The Demon Pool (39 page)

Saffi saw the demonic swarm hovering above Jim. She had
heard stories from missionaries seeing demonic manifestations in areas of
intense occult activity. She had always listened with a sense of skepticism.
Now she saw dozens, even hundreds, of black-shadowed, demonic wraiths. As if
hell itself had opened its gates and vomited its contents.

Saffi listened to the exchange between Jim and the
woman. Jim called her Kat. Saffi concluded that she was, at present, a human
shield for Kat Connors. She tried to make her eyes say what her gagged lips
could not.
It’s okay. I am not afraid to die. God is with me.

She was not sure what message Jim was getting.
Most of the time it looked as if he was calculating his chances of putting a
bullet between Connors’ eyes. Saffi doubted that his chances were good.

The pricking stabs of a knife continued to jab
her back. She tried not to wince. She felt blood trickle down her back, making
her shirt damp and sticky with the blood, her sweat, and the big raindrops that
crashed sideways into them. She had the blood, had the sweat, and God was
providing the tears. Blood, Sweat & Tears
.
Lucretia MacEvil
.
That’s who Connors is.

Only the gag in her mouth kept her from laughing
aloud.
The things you think about when you’re about to die.

She tried to make her body cooperate with
Connors, to minimize the damage from the knife. What did they call the woman in
the Blood, Sweat & Tears song? Saffi recited the lyrics in her head.
Evil
woman-child.

As Connors pulled her closer to the edge of the
brush wall surrounding the mansion, the knife tip drew more blood. Saffi
winced, involuntarily.
Should have been evil-woman-bitch. Okay, sorry, God.
It doesn’t rhyme with the song and I shouldn’t use the b-word. Besides, prayer
works better than swearing. Right, Lord?

Saffi recited every promise of God from the Bible
she could remember. As she finished, lightning lit up the sky around them.
The
devil got YOU, Saffi. What-cha goin’ ta do?

The answer came in a flash of its own — faith
requires action.

The hurricane winds pushed the thunderstorm
closer. Lightning struck again, this time with a trinity of bolts that streaked
downward and converged at the highest point on the mansion’s roof.

Saffi felt her hair rise up on end. The crack of
thunder was an immediate and terrifying reminder of the power of the storm. In
spite of her body’s reaction, Saffi maintained her presence of mind. Before the
flash of lightning completely faded away, she ever so slightly shifted her
weight to her left leg. Then, in one explosive movement, she raised her right
leg and thrust her heel against Connors’ right knee. Connors howled and
released her.

Off balance, Saffi tumbled sideways. She hit the
ground. Hard. Stunned, she gasped trying to find some air. Her vision dimmed,
but not before she saw the shadows swirling overhead. As consciousness
retreated, the demons coalesced above her. They pressed down, enveloping her in
their darkness. The cacophony of wind and rain, and Kat’s pain-filled howling,
fled far away. One final crack of thunder punctuated the unyielding darkness.

Kat cursed loudly, released Saffi, and grabbed her
right knee. Jim tried to keep his aim steady. It didn’t help that the wind was
now hurricane force and the rain had reached the level of a street gang
beatdown. Kat moved as the pistol boomed. Jim missed. He tried to steady
himself for a second shot, but Kat didn’t give him another chance. She dropped
to the ground and rolled into the brush. The entire wall of brush shook in the
wind. He squinted through the raindrops watching for a glimpse of Kat. Nothing.

He fired seven more shots in a desperate attempt
to wound or kill someone he could not see. Between the last two shots he heard
Saffi moan and he stopped shooting. He lowered his pistol, knelt down, and
helped her sit up. Her eyes opened, but they would not focus. She looked as if
she were going to pass out. Instead, she threw up, spewing what little remained
in her stomach on Jim. She dry-heaved several times and finally slumped against
Jim’s chest.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “Did you get her?”

“I don’t know. Can you stand?”

“Maybe. I can try.”

Jim put his left arm around her and steadied her
with his right hand. He pushed himself up, lifting Saffi with him. His knee balked
at the movement, but he pushed harder, ignoring its protest.

Once they were both up, he held her for a minute
until it felt as if she could stand on her own. The hurricane-force gusts made
it difficult for the both of them. When he was sure she would not fall, he
turned her around and untied her hands.

“I have to go after her,” he said.

“I know.”

She turned back around and they stood there a
moment, looking at each other.

“Sorry about the puke,” Saffi said.

“Yeah, I hate it when that happens.” Jim replied
as a brief smile appeared on his face. “At least it didn’t start a chain
reaction. Can you walk?”

“I can walk.”

She looked at Jim and he saw strength and
determination in her gaze.

“We have to stop her,” she said.

“I have to stop her. You need to get out of here
and get us some help. Get Carl some help. If he’s even alive. Think you can
drive?”

“I can drive.”

Jim pulled the Viper’s fob and the gate key from
his pocket. He put the fob and the key in Saffi’s hand.

“Jim ...” Saffi looked up into his eyes.

Deep-blue, Atlantic Ocean eyes.

“Your uncle. Someone ran us off the road. The car
flipped. He didn’t make it.”

Even in the darkness, with the rain beating
against her face, Jim saw Saffi’s tears. He closed his eyes for a moment.
The
Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Uncle Jack had told him that when
Jim’s father had died.
Say hi to Dad for me, Uncle Jack
.

Jim opened his eyes and looked at Saffi.

“Get out of here and get us some help.”

“She’s dangerous, Jim. No, she’s more than
dangerous. She’s evil. And she’s not alone.”

“Well, her two pals are out of action. I’d say
she is pretty much on her own now.”

“She has others, Jim. I saw them. I know you’re a
skeptic, but it’s real, Jim. I saw them.”

“You got hit in the head. You were dizzy. You
puked. Likely a concussion.”

Saffi bowed her head and took a deep breath. She
took hold of Jim’s wrists and looked him directly in the eye.

“Look. You need to understand this. Yes, I got a
bump on my head. Maybe even a concussion. That has nothing to do with what I
saw. They were all around you. Maybe you couldn’t see them, but I’ll bet you
felt them. Didn’t you?”

Yeah, he had felt something. But he wasn’t ready
to admit to Saffi, or to himself, that it was anything more than the normal
mood swings that come with excess adrenaline, stress, and just being in a truly
crappy situation.

“They want you, Jim,” Saffi continued. “She wants
you.”

“It doesn’t matter. The truth is I want her.
Probably more than she wants me. I want her locked up in a prison cell, and if
Carl dies, I want to watch them stick a needle in her arm. Now you need to get
out of here and get us some help. Get going. I’ll be okay.”

Saffi nodded. She let go of Jim’s wrists and turned
away. She pushed through the wind until she reached the Viper. She opened the
driver’s door and looked back at Jim. He smiled grimly as he raised his hand,
then he turned and crashed through the tangled vegetation.

***

Baalzaric dispatched a horde of demonic agents to stop
the woman who had injured Kat. Although everything appeared to be unraveling,
Baalzaric was still confident. He had Demore surrounded and isolated. He was
one man. Alone. The cop had no prayer covering, and no rescue could possibly
arrive in time. It would be over soon and the gates of Hell would prevail.

Jim pushed his way through the brush. Above him, the
tops of the trees flailed at the bottoms of rain-heavy clouds. Unfortunately,
the night vision goggles were back in the mansion. His training, both in the
Marines and with the Highway Patrol, taught him not to stare or focus too long
at one point in the dark, so Jim kept his eyes moving as he picked his way
through the thick brush. In the darkness, he realized that he was not alone.

He saw them from the corners of his eyes. Shadows.
Not the type of shadows you would see if the moon were out. These were darker.
Blacker than the surrounding night. Dozens of them stalked the air around him.
If Jim hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was hallucinating. Even
more disturbing than the shadows were the occasional glimpses of fiery red eyes
that blazed out of the darkness. If he was not hallucinating, and if he was not
losing his mind, then Saffi was right. Even faced with the evidence of his own
eyes, Jim did not want to believe it. After all, if he started believing in
demons, what was next? Witches? Warlocks? Little green men from Mars?

The sense of oppression and depression returned.
Jim stopped and stood still. His utility belt, with the extra magazines, lay
somewhere back in the mansion. He had fired how many shots? He resisted the
temptation to release the magazine and count them. If he dropped it in the dark
woods, he might not find it again. He still had his backup weapon. Kat’s idiots
had missed his ankle holster, so he was not as naked as he felt.

He pushed forward in the darkness, stepping
carefully, using his hands and arms to protect his face. The brush closed in
tighter, forcing him to use his entire body to propel himself forward. Limbs
and branches held on to him like a thousand bony fingers. Red eyes watched him,
their hatred palpable. Jim pushed harder until the clinging vegetation released
its grip and he stumbled into the clearing.

***

Kat watched the demons pour into the clearing behind
Demore. Her allies. Her companions. Her servants. They were ready for Demore.
No.
More than that. They’re hungry for him
.

A slight break in the cloud cover allowed a tiny
sliver of light to push through the darkness. Kat had a clear view of Demore.
He had a weapon in his hand as he came into the clearing. It remained eerily
calm, unaffected by the hurricane-force winds that stirred the sky above. She
watched Demore regain his footing after stumbling out of the brush. He stood
still for a moment and then looked directly at her.

“I can be everything you’ve ever wanted,” she
said. “Come to me.”

Jim lifted his pistol and pointed it at Kat as he
began walking toward her.

“It’s over, Kat,” he said. “You’re done.”

Kat smiled.
No, foolish man. I am not done, and
it certainly is not over
.

Lit by the faint moonlight, even in the torn and wet
sundress, Kat looked stunning.

The edge of the pool was halfway across the
clearing, but Jim could see the sundress clinging to her figure like a full body
tattoo. Her eyes glowed with an unnatural brightness. Given the circumstances,
he knew he had no business feeling aroused, yet he was. The unmistakable
evidence rising up to betray him.

He had told Kat it was over, but instead of
agreeing with him, or even trying to flee, she simply backed up until she was
standing in the shallow water at the edge of the pool.

“Come and take me,” she said.

Her voice was soft and rich. Thick with
unadulterated seduction.

“The only place I am going to take you is to jail,
Ms. Connors.”

Jim walked toward her. Slowly. Cautiously. The
clearing was full of shadows. They surrounded him, and as Jim glanced around,
he could see they were also in the air above him. He felt their darkness.

Red eyes, filled with hate and anticipation,
appeared and disappeared like pairs of hell-spawned fireflies.

Jim’s hand began to tremble. In front of him, Kat
stripped off the sundress. She let it drop into the water at the edge of the
pool. As Jim forced himself forward, Kat stepped backed.

“Come and take me, Jim.”

Her voice caressed him, invited him, lured him.
The temptation encompassed him. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Her
eyes did more than beckon. They spoke of seduction and promise. Jim ordered
himself not to listen.

“Get out of the water, Kat,” Jim told her,
finally using her first name.

“You see them don’t you?” she asked.

Jim nodded slowly.
Oh yes, I see them. Don’t
know why, but so what?

“She’s going to die tonight, Jim. You cannot save
her. Just like you couldn’t save your uncle, couldn’t save your friend. But you
can save yourself. Come to me.”

Depression pressed in once again. He had involved
Uncle Jack and that had gotten him killed. Carl would probably die before help
arrived. Now Kat threatened Saffi. What if he got Saffi killed, too? Could he
live with that?

“Do you want to save her, Jim? You do, don’t
you?”

Jim stopped at the edge of the pool. A few feet
of water separated them. His voice slightly above a whisper.

“If she dies, you die.”

“Jim, you don’t understand. It’s not that
simple,” Kat said.

She leaned forward and splashed water on her
wound. Beads of pink and silver rolled across and between her breasts. Her body
was magnificent. It was as close to perfect as Jim had ever seen, even with the
pink furrow that now marked her shoulder.

Kat straightened up, her fingertips stroking the
top of the water. Her breasts jutted forward like the twin barrels of some
erotic weapon. Her gaze drilled deep into his eyes.

His pulse raced and he felt the spark of
connection. He also felt disconnected from his own body. At least from every
part except the one that always gave lie to the belief that his self-control
elevated him above certain temptations.

Kat and temptation became one flesh. She was the
water nymph who kidnapped Hylas, Heracles’s warrior son. Jim remembered the
myth from school. At least they taught it as myth. Yet, here she was. The water
nymph of legend.  

Red-eyed shadows swirled about them. What were
they? Demons? Was that really possible? Jim’s world closed in and became tiny.
Only the shadows, the pool, and the beautiful nymph who aroused, tempted, and
revolted him all at the same time remained. Kat raised her hand, extending it
out to Jim.

“Save her, Jim. Save yourself. Come to me and you
both will live.”

Jim took a step into the water.