Water and Stone (24 page)

"You're not going by yourself, Yani. It's too dangerous... things have changed since you were last there... trust me."

He'd heard Yani rummaging around in the weapons storage room so pulling his pain-wracked body out of bed and donning a robe to shield himself from the ever-present cold that permeated his bones Rancher went to see what the girl was up to. Had the wolves come down from the north again? The last time that happened they'd lost nearly a dozen head of cattle.

That was one of the worst winters in memory, however, and now it was only late autumn... though the trees had began changing colors and dropping their leaves the days were still warm. Normally the livestock were safe save when the December cold descended hard and brutal... it was then that the predators came to the farms searching for easy meals and docile animals that knew not the wild ways of terror.

Yani stopped what she was doing, shook her head, and looked at him with eyes full of tears, as if she didn’t want to reveal her true intentions and yet was forced into doing so by his meddling ways. He loved the girl more than life at that moment.

"Something's wrong, Rancher. I think Billy's in trouble. I'm going to the chabola out on Cherry Creek Road to see if I can help him."

"Wait... I'm going with you."

"The doctor said you shouldn’t ride a horse, Rancher... the bouncing is likely to cause internal bleeding. Let me do this... I'll be fine."

"Billy's my son, Yani... if he's in trouble I want to be there for him. Besides, I don’t think horseback is a wise choice... that whole countryside is covered in spiders. Let's take the Jeep."

"I have to kill Evalena, Rancher. There's no time to explain but if she lives you and Billy are both going to die... probably others too. I'm going out there to shoot her."

"Have you ever shot anyone before, Yani?"

'"No... I've never even fired a rifle. But if I have to do it, I will."

"Why don’t we call the authorities and let them deal with this?"

"What are we supposed to tell them, Rancher? Will they believe that Evalena is actually a witch? Would you? Even if they decide to investigate our story my sister will only lie to them."

"Taking the law into our own hands is a huge risk, Yani. We could be arrested and spend the rest of our lives in prison and still fail to save Billy. Anyway, I don't think he's with your sister. Wherever he is, I think we should just sit tight and allow him to make his way back to us in his own time. This is madness."

"I have to show you something, Rancher. Do you know why I never allow you to see me without my clothes on?"

Standing up and walking close to the man as she unbuttoned her shirt she felt his eyes devouring every inch of skin as she slowly revealed herself to him... and then he gasped.

"What are those markings all over you, Yani? My Lord... who did this to you?"

"My sister... my father... maybe both of them, I don’t know for sure. I only know I was fifteen years old and someone drugged my drink and when I woke up I was like this."

"Does it hurt?"

"Oddly, no... I just feel weird about showing my body to anyone. I'm sorry."

"You don’t have any reason to be sorry, Yani. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"We aren’t dealing with a normal person, Rancher. I know you won't believe me but she's far older than she looks. Evalena worships the darkness. She's beautiful on the outside but inside she's ugly and malignant like cancer."

"But she's your sister..."

"No, not really... we're related somehow but we're not sisters, at least not in the sense you mean."

"Has she done something to Billy?"

"I don't know, Rancher. I only know I need to stop her... to shoot her dead. If I had a gun with me earlier I could've done so easily. She still doesn’t suspect that I know as much as I do, otherwise she probably would have left Texas by now. This is my only chance."

"We can't just shoot your sister, Yani. She may be all you say she is but I'd feel awful knowing we shot an unarmed girl. There must be another possibility. Let's talk about it before we do anything rash."

"If you stay here, Rancher, you'll have nothing to worry about. This isn’t about you at all... I never wanted to implicate you in any crime... this is my fight."

"If it involves my family it's my fight too, Yani... I can't let you do this alone. There's no way I could live with myself if something happened to you while I was able have done something to prevent it."

"If you want to come with me, I'm not going to stop you. Thank you... I'm not sure I could do this by myself."

"Here... let me pick out a high power rifle for you and I'll take the AK-47... if there's shooting to be done that's my weapon of choice."

The nights had turned cool and he was somehow glad the season of the new moon was upon them... the night sky was thick with stars but the landscape was as dark as the bottom of the well he once dug by hand behind the shack where Yani lived for so long. As they drove along the dark Texas back roads he absently wondered if it was still in use.

When Yani cut the lights and shut off the engine night descended like a shroud blotting out all light. Not a sound disturbed the silence but for the maddening rasp of what he knew were spiders weaving their webs and winding up their still-living victims to be eaten leisurely at a later date.

He was so weak he could barely climb out of the Jeep without becoming winded. Though he wanted Yani to drive closer to the shack he suspected Evalena might be lying in wait for them and the sound of the motor would alert her to their presence. The muffler was louder than it should be having been driven over the rough terrain for what seemed like ten thousand years.

He'd never shot anyone in his life... though he enjoyed the notion of hunting the only things he killed were empty cans and beer bottles... every time he drew a bead on an animal he couldn’t seem to bring himself to pull the trigger. Yani seemed adamant about shooting Evalena but he wasn’t at all sure he could do it... perhaps he was wrong to have come along. He'd only slow her down if they had to make a quick getaway.

"There she is... can you hit her from here, Rancher?"

"Yes... I can hit her... tell me again why we're shooting your sister?"

His hands trembled as he struggled to raise the military-style weapon to aim at the shack where Evalena stood. As he sighted her through the scope his breath caught up short. A splash of lantern light from inside the shack spilled out over the girl. She was as terrifying as she was beautiful and despite his illness he found himself wanting her in the worst of ways... even Yani paled in comparison.

"We're here to save your son, Rancher... remember?"

"But I told you Billy isn’t inside that shack, Yani... I saw for myself. There's only an old man living with your sister. What if we accidentally shoot him?"

"Are you sure about that? Evalena may well have Billy hidden inside. You said she chased you away before you were able to find out who was in there... isn’t that right, Rancher?"

"Yes... you're right. But I can't just shoot a woman for no reason, Yani. It goes against everything I believe."

It was as if his body was as full of doubts as his mind and was rebelling against the idea of killing another human being, one who had spoken to him harshly it was true but still she'd done nothing to deserve death, at least in his estimation.

"She's not my sister... give me the gun if you can't do it... I think I can hit her... and if that old man really is my father he deserves to die too."

She was right yet she was wrong... he hadn’t the will power or the strength to lift the AK-47 to his shoulder again much less take aim at the girl... if he missed, it would be the end of their quest. Evalena would know someone was out to get her... they'd never get another chance.

On the other hand, an innocent man might well pay the price. He wondered that instead of being Yani's father if it might well be his own. Even though he had long ago disenfranchised himself from the man he'd never wished him harm.

What if Yani was right? His hesitation could well result in the death of his son. Either way, Yani seemed adamant on ending Evalena's life. His own future was in grave doubt... in a few more weeks he too would be dead. If there was even a slight chance to save Billy, he had to take it.

"Here... the safety is off, Yani. If you get her in the crosshairs, squeeze the trigger. The gun is fully automatic... as long as you keep your finger on the trigger it'll keep firing... be careful, though... that's a lot of firepower. She'll kick up on you."

Yani traded weapons with him handing over the high-power rifle while taking Rancher's fully automatic in her hands. She braced her feet as she raised the weapon to her shoulder like an expert, sighted down the side-mounted scope, and squeezed off a half dozen shots in quick succession.

He couldn’t be certain but it seemed as if the girl had raised the end of the rifle at the last instant or maybe the power surprised her. Either way she missed her intended target just as he was sure he would've done too.

"Damn it... she ducked at the last second... I thought I had her."

Rancher could see movement on the front porch of the cabin as Yani continued firing emptying one clip and looking to him for a reload. Without a word he took the AK-47 from her, ejected the spent magazine, and popped in a fresh one before handing it back to her.

"I'm going in... I don’t think I got her but maybe I frightened her off. I want to see if that old man you talked about is inside... please stay here and cover me, Rancher."

Before he could object Yani slipped off into the darkness. He felt uncomfortably alone and horribly exposed even though they'd taken shelter behind what appeared to be a truck-sized boulder that seemed relatively free of cobwebs. Clicking off the safety he lifted the high-power rifle and watched Yani advance on the shack through the scope.

He could see lantern light leaking through more than a hundred bullet holes puncturing the walls of the cabin but there seemed to be no movement inside. Had Yani succeeded in killing Evalena? And what of the old man? Was he dead too?

Something was crawling up his legs.

In the heat of battle Rancher had forgotten about the spiders but apparently they remembered him. Flicking on the small flashlight he carried in his pocket he realized the rock by which he sought refuge was actually a bush covered in cobwebs and now he was surrounded by a vast hoary flock of spiders seemingly intent upon making him their next meal... every one of them was heading his way.

"They know we're here."

Though there was no one else around he spoke aloud if only to reassure himself of his humanity. Reaching down with the rifle butt he brushed the spiders off his pants as he fumbled in his pocket for his lighter.

He had taken up smoking as a kid stealing them from his parents after they passed out drunk. Though Rancher Ford had put the cigarettes down a hundred times he picked them up again a hundred and one. Each time life threw him a curve he used it as an excuse to start smoking again.

Despite knowing cigarettes weren’t good for his health he enjoyed the habit. Drawing a deep breath of smoke into his lungs sent his pulse racing and brought a clarity to his thoughts that nothing else rivaled. Though smoking cigarettes never failed to make him nauseous, especially first thing in the morning, he couldn’t wait to light up again.

Now, he was glad.

"Let's see how you little fuckers cotton to fire."

Taking off his outer shirt he wrapped it around the barrel end of the rifle before setting fire to it with the lighter he always carried. Moving the flames in a circle about him a screeching sound detonated in his ears as singed spiders retreated. A second later the cobwebs covering the brush caught fire.

If not for the good sense of taking off in the opposite direction as soon as he lighted the bush on fire he was sure he would have gone up in flames too. Luckily the fire burned out before reaching the shack... still, the air was filled with the stench of burning arachnids and the heat generated by the flaming webs scorched his clothing and blistered his face before he was able to make it back to the Jeep which offered some protection against the conflagration.

"It was a spider bite that made me sick."

He hadn’t until that moment realized that Evalena had flicked something at him that day when he paid a visit obstinately to see Billy. At the time he didn’t pay that act much attention... the bite was no worse than a mosquito. He'd shrugged it off as insignificant. Now, though, he realized how wrong he was.

Unlike the inhabitants in the vast cobwebs surrounding him and the cabin—quite obviously harmless orb weavers though larger than he had seen in the past and scary as hell—he saw it as clear as day, as if it was happening in the present moment... the spider Evalena flipped his way had been a brown recluse... its bite caused necrosis and a slow and painful death.

It gave him hope in the face of the grim reality of not knowing what was happening to him. Perhaps the doctor might have a remedy that he had not heretofore thought of not knowing exactly what they were dealing with.

"If Yani didn’t get you... you're mine now, Evalena."