at them as its high scream pierced the air.

It was headed straight for them at an alarming speed.

“Pull up,” Ian yelled.

Asher pulled hard on the yoke and the plane lifted higher.
The dragon missed them and flew below but they could hear its scream.

“I think we’d better get out of the air,” Asher said
breathlessly.

“Agreed,” Ian said searching the sky for the dragon.

The nose of the plane dropped and they headed for a flat
patch of dirt. In the distance Ian could see a giant hole in the ground.

“Is that…” Asher never finished the thought.

“Mexico City,” Aileen said.

“No time,” Ian said pointing to the right. “Stay north of
the city and to the east if you can.”

Asher did as he was told turning the plane to the right.

“Watch out!” Aileen called.

The dragon had also come around and was now headed straight
for them. Its toothy mouth remained open emitting a deafening cry. Asher dived
toward the ground causing the dragon to miss once again. He continued lower and
lower at a speed far too fast for a landing.

“Asher,” Ian said.

“I know.”

“Too fast.”

“I know. Help me pull back.”

Ian dropped his gun in his lap and took hold of the yoke in
front of him. He heaved as hard as he could. The craft and the wind fought
them.

“It’s coming,” Aileen yelled, the panic evident in her
voice.

The two men continued to fight the wind shear. They were
getting close to the ground and finally slowing down but still the earth rushed
toward them.

A great thud wrenched the plane to the right. Aileen went to
the other side of the cabin.

“It’s on the wing,” she cried.

Ian looked to the right and saw the dragon or bat or
whatever it was with its claws digging into the wing of the plane. Pieces of
steel were flying off.

“Asher, I’ve got to let go.”

“Got it.”

“Ready?”

“Go,” the boy said.

As soon as Ian released the yoke, the plane jerked and
bumped but Asher held it.

Ian opened the small window and suffocating wind filled the
cabin. Gripping the gun in his lap he pointed toward the creature and fired. It
screamed louder as the bullet ripped through its left wing.

The wheels touched down and the craft bounced several times.
The jarring dislodged the injured dragon. It tumbled across the ground in a
ball of dust and black limbs.

When the airplane rolled to a stop, Ian jumped out. Aileen
was behind him with the rifle. He could hear Asher behind him as well, but the
creature was nowhere in sight.

“Where did it go?” Aileen asked.

“Maybe back to Hell,” Asher said.

Ian was shaking his head. “That would be nice but it’s not
likely.”

He barely had the words out of his mouth when they heard the
dragon’s cry from above. Ian turned and fired. Even though he emptied all nine
rounds into it, it still kept coming. Aileen had fired too but still the thing
dived toward them.

She dropped the rifle and lifted her hand to the sky.
Lightning flew from her hand. The dragon screamed once again and then fell
silent for half a second before it crashed to the ground behind them.

“That was incredible.”

Ian heard Asher talking, but his eyes were focused on Aileen
whose skin had gone very pale. She collapsed in the dirt before he could reach
her.

In an instant he was beside her pulling her into his lap.
Eyes barely open, she looked as she had the first time he held her back in Lake
George.

“Is she okay?” Asher asked kneeling beside them.

Ian pushed her hair behind her ear. “She’s exhausted. It
takes a lot out of her to use that power.”

“How does she do that anyway?”

“I have no idea, but it hurts me like hell every time she
does,” he said holding his head. “Where did that dragon come from? Why are the
crows attacking and how did those rotting corpses come after us? All questions
that I have no answers to. If you have any, let me know.

“How far are the pyramids?” Ian asked, picking Aileen up off
the ground.

Asher was pointing to the north. “A few miles. You can see
them from here.”

Ian looked at the monuments rising out of the valley and
mountains behind them. He gazed down at the woman in his arms and the urge to
pick her up and run as fast and as far as he could was so strong that he had to
steady himself. He wanted to hide her away and keep her safe. “We should stay
here until she recovers her strength. Then we can walk to the Pyramid of the
Sun.”

The boy gave a low whistle. “And then what?”

Ian knelt down in the shade of the disabled plane and set
Aileen down. He reached inside the cabin for a bag of clothes and blankets and
began pulling things out to make her comfortable. “Your guess is as good as
mine.”

Aileen opened her eyes and smiled weakly. “Dragon’s gone,”
she said.

He whipped a smudge of dirt from her cheek. “Yes,
sweetheart, it’s gone. You smoked it,” he added with a grin.

She nodded almost imperceptibly and her eyes closed. Ian
finished laying blankets on the ground before he moved her over and tossed what
remained to Asher.

“You better get some rest, too,” he said as he moved her
body against his, resting her head on his chest.

Asher took the bag and made himself a place to lie down
several feet away.

* * * * *

They were already walking toward the Avenue of the Dead and
the pyramids when the sky began to lighten. The dragon’s death must have taken
a lot of Mictlan’s energy because there had been no further attacks throughout
the night. All three of them were armed with both handguns and rifles. Ian
walked beside Aileen and every now and then she felt him look over at her. She
wanted to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but since that
would have been a lie, she simply kept her gaze forward and continued to walk.

“I think we’re being watched,” Ian said.

“Mictlan?” Asher asked.

“No.”

Aileen looked toward the dilapidated city and saw what Ian
was talking about. People were peeking out from behind crumbling walls.

“I think they’re waiting to see the outcome,” she said.

“You sure they’re on our side?” Asher asked.

“They were drawn here just like we were,” she said.

“Do you think they’ll help us?” Ian asked.

“Maybe.”

Mictlan appeared as they approached the ancient site. The
people who had been watching their approach disappeared as if they had never
been there.

Ian lifted his gun but before he could fire, Aileen put up
her hand and said, “He’s not whole yet. You’d only be shooting at air and
wasting ammo.”

She was right. If they looked closely they could actually
see the structures behind him.

When they were just a few feet away the specter spoke.
“Finally you have arrived, my love.”

“I am not your anything,” she said bitterly.

He howled with amusement and his hollow eyes turned toward
Ian. “You, Ian Scott, are a difficult man to track down. It took some time to
find you and then you were very resourceful. I should thank you, though. Now
you’ve brought my wife back to me and life can go on as it is destined.”

“Your wife?” Ian asked. “Aren’t you being a bit
presumptuous?”

Mictlan took a step closer and though his feet made no
imprint in the ground, he was still intimidating. “Perhaps, but she will be
mine. I‘ve waited thousands of years for this moment and now it’s here. You
don’t think I am going to let some petty thief destroy or sully this moment, do
you? I’ll make you a deal. Leave now and I’ll let you and your little pilot
friend live. I’m only going to make this offer once. If you cross into the
ruins, I’ll kill you both.”

“Don’t listen, Ian,” Aileen said. “He’ll kill you anyway.”

Ian walked toward the ruins. He walked around the man who
called himself Mictlan before coming to stand in front of him again. “I was
never a petty thief. I was an excellent one. Now, however, I think I’m looking
for a different kind of life and if you win, I don’t think that will be possible.”
Ian glanced back at Aileen for a second.

“She’s above you, thief. You have no right to her.”

“Still,” Ian said, “she wants me and not you.”

Mictlan’s eyes darkened. His transparent form rose up and
for a moment they saw him in his true state. His body grew to thirty feet from
the ground blocking their path. Spikes protruded from most of his slick, black
skin and great yellow teeth hung from his roaring jaw. His enormous head was
crowned with more spikes. The sound was deafening. His piercing, black eyes
were trained on the three of them before he shimmered with fury for an instant
and disappeared from the path.

“I’m not sure that was wise,” Aileen said, catching her
breath.

“Probably not,” he admitted. He wrapped his arm around her
waist and kissed her lips hard. She did not resist him and opened her mouth to
his.

She was tired and dusty and still the taste of her was so
wonderful that he nearly forgot that they had another purpose until Asher
cleared his throat.

He let her go reluctantly. “I don’t want to leave you, but
you’d better climb that pyramid.”

“I‘ll go to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. Mictlan
belongs to the darkness and will go to the Pyramid of the Moon. He’ll use the
power of this place and me to become whole in this world, Ian. At that moment,
you will have a chance to send him back to where he belongs. If you wait too
long he’ll get so strong that it may be too late. I’ll do what I can, but
ultimately it will be up to you two.”

Ian jokingly saluted, but said, “Just me though. Asher you
go with Aileen. Keep her safe. I’ll go to the Pyramid of the Moon and wait for
my moment to strike.”

He looked at her one more time hoping that even without the
words she could hear what was in his heart. When he released her, she turned
and walked toward the Pyramid of the Sun and did not look back. Asher glanced
at Ian then turned to follow Aileen. He clutched his pistol like he’d been
shooting demons his entire life.