Dark Storm (18 page)

“Whatever the evil entity is—and it feels masculine to me—it speaks the same language as the porter chanted when he killed my mother. And I think it managed to escape with the blast.” She swallowed hard, her eyes meeting Jubal’s. “I’m sorry. I tried my best. If my mother hadn’t been killed maybe she could have done more.”

Ben carefully picked himself up, scooting across the dirt to put his back to the wall, careful to keep his movements short. “Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on here.” He pushed his hair back, his hand coming away filled with ash. “Because I feel a little bit as if I’m going insane. Did she really stop the volcano? I mean, we’re still alive aren’t we?”

“For the moment,” Gary said. “I think she managed to minimize the blast and direct it to the other side of the mountain. The vents opening closer to us are just relieving pressure.”

“How long have you had this particular skill?” Ben asked, his tone somewhere between awe and sarcasm.

“Since my mother died,” Riley replied, feeling a little distracted. She wanted to brush up against that elusive feeling of comfort and strength and draw courage from it just one more time. Trapped in a cave, waiting to cook to death, exhausted beyond anything she’d ever known, she wanted to curl up in the fetal position and hide.

“How did you do this?” Ben demanded. “Are you some kind of devil worshipper? No one can make a cave grow over their head or stop a volcano from exploding.”

“Clearly, I didn’t stop the volcano,” Riley pointed out. “And that’s the second time you’ve accused me of worshipping the devil, and I really don’t appreciate it. You were right here. You watched everything I did. I called on the Universe, not the devil.” She couldn’t keep weariness—or disgust—out of her voice, and it wasn’t entirely fair to Ben. Given everything that had happened, his fear and need to lash out were understandable. If everyone weren’t looking for her to save them, she might be tempted to lash out, too. Moreover, how could she explain what was happening to him when she didn’t understand it herself?

Grief welled up without warning, and she blinked back a hot rush of tears. She wanted her mother—needed her. Everything was happening so fast, and Riley didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

Gary stepped in smoothly. “Calm down, Ben. I know what’s happening seems crazy, but just because you’ve never encountered something like this before doesn’t make it less real—or less dangerous. Fighting among ourselves is only going to make things worse. Jubal and I have witnessed things that would send most people screaming their way straight to the loony bin. But the truth is, evil does exist, monsters come after us in the night, and people like Riley are sometimes the only thing standing between us and total annihilation. I wish you hadn’t had to be a part of this, but unfortunately for you, you’re a brave man and you chose to protect Riley instead of running away like the others. That choice, while admirable, has put you in harm’s way and exposed you to powers beyond your comprehension. As long as you stick with us, you’re going to be in the middle of this, and I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to get worse before it gets better. So we need you to keep your cool, and lay off Riley. Sniping at her isn’t going to help any of us.”

Riley had to admire his calm, matter-of-fact explanation. There was something very reassuring about Gary. No drama. No ego. Just his presence. She took another drink of water. Her throat felt parched, her body thirsty. She needed … but what she didn’t know. Only that she was suddenly craving something. Despite her exhaustion, her blood was on fire, rushing through her veins, her pulse leaping, finding a strange rhythm.

She felt more alive than she ever had and had no idea if it was because the volcano had come to dramatic life, breathing fire, or if it was because she’d connected with someone who had given her a brief moment of comfort in the midst of total madness. Maybe it was the intensity of her emotions, the fear, the grief, the adrenaline. Whatever it was, she felt every bit as vibrant as she did weary.

“It’s just hard to wrap my head around all this,” Ben said in a calmer voice. “The funny thing is, I’ve always been interested in folklore, everything from Bigfoot and the Yeti to werewolves and vampires and I’ve traveled all around the world in an effort to prove where there’s smoke there’s fire. I’ve been in a minisub searching for the Loch Ness Monster. You name it, if it was unexplained, I went to find it, but after all the disappointments, I didn’t really believe anymore. Maybe I never really did. But this …” He shook his head and wiped his hand over his mouth. “I’m sticking with you, although I have to tell you, I’m just a little scared.”

Jubal smiled at him, a flash of white teeth in his ash-blackened face. “Welcome to our world. You’d be crazy if you weren’t a little afraid.”

Riley pushed herself up and scooted to the far wall facing the three men. She drew her knees up and rested her chin on them. “I’m definitely scared, Ben. I’ve come to this mountain several times and nothing like this has ever happened before.”

Ben sent her a strained smile. “Thanks for the cave, however you managed it. Melting in hot lava isn’t the way I want to go out.”

She tried to find a smile and hoped she pulled it off. “Pyroclastic clouds aren’t exactly my idea of fun, either.”

Jubal cleared his throat. “Are you certain whatever was locked in the volcano was able to get free?”

Riley nodded reluctantly. “He’s free. I couldn’t hold him.” She tasted the bitter flavor of failure. “You know what he is, don’t you?” When neither Jubal nor Gary answered, she sighed. “Look, we’re in this together now. He’s out. I felt him. I know he’s real. You have to tell me what we’re dealing with.”

“I’d like to know, too,” Ben agreed. “No matter what it is, it can’t be much crazier than what I’ve already witnessed.”

Jubal rubbed the bridge of his nose, his eyes meeting Gary’s. He sighed. “No matter how we say this, you’re going to think we’re insane.”

Ben shrugged. “I already think maybe I’m insane, so just come out with it. None of this seems real.”

Still, both men hesitated. Riley didn’t like the way they looked at one another. She felt her pulse jump. She couldn’t get any more scared, could she? Fear of the unknown was worse than the knowing. At least then she could try to prepare.

“I need to know what this evil thing is, Jubal. I heard it speak. Its voice was in my head for a minute, and it felt foul.” She shuddered. “I think it’s going to come after me.”

“What did it say?” Gary asked.

“He spoke in that same language the porter used just before he killed my mother.” She closed her eyes, drawing on the same phonographic memory that let her reproduce bird and animal calls perfectly and made her so adept at linguistics. “He said, ‘
Arabejila. Emni hän ku köd alte. Tõdak a ho
aδasz engemko, kutenken
aδasz engemko a jälleen. Andak a irgalomet terád it.
’”

She didn’t know what the individual words were or what they meant, but she reproduced the sounds, inflection and pitch precisely and the sickening foulness of the tone made everyone flinch.

“The only word I recognized was Arabejila. It’s a family name and it’s very unusual. My great-great-grandmother was named Arabejila and she was named after another great-grandmother.”

Gary and Jubal exchanged another long look.

Riley sighed. “Just tell me what it means. At this point, like Ben, I don’t think I’m going to be surprised by anything.”

“He must have thought you were someone he knew,” Gary ventured. “If you have an ancestor who was called Arabejila, when he sensed your presence, you must have felt familiar to him, which means her genes and gifts are strong in you. He probably believes you are this Arabejila.”

“No relative of mine with that name has been alive for …” She trailed off, glancing at Ben. Whatever had lived in the volcano had to be a very ancient evil. How long had the women in her family been coming to such a remote part of the Andes and performing the ritual?

She pressed her lips together tightly and rubbed her cheek along her knees. If that ancient being had been sealed in the volcano by one of her ancestors, it stood to reason he might be a little angry and looking for revenge.

“Never mind. Can you translate what he said?”

“Repeat the phrase for me,” he said. “I’ll do my best.”

She did so, speaking as slowly as she could without affecting the rhythm and inflection of the words.

Gary rubbed his jaw, stared for a moment at his blackened hand, rubbed the ash onto his jeans and then shrugged when his hands remained dirty. “
Emni hän ku köd alte.
I know that means ‘cursed woman.’”

“I thought that phrase was familiar,” Riley said. “The porter chanted it over and over. He was calling my mother a cursed woman.”

“And now you,” Jubal said.

Riley instinctively buried her fingers in the soil, needing comfort. She already knew that evil entity was going to be coming after her. She didn’t need Gary to tell her that; she’d heard the hatred and rage in the thing’s voice. But she’d also heard fear. She wasn’t Arabejila, but if evil feared her, Riley was more than happy to claim kinship with the woman.

“
Tõdak a ho
aδasz engemko, kutenken
aδasz engemko a jälleen
, I believe is, I don’t know how you …” He frowned at Jubal. “‘Escaped’? ‘How you escaped me’?”

Jubal nodded. “That’s what I got. And something about ‘not again.’”

Gary nodded. “‘I do not know how you escaped me, but you will not again.’ That’s as close as I can get. Clearly he thinks he knows you.”

“And the last part?” Riley insisted. “
Andak a irgalomet terád it.
”

“That means, ‘I will have no mercy for you this time.’” Gary said the words in a rush, as if he wanted to get it over.

“So who is he?
What
is he?” Riley demanded.

Gary wiped at the ash on his jeans, not looking at her. “I’m afraid you’re dealing with a vampire. A very powerful vampire. The real deal. He’ll tear out your throat and drain you dry. He feeds off the suffering and terror of people. There’s no doubt in my mind that’s what was locked in that mountain.”

Riley stared at him, openmouthed. She hadn’t expected him to say
vampire
. Vampires were mythical demons in horror movies or novels. She didn’t have a clue what she thought he’d say, but certainly not
vampire
. He was serious, too. She snuck a look at Jubal. He was just as serious.