Devil's Throat (The River Book 6) (12 page)

“Roy, can I have one of your beers?” Deem asked. “I could use
something.”

“Help yourself,” he said. Deem walked into Roy’s room and
returned with a beer. She popped it open and took a long draw.

“Time?” Steven asked Roy.

“Twenty eight minutes,” Roy answered.

Deem walked over to Winn and set her beer down on the
nightstand by his bed. She sat down on the bed next to him, and pressed her
hand to his chest. “Winn?” she said. “Winn? Can you hear me? We need you to
come back. Michael wasn’t here. Come back.”

Winn’s face didn’t change. Steven looked at Jason – no change
there, either.

“We’ve got to do something,” Steven said. “If we go to St.
Thomas, how would we do that?”

“We’d all trance, just like Winn,” she said. “You’ve all seen
it, so you know how to get there. We’d trance to the hotel, and try to figure
out what’s going on.”

“I think we should do it,” Steven said. “This isn’t what Winn
said would happen. And Michael’s missing. Something’s wrong.”

“I agree,” Roy said. “Let’s go.”

“Deem, why don’t you take the second bed in Roy’s room,”
Steven said.

“Steven,” Roy said, walking back into his room and rummaging
through his luggage, “I think we should share the other bed in here.”

“Should one of us stay here,” Steven said, “and keep an eye
on our bodies?”

“No,” Roy said as he pulled a hunting knife from his
suitcase. “We’ll all go.”

 “What’s that for?” Steven asked.

“Insurance,” Roy said, “just in case Michael turns up. I’m
going to do a split-trance.”

“A split-trance?” Steven asked.

“You can do that?” Deem asked enthusiastically.

“I’ve done it once or twice,” Roy said.

“Wow,” she said, marveling at Roy. “I’ve never met anyone who
could do that. Can you just go both places at once?”

“No,” Roy said, “it’s one or the other, but you have to start
the trance with the split in mind.”

“What’s a split-trance?” Steven asked.

“I’ll travel to St. Thomas with you,” Roy said, “but I’ll do
it with only part of myself. Once we get there, I’ll sort of ‘trance back’ to
my body here, with the other part. That’ll make me a little weaker in St.
Thomas, but we’ll just have to deal with that. I’ll be able to see through my
eyes here, and have some limited movement. I’ll know if someone comes in the
room, and we can return and deal with them.”

“Excellent!” Deem said.

“Alright,” Steven said. He watched as Deem laid down on the
bed and closed her eyes. Then Steven and Roy crammed into the twin bed closest
to the door.

“You got that knife?” Steven asked.

“Right here,” Roy said, raising his hand, showing the knife
to Steven.

Steven was worried he’d taken too long to achieve the trance.
He was still a newbie at it, and easily distracted. His trance kept falling
apart. After what seemed like a dozen tries, he finally found himself at the
edge of St. Thomas, looking at the building he’d seen when Winn first showed
them the town.

He walked through the streets, looking for Deem and Roy. When
he reached the town’s main street, he saw them waiting for him at the hotel. He
hurried over to them, looking for ghosts as he went.
They should all be down
for the night,
Steven thought.
They shouldn’t be out on the streets. But
something is happening, something is wrong - so who knows?

The hotel was dark and silent, just like the rest of the
town.

What took you so long?
Deem thought.

I’m not as good at it as you two,
Steven thought back.

Never mind,
Roy thought.
Time to enter this hotel and see what’s
going on.

The three of them walked up to the main doors of the hotel.
Steven instinctually reached out to open the doors, but he saw Deem and Roy
pass through them, so he followed them. It felt strange to move through the
door and suddenly have a view inside the lobby, knowing half his body was still
outside the front of the hotel.
Well, not my body exactly,
he thought.

The lobby was dark and quiet.

Have you been here before?
Roy thought to Deem.

Once,
she said.
That’s why I didn’t want to come. We can’t afford to wake
up the ghosts here. We don’t have an EM gun, and our only chance will be to
flee out of the trance and back to our bodies in the motel room, OK? If you see
me go, just follow!

Alright,
Steven thought.
Lead on.

Deem moved through the lobby, past a grand staircase that led
up to the second floor.

Callers up there,
she thought.

She moved past the staircase and towards the back of the
lobby, going through a set of double doors into a back room that looked like a
dining hall. She passed silently through the space, heading to the doors in the
far end of the room.

Steven and Roy followed. Steven couldn’t help but look at the
paintings on the walls. They were scenes from the hotel’s past.
Before it
was under water,
he thought.

Deem moved into a hallway. Straight ahead was a kitchen, but
Deem turned and walked down the hallway in a different direction. They came to
a door, which she passed through. On the other side was a stairwell leading
down.

Here we go,
she thought.
Try not to make any disturbances.

Steven wondered how exactly he’d do that, given the state he
was in. He decided it meant to shut up – perhaps their thoughts might be
overheard by the ghosts, and wake them up.

Once they reached the bottom of the wide stairwell, it opened
into a large room. Steven could see cots lined up against the far wall.

Jason has to be in one of those,
Deem thought, moving towards the
cots.
I wonder where Winn is?

Steven felt the sensation of someone coming up behind him. He
turned and was met with a branding iron. He screamed as the iron pressed into
him, going right through his shirt and into the flesh of his chest.

There’s no flesh here,
he thought.
Whatever this is, it’s all immaterial. But
damn, it hurts!

He was aware that Roy and Deem were being similarly attacked.
Deem began a physical fight with her attacker, but was quickly subdued as two
more men moved up behind her. They held her as another man finished branding
her.

Steven saw Roy fall to one knee as he was branded.
No!
Steven
thought, rushing over to Roy. He felt himself grabbed from behind, large strong
hands pulling him back. Steven watched as more dark figures grabbed Roy from
behind, holding him still.

A man emerged from the shadows of the room in front of them. He
wore black clothes and a silver necklace that caught in the dim light. There
was something about his face that was off. At first Steven thought it was the
play of the shadows of the room on his face, but the more he stared at it, the more
he realized the face was moving, shifting.

The man approached Steven and stood in front of him. The
shifting intensified. The cheeks, eyes, nose, mouth – they all altered shape
slightly, every second, as though he was constantly morphing. It was a hard
face to comprehend.

Welcome to the Gentry,
the man thought.
Did you have a reservation?

The men holding them chuckled. Steven twisted in their grip
but it just caused them to hold on tighter. From the back of the room, two more
men brought Winn to join Steven, Roy, and Deem in front of the tall man. Steven
could see a glowing brand on Winn’s neck, similar to the marks he could see on
Roy and Deem.

I’m Emmett Holmes,
the tall man thought,
and I run this town. You’ve sprung
our trap. Why?

My son Jason is here,
Steven thought.
I’ve come to take him home.

I don’t see any Jason here,
Emmett thought.
You must be mistaken.

We know that Michael brought him here,
Steven thought.
We’ve seen him,
we’ve talked to him. We know he’s here.

Oh, THAT Jason,
Emmett thought, his face continuing to shift.
I remember
now. Michael told me about him. So naïve and easily manipulated. He’s changed
his mind, decided to stay.

I don’t believe you,
Steven thought.
He wouldn’t do that.

You don’t know your son very well,
Emmett thought.
He came back and
told us all about your plan. Told us all the details, so we could meet you here
tonight. Sold you out.

No!
Steven thought.
I don’t believe it.

So he’s decided to stay,
Winn thought.
Let us go!

Nah,
Emmett thought, turning his attention to Winn.
You’ve been doing this
far too often, haven’t you? I think you’re the reason we’ve lost so many
trainees lately. I’m not going to release you just to go back out there and
keep fucking with us.

Then what are you going to do?
Winn thought.

Michael’s going to go back and get your bodies,
Emmett thought,
and then we’re
going to bleed you in The Throat. The ground is thirsty there right now, and
the blood of you four will keep things nice and moist for a while.
Emmett walked
to a corner of the room, where he lifted a small square door on the floor.
Inside
,
he thought.

One by one they were brought to the opening and tossed into
it. Then the door slammed shut above them.

Steven looked around the dark and smelly room they were in.
It was ten feet square, just tall enough to stand up in. He tried to move out
of the room, past the walls and back up into the basement, but he couldn’t.

The room’s been protected,
Winn thought.
You can’t move through it. It’s like
a jail cell in the River.

And these marks?
Roy thought.
I’m guessing they’re stopping us from
returning into our bodies.

Exactly,
Winn thought.
They force us to remain in the trance. Even if we could
get out of this room, the best we could do is stand by our bodies in the motel
room and wish we could get back into them.

Your mark isn’t as bright as ours,
Deem thought, looking at Winn’s mark
on his neck.

Really?
he thought.
I can’t see mine. I got branded a half hour before you.
As soon as I showed up to get Jason, they hit me from behind.

What do we do?
Deem thought.

If we don’t stop Michael,
Roy thought,
we’re all doomed. I’m going back to
the motel room to see what’s happening.

I told you, you can’t,
Winn thought.
You can’t get out of this room.

He’s split-trancing,
Deem thought to Winn.

Winn’s expression changed from dejection to elation. He
smiled and looked up at Roy.
Really?
he thought.
You are?

Yes,
Roy thought.
And I’ve got a knife in my hands.

Thank god,
Winn thought.
We’re in your hands now.

Steven didn’t know if Winn meant we were in Roy’s hands, or
God’s hands, and he didn’t care. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to try and get
out.
Let them kill me,
he thought.
Jason has abandoned me. Worse, he
gave us over to these bastards.

Roy closed his eyes and flipped over to the other trance he’d
initiated once he’d reached St. Thomas. He could see through the eyes of his
body, back at the motel. The room was lit by the nightstand light. He turned
his head and saw Steven next to him, breathing shallowly. Past him, in the next
bed, he saw Deem.

He turned his head back. He tried lifting his arm that held
the knife. It went up, slowly. He knew he didn’t have enough strength to make
his body stand up and move around. The best he’d be able to do is raise the
knife from where he lay. He tried raising the knife a few more times, each time
becoming a little quicker, but nowhere fast enough for his liking.

He heard movement outside the door. Roy looked as someone
worked on the lock from the other side and the handle rotated. Slowly the door
opened, letting the hot air from outside billow into the room. It was Michael.

Michael looked around the room, then walked into the
adjoining room. In a moment he came back.

Roy was closest to the door. He was hoping Michael would take
him first, so he could use his knife on him before he hauled other bodies out
to his car and killing him made for a scene in the motel parking lot. He forced
himself to make a noise to draw Michael’s attention. It came out like a whine.

Michael turned and walked over to Roy. Roy kept the knife
under his leg, gripping the handle tightly. Roy moaned again, and Michael
turned and disappeared into the bathroom. He returned to Roy and walked to the
side of the bed. He had a washcloth in his hands.

Ready,
Roy thought.
Get ready.

Michael wadded the washcloth into a ball and shoved it into
Roy’s mouth.
Not close enough,
Roy thought.
He’s got to be right over
me for it to work.

Michael walked over to Deem. He eyed her body, considering
options. Roy could see Michael reach to his belt and start to undo his buckle.

Roy moaned again.

“Shut up, old man!” Michael said, continuing to remove his
belt. He had his pants open and was lowering his zipper.

Roy moaned again, trying to get Michael’s attention, but
Michael ignored him. Michael reached for Deem’s pants, unbuttoning them and
trying to slide them down her legs. They were tight, and he was struggling, but
he was intent.

Roy moaned again. “I said shut up!” Michael said, continuing
to pull on Deem’s pants. He stopped and let his hands wander up her body to her
breasts, where he lingered, groping. It kicked him into a higher gear, and he
reached down to push his own pants lower, then returned to trying to pull off
Deem’s jeans.

Roy gave the loudest moan he could muster, forcing the
washcloth out of his mouth with his tongue. The moan pulled Michael away from
his task, irritated.

“That’s it!” Michael said, jumping off Deem and walking over
to Roy. “I told you to shut up, you old fuck!” he said as he grabbed the
washcloth. He spat into it and wadded it once again into a ball. He leaned over
Roy and shoved the washcloth forcefully into Roy’s mouth, pressing it in until
it was well past his teeth. Roy felt himself struggling to breathe. Michael
kept pressing. Roy tried another moan – it was muffled, but it came out. It
seemed to make Michael even angrier. “Shut up, shut up!” Michael yelled,
pressing on the washcloth. He leaned over and placed his face right next to
Roy’s. “Shut up!” he screamed.

Roy raised his knife. He aimed it at Michael’s midsection,
hoping for the heart, but willing to take anything that might stop him.

Roy felt the blade meet resistance as it hit Michael, then
Roy doubled his efforts and pressed upward as hard and as fast as his body
would allow. The knife began to sink past Michael’s clothes and into his chest.
Michael’s face changed from one of anger to confusion. Roy pressed again and
again, trying to drive the blade as deep as he could.