The Kingdom

Twenty

I had to shed my jacket again by the time we reached the waterfall. The trek had taken us up and around the laurel bald, through a mountain meadow carpeted with goldenrod and along a rocky stream. As the hillside gave way to a more treacherous climb, we skirted the base of a sandstone cliff, eventually arriving at a natural archway that led us into a fern grotto shaded with sugar maples.

The waterfall was directly in front of us, the upper portion a series of cascades that merged into a single thirty-foot drop before plunging into a deep pool at the base of the cliff. All around us, craggy walls honeycombed with clefts rose at least fifty feet.

The beauty of the place was breathtaking, but already I could feel a spiny tickle at the base of my neck as I walked through the archway, Angus at my heels. I didn’t like the claustrophobic feeling of being hemmed in. I could imagine a little too vividly the scenario with Wayne Van Zandt. Once he’d entered the enclosure, he would have been trapped by whatever had followed him through the arch.

Near the base of the falls, the mouth of a cave opened into darkness. Above the entrance, three circular symbols had been carved into the face of the rock. A slight breeze swept in behind us, and a whisper ran through the trees as my gaze fastened on those marks. I inhaled sharply at the sight. “Ivy told me about those symbols, but I never imagined they’d be so large.”

“You want to take a closer look?”

My gaze traveled up the side of the cliff. “You’re joking, right?”

Thane grinned. “It’s not as dangerous as it looks. It’s actually an easy climb.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that.”

“You sure? You can’t see them from here, but there are some smaller drawings up near that ledge.” He pointed to a narrow shelf about ten feet from the top of the cliff.

“Like these?”

“I think so.”

I squinted up at the symbols. “Ivy said that no one knows what they are or who carved them.”

Thane shrugged. “All I can tell you is that they’ve been here for a long time. Up close, you can see where they’ve started to erode. You can also see chisel marks.”

“I know what they are,” I said a little breathlessly.

He turned in surprise. “You’ve seen them before?”

“Yes, on old gravestones. They’re hex signs. And despite what Ivy said, I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one around here who knows what they are.”

“Hex signs? What do they mean?”

“They’re not as ominous as they sound. Mostly, they’re used to ward off bad luck or evil spirits. Kind of like the evil eye. You see them a lot in cemeteries that are in or near old Germanic communities, especially in Pennsylvania. I’ve also seen them on gravestones in Texas and North Carolina. It’s a little unusual to find them in this area, though. And why here? Why over that cave?”

My fascination seemed lost on Thane. His attention had already been caught by a red-tailed hawk that had landed on another ledge at the top of the cliff.

“I wish I’d brought my camera.” I moved more deeply into the enclosure to get a better look at the signs. “I wonder how long they’ve been here. There must be some information about them in the library. Surely someone has written about them.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Thane said, his gaze tracking the hawk as it took flight. He walked over to the pool and knelt to skim his fingers through the water. “Ice-cold. It always is, no matter the time of year. Makes for an invigorating swim.”

That got my attention. “You’ve been swimming in this pool?”

“When I was a kid. I wasn’t supposed to come up here alone, so naturally I snuck away every chance I got.”

Light struck the cut on the side of his face, making him seem both tough and vulnerable. An appealing dichotomy, I was coming to discover.

“You’re braver than I am,” I told him.

“You’re the one who works alone in cemeteries.”

“Most cemeteries aren’t the least bit scary.”

“How would you rate Thorngate?”

“Verdict is still out,” I said lightly. My gaze lifted again to the symbols. Something tugged at the edge of my memory, and I struggled to recall what I’d read about them.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m trying to remember what I know about hex signs. You almost always see them in multiples of at least three,” I said. “The one on the outer edge, nearest the falls is the most common. It’s called a sun wheel. The one in the center is a compass star. See how the points are rounded like flower petals?”

Thane rose and walked back to where I stood. “I’ve always thought the third one was a pentagram.”

“It’s called a Drudenfuss. A witch’s foot. According to German folklore, it has the power to stamp out demons.” And then suddenly I had it. I knew what had been worrying me about that symbol. “Do you notice anything strange about it?”

“They’re all strange to me,” Thane said.

“No, this one has an anomaly. One of the lower points of the star has an open end. See how the tip is blunted?”

He tilted his head. “Are you sure that’s not just erosion or a characteristic of the rock?”

“No, I’m pretty sure the end was opened on purpose.”

“For what reason?”

“Some people believe that an open point on a pentacle is a way for evil to enter our world. And in order for it to exit, another point must be opened or the whole star destroyed.”

“So if only one point is open…”

“Evil is still here.” The breeze stirred again, arousing a murmur from the trees. Leaves peppered the surface of the pool, then floated serenely away.

“But it’s only a legend,” Thane said. “More mountain lore.”

“I know that. But in all the cemeteries I’ve visited, I’ve never once seen a pentacle with an open point. It’s a little unsettling to find one here.”

“Why? Because this place is supposed to be some sort of gateway or vortex?”

“That’s part of it.” I wrapped my arms around my middle as I gazed around. “And because it’s so closed in. It feels a little claustrophobic to me. I keep thinking about what happened to Wayne Van Zandt here. If something followed him in here that night, he never stood a chance. There’s only one way in and one way out.”

“Unless you go up,” Thane said, his gaze lifting.

I pictured the marks on Wayne’s face, those five raised scars where claws had slashed across his cheek, stealing his good looks and almost taking his life. Whether it was the vision of that attack or Ivy’s insinuation about a thin place, I didn’t know, but I began to experience the same light-headedness I’d felt in the laurel bald. I could feel that odd thrum, too, pulsating along my every nerve ending.

I turned to Thane. “Do you feel that?”

“What?”

“A vibration. I felt it earlier before we entered the thicket.”

Thane was silent for a moment. “I don’t feel anything except mist from the waterfall.”

“There’s no transformer or power plant around here?” I asked anxiously.

“Not for miles.” He paused. “Do you still feel it?”

“Yes. And I can hear it, too, if I listen closely enough. It’s like…”

“What?” He was staring down at me very intently. He made no move to touch me, but I was suddenly so aware of his presence, I could feel the heat of his flesh as surely as if he were pressing into me.

I took his hand and put it on my chest. “Can you feel it?”

His eyes darkened. “I feel your heartbeat.”

“No, it’s there. It’s inside of me…” I started to tremble. “It’s like this place is somehow a part of me… .”

My vision clouded, and an image came to me of two naked bodies entwined and straining toward climax in this very glade as the vibrations pulsated all around them, calling the dead, calling forth creatures from out of the cave and holes and up from the deepest, coldest depths of the pool to witness the union. They were everywhere, red-eyed and leering.

I felt myself sway toward him, and something in my eyes seemed to startle him. He held me at arm’s length for a moment before he swore and pulled me roughly against him.

The next thing I knew we were kissing, and I told myself I should push him away…this was all happening too fast. It wasn’t real. It was this place. It was that strange vision, that strange vibration.

I could do nothing but melt into him. Something at the core of my being had been awakened. Whatever had drawn me here, whatever was keeping me here, had also driven me into Thane Asher’s arms.

His tongue slid into my mouth, and the hum grew louder and louder until my whole body pulsated with need. I’d never felt anything like it. It was like a heartbeat, like the throb of blood through my veins, but it was coming from the mountains and from the cave and from the very land on which we stood. And it was coming from inside me.

The vision came back to me and I saw the woman rise over the man, her head thrown back in carnal abandon. As their cries and moans melded in that dark glade, I could have sworn it was Devlin and his dead wife, Mariama. Then the woman turned with a seductive smile, and I saw that it was…me.

As if in the throes of his own orgiastic dream, Thane drew me closer, one hand on my back crushing me to him, the other hand tangled in my hair, tilting my head back. He buried his face in my neck, pressing his mouth to my pulse as if he could devour my very essence. And there was nothing, nothing I could do to stop him. Because I didn’t want him to stop.

Something intruded—a sound, a ripple, a whisper of fear—and he jerked back very quickly, looking stricken. For the longest moment we stood there with ragged breath and raging emotions, until he glanced away and broke the spell. “Damn. What just happened?”

The buzzing subsided, and I stared up at him in confusion. “I don’t know.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t meet his gaze. “That was…unexpected.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t just you.” I glanced around with a shudder. “It’s this place. It makes you think strange thoughts.”

He lifted a hand to push back a lock of hair. “It never has before. But just then…I thought…”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.” But his gaze clouded. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine—” I broke off abruptly. “Where’s Angus?”

Thane glanced around, too. “He can’t have gone far. He was here a minute ago.”

I started to call to him, but Thane put a hand on my arm. “Shush. Listen.” He cocked his head.

In the silence, I heard the distant echo of a bark. “Oh, no. Thane, he’s gone into the cave.”

We were still standing face-to-face, and I hadn’t realized that my hand had crept to his chest. When I noticed, I quickly dropped it to my side.

“I’ll go in and get him,” he said.

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, you stay put. I know that cave. I explored every inch of it as a kid. It dead-ends about a quarter of a mile in, so he can’t go far.”

“But you don’t even have a flashlight.”

“I have a penlight on my key chain and I have my cell phone. Don’t worry. I’ll find him.”

I glanced anxiously at the opening in the cliff. “What if he’s cornered something in there?”

“All the more reason I should go in alone.” When I would have protested, he said, “I’m not trying to be all protective. Like I said, I’m familiar with the cave. Alone, I can move a lot faster if I need to get the hell out.”

It seemed foolish to argue with that logic. I watched him slip through the opening into darkness, then I waited by the cave for a moment, trying to pick up the sound of Angus’s bark. I heard Thane call to him, and then all was silent. I told myself they would be fine. Thane was more than capable of taking care of himself and Angus’s instincts would keep him safe. It did no one any good for me to stand there working myself up into a panic.

Nor would I dwell on that kiss. I had no idea what had happened, how I had let myself get carried away so quickly because that wasn’t at all like me. I was the cautious, reserved type. Or at least…I had once been. Before Devlin.

Moving away from the entrance, I knelt by the pool and dipped my fingers in the water. Thane was right. The water was as cold as a melted glacier, the spray from the falls like the chill of a winter rain. As I stared down into those dark depths, a leaf dropped into the water, and my reflection wavered in the tiny spirals. But even as the leaf floated past me, the ripples continued as though the water had been disturbed by some underwater eruption. Once again, I heard a hum, like the ghostly vibration of a tuning fork.

I was still staring down into the pool, watching the tiny undulations, when a reflection appeared over mine in the water. I thought it was Freya’s ghost at first, but then I realized that someone stood at the top of the cliff gazing down into the glade. Even as I lifted my head, the spirals intensified, and the reflection quivered into nothingness.

She had been there, though. I hadn’t imagined her any more than I’d invented the silhouette in the laurel bald. Someone was following us. And for that split second the face had appeared in the water, I could have sworn it was Ivy.

A sound came to me from the cave. A bark and then Thane’s voice. Thank God, they were coming back.

I was still staring up at the top of the cliff when they emerged from the cave a few moments later. Angus must have caught the girl’s scent because he began to bark excitedly.

Thane frowned. “What’s the matter with him? He was perfectly fine in the cave.”

“Someone was up there.” I pointed to the top of the cliff.

Thane glanced up. “Just now?”

“Yes. I saw a reflection in the pool, but when I looked up she was gone.”

“She?”

“It was a girl.”

He shrugged. “Probably just some kids camping out in here. I saw the remnant of a fire in the cave. Maybe that’s why she disappeared so quickly. This is Asher property. She was probably afraid of being caught trespassing.”

“Is there another way to the top of the cliff besides scaling the wall?”

“Yes, there’s a path a little farther on.”

“If someone was coming from the laurel bald, would they have had time to get up there by that path?”

A brow lifted, but all he said was, “Assuming they know the area.”

I started to mention Ivy, but then I wondered if what he’d told me earlier had planted the idea in my head. That cliff was at least fifty feet above the pool. An accurate identification from a wavering reflection didn’t seem all that plausible even to me now. And maybe that silhouette at the gravesite had been nothing more than a shadow. The sun had been in my eyes, after all.

But I hadn’t imagined those traps last night. I hadn’t imagined being lured into the woods.

“You want me to climb up there and take a look around?” Thane asked.

“You don’t need to do that. It was probably just a camper like you said.”

“You still look upset. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. But I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Let’s head back, then.”

As we walked through the archway, I glanced back into the glade, my gaze lifting to the symbols and then to the top of the cliff. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I glimpsed a shadow moving stealthily along the edge, as if trying to keep pace with us.