Guadalupe's Tears (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Lee, Livvy, ‘Lijah and Michael hid in the shadow of the great bald mountains and watched as the mission burned to the ground. The bell was the last to go, the roof caving in as the bell fell with a deafening clang that reverberated along the boulders. The mission perished then, reduced within moments to little more than a smoldering heap of ashes and embers. The smoke billowed up like that reminded Lee of smoke signals. The good people of Casey had retreated from the street, making Casey look more like a ghost town than ever.

Lee knew they were there, cowering in the blown out remains of their houses and shops. He could hear every heart beat, could smell their fear, their sweat. He knew they were there but they weren’t merely hiding and praying fervently that Lee and his companions would grow weary and take their leave of the place. He knew that they were planning something, something ugly, but Lee was already ahead of them.

He motioned to Michael and ‘Lijah who moved closer to him. “Things are gonna get ugly come sundown,” he noted.

“I’d be truly surprised if they didn’t,” Michael agreed.

“I’m thinking that they’re planning a necktie party for all of us,” ‘Lijah said.

“Another good reason why you’re taking Livvy and heading up north.”

“No, Lee. I’m staying with you,” Livvy snapped.

“No you ain’t, you’re going with ‘Lijah and Michael, and you’re going now.” When he saw she was about to protest, he grabbed her by the arm and marched her toward the large boulders surrounding their hideout. “I swear to whatever God that’s listening I’ll toss you down onto those rocks if you don’t do what I say.”

“You freed me, you white son of a bitch,” Livvy snarled as she dangled from his arm. “That means I’m free to go where I want.”

“And that means I am free to toss your sorry ass down on those rocks if you don’t do as I tell you.”

“Okay, set me back on firm ground again then carry your sorry ass on. See if I care.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Lee said, bemused.

‘Lijah and Michael moved Livvy away from the brink. “It’s okay, Mr. Lee,” Michael said. “We’ll take good care of her.”

“Just see to it you all get to a free state. Or go up into Canada, whatever you have to do.” Lee bent down then and brushed his lips against hers. Livvy uttered a sob and threw her arms around his neck.

“I can’t be a fit husband for you, and it’s not just because I’m white, but because I ain’t a man anymore.” He offered her a faint twitch of a smile. “Make sure she stays safe,” he told the men.

“Yes, suh, we’ll sure do that.” ‘Lijah replied. They turned as a group and he watched as they climbed the rocks and disappeared into the dusk.

Lee uttered a sigh, the pang of loss fresh in whatever remained of his heart. He lit another cigar, hunkered down on his heels and listened.

He smoked half the cigar by the time night fell fully, the evening stars peeking over the rim of the horizon. His night vision was sharp now, much sharper than before, as was his sense of smell and hearing. Touch and taste lagged behind but that didn’t worry him any. The breeze picked up and he caught a scent that reminded him of old lilacs pressed into a book. She was nearby, he was certain of it, and soon she’d begin her song, which called to him, which made his body ache for her. He was determined, however, not to indulge in that baser instinct, because he knew that once he did, he’d be like her companions, a mindless craving thing that yearned only for her, ached only to do her will, enslaved by lust and the promise of satisfaction that never came.
No, she unmade me; she did this horrible thing to me. I am going to kill her if it’s the last thing I do.
He uttered a sick laugh around his cigar and added
, and it probably will be. But at least if she does kill me, I’ll die clean. I’ll die like a man.

Chapter Nine

A strange lopsided moon the color of old blood rose, casting deep shadows along the boulders. With the moon’s arrival came Phaedra’s siren’s call. Lee allowed his instincts to take over and he followed her song, climbing over high boulders and leaping over broken pieces of shale and dark brown rocks that promised to trip up the most sure-footed man. Soon, he came to a cave with Comanche paintings of buffalo hunts along with strange figures that looked like devils cavorting around a campfire. These pictures made his skin crawl. He moved around the cliff face, feeling put off by the strange markings that glowed with a strange silver sheen.

Moments later he came to the entrance of a cave. Phaedra was there, he knew. He could feel her now, just as surely as he could feel the wind on his face. A low lying storm uttered a deep rumble of thunder. The moon, lopsided and now a dirty burned orange, soared like a clipper with all hands lost above the purple clouds.

She knows I’m here
, he thought.
She knows I’ve come to her
. He felt his body respond to that awareness, and was discomforted by the betrayal. He wasn’t here for that...was he?

****

There was no need for light, as Lee learned earlier, he could see as well in the darkness as he could in the daylight. He was still cautious though, because he knew her men were lurking about. He clenched the fist on his burned hand and found it useful. He slid one of his guns out of the holster then crept deeper into the cave.

A soft moan followed by distinct laughter echoed through the cave. The entrance chamber had a deep throat, he noted, and it widened into an area much larger than the first. Firelight flickered upon the surface of the cave walls, all of them covered with eerie silvery white paintings of inhuman creatures depicting bizarre sex acts. A fire blazed in the center of the chamber and lit the cave so that the stalactites on the high vaulted ceiling shimmered like the fanciest chandeliers in New York City. Shadows from the flames leapt merrily along the walls making the eerie stick figures seem to come to life. Lee was intrigued and sickened at the same time.

Lee heard heavy breathing just beyond the flames and it drew his attention away from the silver figures and to a heaping lump of something he could barely see just beyond the flames. The sound came again, more guttural, and clearly this time, and Lee recognized it at once. That sound had once been for him and him only, but now he knew that she cried out in ecstasy for any man who was willing to bed her. Lee stood, rooted to the spot. He didn’t want to see what Phaedra was doing, and whom she was doing it with. He didn’t want to know what was going on behind the fire that lit the cave in soft yellows browns and golds. He caught a glimpse of fabric, a dress made of velvet and the color of freshly spilled blood; lie abandoned in a crumpled heap against the far wall.

The moaning and heavy breathing became rhythmic, and the lumpy shadow just beyond the flames twisted, rose and fell, rose and fell again. Lee felt his mind collapse. His chest burned with jealous rage. He could, of course, join them in their lascivious romp, but Lee knew he would rather rip the men apart than to share in his precious sanguine jewel with anyone. He strode through the flames, which were surprisingly cool, and as he exited he saw Phaedra, his Phaedra, his queen being entertained by one of her ghouls.

She was crouched over what Lee thought at first was a statue, until he saw the man’s arms, young and strong, move as they pulled her toward him as he lay on Indian blankets, his eyes white, dead as a fish; his once handsome face was flushed with obscene pleasure. Phaedra straddled him and sank down on his erection. Phaedra tossed her blood red hair as she laughed, her skin as white as ivory and just as smooth as she ground her firm hips down hard on her mount. He ghoul groaned and muttered something, which she ignored. The smell of sweat and sex was sickly sweet and repugnant, yet Lee stood transfixed, his hands clenched, his Adam’s Apple bobbing up and down, his erection hard and painful.

If Phaedra knew Lee was there she didn’t show it. She slammed her pelvis down hard on the man’s lap, ground her hips, lifted and slammed down hard again. She was magnificent, resplendent in her pleasure, her breasts full and glistening with sweat. Her legs long and trim wrapped around the man who tilted his pelvis to accommodate her. Another man came from the shadows, tall and lean, naked, of course, his hips and legs reflecting the reddish gold flames as he tipped up Phaedra’s rear and inserted himself into her anus. Phaedra uttered a deep guttural groan as his hands grasped her waist. He leaned forward and she grunted like an animal as he pushed himself into her. The cowboy on the bottom rubbed her tits as he thrust himself deep into her vagina, and Lee, repulsed yet fascinated, fought off a bizarre urge to join them.

Lee, heady from witnessing a scene he had only heard whispered about in dank back room bordellos, remembered what he came for. Revolted, he watched as a third man emerge from the shadows, straddled the head of the man on the bottom and undid his jeans. Hissing, Phaedra grasped the man by his belt buckle and dragged him close. She opened her mouth and Lee, unable to endure another moment, extracted his pistol. He held it, the tip of his revolver trembling, his mind buzzing, his erection throbbing so hard it ached.

Shoot her
, he told his hand as he aimed
. Shoot her now, while she’s coming like the back alley whore that she is.

Instead, he turned his pistol on the man who was balls deep in her ass. He fired, the bullet striking him in his temple. He twitched, plunged twice more into Phaedra, and then staggered away from her. Lee watched, astonished, as the man’s head glowed with pure white light which flowed down into his body. He caught like a photographer’s flash paper and burned up, his wailing voice echoing off the walls as he vanished.

The man Phaedra was riding rolled her off of his erection. He scrambled on his hands and knees toward Lee at an astonishing pace, the dead eyes glaring silver in his head, his mouth a gaping hole filled with fish hook teeth. Lee shot him right between the eyes. He rose up on his knees, grabbed his temples as if he could keep his cloven head together. He too, grew too bright to look at and burned up from the head down, leaving an afterglow of his presence. His mouth dry, Lee looked around for the third man, but he’d vanished in the dark recesses beyond.

“My darling Lee,” Phaedra said, smiling as he turned the gun on her. “You came at last. I am so glad you’re here.” She purred, her voice deep and husky, her scent heavy and musky, craving sex. She opened her arms for him, her body glistening in the fire light. “You are the best man. You were always the best man, I knew that when I made you.”

“Unmake me then, turn me back into a man.”

She tilted her head like a curious dog. “Or you’ll do what?”

“Or I’ll kill you as quick as I killed your men.”

Phaedra uttered a soft laugh, moving toward him slowly, her skin ghastly white, the spider web of blue veins around her neck and chest showing through nearly transparent skin. Her beauty was fading as she came to him, her arms open, her lips, bright red, like a caricature. Then her beauty reasserted itself and once again, Lee found himself transfixed.

“You are not going to kill me. You know you can’t kill me. You are my consort, Lee Hardcastle. See? You’re the only man left here. Two are dead, and the other has fled into the night. And I am meant for you, and no one else. As you see, those men couldn’t satisfy me, but you can. You have and you can again. It’s not too late, my beloved. Come to me. Be with me. Be one with me for eternity.”

She was saying more, he knew but couldn’t understand the words. He was caught up in the silver sheen of her eyes, the movement of her lips, so red, so rare and full, and her skin so white he could see through it. She had him again and in the back of his mind, he knew it. He felt the pistol slip from his fingers and land with a soft thud upon the dust. Phaedra came to him, pure and white, a glowing angel with flowing red hair. She knelt before him, smiling as she unbuttoned his jeans. His erection betrayed him and she, delighted, slipped him into her mouth her tongue playing along the surface of the tip.

Lee closed his eyes and arched his back, letting her mouth pulse and suck as she rolled her tongue around the tip of his penis. His body tingled with intense awareness and he knew then that the only way he could ever feel truly alive again was with her, as her consort, as the man of her dreams.

How many other men had she lured up here with the promise of sex and eternal life and undid them as she was undoing him now? There were three that he knew of and one was dead, all that was left was her and the incredible sensation of what her mouth was doing.

But her mouth was cold, cold as ice and her eyes were like dead fish lying on the surface of the Concho river because all the air had leeched out of the water and they smothered, as would he if he committed himself to her.

But she was naked and beautiful and he pushed her away and rolled her on her back, hovering over her, ready to enter her, longingly, achingly. He needed it. He knew it would finish him, yet he couldn’t stop himself. She was poison, she was a drug, and he was as addicted to her as to any opium addled sailor on the Bowery.

He hesitated then, and gazed down upon her. She was so beautiful. Her hair so red, her lips so moist, her eyes so dead and glistening yet alive and dangerous...

An obscene blast echoed throughout the chamber. He fell flat on top of Phaedra as another blast ripped through with a deafening roar. White light blasted just to his right and he realized with a shock that the third man was there, naked, hiding in the dark, waiting for the chance to challenge the usurper. He was destroyed in a blaze of light. Lee heard the final sound of a shotgun bolt sliding back, and Phaedra, outraged over the intrusion, pushed him aside as she arose, vengeful and hideous. Lee scrambled away, shocked as he struggled to hoist his jeans up over his hips. He paused dumbfounded as he looked at the woman he had made love to. At that instant Lee saw Phaedra as she truly was. Reality slammed home at last, breaking her spell. Phaedra seemed to know this too. She glared at him, opened her hideous maw and uttered a guttural hiss that caused fear to clatter down his backbone, and his penis to wilt. Lee scrambled for his pistols as the horrible creature that took the form of a woman but most definitely was not, launched herself toward through the bonfire and out toward the cave’s entrance. He heard Livvy’s angry shout just as the shotgun reported for the second time.

“Livvy?” Lee shouted as he rushed through the fire with his pistol raised. “Livvy!”

Just as he cleared the flames, he saw Phaedra standing before the girl. Livvy looked like a warrior queen with her eyes blazing with pure hatred, her hair undone and flowing down her shoulders, her body erect and the rifle aimed at Phaedra’s heart.

“Get away from her,” Lee shouted, aiming his pistol.

“Which one of us are you talking to, fool?” Livvy asked. Phaedra turned on him then, her face hideous, her eyes that glowed an ethereal white, her skin tattered and torn, her mouth filled with fishhook teeth. She reeked of sex and death, old graveyards and musty vacated rooms. Her features melted and she returned to her former beauty. It didn’t matter; Lee had seen the real Phaedra. His desire to kill her returned, sharp and bitter as arsenic.

“If you unmade me you can turn me back,” he said. “I’ll spare your life if you do that.”

“I’ve given you eternal life, my darling. A life I want you to spend with me.”

“I don’t want any part of a life with you. I want my old life back, now.”

“What was done cannot be undone, my darling.”

“So you won’t help me?”

“She’s lying,” Livvy said.

“How do you know?” Lee asked without lowering his weapon.

“Because she be talking,” Livvy said.

“I want you to be with me,” Phaedra said simply. “And that’s the truth. I’m the last of my kind. I want a mate, a consort, a real man who will spend eternity with me. Why would you want to be a mere man when I have given you what God himself refused to provide humanity? Stay here with me and become a god.”

“She’s lying to you, Lee.” Livvy’s strong young voice rang out clear. “She’s a lying ho, and you know it. She can fix you, but she won’t. She ain’t gonna do nothing for you. Do you think she did anything for those mens of hers other than to take their minds away and make them her slaves?”

“Are you going to listen to the ravings of a silly slave girl, Lee?” Phaedra persisted, “or are you going to spend eternity with the woman who truly loves you?”

“She ain’t no woman,” Livvy shouted, hefting the rifle up on her shoulder. “She a demon who’ll suck out the rest of your soul and make you her slave.”

“I know” Lee said, and pulled the trigger.

Phaedra blurred but her speed wasn’t quick enough to avoid the bullet completely. The bullet nicked Phaedra’s cheek. She shrieked in fury, then in an astonishing act, turned into dust which hovered briefly, then launched itself at him. He leapt away and the dust coalesced into a huge black bird and soared out of the cavern, cackling as it went. Lee ran to the mouth of the cave with Livvy following.

They watched, astonished, as the giant bird thing flew over the town, then across the bare breasted mountains and disappeared into the night.

Lee stepped up to Livvy and grabbed her by her biceps. “I thought I told you to stay with Michael and ‘Lijah.” He said.

“I did, until they fell asleep and I came looking for you.”

“And where did you get that rifle?”

“Remember that fool up in the rocks that was shooting at us earlier? I went back and got it.” She smiled and patted the wineskin looped over her shoulder. “I doctored the shells real good, and I’s glad I did because you’d be dead now if I hadn’t.”

“You aren’t going to leave me no matter how hard I push you away are you?”

“You said I was a free woman. That means I’m free to do as I wish. And I want to stay with you.”