Page 31 of Forever Found

Caleb tossed her over his shoulder as if she were a bag of dog food he’d just bought. He traveled swiftly along the street with supernatural speed. She tried to keep track of where they were going.

“Put me down. I can walk, you know,” she said.

He didn’t say a word but kept moving away from the bookstore, away from Solis and David, away from safety.

He remained on Never More Lane until he came to the cemetery on his left. The entrance was framed by stone pillars topped with gargoyles that supported a set of huge wrought-iron gates.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the urge to tense. Please, oh please, not the cemetery. In a town like Terror, that was the last place she wanted to be. Not that she wanted to be in the clutches of a demon.

He turned right.

She sighed.

His shoulder dug into her abdomen. Wincing, she twisted her head, noting they were on 11th Street now. Not that far from 8th. Would David be able to find her? Did angels have a unique power to hunt demons? She hoped so. But she was drawing at anything to stay calm.

When they came to the clock tower, he turned and climbed the front steps to the door. He set her feet on the cement terrace. She stumbled, but managed to catch her balance.

“Let me go.”

He gave a haughty laugh. “You’re mine now.”

“No. David will find you. He’ll…he’ll…destroy you.” She didn’t know exactly what David would do or how he’d do it. Kill him? Send him back to Satan? A tremor ran up her spine.

“Come on.” He wrapped his long fingers around her wrist, then tugged her through the door into the clock tower. She tried to resist, grabbing hold of the doorframe and almost sitting on the ground, but he yanked her forward with little effort. She groaned as she staggered after him.

Inside, there were winding stairs and an elevator. She tipped her head, peering up. How many stories? Five? Seven?

He hauled her after him again, taking the staircase.

“The elevator would be quicker,” she pointed out.

He shot her an evil stare. “It’s not for me.”

How wasn’t it for him? She wanted to know…yet didn’t care. Did he not like mechanical things? Did he have claustrophobia? Her wrist ached. He moved a lot quicker and easier than she did. She tripped, banging her knee on the step in front of her. He drew her along. “Slow down, will ya?”

By the fifth floor, she was winded. Her lungs and shoulder ached. “You can let me go on my own. Where will I run off to?”

He kept going. She gritted her teeth. Each floor was separated by a landing, where they would turn, and she’d get a small—tiny—break. She breathed hard. They passed the set of five bells, which would be a killer when they rang.

One more floor.

Finally, they reached the floor that housed the clock, and he let go of her. Stumbling, she held onto the railing to steady herself until she could breathe. Then she straightened, hitting him with her best death stare. “Really. Next time, take the elevator.”

The view in front of her was spectacular. The sun perched high in the sky so it shone on the opaque face of the clock, emphasizing the clock face and casting shadows throughout the room. Giant mechanical gears turned ever so slowly.

Lyndsey slumped in the corner of the clock tower. Caleb droned on and on about the awful boredom he’d endured in the tiers of Purgatory, at how she needed to suffer the way he had, and how he shouldn’t be too quick in killing her and taking her to Lucifer. He clearly liked to hear himself talk. She released a huge sigh, her breathing slowing as she tried to decide what to do next. At least she knew where she was. That was something.

She squinted, peering at him. Why hadn’t the potion worked? It didn’t matter now. She was five stories above the ground, and she would have to make it past a demon to get free.

She could hear the ravens squawking outside. There must have been hundreds. Suddenly, she wished she could fly. The thought made her smile. She’d fly right out the window, shocking Caleb.

But, of course, she couldn’t fly. She concentrated on David, willing him to find her.

* * *

David presented the camera to Nora.

She nodded. “Yes, this will do. It’s filled with her life-force.” She opened a large, squat jar, dipped her index finger into it, and brought out a drop of tan-colored ointment. She carefully dotted the cream on several places on the camera. “This will act as a divining rod,” she explained. “But don’t worry. I won’t put it anywhere that might ruin it. With this salve upon it, though, it will find its owner and lead you right to her. But you need to act quickly before the salve dissipates.”