Chapter 31
Before helpingValdis descend into the bowels of hell, Sam cast one last glance over her shoulder. She could swear she saw sunlight glinting off crystals—like gleams off polished swords—all over the cliff face. But if any ephemeral figures were up there holding staffs,they were concealed by shadows in the dyingsunlight.
“Don’t dally. They’d not be up there unless they’ve felt Evil walking,” Valdis saidbriskly.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.. .Sam thought, shivering. Staffs detected evil? She hadn’t felt it. Hooking the stick over her wrist, she offered her arm for her aunt to lean on asthey descended what appeared to be stone stairs into the mountain. This wasn’t a properly built concrete bunker, but a cellar only her creatively insane family could concoct, shesuspected.
The concrete walls were embedded with crystals that caught what little light came through the open door. Below, Daisy lit alantern.
No snakes rattled. Sam took a deep breath and relaxed alittle.
“Shut the door,” Valcommanded.
“Against what, nuclear holocaust?” Sam knew better than to expect a rational answer. Reluctantly, she swung the steel doorclosed.
Amazingly, it didn’t dim the light. Crystals, mirrors, and polished metal set in the walls reflected the lantern’s gleam. Val grasped a metal rod set in the concrete walls and balancing on her staff, managed thestairs on onefoot.
“Evil,” she repeated, as usual. “Evil was committed on this land for eons. It seeps into the rocks, flows through the vortex, pollutes the soul. You’ll see. Now that you’re here, you’llsee.”
That aroused her curiosity. Sam followed Valdis into the bunker, where Daisy was igniting more lanterns with mechanicallighters.
“Does anyone else know about thisplace?” Sam asked, glancing at the artwork hanging helter-skelter and stacked against thewalls.
“The oldest of us,” Val said. “My parents lived here after the bastards burned them out. Their art reflects the evil.” She pointed at a painting done in a similar style to the ones Sam had seen at thelodge.
The man with the long, curly blond hair she assumed was her grandfather facedforward in this painting. He was about her age in this self-portrait. A half-naked pregnant woman reclined on a couch in a mirror on the artist’s wall—hergrandmother?
“Early days,” Val barked. “He was a handsome man, and I remember loving the tender look in his expression as he painted my mother. And still it corroded. Look at the eyes. It’s always the eyes. His were once a crystal blue,likeyours.”
Daisy held up a lantern so the sparkling color of what had to be decades-old oil wasilluminated.
The beautiful young artist’s eyes had turned an evilred.
Sam went from painting to painting. Not all were by the same person. Many were too abstract to discern identity. She thought one rural idyll depicted a man with Kennedy features—herpaternalgrandfather, Geoffrey?His eyes had turned redtoo.
“The originals didn’t have the red?” Sam asked skeptically. “They all corroded in the same way over theyears?”
“Only the eyes of theinfected,” Daisy elaborated. “The children are still fine.” She pointed at a tableau of two blond children with brilliant blueeyes.
“Me and your mother,” Val said curtly. “We escaped. Our mother didn’t, althoughshe held out until the last, when she lost everything.” She pointed at a small portrait of a plump, blond, graying woman with a pleasant expression—and red-rimmed eyes. Not totally red like the others, butinfected.
“Now,” Daisy commanded urgently, pointing her staff at the door. “The mountain tumblesnow.”
“I’d hopedwe could settlepeacefully this time,” Cass said sorrowfully, striding toward thevortex.
“Just tell me what the hell is happening and maybe we still can,” Walker urged. “Why is Sam up there? What was Xavier trying to tell me?” He’d radioed for back-up and left the unconscious old man with the nurse Cass had broughtin.
He’ll kill them allwas a clarion warning if he’d ever heard one, but Walkerhad to know who and how and why. And Cass wasn’ttalking.
Cass gestured at the mountain. “Xavier knows Evil just as we do. He knows it must be buried. We pray we are strong enough to protect Sam. She is the Earth Mother, the good in all ofus.”
Disregarding Lucy inanity, Walker focused on the one word to exacerbate terror. “Protect her fromwhat?” Locking down his raging fear, heconcentrated on the area Cass pointed at. Had those glints of light always beenthere?
“Can’t you feel it?” Cass asked in what seemed like despair. “It’s a dark cloud forming. The earth is vibrating with fear andrage.”
The only vibrating he felt was hisownfear and rage. “Where is she?” he shouted, giving up on rationaldiscussion.
“We hope she has taken shelter. We triedto warn her not to go.” Cass took the path toward the vortex, where half the town seemed to begathering.
