“Yes. He’s a threat to everyone he comes in contact with. Whether he plans to kill you, I don’t know. He only kills who Curtis tells him to. I am definitely a target.” She hesitated a moment. “You are a grave threat to the life they lead. I would not be surprised if you are all targets. Elimination is one of Adrian’s favorite pastimes.”
Baldwin glanced at Sam, nodded at Xander, who went off to check the doors and weapons for what seemed to be the hundredth time. They’d already done everything they could to make the house secure, but hearing Kaylie’s words sent another shiver through Sam. Of course this freak of nature would be after them. They were severely screwing with his world.
Baldwin continued. “All right. You mentioned the wafer of life. What was that?”
Kaylie settled on the couch, more comfortable with this line of questioning. “It’s the great truth. It was gifted to Curtis and she was the only one who was allowed to bestow the gift on the people of Eden. Sometimes everyone took a wafer, and they danced all night naked under the stars. Sometimes it was just one person, and he or she would disappear into Curtis’s chambers for a week and a day, for a Seasoning. Only the very special were chosen for the Seasonings. Doug did it once. He said he thought she gave him some sort of LSD. It took hours and hours to wear off and he saw all sorts of weird things.”
“And did you ever see strangers? Did anyone from the outside ever come to Eden?”
“Not that I saw, though when there were pods, there was a lot of excitement, and then Adrian would go away for a few days.”
“Pods?”
“The children born to the women of Eden,” Sam said quietly.
Baldwin took a deep breath. “Kaylie, did you ever see any large quantities of drugs moved around the farm?”
“I don’t know.”
“The reason Doug went to Eden in the first place was that we had charged Curtis with drug possession and distribution. There was a marijuana farm next to the land Eden owned. He went to find out if Curtis was selling drugs. Did you ever hear about this?”
“Drugs? No.” Kaylie looked absolutely shocked. She dropped her legs to the floor and sat forward, all shyness forgotten. “I thought you knew. Eden wasn’t selling drugs. They were selling pods.”
Chapter
41
Near Lynchburg, Virginia
ADRIAN DIDN’T WANT to be here. He wanted to be in D.C., at the house of the doctor, planning how he was going to wrap the wire around her long, delicate stalk of a neck and rip it tight. Feel her kicking, spasmodic and faint, then drop her body on the ground and walk away. He might even get a chance at her man. His size, his strength—yes, he would be a challenge, but Adrian would best him.
And then he’d be left face-to-face with Kaylie, the one who was prophesized to ruin them all.
He could stop it. Stop their ruin, their demise. If Curtis would let him.
But Curtis had other plans. Curtis had been blessed with a great vision. Her fiery sword was sent to eliminate the last connection between them and the girl. Then, and only then, would he be allowed to follow his own rules. Make his own choices. Slip the thin wire around the doctor’s neck and make her see God.
He found himself becoming aroused, and forced the thoughts of her away.
He liked the night sounds. The chirp of the crickets and the high-pitched screech of the bats and the slither of the snakes through the soft leaves. He sat cross-legged in the woods and watched the house go to sleep. At 10:00 p.m., the target had turned off the lights downstairs, but it was past midnight now and there was still a lamp burning in the master bedroom.
He was tempted to go ahead, but with everything that was happening, the target could be prepared, waiting for him, and the last thing he needed was a gut full of shotgun pellets before he finished his job.
McDonald wasn’t going to be as easy as the others. Adrian wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been warned by now, to watch his back, shut things down. Get out of town—he certainly hadn’t listened to that warning. Not that Adrian was shocked by this. Fred McDonald wasn’t a very smart man. Cunning, yes, but he had always overestimated his own intelligence. And underestimated Adrian’s control.
He thought back to the previous day with bitterness. He’d listened to the raging wash of the waterfall and known the girl was gone. Stupid, stupid, stupid, letting her get away from him. Surely she was dead—the cliff was at least one hundred feet high, the water spilling over the edge into what looked like an eddy pool. He’d fought his way down and searched for hours, but the water had washed her away. Washed her clean.
Your sins are gone now, Kaylie. But they are not forgotten. Never forgotten.
It was his fault, and his alone. He’d taken one look at her and just like the first time he’d laid eyes on her, her glowing hair so like that of the woman he loved, he wanted to play, to pull the wings off the proverbial fly. A huge mistake, not his first with the girl. He should have knocked her on the head, gathered her up and carried her back to Eden. Where she belonged.