“And you were right!”
He grinned. “As a bonus, when I was studying the readout under a magnifying glass, I noticed what seemed to be a faint rectangular structure on the valley floor. Your cemetery, as it turned out.”
“And they’re related, right? We agree on that?”
“I like your concept about the witnesses,” he admitted. “But I’d tweak it a little. I don’t think they were passive witnesses. I think they’re the workers who built this thing. It was a labor of love—a spiritual one—and they knew they’d have to be killed so they wouldn’t betray its location or purpose.”
“What about the dude with the chest wound?”
Taggert laughed. “There’s one in every crowd, right? He tried to back out on the deal, and they persuaded him the hard way to stay.”
“I like that theory. Which brings us back to Hannan’s father. He had an idea about what happened to the missing tools. And that might explain the weapons too. Maybe even where the body of the executioner went after all the workers were killed and buried.”
“The body of the executioner
and
the body of Hannan’s father.
If
he was right, of course.”
Brietta stared at him. “What?”
“There’s a fissure in the ground behind this cavern. Out where I park my SUV when I drive up here. You can’t really see much in it, because it’s narrow and craggy. But you can tell it’s super deep. At least sixty feet according to my instruments.”
Brietta’s heart pounded with anticipation. “And we think they threw the weapons down that hole? Wow! And the executioner jumped in after them. Is that what you’re saying?” Before Taggert could respond, she gasped, “Oh, no, what
are
you saying?”
Taggert winced. “Yeah, it’s bad. Really bad. Dad didn’t really buy the theory—remember, he didn’t know about the cemetery, so to him, finding the tools wasn’t such a big deal yet. He probably thought the workers just took them away when they went home. But Hannan’s father must have had some instinct about it, because he was convinced the fissure was important. So convinced, he actually tried to climb down a few feet, to get a better look.”
“Oh, no.”
“My dad was too far away to stop him, and obviously it went wrong. Very, very wrong.” Taggert’s eyes had clouded again. “Hannan was just a kid back then. Dad went to his mom and explained that they’d been exploring up here and her husband had lost his footing. He didn’t mention the cavern, and she clearly didn’t know about it—a tribute to the dad’s character, right? He took that secret to the grave, as you would say.”
Brietta winced. “Shouldn’t we tell Hannan? He’d be so proud—”
“I definitely plan on telling him. And my father did the right thing too, in a way. He left a trust fund for Hannan’s education and for the mom’s security. It was only a few months after that that Dad was killed, or he probably would have brought Hannan into his new expedition at some point. Which is what I did, obviously. When I finally rediscovered the cave, I checked in on the family and hired Hannan as my interpreter and bodyguard. Once we’re ready to go public, I’ll share the credit—and any money that comes from this—with him as well as you and the potheads.”
“That’s so wonderful of you.”
“Yes, he is a prince among men,” Hannan’s voice drawled from the entrance.
“Oh!” Brietta turned toward him, confused but delighted until she saw the pistol in his hand. “Hannan! What on earth?”
“It’s such a charming story,” the bodyguard muttered. “And as always, the Taggerts are the heroes. Stand up, hero. It’s time you and I settled this, for our fathers’ sake.”
Taggert jumped up, and when Brietta did likewise, he quickly moved between her and Hannan’s hulking form. Then he said quietly, “You’re angry. I get it. Maybe I should have told you the whole story—”
“The whole fabrication, you mean? You expect me to believe my father fell into a fissure? I never believed that. He knew these hills like he knew his own name. It could never have happened that way, and shame on you for perpetuating such slander.”
“You think it was foul play?” Taggert began, then he held up his hands in mimed surrender. “We’ve got stuff to talk about, obviously. But leave Brie out of it. Okay?”
Hannan shook his head. “Perhaps there was a time when I would have trusted her, but not now. She’s yours, that’s obvious.”
Taggert’s gaze didn’t shift, even as he instructed Brietta, “Tell him, Brie. You’re not involved with this. You can go back to camp right now, and you’ll never know what happened here. You’ll never
want
to know. Right?” To Hannan he added quickly, “She needs medical attention. She’s been having hallucinations—of snakes, and men who look like lizards. Trust me, she wouldn’t be a reliable witness against you even if she tried. And she won’t try. Right, Brie?”
Brietta sighed. “This is silly. Hannan, do you honestly think Sean’s father killed your dad? I can see how you might have believed that—might have wanted to believe that—before you met him. But now?”
“He is a bully and a liar,” Hannan said with a shrug. “Do you deny that?”
She pretended to think about it for a moment, but her mind was actually on the mace canister in the side pocket of her pants. If she could slip it out and get it to Taggert, maybe they could have a backup plan, just in case reasoning with Hannan didn’t work.
So she said sweetly, “Taggert’s not a liar
or
a bully. He’s just passionate, like you. And he’s fiercely loyal to his father’s memory. Like you.” Working the spray canister free as she talked, she carefully slid it under Taggert’s waistband. “You didn’t hear the real truth when you were growing up, that’s for sure. So you invented a workable story in your head. That was the healthy thing to do. But now, Taggert can tell you the right story. The true story. And in it, your father is immortalized as the noble guy we all know he was.”
“She’s right, Hannan,” Taggert said soothingly. “Let her walk out of here safely, then you and I will talk this through, man to man.”
“The time for talking is gone. I will kill you now. To avenge my father. And as much as it pains me, I will kill your woman too.”
“Actually,” a raspy voice corrected him from the opening to the cave, “she’s
my
woman. And I’m afraid I cannot allow you to kill her.”
Before anyone could make sense of it, or even react to what was happening, the intruder raised a shiny silver weapon and blasted Hannan with a column of blue-white fire that brought him to the ground in a lifeless heap.
* * * *
Brietta stared in disbelief at the strange figure confronting them. Not a man. Not even the lizard man from earlier that day. He was an upright nonhuman in a gray military uniform, with scaly skin, clawed hands, and gills where his nose should have been. And he seemed to be breathing by means of a perforated collar that was loosely fitted over another set of gills in his neck.
“I am Ga’rag,” he told them simply. “Come with me willingly, Ryerson specimen, and I will not harm your lover. You have my word on that.”
“What the
fuck
?” Taggert demanded, but Brietta grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back, then stepped between him and the space freak, just as Taggert had done for her when Hannan had threatened them.
“Trust me, Sean,” she instructed him grimly. “He needs me alive—I’m sure of that—so just follow my lead. Okay?”
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remember what this monster had said to her in the tent:
I will come for you . . .
Along with:
I wish I could kill you but I cannot
.
“He won’t hurt me, Sean,” she repeated, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “Just trust me, please?”
“This is your lizard guy?” Taggert said in disbelief. “Fuck him. I’ll
kill
him—”
”No!”
She turned and cradled his face between her hands as she’d done in the tent. “We trust each other, right?
Right?”
“Dammit,” he whispered, but the slight nod of his head told her he knew he had no choice, at least for the moment.
“Stupid human males,” the intruder said with a contemptuous chuckle. “How I despise you. So much more than I despise your females. Come with me now, Brietta Ryerson. Do not get your lover killed over this.”
She knew she should be terrified, but at the same time she understood why she was not. For one thing, her head didn’t hurt. That alone was still a miracle to be savored. And for another thing, this new version of the lizard man didn’t have a whip in his clawed hand.
Because the whip wasn’t real. It was an illusion, like the vipers. And for some reason, this guy’s illusions don’t work in this cave. Isn’t that why he didn’t want you to come in here?
It didn’t actually make sense, but at least now that her headache was gone she could try to figure it out. She had all the pieces now, didn’t she? The skull-crushing pain that had started it all, then the sinus headaches, the snakes—this guy had been behind all of it.
She just didn’t know why. If she could figure that out, maybe she and Taggert could use the mysterious leverage they obviously had. Because in spite of this lizard’s advantages, he clearly didn’t want to kill either one of them.
To her relief, Taggert seemed to be thinking rationally too, at least rationally enough to stick the mace canister under
her
waistband.
If I can get just a clean shot into this creep’s gills . . .
Trying not to appear encouraged, she asked softly, “What do you need me for?”
Ga’rag glared. “You are my specimen. Cooperate and you will live. Resist and I will kill you. I
want t
o kill you, so do not give me reason.”
“Specimen?” Taggert’s voice was a growl. “What the hell does
that
mean?”
“I do not explain myself to you. Just remember my name. Ga’rag. And be glad I will let you walk away from this. I want her whole clan to know the truth about this abduction. Otherwise, I would kill you with as little concern as you would kill an insect.” With a sneer, he added, “You will be
my
witness, but not a silent one as in your primitive mythology.”
“What the fuck?”
Brietta sighed. “We’re outgunned, Taggert. Can’t you see that? I don’t think we have a choice here.” To Ga’rag she added, “Can I kiss him good-bye?”
“No. We are running out of time. Come with me now.”
“Let me guess: We’re going to beam up to your ship?”
His gills vibrated. “You and your clan. So disrespectful, so uncivilized. How I despise you.” Composing himself, he instructed her, “Come over here now. And Taggert? You will not move, not at all. Not until the specimen and I are outside the cave.”
“Outside
the cave?” Taggert repeated coolly. “Because you
can’t
beam up in here. No signal, right?”
“Silence!” Ga’rag raised his weapon in warning. “Brietta, do you wish to see him incinerated?”
“No,” she admitted. “Taggert, don’t talk anymore. Just stay here, and don’t try any heroics. I’m sure I’ll be okay. If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me by now, right?”
“So much better to torture her for the rest of her life,” Ga’rag agreed, sneering.
Startled, Brietta drew back, and felt Taggert’s arms encircle her protectively. It felt good, but made no sense. Either she would successfully mace the lizard or she and Taggert would both die in a blaze of fire.
Because no way was she really going with this asshole.
“I am losing patience,” Ga’rag repeated, his raspy voice growing softer, and she noted that his neck gills were beginning to gape open for longer periods of time, as though the air from his breathing device was somehow failing him.
Ga’rag seemed to notice her shift in focus and assured her, “At some point, I will have no alternative but to kill you both. And to my great joy, that moment is rapidly approaching.”
“You’re right, let’s just get it over with,” she said, mostly to herself. Then she took a deep breath and crossed the ten-foot distance to the space creep, sidestepping Hannan’s semi-burned body on the way, but taking care to stay between the barrel of the alien’s silver weapon and Taggert, just in case Ga’rag had lied about wanting a witness to this abduction.
As soon as she was close enough, Ga’rag’s claw grasped her forearm, pinning her in place with sharp nails that easily punctured her skin.
“Hey, you’re hurting me,” she complained, wriggling just a bit—enough so that her free hand could pluck the canister from her waistband.
“Stupid specimen,” Ga’rag hissed, yanking her arm again, this time more roughly.
“Stupid lizard,” she hissed back, flipping the canister open with her thumb, then pressing it against his left gill and spraying him viciously while her knee shot up to knock the laser pistol upward.
It erupted in a blaze of red fire, but the alien managed to keep his grip on it. And while clearly surprised, he didn’t seem affected at all by the mace.
Too late, she remembered Hannan’s warning:
You can’t gas a viper, Brietta.