Hellfire (32 page)

Dax stepped closer to the
creek. The cliffs
rose
high above them at this point,
blocking the view of the beautiful monument known as Cathedral Rock. “The
vortex is here. I sense it, but there’s no scent of demons.
Interesting.
They’ve been at every single one we’ve found so far.”

Alton hugged Ginny. “Ginny can
answer your questions.”

“Me?
How
so?”
She frowned at him.

“Remember what you said about
girl vortexes? That this one is known for its feminine energy? Only goodness
exists here.” He leaned close and kissed the frown off her face. “And we all
know how sweet you women are.
Filled with nothing but
goodness and light.”

Laughing, Ginny stepped close
to the wall of the cliff. “Obviously he doesn’t know me very well.” She slanted
a look at Eddy. “Or you, either. Goodness and light.
Right.”
She ran her hand over the cliff, searching with all of her senses for the
portal. She really wanted to find it on her own, if only to prove to Alton that
she was learning to handle her new skills.

Her hand slipped through the
stone. “It’s here,” she said. She reached for DarkFire and pulled the sword
free of her scabbard. The others unsheathed their swords. Together, they
stepped through the portal and into the heart of the vortex.

Alton wasn’t certain what he
expected, but the tiny cavern with only two small portals wasn’t it. One led
directly to Bell Rock, just a few miles away.
The other
appeared to link to Lemuria.
There was no scent of demon, no sign of
other gateways to other worlds.
Just Lemuria and Bell Rock.

“I expected more,” he said,
holding HellFire high to search for other portals. “Cathedral Rock feels so
powerful, but there’s not much here at all. I wonder why?”

“I can answer your question.”

“HellFire?”
Alton turned the sword so that the crystal blade faced him. Not that HellFire
actually had a face or even a mouth or brain or anything else remotely
functional, but he always felt better conversing with the spirit that lived in
the crystal if he was looking at the blade.

Go figure.
“Explain, please. I’m curious.”

“During the last eruption of
Mount Shasta, when the people of Lemuria relocated to Sedona, this portal was
put in place as a secret route back to Lemuria. It was used by members of the Council
of Nine.”

“But how could they go back?
Wasn’t Lemuria destroyed by the eruption?”

“No, Alton. That fear was
propagated by your father and other members of the council. Lemuria is not in
the same dimension as Mount Shasta. The volcano’s eruption had no effect on
your world, only on the exterior portals. There was no reason to leave your
home.”

Alton’s legs felt like they
might fold beneath him. He leaned against the cavern wall and stared at the
glowing blade. Eddy, Ginny, and Dax waited silently while he tried to figure
out exactly what HellFire was telling him. “Why?” he asked. “It doesn’t make
any sense. Why would my father want to uproot an entire people, move families
and all that was familiar to them to this place in the desert?”

“Your father wasn’t always the
head of the Council of Nine. The move to Sedona was entirely political, all
designed to strengthen his position as chancellor. It had worked for him before
when Lemurians abandoned their sinking continent. He used that first move and
the chaos that ensued to subjugate and then purge the women warriors from
Lemurian society, as well as usurp the power of the man who was then the
leader—his own father.”

“I’ve never heard any of this.
Couldn’t anyone stop him?”

HellFire’s glow pulsed and
faded. “Your father rules by fear and lies. Lemurians love debate, but they are
a trusting people. No one questioned him. He stepped into the role of leader by
virtue of his forceful nature. The move unsettled the status quo and further
strengthened his position. Now no one risks crossing him.”

Alton straightened up. “Why
haven’t you said anything about this before?”

HellFire shimmered. “We may
only give knowledge in its proper time. I am sorry. There are powerful limits
on what we may share.”

“Well, shit and nine hells.”
Alton glared at the blade. “If that’s true, someone has to stop my father. He’s
the reason our people won’t join the fight against demonkind, isn’t he?”

HellFire
pulsed
a brilliant blue and fell silent. Alton stared at the gateway to Lemuria. Only
a few steps and he could be home. He could find out for himself what lies his
father was spreading.

Ginny wrapped her fingers
around his forearm. “Not now, Alton. Wait until we speak with Taron. He’ll meet
us at the Bell Rock vortex in a few hours. Dax needs to go back to Evergreen,
not to Lemuria.”

He wrapped an arm around her
waist and hugged her close. “You’re right. That doesn’t mean I don’t intend to
have a heart-to-heart discussion with my father. He has a lot to answer for.”

Dax clapped a hand on Alton’s
shoulder. “I agree. It’s beginning to sound as if he’s using his position for
the good of Artigos, not for the good of Lemuria.”

“I think you’re probably
right.” Alton took another look around the small cavern. He couldn’t think
about his father right now. Didn’t want to even consider some of the terrible
things he’d done, and for what? What was his motive? Why would one man force an
entire civilization to pack up and move? Of course, Alton couldn’t figure out
how he’d convinced them to do it, either. None of this made sense and his mind
seethed with questions, but Ginny was right. This was not the time. He stared
at the two portals for a moment,
then
turned to Eddy
and Dax. “Do you want to go straight through to Bell Rock from here?”

Dax glanced at Eddy. She
shrugged. “We might as well,” she said. “Dad will be on Mount Shasta to meet us
in about an hour. It’ll take us at least that long to walk down the mountain to
the spot where he’ll be.” She turned and hugged Ginny. “You guys
be
careful, okay? And call me as soon as you talk to Taron.
We’re all going to be really anxious to hear what he’s got to say.”

Ginny grabbed Alton’s hand.
“Let’s go with them. At least as far as Bell Rock.”

Alton nodded.
“Sounds good.
Do you have everything you need?”

Eddy patted the bag hanging
from her shoulder. “All in here.” She grabbed Dax’s hand and stepped through
the portal. Ginny and Alton followed right behind them.

Within a few steps they’d
popped out into the energy vortex in Bell Rock. The difference was noticeable
the moment they left the purely feminine energy of the vortex at Red Rock
Crossing. Here, where masculine and feminine energy was in balance, there was
neither a sense of joy nor fear. Instead, Alton felt energized and ready for
whatever he might need to face.

“The seal is still holding.”
He ran his fingers over the melted stone that marked the portal to Abyss. “I
closed this the first day I arrived.”

Dax sniffed the air. “There’s
no sulfur stench at all. They haven’t made a new gateway.”

Eddy gazed around the large
cavern. “I don’t see any others that might lead to Abyss. Ginny, you closed the
one in Boynton Canyon, right?”

Ginny nodded. “I did.”

“Okay, that’s Bell Rock,
Boynton Canyon, and the one at the airport. There wasn’t a portal to Abyss at
Red Rock Crossing, so unless there’s a vortex we’re missing, that should be all
of them.” Eddy looked from one to the other. “Agreed?”

“Which means the only demons
we should need to worry about are the ones that are already here—and the demon
king, who doesn’t appear to need a portal, which is just plain scary.” Dax took
a deep breath. “So, how many is that?”

“A bunch,” Alton said.
“Hundreds, at the most, a dozen or so at the least, including the
demon king.
There was a huge flock of possessed birds that got away,
though we did kill an awful lot of demons early this morning.”

“Yeah, but the vet is still
seeing possessed animals at the clinic,” Ginny added.

Alton agreed. “We need to get
over there. I can’t wait to see how he’s catching and freezing the bastards.”

Eddy stood on her toes and
kissed his cheek. “You do that. I’m taking Dax home. We’ll be back in a couple
of days.
Sooner if he’s feeling better or if you need us, but
call as soon as you talk to Taron.”
She turned and gave Ginny a big hug.
“And be careful. Don’t take any chances.”

Laughing, Ginny hugged her
back. “You’re kidding, right? You’re leaving me here with this crazy Lemurian
to hunt demons and telling me not to take chances? A little late for that,
don’t you think? Go.
Now.
Give your dad a big kiss for
me.
Dax?
Get healthy and come back.” She gave Eddy a
slight shove toward the portal to Mount Shasta.

Dax grabbed Eddy’s hand and
they stepped through the gateway and disappeared. Ginny stared at the pulsing
color that marked the portal and sighed. “She’s the best girlfriend I’ve ever
had.” She leaned her head against Alton’s shoulder. “But I realized today,
you’re my best friend. You know me even better than Eddy does.”

Alton wrapped his arm around
her waist. “Thank you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I feel the same about
you. It’s a good feeling, but I understand your feelings for Eddy. Though Taron
is my oldest male friend, I’ve grown closer to Dax because of what we’ve
shared. I worry about him. He needs to regain his strength before he fights the
demon king again.”

Ginny tugged his arm and
turned toward the portal that would take them back to Red Rock Crossing. “I
know. I just hope the demon king hasn’t followed him back to Evergreen.”

Alton stared at the portal
Eddy and Dax had just passed through. He took a deep breath and let it out in a
long, slow sigh. Reassured there was no stench of demon about, he followed
Ginny through the portal that would take them back to the Red Rock Crossing
vortex at Cathedral Rock.

They checked the vortex at
Cathedral Rock one more time.
Nothing at all.
No sign
of any other gateways beyond the one to Bell Rock and the other to Lemuria. Ginny
felt Alton’s anger even without telepathy—thank goodness they wouldn’t be
seeing his father anytime soon. She didn’t want to think about what that
meeting would be like.

They left the vortex and
walked the short distance back to the Yukon. It was cool and clear out today.
The air smelled fresh and clean. No scent of sulfur, no hint of demons.

Ginny stopped beside the car
door. “We’ve got time to go see the vet.”

Alton nodded, but it was
obvious his mind was on other things. He climbed into the passenger seat
without a word. Ginny got in beside him and stuck the key in the ignition.
Before starting the engine, she turned and stared at him until he raised his
head and returned her steady gaze.

“Alton, you’re not your
father,” she said, shaking her head for emphasis. “You have no control over the
things the man has done, and no reason to feel guilty about his misdeeds.”

He looked away, stared
straight ahead, and sighed. “I can’t believe he is so obsessed with power that
he’s willing to destroy an entire civilization. I don’t understand it. He’s got
to be stopped, Ginny. Whether he’s my father or not, the man has to be
stopped.”

She stared at him long enough
that he finally tilted his head and looked at her once again. “I agree, Alton.
And I imagine you’re going to be the one to stop him. I just don’t want you to
feel guilty for doing what has to be done.”

“Thank you.” He reached across
the console and wrapped his fingers around her arm. “If you’re beside me, I
believe I can do anything.” His lips quirked up in a half smile. “Now let’s go
check out Dr. Dawson Buck and his demon cubes.”

It was almost noon by the time
they reached the clinic. Ginny parked in the back and she and Alton walked
around to the front door. The
CLOSED
sign was up.
“They must shut down for a lunch break.” She knocked sharply on the door.

Dawson Buck opened it almost
immediately. Ginny’d forgotten how attractive the man was in his own quirky
way. He was tall and lean with unkempt, shaggy dark hair, neatly trimmed beard,
and a definite twinkle in his dark blue eyes. The creases beside his mouth and
the laugh lines around his eyes said a lot about his sense of humor.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he
said, stepping back and inviting them in. “This is good timing. The staff’s
gone to a luncheon for one of my employees.
A bridal shower.”
He laughed. “Thank goodness they don’t expect me to show up.” As he talked, he
headed toward the kennel in the back of the clinic with Ginny and Alton right
behind him.

There was a large chest
freezer against one wall. “I have this for animals that need to be preserved
for testing, or for the occasional client who wants their pet stuffed or
freeze-dried.”

“Freeze-dried?”
Ginny shook her head. “Stuffing Fido is bad enough, but freeze-drying?”

Dr. Buck chuckled. “It sounds
a bit macabre, but they actually look okay when they’re done right.” He raised
the lid on the freezer and pulled out a cardboard box. “I’ve been keeping the
little bastards in here.”

He opened the box. Inside,
baggies filled with little black chunks of ice were neatly stacked in rows.

“Wow.” Alton shook his head.
“That’s fantastic. You must have fifty or sixty of them.”

“You’re good.
Fifty-seven, actually.
I got the last one yesterday. Haven’t
had any new patients brought in today, and neither have any of the other vets
in town, or the animal shelters. Everyone’s aware of the strange animal
behavior and we’re all sort of keeping up with each other, though I haven’t
mentioned demons.” He laughed and shook his head. “Enough of my peers already
think I’m nuts without that. I’m wondering, though, if we’ve got most of them.”