The Sacrifice (The Covenant) (2 page)

She handed it to him and
he grabbed her hand, pulling her. The road was downhill, and they constantly fought the momentum that threatened to propel them into a neck breaking speed.

“Fuck,” he gasped, the second she heard it.

“What is that?” She looked back.

“Don’t stop. They’re coming.
They’re on fucking ninja bikes.”

The black Hummer was suddenly in her sights and it was difficult to stop her limbs stuck on run
-like-hell. Micah’s body broke her stride and she cried out when she nearly plowed him over.

“Shine the light here
!”

With trembling fingers, she turned on the flashlight and fought to keep the jittery beam aimed exactly where he needed it as he
unzipped the duffle and dug through it.

“Turn it off!” The order came with the jingle of keys.

The door opened and he threw the bag in and ushered her in next. “Find the letter in the bag with the instructions.” The vehicle vroomed to life and he threw it in gear. “Seatbelt!”

Sarah fought to get the belt on as he
drove downhill without lights. She also fought not to watch the road while searching the bag.

“I got it,” she whispered.

“Open it and find the boat instructions. I need to know which way we leave out of here.” 

She scanned the letter until her eyes found the word
boat.
She mumbled through the instructions until she found what she sought. “North. To Chattanooga?”

“
God!” He looked in the rearview and Sarah jerked around. Several lights bobbed behind them in the distance. “Get ready to jump out.”

“Jump? Literally?”

“Yes!” He jerked the wheel, throwing her into the door. “The second I stop, you jump out. Get ready.”

Sarah stuffed the letter in the bag and the flashlight and zipped it back up just in time to see water quickly looming before her. “Oh shit.”

Micah hit the brakes hard and she gripped the seat and door, eyes fixed on the moonlit water racing toward them.

“Now!”

She opened the door and flew out. She spun around at the whining sound of those bikes as the vehicle gurgled into the water.

Micah snatched the bag from her. “
Come on!”

Sarah followed his sprint down the small rickety dock, realizing too late that the thing was floating. She
fought to hold the momentum of a sprint and her balance at the same time.

Micah suddenly turned and faced her. Oh shit. S
topping would take brakes she didn’t have. Micah caught her before she plunged headlong into the water then quickly redirected her down another plank of floating wood. The whines of the bikes said they were too damn close.

Gunfire erupted and Sarah screamed and ducked as she followed Micah down into a boat.

“Lay down!”

The boat lurched to life and threw Sarah to the floor as gunfire popped
in the air like fireworks.

Sarah kept wide eyes trained on Micah’s black form, hunched over the steering wheel as bullets zoomed past. Dear God.

The firing finally stopped and Sarah released a huge breath, gasping for the oxygen she’d been denying herself. She crawled toward him and wrapped his waist in a bear hug. Thank you God, thank you!

Chapter Two

Micah’s chest ached and he felt around for wounds
, shocked not to find several holes. He sucked in the sultry air, kissed silver with the hints of sunrise. He’d never been so fucking scared in his life. He pressed Sarah’s head to him, thanking her God with his entire being for seeing them both out alive. Now came the staying that way part. He’d never considered leaving the coven, so he was desperate to read Revyn’s letter and find out exactly how the fuck one went about doing that without dying.

“
Love, I need you to read what we’re supposed to do in Chattanooga. Can you do that?”

She scrambled into action and he suddenly ached to hold her for hours in his embrace. She fumbled the letter out and fought to open it. She screamed and Micah
’s heart jolted at seeing the white paper gliding in the distant gray dark behind them.

Shit!

He spun the boat around and they both looked for it. “There!” Sarah pointed, frantically. Micah gunned the engine and she reached over the boat and grabbed, coming up with only half of the letter. “Oh God!” she shrieked, reaching again and pulling out the other piece. “Jesus, I’m sorry!” The sob burst forth as she wiped her eyes. “I dropped it!” Like she couldn’t believe she’d done something so stupid.

“It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have suggested it while doing eighty in a fucking boat!” He watched her fight
carefully with the papers like a distraught child. “Put it in the bag love, until we can stop. We’ll find a way to dry it.” And pray there was such a thing as non-smearing ink, and Revyn just so happened to have some and used it on this special occasion.

The sun was fully up when they reached
their destination.

“What is that place?” Sarah asked.

“Chattanooga.”

She looked
at the passing town beyond the river bank. “Aren’t we supposed to stop there?”

“Yeah. Before they knew we were gone. My thought is they’ll come there first. I’m going until I run out of gas
. We’ll hike randomly until I figure out what to do. But we need to stay hidden and out of the public for as long as we can.”

Micah pulled the boat into a
vacant spot outside of town and looked around, making sure they were alone. He quickly got the bag and opened it, grateful to be able to see. His heart sank as he set the two wet and nearly blank papers carefully on the boat floor.

“Oh God,” she cried.

He shook his head. “It’s okay. We’ll figure out what to do. Just keep praying, please.”

She nodded and wiped
the tears from her face.

He went through the remaining contents and found standard survival gear
and two changes of clothes. He guessed he’d borrowed from Agony’s supply and was grateful he’d thought to pack shades and baseball caps, a watch with a built in compass. Micah searched all the duffle bag’s pockets and pulled out a wallet. “Oh fuck, yes!” He opened it and gasped a laugh at finding it stuffed full of hundred dollar bills. He kissed it several times. “Thank you, Revyn.”

Micah looked around again. “We need to go someplace for a few days to figure out what to do. Someplace
unplanned and untraceable.

Sarah looked at him with a
where.

He sighed and leaned against the boat wall, exhausted. “I don’t know.”

“A hotel?”

“Too dangerous.”

“Then we’ll… get a vehicle, pay cash.”

“I don’t want to do business with
anybody.
They’ll ask questions of every person in the nearby towns as it is. The less people know, the better. I’ll steal a vehicle if push comes to shove, which will get police involved. That will force them to be careful. I’ll find a way to put some heat on them, I’ve got tons of tip offs that would put them in hiding, making it harder for them to get to us.

“I have a cousin in the FBI,” she said.

He glanced at her. “Nice baby. We’ll definitely need that.” He reached and stroked her chin with his thumb. “We need to get us in normal clothes.” He handed her the change and directed her to the room below.

Micah changed while waiting. He was done when she emerged with the blue-jeans and white t-shirt and black cap. He eyed her hair. “Come here.” She went to him and he directed her to sit. “I need to cut your hair off.”

She nodded and placed it all behind her. He wanted to kiss her, but the eerie feeling of death’s fingers slowly closing in was still fresh in his pores. He gathered the hair in one tight clump and sawed it off and tossed it over the side of the boat.

Shit. They needed to get out of that boat. “We’ll start hiking here.” He indicated to the opposite side of the river. “Away from town.”

“What about the boat?”

“I’ll sink it.”

She nodded. “Good idea.”

***

They walked for hours through the woods, eating their survival rations carefully. Hours turned to a day. And a night. And another day. She wasn’t sure when the days and nights turned into eternity. He let them sleep for thirty minutes at a time and Sarah followed him blindly, not caring really where they went, just so they went. Her body was on auto-walk-forever-pilot.

Sarah
suddenly bumped into Micah’s still form and he reached behind him and gripped her hip with a
don’t move
force.

Fear sent her heart hammering as she
pressed her face into his back. What was it? An animal? The second she thought it, a low growl filled her ears. Shit!

Micah slowly pulled the knife from the sheath on his waist and the
feline growl grew in intensity and volume. “Stay. Behind me.” His whisper barely reached her ears and she nodded against his back.

An earsplitting
shrill cry erupted and Sarah screamed as a huge black cat landed on Micah, throwing them both onto the ground. She scrambled for a nearby tree, eyes wide as Micah roared with the ripping of his flesh beneath massive claws. Sarah screamed, clutching the tree, looking around for something to help with. She spotted a long stick and ran for it.

Micah growled like a beast, his hand pressing on the neck of the cat while the thing shredded his
torso with its claws. Sarah spotted his knife on the ground next to him and snatched it up. 

D
ancing left, then right, she fought to get to the cat while Micah squirmed like an electric wire to keep his hold, the animal screaming in a fit. Micah let out a roar of pain and Sara panicked, diving to the skirmish. The head of the beast in her sights, she stabbed the thing right into its eye. The air filled with an earsplitting scream as blood spurt everywhere even as Micah yanked the knife out and repeatedly stabbed the beast in its throat until it growled and twitched no more.

Several seconds of holy shit passed before Sarah voiced it.
“Holy shit!” She dropped to the ground on weak knees, body trembling.

Micah rolled
off the cat and onto his back, and Sarah crawled to examine him.

“Oh God, oh God.” His shirt was ripped to shreds across the front and soaked in blood.

He groaned and rolled onto his side. “Escape the devil to be killed by a fucking cat!”

By his tone, it wasn’t really serious. Sarah got the bag. “Tell me what to do.” She dug out the medicine container and opened it.

He grunted his way up and knelt on the ground, heaving in exhaustion. He regarded the unmoving cat, shaking his head a little. “I never ate cat before. But I’m about to.” He slowly peeled off his shirt. “Fucking starving.”

At the thought of food, Sarah’s body nearly convulsed in a hunger panic. God yes, food!
Any food.

After getting Micah’s gouges dressed, they dr
agged the cat several hundred yards. “Micah!”

He stilled, holding his hand on her. “I see it.”

“Oh my God, you think it’s empty?”

He dropped the cat.
“I’m gonna find out. You’re going to stay put and watch our supper.”

“You think it’s a hunting cabin?”

“That would be nice.”

“Stocked with food?”

“Even nicer. With running water.”

The idea of a bath struck her and she moaned in agony. “That would be miraculous.”

He chuckled and cast her a sweet look. “I just so happen to know a woman that seems to attract those.”

***

Micah both could and couldn’t believe their good fortune. It
was
a hunting cabin. It
was
well stocked. And it
was
vacant until the winter. He grinned at Sarah as he walked back and watched hope light her beautiful eyes. “Home sweet home baby.”

She gasped a frail laugh. “Are you serious?”

He kissed her on the forehead. “I am. Stocked and waiting for you.” He hefted the stupid cat up, so ready to skin it and eat the bastard. “Even has an old fashioned tub. I can heat water for your bath.”

“Oh dear God, yes,” she whispered, hurrying ahead of him.

Micah looked around the place carefully before locking them in the cabin.

“Look at this! I love this place.” She cranked the hand well and laughed as water spurted out of the mouth and into a metal sink. She regarded the old fashioned bath tub in the room. “It’ll take a year to fill that up.”

“It’ll be worth it.”

“We may have to bathe together.”

For the first time in days, desire hit Micah nearly as hard as his hunger for food. There she stood in her short hair and black cap, looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. He remembered her injuries and grabbed the large matches next to the fireplace. “A bath will likely hurt like hell.” He lowered and lit the kindling he’d gathered in it.

She winced and he angled a look at her then shook his head. Of course she’d be worried about his cat scratches more than herself. He stood and made his way to her. She kept her blue
gaze on his until she had to look up. He took her cap off and tossed it on the table next to her then stroked her face with dried bloodied fingers, so thankful. “How are you?”

She gave a small smile. “I’m… fantastic.”

He slid his thumb across her brow and smoothed her hair away from her face. “I like your hair.”

“Thank you. I know this sexy barber.”

His heart ached with love for her and he leaned and kissed the edge of her mouth. “I stink terribly.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

“We’ll get clean. And I’ll cook for you.”

“
Mmmm. Fried kitty?”

He wrapped his arms around her and winced at the pain in his abdomen. “Yes, extra fried kitty.” He nearly growled, pissed he couldn’t hug her.

“You’ll let me wash you?” She cupped his cock and it jumped in agony for her. “If you must.”

“I
must.”

He groaned as she stroked him.

“Let me suck you,” she whispered.

“Oh fuck.” He would love nothing more in that second. “My dick has been in the marsh.”

She gave a pained moan.

“I’ll draw our bath.”