Matt Archer: Bloodlines (Matt Archer #4) (5 page)

It was late evening, right before sunset, when Aunt Julie
returned with her team. I’d been sitting with Uncle Mike and Captain Johnson,
planning our to visit the coven, and I didn’t miss Mike’s long sigh of relief
when their Humvee pulled up. With only one sat-phone and no other communication
equipment left usable after the attack the second night we were here, we didn’t
even have a walkie-talkie to check in with her.

As soon as her vehicle stopped, she jumped out and jogged
over to us. “Permission to speak, Major.”

I hid a smile. At home, Aunt Julie totally wore the pants.
Out on ops, though, she was all about protocol when other people were around. I
found it funny that they’d both dropped their guard long enough to flirt and
fall in love during their first mission together in Afghanistan. That didn’t
mean it was safe to approach the major’s tent without a lot of throat-clearing
first, though. I’d caught them making out more than once while we were in the
field.

Mike nodded. “What did you find?”

She pulled out a digital camera, removed the memory stick
and pointed at Mike’s laptop. “It might be better to show you.”

While we waited for her to pull up her pictures, Julie said,
“Good call on sending me out there. Your theory was right—the campsite was
marked.”

The first photograph was shot from outside camp. Scorch
marks from grenades and bullet casings covered the ground. “This was where that
last porcupine monster was lurking.” She changed pictures to a close up of
prints in the dirt. “Their tracks came from the northeast and, from the spacing
further out, they moved fast.”

Julie moved to a new image. “These are the Dingo prints.
They came from the northeast, too.” She glanced at me. “Now for the strange
part.”

The next photo was of a large, flat rock at the edge of
camp, near the clearing we’d made for the helicopter to land. That had to be
where Will was standing when Dad, Julie, and her crew came in. We’d been
covering them to make sure they weren’t ambushed as they disembarked.

The next picture was of the same spot, but the rock had been
moved. A pentagram was burned into the dirt underneath it. The edges were
scorched and jagged, but the symbol was completely symmetrical, and there was
something
wrong
about its perfection.

“Just like the one in Africa,” I told Uncle Mike. “Exactly
the same.”

“That’s not all,” Julie said. She flipped through four more
pictures—each one with a different pentagram. “There were four of them
surrounding camp. The first one was the only one right next to our perimeter,
but they formed an open square around us. The one in camp was the top ‘point’
so to speak.”

“How far apart were they?” Uncle Mike asked.

“Five miles,” she said. “Once we found the second one, we
had a better idea how to look, but that’s why we were gone so long.”

“Five miles…about when I felt Tink coming back online,” I
said. “Whoever left these symbols laid a trap for us.”

“Like they knew where we’d be,” Johnson muttered. “But how?”

I was beginning to understand why the coven worried Dad.
Knowing approximately where we’d camp in an area the size of Missouri without
intel wasn’t natural. Not by any stretch. “I don’t know, but I bet our answer
will be at the coven.”

“It’s the only lead we have,” Uncle Mike said. “Captain
Johnson, I’d like your team to stay here and watch over Cruessan in case those
Dingoes come back.”

“If anything happens, I have a feeling Will might still be
useful. Don’t count him out,” I told them.

“Never crossed my mind to think that, Archer,” Johnson
stood. “I’ll let Cruessan know.”

So this was it; I’d known Will and I would be split up at
times on this mission, but that didn’t mean I liked it. No matter what I told
the officers, I hated the idea of leaving Will here, blind and exposed. But we
had to go. It was our only hope.

“Chief, are you up for going tonight?” Uncle Mike asked.

We’d been talking about going in the morning, when we had
the protection of sunlight, so this switch had me surprised. “Why?”

He quirked an eyebrow, an expression that always sparked off
a mix of dread and excitement in my gut. “Because they’ll expect us to come
during the day.”

Not the most sound logic in the world, but I had to admit I
liked it. “I seem to have Dad’s willingness to skate the edge and your habit of
making risky choices. I’m in.”

* * *

“You sure you’re okay?” I asked Will an hour later.

He stood tall, but it looked to me like he’d lost a few
pounds in the last two days and there were dark circles under his eyes. I
decided not to tell him about the tiny circle of white hair that had appeared
on the back of his head, a spot the size of a quarter that stood out against
his buzzed-short black hair. Being blind was enough to go on for now.

He clenched his jaw and I wondered if he’d bark at me about
pitying him. Instead, he said, “I’m fine. Coach Shaw has been giving me a
nonstop pep talk ever since you handed me my knife. He says I’ll be okay.”

I had no doubt Coach Shaw was working hard to help Will
recover, but I’d been touched by the Dark—briefly—a couple of times, and it had
hurt like hell. I couldn’t begin to understand what Will was going through.
“All right. I’ll be back soon and I’ll be bringing you a present.”

He laughed. “I always wanted my very own witch.” The smile
faded into a grim scowl. “Be careful out there.”

“You be careful here.”

An awkward silence followed. I couldn’t figure out how to
say goodbye, knowing each of us was facing an equally dangerous situation.

“Archer!” Lanningham called. “We’re loading up.”

Well, that was one way. “Coming.”

I gave Will a fist bump then turned without saying anything
else. I was halfway to our Humvee when he yelled, “If you die out there, I’ll hate
you forever, dude!”

I laughed. “And if you die before I get back, don’t even
think about haunting me. I’ll hire an exorcist if you do!”

My dad was waiting inside, sitting next to Dorland in the
rear facing back seat, when I climbed in. He raised an eyebrow. “‘Don’t even
think about haunting me?’”

“Gotta break the tension somehow.” I checked the front;
Blakeney was driving, with Lanningham riding shotgun. I had the best possible
team going with me, but I was antsy. Dad’s warnings about the coven still rang
between my ears.

Uncle Mike, sounding bone-weary, said, “Here’s the
drill…we’ll stop a half-mile out and hike. I don’t care if these witches have
some kind of ESP or weird radar to tell them we’re coming. We’re not going to
drive up to their front door and ask if we can borrow a cup of sugar.”

The image of a bunch of unwashed guys in camo showing up at
some grandma’s door, looking to bum a snack, set me off and I laughed until my
sides hurt. Mike rolled his eyes.

“You okay?” Lanningham asked. “You sound like you’re about
to pop back there.”

I struggled to regain my calm. “Sorry. Just letting off a
little steam.”

Tink tsked in my head.
I really should’ve regulated your
hormones a year ago. Maybe you’d be less prone to random mood swings.

“It’s a little late for that now,” I said, secretly wishing
that she’d tried.

Tell me something I don’t know.
She sighed.
You
need to focus. I need to see and hear everything during this trip, understand?

“Sir, yes sir.”

Tink let off a barrage of words in her own language, which I
interpreted to mean something like, “Get off my lawn, you damn kid!”

I almost started laughing again, but Tink snapped me in the
forehead before I could. “Ow! Stop that!”

Uncle Mike gave me a sidelong glance. “I’m guessing she
didn’t appreciate you calling her ‘sir.’”

“Affirmative, Major.” I rubbed my forehead. “She’s a
vindictive little sprite, sir.”

“Archer, I’m going to get demoted for this,” Lanningham
said, turning to look at me over Dorland’s shoulder, “but you’ve been a lot
more fun to work with since you got laid.”

Dorland mashed his lips together like he was trying not to
laugh. Uncle Mike didn’t even bother, and he cracked up. “Oh, man. I wanted to
razz him about his newfound swagger at the meeting in D.C. before we shipped
out, but there just wasn’t an appropriate time.”

“Wait…how did you even know? It isn’t like I talk about it.”
I grimaced. “Will told you, didn’t he? That bastard.”

“No one told us,” Lanningham said, a big grin on his face.
“But thanks for confirming our suspicions.”

“Is it that obvious?” I asked. A horrible thought entered my
mind. “Please tell me Mom can’t tell.”

“It’s a guy thing,” Uncle Mike said. “Moms are really good
at ignoring the signs because they don’t want their babies to grow up.” He
paused, then asked, “You’re being safe, right?”

I buried my face in my hands. My cheeks were so hot, they
burned my fingers. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation in front of
my father. You guys suck.”

“You going to answer the major’s question?”

I looked up at Dad. The corner of his mouth was twitching
but his expression was totally serious.

“Why’d I get out of bed today?” I asked.

“To stab your best friend and save his life,” Uncle Mike
said. “Stop avoiding the question.”

“Yes, okay?” I shook my head, wishing I could beam out of
the Humvee to Tahiti and never see these jackasses again. “Believe it or not,
my older brother gave me condoms for Christmas. Seriously, who does that?”

Dad leaned back in his seat, a smile spreading across his
face. “A brother who gives a damn.”

Thinking it was high time we got off this subject, I asked,
“How far away is the compound?”

“If Officer Archer’s directions are right, about seventy
miles east-northeast,” Uncle Mike said. “The direction the monsters came from.”

“I’m right,” Dad said tersely, earning a brief glare from
Mike.

“Not much out there,” Dorland said, and I silently thanked
him for interrupting a brewing argument. After shooting me a knowing look,
Dorland continued with his inventory of all the ammunition for the M240 machine
gun mounted on the roof of our vehicle. “I only have six grenades and two
rockets. Think we need anything else, Major?”

“Let’s hope not.”

We set out under a black sky exploding with stars. If
nothing else, visiting the absolute ends of the earth meant going places
without light pollution and the night sky was spectacular. A stiff, cool wind
blew into the open windows; a reminder that autumn was coming to the southern
hemisphere, even if it was March and I expected spring. If only the nights
could stay peaceful, this wouldn’t be a half-bad trip.

I nudged Uncle Mike. “Where’s Aunt Julie?”

“We’re headed into a potential combat situation. She
couldn’t come,” he said quietly. “Women aren’t allowed on combat teams, not yet
at least. There’s plans to change that soon, but not today. She’s here for
intelligence only.” He twisted his wedding ring around his finger. “Good excuse
for me.”

Never mind that she was our best shooter. Still, I was kind
of glad she had to stay behind. Better chance of her making it home to see Baby
Kate. Maybe it was wrong of me to think that way—Mom often lectured us on a
woman’s ability to do anything a guy could do. Brent had once responded with,
“You can’t pee your name in the snow,” and had been grounded for two weeks.
Still, I’d take a lecture when I got back home, so long as both of Katie’s
parents came back with me, safe and sound.

I looked up and caught Dad watching me. He sure seemed to do
that a lot. The hard part was deciding whether I was glad to have his undivided
attention, or uncomfortable that he kept staring. Something about being
abandoned left me with this hole inside, a desire to prove I was worth his
time, to make him regret leaving me behind. He’d said it was complicated, about
why he left. I’d have to find out what that meant sometime, because from where
I was standing, there weren’t enough good reasons to justify it.

After a minute, the staring started to bug me. “Something
wrong?”

“Just observing.”

“Okay, I don’t understand CIA-speak, so could you stop with
the cryptic answers?”

Uncle Mike tried to cover up a laugh with a cough and Dad
shot him the same kind of look I’d give Will when he gloated after
“accidentally” shooting me in the head while we played
Halo
. I sat back
in my seat, more confused than ever. Had they been friends before Mike found
out what Dad’s job was?

Dad finished giving Mike the stink-eye and said, “You and
the major have the exact same mannerisms. From your posture when you sit to the
way you your lace your boots.”

Was it just me, or did he sound wistful? No, that was
probably me
hoping
he sounded wistful. “He taught me how to tie my
shoes.”

Dad blinked. “Of course.”

I could feel the temperature drop ten degrees as Uncle Mike
tensed up next to me. Dorland shifted uncomfortably and asked Blakeney something
about the road. I wished I could find a way to avoid this conversation, too,
but I was caught in the middle. Again.

“And why did I teach him to tie his shoes?” Uncle Mike
growled. “Because his father wasn’t around to do it.”

“I had a job to do. You know that,” Dad snapped. “And, if I
remember correctly, you threatened to kill me if I came near your sister or the
kids after that.”

“Nice excuse,” Mike said. “I wouldn’t have let threats stop
me from seeing my family, but you were always good at hiding, weren’t you?”

Dad’s face went ice-cold. My heart stuttered; Mike was
angry, but Dad? He looked ready turn my uncle inside out.

When he spoke again, his tone dripped with pent-up violence.
“This isn’t the place, but let me assure you, when it is, we’re having this out
the hard way.”