The Legacy: A Custodes Noctis Book (15 page)

“I know they come in about eleven every morning. You might be able to catch them then.”

“That’s almost five hours. Dad said the next ritual starts at the thirteenth hour. That would be one in the afternoon, I hope, if they’re using a clock and not the solar cycle.” Galen looked out the windshield. “What do I do? I have to find Rob. I can’t just wait around. I need to do something.”

“Galen?”

“Can you go back to where they found your daughter? You said her name was Megan?”

“Yes, Megan. And I can go back. I’ve been there so many times already. Yes, I can go,” Rhiannon said quietly.

Galen sighed as he put the key in the ignition. He took a deep breath and reached out for his brother, stretching himself almost to the limit of his injured body. His heart was racing as he concentrated, he was just about to pull away, just about to let go when he thought he felt Rob. He held his breath, a sob had echoed up that contact, pain-soaked, desperate, afraid.
“Rob?”
He focused on the first healing he had been taught, reaching out to his brother, projecting every ounce of his strength into that contact.
“Rob? I’m here, I’m looking for you. Sleep. It’ll help. I’m here, Brat. I’m coming for you.”

“Galen?” Rhiannon was shaking his arm.

He opened his eyes and looked over at her. “What?”

“You blacked out.”

“No, no… I… uh…I was trying to sense my brother. Sorry.”

“You were…?” She looked at him with disbelief.

“I, uh, Rob and I…We….I can sense him, sometimes.”

“I understand.” She smiled. “I do understand.”

He pulled out of the rest stop and headed back down the road into the woods. It looked different in daylight, but Rhiannon showed him where to pull in. He got out of the car and walked down the path. In the morning light he could see more details. The path seemed to lead into the darkest part of the surrounding forest. It felt cold. He could feel its presence a little, the thing that had taken Megan. Galen was aware that he was walking in its footsteps, the cold like shafts of pain running up his legs.
Dad might be wrong about this. It feels, hmm, it feels old somehow. Bobby’s worry might be closer to the mark. Did I really hear Dad say Legacy? There’s more here than just a lesser demon.

When he walked into the clearing where Megan had been found, he stopped, looking carefully around this time. There didn’t seem to be much to see until he walked down a path that led into the forest. As he moved into the dark woods he felt something—it felt like someone breathing down his neck. Galen concentrated, reaching out, he sensed the cold touch of the thing lurking in the shadows, he thought he heard something sigh.
 
He wondered if Rhiannon knew what had taken her daughter.
Megan
he corrected himself. Hearing her name had made it seem much more real.
He walked on, winding through the dark trees. He had no idea how far he followed the path before it broke into a clearing.

The clearing was ringed by huge trees, there was a stone circle inside the trees. Thirteen stones in a ring. Two trees stood in the ring, and between them was another stone, flat like a table.
Or an altar.
There was something on it. Galen walked over. A golden cup was lying on its side in a pool of liquid. As he got closer, the flies that had settled in the liquid flew away. There was another object on the stone. A t-shirt, faded, the neck stretched. Rob’s favorite. He stopped, his heart in his mouth. He knew then, without a doubt it was his brother’s blood
.
“No!” He didn’t realize he had called out until he heard his own voice echoing back.

“Galen! Galen, what is it?” Rhiannon said, running into the clearing.

He picked the object up off the altar. “My brother’s shirt, the one he was wearing when he was taken.” He looked up at her, his eyes filled with tears, he could feel them spilling, hot, down his cheeks. Having the shirt in his hands, seeing the cup and the liquid that had spilled from it, knowing it was Rob’s blood brought it all slamming down on him.
 
“I have to find him, I have to. Nothing matters but that.”
He picked up the golden cup and threw it into the forest.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know, maybe that will help break the cycle of the ritual. Anything that might help.”

“I’m so sorry, Galen,” she said softly.

Galen took a deep breath. “He’s not dead.
There are two more rituals, that’s what Dad said. They’ll need to keep him alive.”

“Yes, they’ll keep him alive,” Rhiannon said.

“Alive, Rhiannon, but in what shape? I can’t sense him, what’s happening? Blood rituals mean he needs to be alive till the very end, but how bad?” Galen sighed. “I wish Dad had told me, no, if he knew for sure what was going to happen he’d tell me. He understands. If this was Bobby we were looking for…”
He trailed off before he said too much, as it was Rhiannon was looking at him with an odd frown on her face. Galen calmed the panic, drawing on his training.
“Rob? Can you hear me?”
He reached out for his brother, there was nothing there. Silent darkness, nothing, not even a heartbeat.
“Rob?”

“Galen?” Rhiannon was looking at him, tears on her face. She had her hand on his arm.

“What have they done to Rob?” For an instant it was all too much.

Rhiannon pulled him to her and put her arms around him, he leaned against her, the tears running down his face. “I don’t know, Galen. The police said the worst was done to Megan the last night. That’s tonight, there’s still time.” She sighed. Galen heard her say so softly there was almost no sound, “There has to be.”

He pulled away, and looked at her with a smile. “I’m okay, Rhiannon. I’m sorry. Let’s get going. We need to go talk to those friends of Ashley’s.”

The three men showed up at the diner at ten forty-five. Galen was waiting. He left Rhiannon sitting in the car. He watched the men park their car at the far end of the lot and head towards the diner. Galen stepped between them and their goal.

“Hiya,” he said, smiling at them. “Hey, nice nose.”

“Aren’t you dead?” the one with the broken nose said.

“Apparently not. We need to talk,” Galen said conversationally.

“Yeah, about what?” one of the other two said.

“I just want to know if you might know where my brother is?” Galen said, keeping his voice light. His hands were starting to shake as he stood before them.

“And we’ll tell you why?” broken-nose guy said.

“Because I asked nicely?” Galen’s heart was starting to pound.

“Yeah, right.”

“Where’s my brother?”
I sound so calm. I need to be careful. 

“Not here.”

“Where is my brother?”
I still sound calm. I need to stay calm. I have to.

“Yeah, not here. Bug off.”

“That’s not an option. I really need to know where he is.”

“We’re not telling you. Get lost.” Broken-nose guy moved to shove Galen out of the way.

“No.” Galen reached around and pulled the nine millimeter out of his waistband. “Let me rephrase the question. I would really like to know where my brother is.”

“You won’t find him,” one of the other two said. Galen was pretty sure he was the man who’d knifed him. “He was crying last time I saw him, said you’d come. I told him you were dead.”

“He knows I’m not dead,” Galen said with a tight smile.

“Doesn’t matter. The next ritual begins soon. They’ll bleed him and cut him and then—then do you know what they do? They’ll lay him out in the sun and She’ll come for the first time. Just for a taste, so She’ll know him tonight.” And he laughed.

 
“Where’s my brother?”

“Sorry, even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t. She’d eat me alive.” The man chuckled. “And She’d enjoy it. Not as much as She’ll enjoy your brother.”

Galen’s hands were shaking as he struggled to stay calm. He was distracted and it cost him. Broken-nose struck out at him and caught him on the side of his head, his gun skittered across the pavement. Galen pushed himself up.
And that’s it. Calm’s all gone now.
 Sudden rage swelled up in him, intoxicating, blocking pain, blocking everything.  

Galen struck out at him, the man staggered, then one of others turned on him. Galen swung at him.
 He knew this was stupid, the men would be going back to wherever they were holding Rob, and Galen couldn’t let his brother suffer because of him, but he wanted to let Rob know he was searching for him.
 
Looking desperately around for his gun, he noticed the plants growing at the edge of the parking lot. When the man came for him again he tripped him, using the man’s own momentum to put him face down in the patch of stinging nettles. Broken-nose swung at Galen again, connecting, Galen saw stars. He was struggling to get up when he heard a voice tight with emotion.

“Stand still or I will kill you,” Rhiannon said quietly. Galen looked up, she had his gun in her hands, standing in a shooter’s stance.

“You won’t do anything, bitch,” broken-nose’s companion said and kicked Galen. As he hit the pavement, Galen heard the gun go off, the man’s body dropped on him. Pain shot out from the knife wound. Galen stayed still.

“Get out of here,” Rhiannon growled. “Slowly. Take him with you.” The weight was shifted off his body. “Galen? Galen?”

“Here,” he said, trying to sit up. Rhiannon grabbed his arm and pulled him up. “Thanks.” She helped him over to the car. Once he sat down, he managed to get his eyes open. “Hey,” he said. His head hurt.

“Thank god. Should I call an ambulance?” Rhiannon sounded scared.

“No, I still don’t know who to trust. I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay, I thought you were dead for a second.”

“Um, yeah, what happened?” He was having a hard time focusing. He was nauseous. “I think I tore a few stitches, that’s all.”

“They left. I made them pick up their garbage before they went.”

Galen remembered the gunshot. “I think you might have killed him,” he said, looking at her.

“Yeah, I think I might have,” she said, looking back at him. She grinned, it was a feral grin, wild and terrible. “I’m glad if I did. They’re involved with the people who took Rob, who killed Megan and at least five other children.”

“What time is it?”

“About 12:30,” she said. “Why?”

“Dad said the next ritual took place at the thirteenth hour. We need to get back out to the forest.”

“We don’t know where, Galen.”

“That clearing we were at…”

“That’s not where they were last night. Why would they be there today?”

“I don’t know. It’s a start.” He sat up, then dropped back as a wave a dizziness rolled over him. “Maybe you should drive.”

It was almost one when she stopped the car. Galen let her help him out and they headed down the path towards the clearing where he’d found Rob’s shirt. When they got there, it was empty. He stood there, desperately scanning the woods around him hoping to see something, a sign of his brother, anything.

“The guy at the diner said they would lay him out in the sun, there’s no sun here. It’s all shadows. There’s no sun in a building, so he has to be outside, somewhere.” He looked at Rhiannon, her face was bleak.

The sound started, he barely even realized it was there at first. Then it crept into awareness. Someone was screaming. It was a terrible scream, someone in pain. Someone utterly terrified. He froze, his heart pounding in his chest. The terrible scream had called his name.

The scream echoed over the forest.
That scream, that was Rob.
The realization drove Galen to his knees. The scream continued.

He took a deep breath and focused on it, focused on the pain he sensed coming from his brother in horrifying waves. Something was there with Rob, Galen thought he could smell the sweet-sick scent of death. Whatever it was recognized his brother, Galen felt that through the connection. He heard it sigh with pleasure. “I’m coming. Hang on, please hang on little brother,” he said it out loud to the silent clearing. The scream stopped, suddenly cut off. But just for a second, he thought he heard his brother’s voice answering him.
“Galen?”
Then silence.

Chapter Nine

They were still sitting with their backs against the wall. Galen was aware of his brother, silent, beside him. “Rob?” Galen said quietly.

“Yeah?” Rob looked over at him with questioning eyes.

“Nothing.” Galen sighed. “Well, nothing, really, I just needed to hear your voice not the screams in my head.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

Galen shrugged. “I just…” His phone started ringing, he dug in his pocket and flipped it open. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” Rhiannon answered. “I found his car.”

“Great,” Galen said, smiling at Rob. “She found your car.” Rob grinned back.