Bitter Waters (30 page)

“Get Core, Io. We had problems.” Ice got out of the driver's door, slammed the door shut. “And they haven't gone away.”

Ukiah heard Io move off, calling “Core!” The passenger door opened and the truck shifted as the others got out. A host
of other voices gathered around the truck, asking questions of the returning three and getting no answers.

Silence moved suddenly through the cultists, and then a deep rich voice said, “What happened?”

“We were almost to Ohio when the Wolf Boy showed up on a motorcycle.” Ice spoke, but it wasn't the same bullying Ice. This Ice was quiet and respectful. He jangled keys, hunting for the one for the padlock. “The Jimmy is toast, so is the trailer, and everything on the trailer is now roadkill, including at least one of the founts.”

“Which one?”

“Huey is the only one on the truck,” Ice murmured. “We loaded in such a rush; I don't know which fount was on the trailer or if there was more than one.”

“Io,” Core called out. “Go check on the founts. See which ones are missing.”

“What if we lost Dewey?” Ice pulled free the padlock with a rattle of metal on metal.

“There is still Louie and Chewie,” Core said.

“We didn't know what to do, Core,” Parity whined.

“You did the right thing,” Core said. “You returned for guidance.”

The gate rattled up and the interior light went on. William Robert Harris—Billy Bob—Core stood framed in the doorway, the rich velvet of night backdropping him. Deep gold hair down to his shoulders, and his beard trimmed into a goatee, Core obviously had cultivated a Christ-like appearance since Hutchinson's photo had been taken. His gaze was at once warm and compelling in a way that no picture could convey. The others watched him with a mixture of respect and love. He wore black like the others, but with slacks and a silk dress shirt and a black silk duster standing in for robes.

Ukiah growled at him.

“Ah, the famous Wolf Boy.”

“Ah, the famous killer of babies.”

“Who killed what babies?” Parity asked.

Ice grabbed for Ukiah. Ukiah snarled, trying to twist away, but there was no room to turn. Ice caught him by the arm, and yanked Ukiah out of the truck, dropping him hard on the
ground, broken shoulder first. Blackness washed over Ukiah, a moment of oblivion as his consciousness drowned in pain and resurfaced.

He lay on a driveway of cobbled stone in the square of light coming from the back of the truck. The stones were overhung by elm trees, a peaceful garden full of spent roses and daylilies just beyond, with the sound of running water playing nearby. The place had serenity at odds to the violence acting out in the driveway.

“ . . . will be explained,” Core was saying, examining Parity's bruised cheek while finger painting the invisible glitter of Blissfire onto the boy's face. “You've been hurt. This needs to be cleaned. Go see Ping.”

The boy's eyes dilated wide, and he breathed out, “Ping.” He managed to drag his attention back to Ukiah. “B-b-but . . .”

Core dipped his right fingers into his pocket and drew them out coated with Blissfire. “There's no need for you to concern yourself with all this. Go on.” He pressed the drug-coated fingers to Parity's lips, silencing a protest. “Go to Ping for nursing.”

Parity wet his lips, inadvertently ingesting the drug, and whispered hoarsely. “Nursing?” The boy lost to the drug's and Core's persuasion and stumbled away.

Core, though, seemed unaffected by handling the Blissfire; apparently he'd built up a resistance to the sexual stimulation.

“He needs more conditioning,” Ice murmured, so quietly only Core and Ukiah caught the words. “You should have sent him to the waterfall for purification.”

“All in good time,” Core promised.

“You're going to kill him with that poison,” Ukiah growled. In fact, it was probably too late for Parity, for all of the male cultists.

Core reached out and caught his chin, purring, “My savage little Wolf Boy . . .” The cult leader trailed off, staring into Ukiah's eyes. While Core might have been resistant to Invisible Red's normal level of persuasion, the direct skin contact triggered the drug's defensive protocols designed to keep breeders safe from territorial males. As the chiming in
Ukiah's ears grew louder, and his breathing grew ragged, Core's gaze shifted from hostility to dreamy sexual interest.

Ukiah jerked away from Core.

“Should I take him out and lose him in the backyard?” Hash took out a pistol; it was Goodman's gun, complete with silencer.

“No!” Socket cried, her scent suddenly alluring as the drug raced through Ukiah's system. “There's no reason to hurt him. He just wants his son back. His reasons are good and just.”

“No,” Core murmured softly, but it was his word that made Hash put the gun away. “He might prove to be useful. Waste not, want not.”

“Where are the babies?” Socket's presence, as the only woman in the driveway, sucked in Ukiah's attention. In his drugged state, he was suddenly painfully aware that Socket wore black leggings like a layer of paint to her athletic legs, a black sweater dress belted with a wide leather belt, and no bra for her small firm breasts. “If we showed him that his son is fine, then maybe he'd join us. He's a good man.”

“His son?” Core blinked as if coming out of a daydream. He looked around at the open truck and the cultists gathered around him. “Where's the puppy?”

“The crate broke open in the accident,” Ice said. “I left Dongle to chase after it. We'll have to send someone to pick him and the puppy up.”

Ukiah had to drag his attention away from Socket. “What do you want with Kittanning?”

“We know what he is, which is not your son, nor the son of any man of this world. Book of Enoch, chapter six. ‘And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: “Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.” ' Their children were known as nephilim!”

“You think Kittanning's a nephilim?” Ukiah supposed it was worthless to argue that Kittanning was human, as he currently was a puppy.

“The Book of Enoch, chapter eight, says that the angel
Azazel taught men to make swords, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them. Baraqijal taught astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon.”

“What does that have to do with taking Kittanning?”

“It has everything to do with the nephilim. The Book of Jasher tells us: when the angels spawn on the daughters of men, and the sons of men taught the mixture of animals of one species with other . . . God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt . . . and the Lord said, I will blot out man that I created from the face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of the air, together with cattle and beasts that are in the field.”

Core caught Ukiah's chin again. “The fallen angels walk the earth, teaching technology to men, and men splice genes of men into animals. God is looking down, and he's seeing corruption. If we do not cut out this evil, he will blot out all living things from the planet.”

Core's madness was being drowned under the desire to nuzzle into Socket.

“Core,” Ice said softly. “We don't have time for this.”

Socket laid a hand gently on Core's arm, coming maddeningly near. “Core, is he right? Are the babies all dead? What happened?”

Core flicked his eyes to Ukiah, and then riveted his gaze on Socket. His thumb, though, continued to lazily stroke Ukiah's cheek. “Adam sinned greatly. I entrusted him with the care of two of the children in good faith, and he betrayed us all. I'm sorry, Socket. I knew how hurt you would be by the news, and at this time when we cannot afford distractions, I kept it from you.”

Socket flinched as if Core had struck her. “They're dead?” She struggled for control of herself. “We—we're giving the other two back. Right?”

“Yes, God willing.”

Ukiah sensed that Core was lying to her. Were the children already dead, or did Core have something planned for them
that Socket wouldn't cooperate with? What would Core do to her if she refused?

Core, though, found a simple way around her. “Socket, love, take the van and fetch Dongle and the puppy. Take two warriors with you, in case you need help catching the beast.”

Ice shifted nervously before pointing out, “We need everyone focused on packing and putting as much distance between us and Iron Mountain as we can.”

“We will be gone shortly,” Core murmured. “Everything rests on having the puppy: we must get it back.”

“You're not going to hurt the Wolf Boy?” Socket asked.

Core smoothed Ukiah's bangs out of his eyes. “I think we have him well in hand.” And then, because Socket continued to waver, “He'll be here safe when you get back. Go on. We need the puppy.”

“Yes, Core.”

She gathered others like a good little trooper and went, only a hand wiping her eyes to show her distress.

Core ran his hand down the line of Ukiah's body and found him rock hard. “I'm glad to see the Blissfire works on you since it doesn't on the Fallen.” Core nibbled lightly on the column of Ukiah's neck. “It saves us from doing messy and painful tests on you. You're far too beautiful to destroy lightly, but I will, if I have to. I'll cut you into pieces and burn you just like a Fallen if you don't stop fighting us.”

Ukiah swallowed down a growl. If he was going to be any help to Kittanning and the other children, he had to give the cult no reason to kill him. Since they were used to destroying Gets, his healing abilities wouldn't save him.

“That's good.” Core rubbed his hand back and forth, and murmured, “Show me that you can be trusted, and I'll share you with Socket. Under that dress, those leggings are so snug that you can see every crease and fold of her. There's not an ounce of fat on our Socket, and when you plug in, she's hot and tight.”

The image drew shudders from Ukiah. He wanted her. If she had still been close, he wouldn't have been able to resist her.

“Core.” Ice pulled the cult leader's attention back from
Ukiah. “What should I do about the rental truck? The police are going to find pieces of the trailer, and from there they'll know which rental truck to look for.”

“Depends.” Core left Ukiah reluctantly. “What did you find, Io?”

“Dewey and Louie are here,” Io said. “I couldn't find Chewie or Huey.”

This time it clicked for Ukiah. He had been hearing the names and not understanding. Du-ae, Chu-ae, Loo-ae, Hu-ae. The four deaths.

“Huey is on the truck.” Ice indicated the rental truck beside him. Hu-ae. Little Death: the source of Invisible Red.

“Make room for Louie and load it onto the truck,” Core ordered Io, pointing to the crowded back of the rental truck. “We'll put Dewey in the van. Everything else we can abandon if we have to. Ice, take the founts to the rendezvous, unload the truck, and then lose it someplace. See if you can locate another truck to replace it. We need to be gone from here, and soon.”

“And afterward?” Ice asked. “Are we still going through with the Cleansing?”

Core nodded. “That's why I'm keeping Dewey close at hand.”

Cleansing? Fear bolted through Ukiah. What were they planning? If they had figured out Hu-ae, then it was fully possible for them to get Du-ae, Water Death, functioning too. Hex had primed Hu-ae at Ukiah's conception, using a sacrificed part of himself along with Ukiah and Kicking Deer's genetic samples to key the machine so that the drug could tell human from breeder from Get. Had Hex primed Du-ae too? No, with the mother ship on Mars he needed the human race to build the Mars Rover, and after the ship's destruction, the Temple had the Ae . . .

. . . and they had kidnapped Kittanning to use with the Ae.

Ukiah felt a sickening sense of dread.

If the cult had figured out Hu-ae, they might also realize that it took three genetic samples to key Du-ae. Like Invisible Red, one slot made the waterborne pathogen from the Du-ae inert in Gets. The second slot specified a native life-form to
be protected from the virus in order to become the future hosts. The third slot targeted the life-form deemed too dangerous to be a host. The variance between the second and third slot determined the virulence of the virus. Somehow, perhaps by spying on Hex and misunderstanding something the Ontongard said during a long-distance phone call, the cultists seemed to think they needed Kittanning to key Du-ae.

If they did, they could accidentally design a virus capable of killing all life on the planet except the Ontongard and their half-breeds.

Ukiah had to stop them; he didn't know how. Core's reasoning was twisted enough that it was possible that he
wanted
to kill all life on Earth. And saying the wrong thing could get Ukiah chopped up like Adam, and he really didn't want to live through that again.