“Alek, please. You can’t leave me.” She brushed the hair back from his forehead and slid her hand to his cheek. “I need you.”
She pressed her lips against his and let the tears stream down her face.
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“What do you mean you let the suspect go?” Schilling’s jaw set, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I had no choice. There were too many people around,” the female officer explained, picking crusts of blood off her hands.
“Judging by that huge puddle of blood over there,” Schilling gestured to the dark slick staining the concrete behind them, “I can’t believe he posed that much of a threat.”
“Ease up, Schilling,” James said, leaning into him. “We’re here now. He couldn’t have gone far.”
“And you didn’t see him. It was like something jump-started him. I don’t know if it was shock, or what, but he was up and prepared to do whatever he had to in order to get into the park,” she explained.
“Thanks for filling us in,” James said, as he watched Schilling walk away mumbling under his breath. “And don’t let my partner get to you. He’s like that with everyone.”
He jogged over to where Schilling stood staring at the trees. “Think we should split up?”
He grunted. “Be better than waiting for those jackasses in tactical.”
“I grew up hiking through here. Up ahead a little ways, there’s a fork in the trail. You go right, I go left?” James took his gun from its holster and clicked off the safety.
Schilling removed his and did the same. “If you find him, don’t approach. Radio in your location and wait for backup. And keep your eyes open. There have been a few calls from people who’ve spotted mountain lions out here this year. The last thing we need is one of those nasty fuckers sneaking up derailing everything.” He lifted his gun and they noiselessly proceeded into the park.
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Eva’s soft lips molded to his. She felt warm and inviting, like his first walk in the sun, and Alek surrendered to her comfort. Heat wafted from his talisman and mixed with the newly cleansed breeze. Warm air encircled them as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against his chest. Eva’s heartbeat echoed through Alek like fireworks. He parted his lips and hungrily deepened the kiss.
Pain was a distant memory. His body tingled, and the heat from his crystal increased. The mushy ground vibrated beneath his back and rich gold light flooded his vision.
“Eva,” he whispered, his breath mingling with hers. “Thank you.”
The warm breeze shifted and strengthened. Its force kicked up leaves and debris from the ground and knocked Eva backward. Orange light flashed through the trees like fire. Large flashbulbs of light rippled in her vision, and she blinked through them, blindly searching the mud for his body.
“Eva? Where’s Alek?”
She spun around. Dirt caked her hands and streaked her wide-eyed face. “Did you see that? That light. He was here. Right here. And now he’s gone.” Tears spilled out of the corners of her eyes.
James lowered his gun and studied her bloody clothes. “I heard you say his name. Where did he go?”
“I don’t know where he went.” She sucked back her sobs and stood. “I have to find him. You have to help me.”
“Don’t come any closer,” he instructed, holding his hand out in front of his torso.
She took a few small steps forward. Pressure crept into her chest, a power inching its way in. “I know you think I did all these bad things, but I’m not guilty of any of them.”
He lifted his gun so it was even with her heart. “Eva, stay there. Don’t come any closer.”
Her voice caught in her throat. “W…Why are you pointing that at me? I haven’t done anything.”
“I said, don’t come any closer.” His grip tightened, and he clenched his teeth.
“Detective, please just give me a chance to explain,” she pleaded. The pressure intensified, and Eva took shallow breaths against its heaviness.
James lightly smoothed his finger over the trigger. “I will shoot you, Eva. Don’t think I won’t.”
The weight in her chest felt pinned to an invisible string tugging her back. She forced her body away from its pull. Twigs snapped under her feet as she shuffled closer to James. “Detective, listen to me.” Pressure forced the air from her chest and clutched her heart. It tore through her, dragging her backward.
A crack like gunfire roared through Mohawk Park. A stink of smoke singed the air.
James lowered his pistol. “Eva?”
Epilogue
Amber light burst into the cave, spreading like smoke, stretching its warm rays through every alcove and fissure. Its otherworldly glow brushed recesses that had remained untouched for years. In those crevices awoke a resting wickedness. Each malevolent fleck spun to life. They hovered together and let the wind carry them from the cavern. The small specks of black drifted with the breeze. They stretched their sluggish bodies, relearning what it meant to be one, what it meant to be whole after decades of sleep.
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