Stone Guardian (12 page)

A crash from the other room spurred her. She stuffed the bills in her pocket and leaped up onto the tub. Head first, Ember pushed her torso through the narrow opening and wiggled her hips to work the rest of her body out. Metal cut into her side, scraping her skin, and she kicked her legs to help her move forward. Another crash sounded closer and Ember refused to look back. Isn’t that how folks always ended up dead? She felt cold digits wrap around her ankle. Ember glanced at Elspeth. She stood to the side, her eyes were wide, her breath was coming in short bursts, and she’d formed a fist at her side.

Ember finally angled her body to see over her shoulder. The menacing eyes from her dreams looked back at her. They were part of a withered face. Thin lips peeled back to expose rotting teeth.

The hag leaned in. “I got you now. It’s time to come home.”

She flexed her leg, catching the woman in the chin with her heel. “The hell you do.” She planted her hands on the rough exterior and pushed off, falling into the alleyway. Her hands broke her fall as she threw her palms up to shield her face, tumbling into a filthy brown puddle filled with old chip bags, leaves, and other debris.

She got her feet under her and jerked the little girl by the arm to drag her with her as she sprinted off. Ember didn’t look back.

Chapter Eleven

Dark clouds churned in the sky above them, casting wide shadows on the ground. Except for a few parked cars, the streets were empty. Ember peered into a couple of store fronts and caught her and Elspeth’s reflection in the glass. They both looked disheveled. She had long dark streaks down both sides of her sweat pants, where she had wiped the grime from her hands. Her T-shirt had a tear up the side where the material had gotten caught on the sharp edge of the windowsill. She gingerly touched her rib cage where it was tender from squeezing herself through an opening that was probably an inch or two smaller than she was. Ember put her hands on her waist and her fingers brushed her pockets. Panic welled, and she patted her pants for the roll of money that should have been there. It was gone. She hung her head, and ran through the last few hours in her mind. Crap, she must have lost it in the alley somewhere. She glanced down at Elspeth and pasted a false smile on her face.

Elspeth’s white dress was now a grimy beige, and her hair hung in lank curls framing her face. Her patent leather shoes were scuffed around the toes. She held onto Ember’s hand with a pale knuckle grip. Ember exhaled and took a quick glance at her surroundings before continuing down the sidewalk. Thankfully with only a few people around, if someone took an interest in them, she wouldn’t miss it.

Elspeth tugged on her arm. “I’m still hungry.”

“Sorry sweetheart, let’s look for a diner, someplace we can sit down and have bacon.” Ember kept her tone light to belay the seriousness of their situation. Even if they did find a restaurant, she couldn’t pay for a meal.

She’d keep them in public areas. There was no way of telling how many witches were searching for them. A little farther ahead of them she spotted a gathering of homeless people loitering around a storefront. Ember looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.
Daily Bread Soup Kitchen
was painted on the wall above the threshold and the line was out the door. The perfect crowd to disappear in. Given their appearance, people would probably think they were down on their luck, too. Ember quickened her step, forcing Elspeth to trot along her side. If it was a church-run facility, could evil witches even set foot in the building? Thoughts chased themselves around in her head. There was so much she didn’t know.

They took their place in line and she caught a whiff of the person weaving back and forth in front of them. Her stomach roiled and Elspeth took a giant step back. Closing her eyes she held her breath and stepped closer into the man’s space, dragging a reluctant Elspeth with her. There was no way of telling how they were being tracked but she would cover all the bases. If a sorceress could scent out her prey like she’d heard some shifters could then let that bitch try and find her and the girl. Ember hoped the old hag caught a sinus infection in the process. She grunted. When she got out of this, Timur, Synda, Kirill, some-fucking-body was going to explain to her who did what and how.

“Do you think they’ll have bacon?” Elspeth inched forward, sticking close to Ember.

“I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t,” Ember responded absently. Her eyes burned and watered from the stench rolling off the person before them. She grabbed a tray and set it on the smooth metal counter, picking plates and utensils as she slid by the multiple stacks.

A kindly lady with a thin white net tied around her hair smiled at Elspeth, and she beamed back. “Can I have bacon, please?”

The woman reached into the pan with tongs and pulled out several slices. She waited as Ember fumbled to hand her the plate. “We’re actually serving lunch, but I happen to have a few pieces left. Is this enough for you, young lady?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Elspeth licked her lips.

“Is there anything else you’d like? Shepherd’s pie is the meal of the day,” the attendant inquired. Then her eyes changed. Her iris’s turned black and her sweet expression morphed into one of hate as her brows drew together and the corners of her mouth turned down. She held one side of the plate as Ember tried to yank it from her grasp. Utensils fell and clattered on the floor as Ember and the attendant used the dish like a rope in a tug of war.

The serving woman leaned in, and her voice sounded like a legion of people were speaking at one time. “Did you really believe you could hide from us, Ember? We knew you in your mother’s womb. Clara, our crone, had no right to take you. It’s time to come home to Babel and bring the girl child with you. If you don’t, we will be angry. That’s not something you want to do. We will destroy the gargoyle to wipe the stench of his claiming from your soul then we will go after everyone else you hold dear. Run, so that we can enjoy the folly of a chase, and know that no matter how far you go we will be the faces you see every time you look back…” The older woman started to tremble and the shaking grew worse as if she was having a seizure. She released the plate and collapsed, pulling the trays down with her.

Ember watched as other volunteers in the line surrounded the woman, and heard someone frantically calling for the paramedics. Little fingers eased over the dish still in Embers grasp and picked up each piece of the crispy meat strip. Ember looked down at Elspeth.

“Did you see that?” Ember looked back at the old woman before refocusing on Elspeth.

Elspeth chewed, swallowed, and nodded. “You’re a Babel.”

“I’m a cop.”

The child smiled and the tip of her tongue appeared between the gap between her teeth. “The Crone of Babel is calling you home. That’s how she knows where you are, you’re part of their coven.”

“How the hell—umm—heck, could I be a part of them?” Ember groused out loud. She wrapped her finger around Elspeth wrist and eased her back from the growing crowd.

“Are you going to kill me?” Elspeth stuck another fried strip of meat into her mouth.

Ember did a double take and then raised her face to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “Hell no. We need to find Timur so I can tell him we are rolling up out of creepy central.”

“They’ll come after you.” A piece of bacon protruded from between her lips.

“Then I will get you someplace safe and keep on going. I have a friend, best person in the world, her name is Synda. If I can get you to her she’ll make sure no one can touch you or she’ll singe their ass.”

Elspeth giggled. Her lips glistened from the greasy meat she’d consumed.

Ember turned on her heel and hugged Elspeth against her as they moved by the paramedics rushing to the glass doors. Police cars with flashing blue lights screeched to a stop next to the ambulance and cops passed them following the stretcher. Ember kept walking. They reached a pedestrian crosswalk and the skies opened up. Fat raindrops fell, pounding on her skin like miniature projectiles. She dropped her head forward and resisted the urge to scream. Honestly, could her day get any worse? Elspeth tugged on her hand.

She looked down at the girl. “Yes.”

“It will be all right.” Elspeth offered her a crooked smile as she patted the back of her hand.

“Sure it will, but we have to get out the rain before we both catch a cold.”

Thick wet tresses slapped Elspeth’s cheek as she shook her head. “You need to make it stop.”

“Are you possessed, too?” Ember crooked her fingers under the little girl’s chin to lift her face. She stared into her bright inquisitive eyes and saw nothing but deep green irises mottled with brown highlights.

She pointed a small finger up toward the clouds and spoke flatly. “Tell it to stop.”

“Honey, no one can control the weather.”

“You can.”

“Elspeth, see that awning over there,” Ember pointed at the building across the street. She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she swooped the child up against her and dashed across the thoroughfare.

Slim arms slipped around her neck. Elspeth burrowed her face against Ember’s throat and snuggled closer. Ember stopped under the covered entrance to another store and took several breaths. She needed a car. The wet child started to slip out of her grasp and she hefted her up, squeezing her tighter. Looking up and down the street, she realized there were only a few choices in automobiles. Ember kept Elspeth against her and exhaled, then walked into the rain storm and began trying door handles at random. The passenger door to an old sedan swung open and Ember bent at the waist to place Elspeth in the seat. She straightened and glanced about before jogging around the rear and coming up on the driver’s side. With a jerk of the handle she pulled the door wide enough to slide into the driver’s side. After yanking the visors down and finding no keys, she skimmed her fingers along the edge of the seats and around the center console. Elspeth started to shiver and huddled down into the cloth seat.

The sound of the rain pounding on the car echoed through the interior. Ember reached under the steering wheel and snatched at the casing. The plastic cracked and a few nails broke from the strength of her pull. She grunted and tried again. The old covering broke down the middle exposing the column’s interior. Throwing the pieces behind her she snatched the wires down. The tips of her fingers tingled as she grazed live wires with wet digits and sparks flew when the wrong ones brushed against each other. She pulled them apart and systematically connected each copper tip to the other. The engine sputtered. She joined the two cables together again and the dashboard lit up. Hastily pressing the filaments to each other she listened for the purr of the engine.

Raising her head above the dashboard, she checked around the car and eased the gear into drive. She glanced over at Elspeth, who had curled up, lay her cheek against her knees and fallen fast asleep. Ember reached across the child and tugged the seatbelt into place. After touching Elspeth’s chilled skin she turned the air on full blast then spun the knob into complete red so the heat would kick on. She closed her eyes and thought about Timur. His face flashed in her mind’s eye.
Come on I know you’re somewhere close
. She felt the tug in the pit of her stomach, opened her eyes, and pulled onto the street.

* * * *

A sharp pain cut through him. Ember was in trouble, he could feel it. Nightfall was still too far off for him to do anything. She was cunning and resilient. Ember would handle any problem that arose. He kept telling himself that even as he railed against the curse that turned him to stone at every daybreak. For once, being caught in the confines of his granite façade ate at him. Issues he thought he’d come to terms with hundreds of years ago resurfaced now while he was caught in his internal exile.

This was exactly why he led a solitary existence. His mate, the woman he would live and die for, was hurting, and because the sun still hung in the sky there was nothing he could do to soothe her pain or kill the bastards that caused it. Her emotions riled through him, confusion and fear felt intertwined. She was seeking him, calling for him. He latched onto the thread, and concentrating on her image in his mind he answered her and hoped like hell she heard him.

Calm settled over him. She was following the line he’d mentally tossed her way. Now he had to wait and use the time to his advantage. Tonight, he would cut down his enemies like the beast he was, and when he was through he would leave the bodies where they dropped.

* * * *

Ember pushed the vehicle to its limits. Every time the speedometer’s needle hovered at the seventy miles per hour mark the car shimmied. She lifted her foot off the pedal and the car jerked before slowing down. Thunder made the windows wobble. In the distance she saw a bolt of lightning strike the ground. Dark, ominous clouds seemed to be rolling toward them. Trying to get out of town confused her, something that had never happened to her before. For some reason she kept driving in circles until she felt a gentle caress across her cheek, as if Timur was standing right next to her, and the smell of cloves filled her senses. She made the next turn and sped through the town’s limits within a half hour. He was there with her, if only in spirit, which meant that hag hadn’t yet made good on her promise. A glance at the in-dash clock told her it was late afternoon. She’d find Timur, tell him to be careful and that she was heading home. There was no doubt he’d find her before tomorrow morning.