Night Kill (Private Investigator Andrew Knight Mystery Series) (29 page)

Andrew soon found an unoccupied bedroom chamber. He opened the door and stepped inside the room. There was a beautifully adorned canopy bed. Andrew walked over to the bed and laid Talia on her side. He swallowed hard and grasped hold of the first arrow. Andrew breathed deeply, emotionally for several seconds. His hand trembled, and Andrew closed his eyes as he removed the first arrow. For each arrow Andrew took out of Talia, the anguish and tears built to an emotional crescendo. And as the last arrow was withdrawn, Andrew slumped to the cold, harsh floor. He stared at the bloody object in his hand for a moment, and tossed it away. Andrew pulled himself up and pulled back the covers. He gingerly rolled Talia on her back. Andrew drew up the covers to her waist and folded Talia’s arms across her chest. It looked as if she were only sleeping.

Andrew tenderly kissed Talia’s lips. He would come back for Talia’s body and bring her home. Andrew knew that her knights would search for Kara and Wyatt. Andrew hoped he wasn’t too late.

The passageways of the Gothica were empty. Andrew walked alone, a shadow of his former self.

Chapter 15

Andrew drew into the clearing among the forest and was met with a strange and unexpected sight. It was a graveyard of rusted heaps of war birds from the past. And there among those deteriorating carcasses was the newest addition, the black helicopter. It was still relatively intact and rested on top of a cargo plane. He was amazed that somehow Kara had managed to land the helicopter.

Andrew scanned the snowy ground. There were several boot prints that came in from the north, the direction of Gothica castle. Andrew followed them until he was at the cargo plane. It was at the plane that Andrew saw two more sets of boot prints. He crouched down to examine them more closely. One set was not as deep as the other. That must be Kara’s. The others must be Wyatt’s, for they were deeper. Andrew deduced that Wyatt was injured by the way his left boot dragged as he walked. Also, Andrew saw a perfectly round hole next to the boot print. Wyatt had to use something to support his injured foot or leg.

Andrew rose and began to follow their tracks. When he was some distance from the cargo plane, Andrew saw that the knights picked up the trail and were following Wyatt and Kara. Andrew continued on until all but the knights’ tracks disappeared. He could see that the knights continued their search in the surrounding woods. Andrew stopped. He deduced that the knights’ thinking was only one dimensional. They would assume that Kara and Wyatt would continue on through the rough terrain in order to escape. So therefore, the knights’ would simply search for them until they finally would just give up. However, Andrew thought that if Wyatt was injured, there would be no way for him or Kara to do that. Kara and Wyatt would have to find some place to hide and wait out the knights. It would have to be some place close by. Andrew turned and ran back to the war bird graveyard.

Andrew stopped at the set of tracks by the cargo plane. This time he knelt down and examined the boot prints more closely. A slight smile spread across Andrew’s lips as he came to a realization. Both sets of prints were made by the same person. Andrew further deduced that first one set of booth prints were made up until they disappeared. Then Kara grabbed a stick and used it to support her as she walked backwards. That was why the other set was deeper and the stick mark was next to them. Andrew stood up and walked over to the side door of the cargo plane. The door was slightly open. Andrew leaned closer and peered through the crack. He saw a taught string rigged to the door. Andrew stepped aside and flung the door open. An arrow flew safely past him and buried itself in the snow. Andrew jumped inside the plane and tucked and rolled as another arrow zoomed overhead. Andrew sprung to his feet and blocked a kick meant for his face. He grabbed the person’s leg and pushed them down.

“Kara!” Andrew called out. The attack ended.

Kara jumped up and threw her arms around Andrew. She gave him a full, on mouth, fervent kiss. Andrew gently pushed her away.

“Sorry,” Kara apologized. “It’s just that I thought they had killed you, and with the crash and all, well, I just got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” Andrew reassured her. He came up to her and put his arms around her. Kara rested her head on Andrew’s chest. “I thought you were dead too. But we’re okay now.” Kara looked up at Andrew, “How did you know we were in here?”

“I followed your tracks,” Andrew answered.

“If you did, then…” Kara started to say.

“Don’t worry your rouse worked on the Knights,” Andrew reassured. “They believe that you two are somewhere in the forest.” Andrew glanced down at Kara, “By the way that was pretty ingenious of you to make both sets of tracks.” Andrew now looked around the interior of the cargo plane. There among the deteriorating wooden crates, was a sleeping area made up of old parachutes and canvas tarps. That’s where Andrew saw Wyatt, who hadn’t woken up during all the commotion.”

“What’s wrong with Wyatt?” Andrew asked.

“He was knocked cold,” Kara answered.

“Let’s sit down and then you can explain it all to me,” Andrew suggested. Kara gave him a squeeze and took hold of Andrew’s hand. She led them over to Wyatt. She and Andrew sat down on the cushioned floor.

“The last thing I saw was the helicopter out of control,” Andrew said. “How did you manage to gain control?”

“It was part of my training,” Kara explained. “We used a simulator to learn how bring a helicopter out of crash situations just like that.”

“What happened after you landed?” Andrew asked.

“During the landing, which was still quite rough, Wyatt was knocked out,” Kara answered. “Fortunately there was a hole in the top of the cargo plane, so I lowered the both of us inside. After I got Wyatt secured away, I climbed back up to the helicopter. I grabbed the medical supplies and that’s when I noticed a weapons storage box. When I opened it, I found several crossbows along with arrows inside.” Kara paused to catch her breath as she was speaking so quickly to get all the information out for Andrew. Kara went on, “So I took the medical supplies down first and then went back for the weapons. I knew we had to lead the knights away from the plane. But with Wyatt still out cold, I had to make both sets of tracks. When I got to the edge of the clearing, I found a stick and used it, as a support. When I was done, it looked like Wyatt was injured. When I got back to the plane, I found some twine and rigged up the cross bow traps. It was just in case we had any unwanted guests.”

“Like me?” Andrew interjected.

“No,” Kara laughed. She turned more serious again, “After that I needed to get some rest. I had lain down beside Wyatt and fell asleep.”

“Well, you’re not going to like this,” Andrew started to say.

“No, no, no way…” Kara protested.

“We need to go back and get the other helicopter,” Andrew insisted. “It’s the only way out of here.”

“What about Ana and her knights?” Kara was afraid.

“We’ll use the secret entrance to get inside,” Andrew reassured Kara with an embrace. “I will take care of Ana and the rest.” Andrew answered. He took a deep breath. “There is one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Kara asked.

“We need to find out where Ana has the list of all the Knights of VanHelsing,” Andrew answered. Kara saw the serious expression on his face. “It’s the only way we can put a stop to the Knight’s forever.”

“It too dangerous of a thing to do,” Kara warned. “If they know you have it, you’re a dead man.”

“Once I have the list,” Andrew came back. “They are finished.”

“What about Wyatt?” Kara nodded in his direction.

“He should be fine here until he wakes up,” Andrew stood up. “We’ll just reset your traps and settle in for a bit. The sleeping area you built, should keep us warm. We’ll need to stay inside the plane until tonight. That’s when we make our move.” Andrew walked over to the crossbows Kara had rigged up. He reset the twine and loaded the crossbows. Andrew joined Kara, who was already lying down, and lay behind her. Kara was shivering. Andrew spooned Kara, sharing his warmth with her. Kara reached back and brought Andrew’s arm over her. She took hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“When I saw you charge Ana and her knights,” Kara spoke softly. “I thought you were going to die.” She started to cry. Andrew bent down and kissed Kara’s cheek and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “We’re okay now. Soon we’ll be on our way home.”

“It’s not okay for Talia,” Kara was still crying. “She sacrificed herself for us; for you.” Kara turned over and faced Andrew. “Why did she do that?”

“For love,” Andrew sniffed. He finally broke down. Kara drew Andrew to her and let him rest his head on her bossom. She held onto Andrew tightly with tears in her own eyes. Kara didn’t know if they would even make it back home. Kara dried her tears and that’s when she realized Andrew had fallen asleep. Kara closed her eyes and was soon asleep too.

Wyatt jolted awake. He looked around. The surroundings were unfamiliar. Wyatt had a hunch he was inside an old cargo plane with all the wooden crates and things. He looked closer and saw a man and a woman asleep. They were the same ones that had kidnapped him from the castle. Wyatt had to get away and back to Gothica. He moved ever so slowly so as not to wake them. Wyatt finally slid off the bed of old parachutes. He looked at the door and saw the rigged crossbows. There was no way he could use that door. Wyatt looked around and saw the hole in the ceiling of the plane. He crept quietly over to it and used the crates as his escape staircase. Wyatt pulled himself up and was just about out when he cut his hand on the jagged metal of the hole. Blood seeped from his wound. Wyatt licked his lips at the sight of the blood. Forgotten urges consumed Wyatt as he brought his hand up to his lips. Wyatt lapped up the crimson from his hand. Now was not the time for this. Wyatt pulled his hand away and finished the climb. He looked at his surroundings. Wyatt saw Gothica off in the distance. He smiled broadly. Wyatt slid down and tucked and rolled when he hit the snowy ground. He glanced back at the cargo plane one last time, smiled at the success of his escape, and immediately took off for Gothic. Wyatt ran as fast as he could go. He had to tell Ana and his fellow knights where the man and woman were hiding. His courage would surely impress Ana and she would make him one of her elite squad.

Andrew was the first to wake up. He looked up at the hole. It was still daylight. They would have to wait until dark to slip back into Gothica. Andrew glanced down at Kara. She was sleeping so peacefully, that he did not want to wake her. Andrew turned to check on Wyatt, but he was not there! Andrew jumped up and searched the plane with his eyes. The rigged crossbows were still in tack. That meant Wyatt had to have climbed out the hole in the ceiling. Andrew hopped up on the crates and was about to climb out of the hole when he noticed blood on some of the metal. Wyatt must have injured himself when he climbed out. Andrew finished his climb and sat down on the top of the cargo plane. He could see a trail of blood droplets on the plane and in the snow down below. Andrew already knew where Wyatt was headed; straight to Gothica. He also knew that Wyatt would tell Ana and her knights exactly where they were. Andrew went back to the hole and dropped down inside.

Kara woke up to see Andrew drop back down inside the plane. Why had he gone outside in the first place? Kara glanced around and saw that Wyatt was gone. She jumped up in a panic.

Andrew hopped down from the last crate and walked over to Kara, who was awake now.

“Wyatt is gone and he has headed back to Gothica,” Andrew said. He looked worried.

“What do we do now?” Kara was scared.

“We have to get out of here before they come for us,” Andrew answered. He left and went over to the rigged crossbows. Andrew released the triggers and removed the strings. “We need to take these with us.”

“They will know we are coming,” Kara wailed. “How do we get back inside Gothica?”

“We have to use the secret entrance,” Andrew informed her again.

“It will be guarded,” Kara answered back sharply.

“We will have to be smart and careful,” Andrew reassured her. “Once inside we need to find all the information we can about the Knights of VanHelsing.”

“When I interviewed Ana for my book, she mentioned a journal with all the names, real names, of the knights,” Kara recalled. She paused briefly as another thought filled her head. “That book also contains the names of all the ‘vampires’ that were killed by the knights over the years.” Kara was more worried than ever. She warned Andrew, “With that book you could put and end to centuries of innocent deaths at the hands of Ana and her knights. It would be too dangerous for it to be in your possession. They would never let you use it or keep it.”

“It is the only way to finally put an end to their reign of death,” Andrew shot back. He took one last look around. “We need to get going.”

“Okay,” Kara agreed.

Andrew climbed up the crates with Kara right behind him. He handed her his crossbow. Andrew pulled himself up and out on top of the cargo plane. He looked around and was relieved that the coast was clear. Andrew told Kara that it was clear. She handed him up the crossbows and arrow scabbards. Kara boosted herself up and climbed out of the plane. She joined Andrew. They slid down together and headed off towards the forest. They would have to find a place to hide until dark.

Ana dropped down on one knee just at the crest of the meadow and surveyed it through her spy glass. She saw the helicopter that rested on top of the cargo plane. There was no movement. Either Andrew or Kara were still inside, or already gone. Ana hoped that they were still inside the plane. It would make things much easier. When Wyatt showed up at Gothica, Ana knew that Kara was still alive. When her knights had searched the surrounding forest and had not found any trace of them, Ana was furious. She wondered how they could have escaped. The surrounding forest and mountains were virtually impossible to traverse on foot. Ana knew they had to be somewhere close by, but never suspected the old airplane graveyard. Andrew had become a liability and needed to be eliminated. Ana suspected that Andrew might be after journal. Ana smirked that Andrew would never find it, but if he ever did, he would never have a chance to use it.