Nora Roberts - The Pagan Stone

“You’re a smart woman, Cybil.”

“I am.”

He took her arm, held it until she’d turned to face him. “If this works, it’s because you were smart enough to put it together.”

“If it doesn’t?”

“It won’t be because of the lack of brainpower.”

“Are you seducing me by flattering my mind?”

“No.” He smiled, trailed a finger over her cheek. “I’ll seduce you by clouding your mind. I’m telling you this is going to work.”

“Optimism? From you?”

“You’re not the only one who’s looked into rites and rituals. I’ve spent a lot of the time I’m away from here looking into those areas. Some of it’s show. But some? It’s faith and respect, and it’s truth. It’s going to work because between the six of us, we cover those bases. It’s going to work because it’s not just my blood, not just antibodies and science. Your tears are in me now. I felt them. So whatever I brought back, part of it’s you. Get your symbols, and let’s do this thing.”

She stood where she was when he walked away, stood in the moonlight with flowers in her hands, and closed her eyes. Close her heart? she thought. Get over him? No, no, not if she lived a dozen lifetimes.

It was life, Ann Hawkins had told her. The joy and the pain. It was time to accept she’d have to feel both.

They lighted the candles, and sprinkled the flowers and herbs over the ground where Gage had fallen. Over them, in the center of the circle they formed, Quinn laid the photograph she’d taken of them. All six of them linked-hands or arms-with the big dog leaning adoringly against Cal’s leg.

“Nice touch,” Cybil commented, and Quinn smiled.

“I thought so. I kept the words simple. Pass it around,” she suggested.

Cybil took the page first, and read. “You do good work.” She passed it to Gage, and so the words went from hand to hand. “Everybody got it?”

Gage took Cal ’s Boy Scout knife, skimmed the blade across his palm. Cal took the knife, mirrored the gesture. As with the words, the knife passed from hand to hand.

And they spoke together as hands clasped, and blood mixed.

“Brother to brother, brother to sister, lover to lover. Life to life for the then, for the now, for the to be. Through faith, through hope, in truth. With blood and tears to shield light from black. Brother to brother, brother to sister, lover to lover.”

Though there was no wind, the candle flames swayed and rose higher. Cal crouched. “Friend to friend,” he said and taking Lump’s paw, scored a shallow cut. Lump stared, dark eyes full of trust as Cal closed his hand over the cut. “Sorry, pal.” He straightened, shrugged. “I couldn’t leave him out.”

“He’s part of the team.” Quinn bent, picked up the photograph. “I don’t feel any different, but I believe it worked.”

“So do I.” Layla crouched to gather up the flowers and herbs. “I’m going to put these in water. It just… seems like the right thing to do.”

“It’s been a good day.” Fox took Layla’s hand, brushed his lips over her palm. “I’ve got one thing to say. Who wants cake?”

BECAUSE IT WAS A QUIET PLACE WHERE THE THREE of them could meet in private, Gage and Fox joined Cal in his office in the bowling center. Time was ticking by. Gage could all but feel the days draining away. None of them had seen Twisse, in any form, since the day Gage had shot it. But there had been signs.

The increase in animal attacks, or the bloated bodies of animals on the sides of the road. Unexplained power outages and electrical fires. Tempers grew shorter, it seemed, every day. Accidents increased.

And the dreams became a nightly plague.

“My grandmother and cousin are moving into my parents’ place today,” Cal told them. “Somebody threw a rock through Grand’s next-door-neighbor’s window yesterday. I’m trying to convince them all to move out to the farm, Fox. Safety in numbers. The fact is, the way things are, we’ll need to get those who’re willing out there soon. I know it’s earlier than we thought, I know it’s a lot, but-”

“They’re ready. My mom and dad, my brother and his family, my sister and her guy.” Fox rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a fight with Sage over the phone last night,” he added, speaking of his older sister. “She started talking about making plans to come back, to help. She’s staying in Seattle -pissed at me, but she’s staying. I used the fact that Paula’s pregnant as leverage there.”

“That’s good. Enough of your family’s involved in this. My two sisters are staying where they are, too. People are heading out of town every day. A couple here, a couple there.”

“I stopped by the flower shop yesterday,” Fox told them. “Amy told me she’s closing up the end of the week, taking a couple weeks’ vacation up in Maine. I’ve had three clients cancel appointments for next week. I’m thinking I might just close the office until after this is done.”

“Find out if there’s anything your family needs out at the farm. Supplies, tents. I don’t know.”

“I’m going to head out there later, give them a hand with some of it.”

“You need help?” Gage asked.

“No, we’ve got it covered. I might be late heading back to Cal ’s if that’s where we’ll all bunk tonight. One of you could make sure Layla’s not on her own, and gets there.”

“No problem. Anybody getting any sleep?” Cal asked them, and Gage merely laughed. “Yeah. Me, too.” Cal nudged the bloodstone over the desk. “I took this out of the safe when I got here this morning. I thought maybe if I just sit here, stare at the damn thing, something will come.”

“We’ve got so much going.” Fox pushed to his feet to pace. “I can feel it. Can’t you feel it? We’re right on the edge of it, but we just can’t push over. It seems like it’s all there, all the pieces of it. Except that one.” He picked up the stone. “Except this one. We’ve got it, but we don’t know how the hell to use it.”

“Maybe what we need is a howitzer instead of a hunk of rock.”

With a half smile, Fox turned to Gage. “I’m at the point a howitzer doesn’t sound so bad. But this is what’ll do the bastard. The women are spending nearly every waking hour-which is most of the time these days-trying to find the answer to this hunk of rock. But…”

“We can’t see past that edge,” Cal put in.

“Cybil and I have tried the link-up, but it’s either a really crappy vision, or nothing. That interference, that static the bastard can jam things with. It’s working overtime on blocking us.”

“Yeah, and Quinn’s working overtime to find a way around the block. This paranormal stuff’s her deal,” Cal said with a shrug. “Until then, we keep doing what we can do to protect ourselves, protect the town, and figure out how to use the weapons we have.”

“If we can’t take it down…” Gage began.

Fox rolled his eyes. “Here goes our Pollyanna with a penis.”

“If we can’t take it down,” Gage repeated, “if we know it’s going south, is there a way to get the women clear? To get them out? I know you’ve both thought the same.”

Fox slumped back into a chair. “Yeah.”

“I’ve gone around with it,” Cal admitted. “Even if we could convince them, which I don’t see happening, I don’t see how they’d get out, not if we have to take this stand at the Pagan Stone.”

“I don’t like it.” Fox’s jaw tightened. “But that’s where it has to be. The middle of Hawkins Wood, in the dark. I wish I didn’t know in my gut that it has to be there, that they have to go in there with us. But I do know it. So we can’t let it go south, that’s all.”