Number of the Beast (Paladin Cycle, Book One) (26 page)

Isaac punched his claws
into Adela’s chest, digging his fingers deeper, grabbing for the
rib cage, and clutching at his pumping heart. Squeezing the hot wet
organ until it ruptured.

Glamoria cooed as the lacy top shed
from her body. For the second time in over two centuries, she
exposed her naked breasts to Isaac.

Son and mother circled one another,
their bare feet splattering Adela’s pooled blood.

Galmoria rushed forward, hissing,
fangs bared. Isaac slipped, landing on the slick bone
floor.

They wrestled, squirming
for the dominant stronghold. Their bodies rolled among the blood
and maggots. Galmoria flipped him. His kneecaps smashed the hard
floor and he unexpectedly found himself on hands and knees. She
slithered from his blood-soaked grasp.

Something wet and prickly circled his
anus--her demonic tongue trying to invade him!

She mounted him.

With the ferocity of a nest of
wolverines in heat, Isaac’s guttural roar echoed in the small
cavern, waking the slumbering Geminus who commenced to hissing and
clawing against their rusty shackles. Galmoria’s cold talons
pierced his back. He collapsed to his belly and rolled from under
her weight, before snatching a handful of red hair and flinging her
into the chamber wall like a living flail.  

“
You will never enslave
me.”

“
Did little Isaac come to
fuck mommy or sass her?” Galmoria hovered close to the
floor.

“
I come seeking the
blessing to mate with my twin.”

“
Have
you done what Mother asked and brought
The
Beloved
?”

“
She will be yours soon,
but my twin awaits me. I have come to dominate you.”

Galmoria screeched, the walls shook.
“You know what happens to cubs who disappoint.”

Galmoria hurled a yellow ball of
energy. It pounded into his chest and burst, unleashing a swarm of
angry hornets. Isaac growled as the flying pests stung at his naked
body.

Galmoria darted from the dungeon. Her
scream thundered throughout the lair. “Let the hunt begin, my
cub!”

Shane squeezed Amy’s hand,
“I said I want to marry you, Amy Rae Wintry.”

Amy blinked as if lost in a dark
cave.

The clatter of dirty
dishes had ceased. Incoherent whispers sifted amongst Roxy’s
patrons. All eyes focused on Shane and Amy.

She covered her gaped mouth, staring
past Shane. With a grimace, Shane glanced over his shoulder and
back at her.

“
I was gonna say yes,” she
shrieked. “Geesh.”

“
What?”
he asked.
What is she looking
at?

Amy waved a hand at him.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” She stared away again. “Ground rules!
Hush up. I can do this without your help.”

Who the
hell was Amy talking to?
He turned her
head, forcing her to look at him. “Just say yes.”

“
Somebody get my coffee,
dammit!” Robert scoffed and tugged at his tattered
overalls.

“
Good God! Gate your hens,
Mr. Campbell.” Amy tightened her grip on Shane’s hand. “Oh my gosh!
I sneezed three times this morning.”

“
You did what?”

Squealing, Amy straddled
his lap and threw her arms around his neck. “I love
you.”

“
Then say yes.”

“
Why the hell not?” Amy’s
lips curled into a devious smirk. “I mean, yes!”

The cafe erupted with applause and
shouts of congratulations. Carmen dropped dirty dishes into a tub
and ran toward Amy, arms open wide. Amy slid from Shane’s lap and
met Carmen halfway. They embraced.

“
Congrats,
mami
.”

Roxy poked her head from
the kitchen. “Well, it's about damn time, Baker. Thought you were
gonna wait ‘til the gal was an ol' maid ‘fore you married her.”
Roxy straightened the hair net covering her grayed bun. “Congrats,
you crazy kids, but y'all better get back to work ‘fore the place
gets backed up more than my brother was last
Thanksgiving.”

Amy wiped tears from her
face. She grabbed a pitcher of iced tea and refilled Mr. Campbell’s
coffee mug. “Yes, Miss Roxy.”

Mr. Campbell scowled at his mug of
iced tea.

Shane grabbed Amy by the hand and
dragged her outside to the back of the restaurant. With their hands
laced, he pinned her against the wall. He captured her lips in a
passionate kiss and lifted their arms over their heads. His body
rocked tight against hers.

Amy turned her head and
broke from the kiss. “Why now? I mean we’ve been together five
years and you not once brought up marriage. I always figured we’d
just...”

Her lips pressed tightly together, as
if she was struggling for the right way to tell him that because of
his bad boy, womanizing reputation, she figured she’d be living in
sin for the better part of her life. Better yet, maybe she thought
he’d eventually dump her and move on to his next conquest. Did she
really not know how he felt about her?

Shane gave her a sidelong
look. “You figured what?”

She shook her head.
“Nothing.”

He stepped back,
unclasping their hands. “There was an accident on the rig. Kevin
was killed. I didn’t know him that well, but his wife was eight
months pregnant with their first child. It got me
thinking.”

“
I knew something was up.
I heard a dog howl three times last night.” Her eyes narrowed. “So
you proposed because you’re friend died?”

Shane blew out a breath.

She
crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I’ve waited to
hear you ask that question since damn near puberty. I ask you why
now and all you got is ‘I got to thinking.’ God knows you’re no
Shakespeare but you gotta give me something better.”
Amy sighed, looking at the sky. “Ground rules,
remember?”

“
What ground rules?” Shane
asked.

“
Never mind,” she ground
out.

Shane’s eyes widened.
“Well, who the hell were you talking to?”

“
I could tell you but you
wouldn’t like the answer.”

He held her at arm’s length and looked
her up and down.

“
What’re you looking at?”
she asked.

“
I was picturing you in a
strait jacket. If we add some lace it’d make an eccentric wedding
gown.”

Amy socked him in the
chest. “That’s not funny.”

Carmen’s voice cut through
the back lot. “Get your skinny ass back in here before Roxy comes
out here with a frying pan.”

She gave him a forced smile and headed
toward the restaurant.

“
I love debating the finer
points of hotdog relish versus regular relish,” he said.

Amy paused, her back to
him.

He said, “I love that you
put garlic in your hot tea every morning.”

Amy turned around. A blank expression
on her face.

“
I love you,” Shane
said.

She shook her head. More tears
fell.

Shane scoffed. “What the
hell is wrong with you?”

Roxy screamed from inside the
diner.

“
I gotta go.” Amy
disappeared inside the diner.

The screen door squeaked
in protest as it swung shut with a clang.

Atticus placed Rourn’s journal and the
wilted rose on a shelf. He checked his email where he discovered a
message from Elder Cai:

The vast woodlands called
Sacred Oaks is believed to be a pathway for the righteous and evil
to pass unto this dimension from the infinite universes spread
throughout the spectrum of space and time. All of these myriad
galaxies form the multiverse that consist of every possible
alternate reality and course of time.

According to recorded
Mexican Texas history, a cult opened the portal in the 1830s. The
leader, Joseph Rawlins, an eccentric book seller and
self-proclaimed scholar, established the Ministries of I'gnonid, a
secret society and organization dedicated to the enlightening of
life, the human condition, and focused on alternatives outside
traditional Christian rhetoric; he obsessed with finding a way to
travel through space and time and into other worlds and
dimensions.

Joseph orchestrated
multiple occult rituals in attempt to control the randomization of
the cosmic elements in order to manipulate his destiny and fate in
the universe. Through the assistance of other cult members he
conducted strange and esoteric ceremonies.

On
November 11
^th
, 1833, there was an
orgy of debauchery ending in a mass cult suicide. His fifteen year
old daughter, Sera Rawlins' body was discovered raped and drowned
in the pond near the house.

Joseph was never
found.

On November 13, 1833, a
tear in the universe’s rift opened an astral gateway beneath what
is nowadays referred to as Sera's Pond. This gate links time,
space, and alternate planes allowing the transit of cosmic entities
to pass to and from the portal.

Act with caution,
Atticus.

A distant clang resounded
from somewhere downstairs. The dinner bell. Atticus descended the
stairs, intending to eat quickly then, with or without the Order’s
permission, head for Sacred Oaks.

As he reached the bottom,
Atticus saw Trish speaking to a young woman. The woman’s black
shorts stopped high on her thighs, revealing her shapely legs.
Rings of gold, large enough to double as bracelets, hung from her
ears. Hair—shiny as silk and dark as a crow’s feather—poured over
her shoulders.

“
How much do I owe you?”
Trish asked.

Atticus blew out a breath. Bloody
locusts! She was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen.

“
Roxy said you’ve got
credit,” the beauty replied.

Atticus felt his groin swell. In
horror, he glanced at his green leather pants, tight against his
obvious arousal. He cupped his hands over himself, unable to peel
his eyes from the prominent breasts peeking from her white
T-shirt.

When her eyes met his, he
feigned interest at the ‘Wanted: Roarin’ Roxy” poster.

Trish scoffed. “Roxy’s a
sweetheart. I’ve not had credit in weeks.”

Atticus wiped his brow, scanning the
lobby and nearby dining room. People talked and went about their
business as if this almost-naked woman was not lingering in their
presence. He felt his face warm with heat and pulled at the collar
of his tunic.

“
You won’t believe what
just happened.” The beauty grinned. “Shane just popped the
question.”

The raven-haired lady
sipped from a Styrofoam cup. When she swallowed, Atticus’ erection
twitched. With the back of his hand, he wiped sweat from his
forehead.

“
Get outta town,” the
owner of the establishment said. “That’s great. I’m happy for Shane
and Amy both. I mean, she did accept?”

“
Of course.” The beauty
turned and waved. “Adios, Trish.”

“
Bye, Carmen.”

Holy rattlers! Atticus inhaled. A
combination of sweet and salty aromas made him growl. He hadn’t
been this hungry since losing his way in the Guilded Safari Retreat
four years ago. He eyed the dining room. With plates and silver in
their grips, a crowd had gathered. Shaking his head, he stomped
back up the stairs, cursing his traitorous hormones. Food could
wait.

# # #

After Shane had left, a
tour bus of senior citizens stopped in. They were on their way to
Mountain View, Arkansas, for the outhouse races. The diner was
slammed for two straight hours. Amy made over a hundred dollars,
but the devil if her feet didn’t ache.

Exhausted, she waited
outside Roxy’s until Scooter pulled up, driving her Escort. She
gave him a thumb-to-the-wind sign to get out and let her behind the
wheel. She kicked off her sneakers and tossed them in the back. At
the sound of a DJ relaying the news, Amy turned the radio
up.

“
Strange news out of the
woods again, folks,” the DJ said in a slight jocular tone. “Local
wildlife and fishery discovered the bodies of two men in the
western region of Sacred Oaks this morning. The most bizarre part
of this story...y’all brace yourselves for this one now: Cause of
death...hypothermia. That’s right, y’all. They froze to death...in
Texas.” The DJ played the intro tune to Twilight Zone. “As an FYI:
yesterday’s heat index was 131.”

“
That defies any logic
whatsoever,” Scooter said.

“
The bodies have been
identified as Chris DeWalt and his younger cousin, Jacob
DeWalt.”

A chill sliced Amy’s
abdomen like a guillotine blade. “Oh my God,” she breathed
out.

“
I take it by your
reaction that you knew the recently deceased?” Scooter
asked.