Darklands

“Good” was also her response when I told her about Tina’s A on her career portfolio. I felt a twinge of jealousy—ridiculous, but there all the same. When I’d been Mab’s apprentice, she seemed much more stingy with her praise. But that was a long time ago, and anyway, Tina wasn’t her apprentice. Surely I’d outgrown the need for pats on the head from my aunt.

We agreed my best course was to return to the Devil’s Coffin in time for tonight’s moonrise. Then we ended the call so I could rest. Talking on the dream phone lets the body rest but keeps the mind active. And tonight, I’d need body and mind to work together.

I got up and showered. I dressed. Flakes of dried mud fell from my jeans, and I brushed them off as best I could. It was best to keep the Jag hidden—bad idea to drive around town when Pryce might be in the neighborhood—so I spent the afternoon watching boring talk shows. It was enough to make me sympathize with Juliet’s plight; that egg-scrambler thing really was kind of clever. I had pizza delivered. I peeked out through the drapes to keep tabs on the weather—gray, gray, gray, with on-and-off drizzles. I paced the length of my motel room. A lot. I probably could have walked to Princeton with all the pacing I did.

I tried not to think about Kane.

Butterfly left me alone, even when thoughts of Kane crept past my defenses. Which happened far more often than I cared to admit.

SUNSET WOULD OCCUR AROUND SEVEN, AND MOONRISE forty minutes after that. I needed to be in place well before the moon came up, so at five I stepped out of my motel room to begin the hike back to the chasm. As I zipped up my jacket, I looked at the sky. Low, thick clouds hung there, obscuring the light so that it seemed like dusk already. Misty rain chilled my face. I wondered if the overcast sky would interfere with Pryce’s plans. The full moon’s effect was felt by werewolves whether the sky was cloudy or clear, but opening a portal to the Darklands required strong magic. Maybe Pryce’s wizardry wouldn’t work on a night like this.

I could hope. But I couldn’t rely on it. I shouldered my duffel bag and set out toward Purgatory Chasm.

Route 146 is not the road to choose if you’re in the mood for a stroll in the country. It’s a four-lane highway that occasionally slows down as it passes through business and residential areas, like the stretch I was on now. But just because the speed limit was lower didn’t mean drivers paid the slightest bit of attention. Cars whizzed by like they were on a practice lap for the Indy 500. There’s no sidewalk, so I trudged along the grass beside the breakdown lane, which, in most places, was too narrow for a car to stop if it actually broke down.

As soon as I could, I left 146 for a side street. I’d driven on this street yesterday; from here I could get into the park the back way, which was what I wanted to do.

This road was better. A few yards away from 146, it became a quiet country lane, lined with woods and stretches of tumbledown stone walls. Houses were few and far between. I climbed over a stone wall and walked through the woods, skirting around small ponds and marshy spots. There wasn’t much traffic here, but it was better to keep out of sight.

A few hundred yards along, I passed a cemetery set on top of a small rise. It was a desolate, forgotten-looking place, tilted gravestones bristling along the top of the hill. In the dim light, the dark stones were leaden against the gray sky. I shivered and kept walking.

Soon I turned left, following another road that led toward the park. At one point, I heard a car approaching, and I stepped deeper into the woods. It passed, heading north, and kept going. I didn’t hear or see anyone else.

In less than half an hour, I stood at my perch on the eastern edge of the chasm. I paused there long enough to check out the Devil’s Coffin. It was deserted, but I hadn’t expected Pryce yet, anyway. An hour remained until sunset, which meant that the park was still open. It was hard to imagine that anyone would come here for outdoor fun on a miserable day like today, but you never know. Pryce wouldn’t want anyone asking questions about what he was doing in the woods. And neither did I. I made my way back to the loop trail, hiked along that for a little way, then went deeper into the woods. When I was far enough off the trail to be out of view in case some stray, masochistic hiker trudged by, I dropped my bag beside a boulder and sat down. I checked my watch. In half an hour, the park should be clear, and I’d return to my perch above the Devil’s Coffin.

The drizzle had strengthened to a light rain. I watched it fall, working to clear my mind for tonight’s task. Whether I’d finally put an end to Pryce or spend another cold, wet night in the woods, I had to be ready.

A movement on the right caught my eye. As I turned my head, my hand slipped inside my jacket to the grip of the pistol in my shoulder holster. A sharp bark sounded, then two more. A small Jack Russell terrier stood twenty feet away, paws planted and ears cocked, leaning toward me.

I like dogs. But I didn’t need this one announcing to the world that I was here. I put a finger over my lips. “Shh!”

Full-scale barking erupted in response.

“Nero? Nero! Here, boy!” A woman’s voice came from the direction of the loop trail.

Nero glanced in the direction of the voice, then resumed barking at me. Someone crashed through the woods in our direction.

I stood and grabbed my bag. I started back toward the trail, but Nero followed, barking the whole time. I dropped my bag and sat down again.

A moment later, Nero’s owner appeared through the trees. She was medium height, her light-brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a dark-green jacket and a park ranger’s hat. Great. I was busted.

“Thanks for finding my dog,” she said, even though it had been the other way around. She bent down and held out a hand. Nero bounded over to her, and she clipped a leash on his collar. “I’m not supposed to let him off the leash, but he’s been cooped up in my office all day. I didn’t think anyone was here.” She patted the dog’s back.

“Glad you found him,” I said, hoping she’d be on her way.

She straightened and then regarded me, her hands on her hips. Nero, who’d quit barking, sniffed the ground around her feet. “You okay?” the ranger asked me.

“Fine.” I kept my face half turned away. With my hood up and the dim light, it would be hard to make out my features.

“No twisted ankle or anything? We get a lot of those here, especially when it’s wet like this.”

“Nope.”

During the long pause that followed, she didn’t move. “So you’re sitting out here in the middle of the woods in the rain…why?”

I said the first thing that popped into my head. “I had a fight with my boyfriend.”

“Ah. Well, you’re not going to solve anything by giving yourself pneumonia. Besides, the park’s about to close. Come with me, I’ll walk you out.”

“No, thanks.”

She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “You know you can’t camp here, right?” She nodded at my duffel bag. “I think you’d better come with me. I can give you a lift to wherever you need to be.”

I tried to think of a reason to refuse, then shrugged and stood up. I’d already made myself as conspicuous as if I’d asked her to hold my bag while I assembled my sniper rifle. It would be better if she thought I’d left the park. I followed her back to the loop trail. Nero trotted along beside her. He hadn’t said so much as “woof” since she’d caught up with him.

Man’s best friend. Hah. Now what was I going to do?

15

THE RANGER WALKED A FEW PACES AHEAD OF ME ON THE trail. Nero sniffed along one side, then the other, running back and forth as far as the leash allowed. When he stopped to investigate some deeply interesting scent, she paused to let him, glancing back to make sure I still followed.

I came up beside her. “Do you have a cell phone?” I asked.

“Yes. Do you need to make a call?”

“You get reception out here?”

“Of course. We’re not that far out in the boonies.”

“Then would you mind calling me a cab? When I had that fight with my boyfriend, I got out of the car, and he drove off without me. I do need a ride, but I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

She considered. “All right. I am a bit short on time—I’m having some friends over for dinner tonight. Can you take Nero’s leash for a minute?”

I walked the dog a little way down the trail while she made the call. She put the phone away and caught up with us. “Cab’ll be here in a few.” I returned Nero’s leash to her, and she seemed to relax now that I’d agreed to leave the park. As we walked along the trail, she chattered about her dinner party, telling me who was coming and what she planned to serve.

I smiled and nodded—and thought about how I could get back here to kill Pryce.

When we emerged from the woods, the day was moving past dusk into evening—the time demons could come forth. I peeked into the demon plane, listening for any sign of Pryce’s trapped demons. I heard nothing. But moonrise was still over half an hour away. Pryce wouldn’t uncloak the cauldron until it was time for his ritual.

The ranger’s SUV waited in the parking lot by the Visitors’ Center. No cab was in sight. If she left now, I could blow off the cab and return to the gorge.

“I’ll just wait with you and make sure the cab shows up.” A tiny note of suspicion colored the friendliness in her voice.

“You’ve got dinner to cook. I’ll be fine.”

She took a tennis ball from her car and threw it into the woods. Nero raced after it, his legs a blur. The third time the dog brought the ball back, a taxi pulled into the parking lot. I got in, waved to the ranger, and gave the driver the address of a fast-food place near the motel. The ranger’s SUV followed us along Purgatory Road, but at 146, where we turned north, she turned south. I let my head drop back against the seat with relief.

The taxi let me off where I’d asked. I paid him and went inside. As soon as the cab pulled away, I left the restaurant and ran south. I stayed well off the road, behind buildings and out of sight of passing cars, until I reached the motel’s rear parking lot. I threw my weapons into the Jag, got in, and headed back to the chasm.