Hidden Talents

  The dogs found her first. Blinded by the darkness and the fog, Serenity stumbled over Styx before she realized he was directly in front of her. She fell. Styx stood over her and nuzzled her face. Charon came up and looked down at her with obvious canine concern.

  “Serenity?” Caleb's voice was fierce. A beam of light sliced through the fog. “Where the hell are you?”

  “Over here.” She gently pushed Styx and Charon aside and got to her feet. She was trembling.

  “Are you all right?” Caleb strode swiftly toward her through the mist, an eerie, faceless figure in the reflected glow cast by the flashlight and the moon.

  Serenity ran forward and threw herself into his arms. “I was so scared,” she said into his coat. “I've never been so scared in my life.”

  “What happened?” His arms closed protectively around her.

  “He was there, inside the cottage, waiting for me.”

  “Kincaid?”

  “Yes.”

  His arms tightened around her. “The bastard.”

  “He tried to kill me. He put a scarf around my neck.”

  “Jesus,” Caleb groaned.

  “I got away.” Serenity raised her head so quickly she collided with Caleb's jaw. “We've got to find him. I didn't get a chance to warn Zone and Ariadne. We've got to find him.”

  “We will.” Caleb's voice suddenly lacked any trace of emotion.

  “Where's Blade?” Serenity glanced around anxiously.

  “Right here.” Blade's dark bulk appeared between two trees. “I heard what you said. The infiltrator went to your place, huh? Shit. Should of thought of that possibility. You okay?”

  “Yes.” Serenity realized that her fingers were still clenched around the griffin. Its wings were digging into her palm. “He was trying to choke me from behind. I went for his eye with my necklace. When he let go for a second, I used a flying kick on his kneecap. He went down and I ran.”

  “Thatagirl” Blade said with unmistakable satisfaction and pride. “Knew you could do it.”

  “Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?” Caleb asked.

  “I taught her,” Blade said.

  Caleb looked at him. “You did.”

  “Sure.”

  “I owe you.”

  “You don't owe me a damn thing,” Blade said. “Serenity's family. Everyone in the family had a hand in raisin' her. We all taught her something.”

  “I think we'd better discuss this later,” Serenity interrupted. “I don't know if Kincaid is still in the house. I also don't know if he's armed. I didn't see a gun, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one.”

  “No, it sure don't,” Blade said. “First thing we got to do is see if he's still in the cottage.” He pulled a small pistol from his web belt and glanced at Caleb. “Meant to ask earlier if you could handle one of these.”

  Caleb glanced at the pistol. “Yes.” He reached out and took the gun from Blade's hand.

  Serenity had a sudden recollection of the marksmanship medals she had seen in the glass-fronted cabinet in the Ventress house. A new kind of fear swept through her. “Caleb, please, I don't know—”

  “Let's go.” Blade motioned to the dogs. Styx and Charon instantly gave him their full attention. He switched off the flashlight and moved silently away through the trees. The dogs fanned out on either side of him.

  Caleb turned off his own flashlight and dropped it into his coat pocket. He touched Serenity's cheek with his gloved hand. His face was unreadable in the darkness, but his voice was still curiously even. “Follow us but stay behind me until we find out what's happening.”

  Serenity nodded, then realized he probably couldn't see the motion of her head. “All right. Caleb, promise me you'll be careful. Kincaid is mentally unbalanced.”

  “Believe it or not, I had already figured that out for myself.”

  Serenity followed Caleb and Blade through the trees to the edge of the clearing that marked her driveway. In the glow of the porch light she could see that the front door was still open, just as she had left it.

  Blade gave a signal to the dogs. Styx and Charon bounded forward, sleek and lethal shadows in the fog. Serenity held her breath as the beasts went up the steps and into the cottage.

  There was no sound for a few minutes. Then Styx appeared in the doorway. Charon was right behind him. The dogs came back down the steps and trotted across the driveway to where Blade waited in the trees.

  “Looks like it's all clear,” Blade said. “Bastard's gone.”

  “He didn't come out this way,” Caleb said. “The dogs would have noticed. Must have gone out the back door.”

  “The caves,” Serenity whispered.

  Blade and Caleb exchanged glances. Then they both looked at her.

  “Why would he go to the caves?” Blade asked.

  Serenity stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Because I told him that was where Zone was hiding. Maybe he actually believed me. The man is crazy.”

  “If he went up that path,” Blade said, “we've got him cornered. There's no way down except the way he went up. Unless he goes over a cliff. Let's check it out, Ventress.”

  “Serenity will have to come with us,” Caleb said. I'm not taking the chance of leaving her alone in the cottage again.”

  “Right.” Blade glanced at Charon and Styx, who were poised to receive his orders. He said something very quietly to them.

  Again the dogs fell in on either side of him. Blade moved off to circle the cottage.

  “I don't like this, but I don't see any help for it,” Caleb muttered to Serenity. “You stay between Blade and me.”

  “I'm not going to dash off ahead and play hero, if that's what's worrying you,” she retorted. “I've already had enough excitement tonight to last me a lifetime.”

  “You and me both. When I get my hands on this jerk, I'm going to—”

  Blade's voice floated back through the shadows. “Quiet.”

  Caleb fell silent, but Serenity could feel the simmering rage in him.

  Blade used the lights from the cottage to find the path. The moonglow reflecting off the fog provided sufficient illumination to guide the small party up into the woods. They climbed the path in single file with the dogs leading the way.

  The tension was thicker than the mist. It seemed to Serenity that the night was imbued with a malevolent quality. The glowing fog creating an alien atmosphere that made the familiar forest appear strange and unnatural. She found herself starting at every small night sound. She took comfort in the knowledge that the dogs would give advance warning of Kincaid's presence.

  At the top of the trail, Blade abruptly put out a hand. Intent on finding her footing, Serenity didn't realize he had halted. She bumped into him. Caleb caught her arm to steady her.

  She looked up and saw that both Blade and Caleb were watching the rottweilers. Charon and Styx were standing, stiff and still, a few feet from the cavern entrance.

  Far back in the depths of the cavern, a flashlight beam bounced off the rocky walls.

  “Goddamn you, Marion, come out.” Kincaid's voice rang with a wild, disturbing echo inside the cave. “You can't hide from me. I'll kill you for leaving me. Got to kill you, you bitch.”

  Blade put his mouth close to Caleb's ear and spoke so softly that Serenity couldn't understand what was being said. She saw Caleb nod once. Then he did something to the pistol in hand. There was a tiny snick.

  Anxiety made Serenity's fingers tremble as she touched Caleb's arm. She looked at him, silently entreating him to be cautious. He patted her hand absently and then pointed to a rocky outcropping. It was clear he wanted her to stay hidden behind it.

  Reluctantly, she followed his silent instructions. Blade gave another hand signal to the dogs. Charon and Styx took up protective positions near her as the men separated and slipped away into the mist.

  Serenity realized that she could hardly breathe. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and found the griffin that had saved her life
. Her parents' gift to her. She held it fast and told herself that Caleb and Blade would be safe.

  The beam of Kincaid's flashlight gyrated erratically around the interior of the cave, bouncing off the stony walls, ceiling, and floor. From the outside it appeared as if a strange, frantic light show was taking place inside.

  “I'll kill you for this, you whoring bitch, Marion.” Kincaid's voice was becoming increasingly high-pitched. It hovered at the invisible edge of a precipice, almost out of control. “I'll kill you, and when I'm finished with you, I'll go back and get the one who tried to help you. She won't escape me, either. I'll show you both that I'm not weak.”

  Caleb was aware of a ghostly sense of wrongness as he listened to Kincaid's ranting. He felt the fleeting touch of a sensation that he could only call evil.

  Crouching low, he made his way to the left side of the entrance and waited until Blade was in position on the right.

  “Too bad we can't use the dogs as a distraction,” Blade said. “They could get him in the darkness, no problem. But they won't go inside that cave.”

  “The lights,” Caleb said. “We can use them to shake him up a bit. The switch is out here, remember?”

  “Yeah. Hit 'em. See what happens.”

  Caleb found the metal box beside him and snapped the switch that turned on the row of bulbs that lined one interior wall. The weak lights came on inside the cave.

  “What's that?” Kincaid yelled, startled. “Don't come in here, whoever you are.” A shot rang out. It sang with warning as it ricocheted off rock. “This is none of your business, whoever you are. This is between Marion and me.”

  “Put the gun down and come out quietly,” Caleb ordered.

  “No, I'm not finished with her. Keep away from me or I'll kill you, too. I'm going to kill all of you, starting with that bitch who sent me up here. She lied to me, didn't she? It was all a trick.”

  “Guy's actin' like he's Looney Tunes,” Blade muttered softly.

  Not that it took one to know one in this instance, Caleb thought. The diagnosis was obvious. “I don't think we're going to be able to talk him out of there.”

  “No point. Knew a guy like this once. Probably gonna have to kill him,” Blade said matter-of-factly.

  “He's not going anywhere. One of us can keep him trapped inside the cave while the other calls the sheriff. The cops are trained to handle this kind of thing. They can talk him out of there.”

  “Trouble is, no way to know if the sherriff's one of them.”

  “Blade, this is no time to go into one of your conspiracy theories.”

  “Ain't no theory. It's a fact. Lay you odds that if we hand Kincaid over to the sheriff, he'll be out on the street in a week. Kincaid's probably one of their best agents. This crazy act of his is a real clever cover. Bet he spent years workin' on it.”

  “The man's nuttier than a fruitcake, for God's sake. He's guilty of attempted murder. They can't put him back out on the street in a week.”

  Another shot roared inside the cave.

  Blade shrugged. “So maybe they'll make a show of sendin' him to a mental hospital for a few months. Keep him there until things quiet down. Then they'll say he's cured. Turn him loose. First thing he'll do is come after Serenity and Zone.”

  “Damn,” Caleb whispered. “You're severely paranoid, friend, but you're probably right.”

  “Like I said, knew a guy like him once. He'll want revenge. And he'll just keep comin' back until he gets it or until he's stopped for good.”

  The notion that Kincaid was an agent for a band of mysterious conspirators might be crazed, but unfortunately the rest of the scenario Blade had just outlined was all too likely to be correct, and Caleb knew it. Anyone who read the newspapers on a regular basis knew it. As long as Kincaid was alive, he was a threat to Serenity and Zone.

  Kincaid's gun roared again. The shot whined loudly inside the chamber.

  “Don't come in here,” Kincaid yelled. “This is between Marion and me.”

  “How the hell did I get into this one?” Caleb asked the night.

  “Just lucky, I guess,” Blade said. “Flashlight's stayin' steady now. I can see the beam hittin' the left wall. He must have put it down when we turned on the lights for him. You ready to do it?”

  “As ready as I'll ever be.” Caleb tried to remember how he had prepared himself before a round in the days when he had won a string of medals for marksmanship. His grandfather's words came back to him as clearly as if Roland was standing beside him.

  Clear your mind so you can concentrate. Take a deep breath, let it out halfway. Pull the trigger. Chances are, if you ever have to do it for real, the other guy will be out to kill you, so do it right the first time.

  At least it would be self-defense, Caleb thought as another shot rang out from within the cave. Kincaid was doing his damnedest to kill both him and Blade. And if the bastard escaped, he fully intended to go after Serenity and Zone.

  He had to be stopped.

  “If he's put down the flashlight, he'll panic when the lights go out,” Caleb said. “He won't be able to see a thing.”

  “Good idea. Hit 'em again.”

  Caleb snapped the light switch again, dousing the glow of the bulbs inside the cave. Kincaid shrieked in fury as he was suddenly enveloped by darkness.

  “I can hear him trying to find the flashlight,” Blade said. “Got to get him while he's reachin' for it.”

  Caleb's hand was already on the light switch. He hit it. The cavern's weak bulbs lit up as he ran toward the entrance. He saw Blade's dark form racing to join him.

  Kincaid's piercing shriek of undiluted rage shattered the night just as Caleb reached the chamber opening. In the pale glow that lit the inside of the cavern, Kincaid was clearly visible.

  He was teetering on the slick, wet edge of the largest of the hot spring pools. He flailed about wildly, trying to maintain his balance on the slippery surface. Even as Caleb watched, he screamed again and plunged head first into the water. The gun clattered against stone. So did Kincaid's head as the man fell.

  A sudden, deathly silence seized the interior of the cave.

  Blade lowered his gun and looked at Caleb. “He ain't comin' up real fast, is he?”

  “No.” Caleb slowly lowered his own weapon and walked toward the pool. “He's not.”

  He reached the water's edge and made himself look down. Kincaid stared back at him from the bottom of the pool, sightless eyes wide, mouth still open in a soundless scream. A dark ribbon of blood seeped from the dead man's head and mingled with the crystal clear waters of the spring. Next to Kincaid's body lay the flashlight.

  “Probably panicked and tried to grab it when we turned the lights out,” Blade said. “Just like you said he would.”

  “I think the time has come to call the sheriff.”

  “Got a better idea,” Blade said. “Just dig a hole, dump him in it and cover him up. I know a good place where no one will ever find him.”

  “We are not going to get in the habit of burying bodies around Witt's End,” Caleb said. “Bad for business. Besides, it's never that simple. There are bound to be questions. Better to deal with them now.”

  Blade looked doubtful. “I dunno. Don't like callin' in the authorities.”

  “I'll handle them,” Caleb said wearily. “I'm good at that kind of thing.”

  A small sound near the mouth of the cave made him glance in that direction. Serenity stood there, her eyes huge with concern. Caleb decided that having to answer a few questions from the authorities was a small price to pay for the satisfaction of knowing that Kincaid would never again be a threat to her.

  “Are you both all right?” Serenity asked.

  “Situation's under control,” Blade reported.

  For the second time that night Serenity ran straight into Caleb's arms. It was exactly where she was supposed to be, he thought.

  “Two accidental deaths in the past week here in a little place like Witt's End seems kind of unusual
,” Sheriff Banner observed two hours later.

  “Hell of a coincidence,” Caleb admitted. He watched as Kincaid's body was loaded into the back of the aid car.

  “Found out Kincaid had a restraining order issued against him almost a year ago.” Banner was a big man who appeared to be addicted to chewing gum. His mouth worked rhythmically as he watched the medics close the ambulance doors. “Looks like he was trying to violate it.”

  “He was. In the process he nearly killed Serenity Makepeace.”

  “Nice lady. I always stop by her store when I pass through Witt's End.” Banner chewed methodically. “Sells the best granola I ever tasted. You a friend of hers?”

  “Yes.”

  “You're a little different from most of the rest of the folks around here, aren't you?”

  “I'm a business consultant. I'm working on a project for Serenity.”

  “Uh-huh.” Banner chewed in silence for a while. “Don't quite understand why Kincaid wound up in that cave.”

  “Serenity convinced him that was where Marion was hiding. The guy was crazy. He believed her.”

  “And you and Blade trapped him inside?”

  “Right. As I told you, we were going to keep him pinned down in there while someone called you, but before we could get some assistance, Kincaid slipped and fell into the pool.”

  “Yeah, I got it all down.” Banner popped his gum and patted his notebook. “Sounds real clear-cut to me.”

  Caleb met Banner's eyes in the glare of the aid car lights. “Have I answered all your questions?”

  “Uh-huh. Kincaid was violating a restraining order, trying to find his ex-fiancée. He was armed and dangerous and had already attacked Ms. Makepeace. Went into the caves to look for a lady he called Marion. Didn't know his way around, slipped and fell. Hit his head on a rock in one of the hot springs pools. End of story.”

  “That about sums it up. If I can be of any further assistance, feel free to call.”

  “I'll do that.” Banner unwrapped a fresh stick of gum. “But I think this'll take care of it. Y'know, I've run into Kincaid's kind before.”

  “I don't doubt that, given your line of work.”

  “Real unpleasant types.”