The Arcana Chronicles 5: The Dark Calling

More men attacked, stupidly testing out their bayonets against Aric's swords. Death left behind a wake of bodies for Jack and me to blunder through.

Over his shoulder, Aric asked, "Where are the Centurion and the Tower?"

"They left today," Jack said. "Could be for good. Long story . . ."

By the time we reached the Beast, water was up to our knees. Jack released my hand, then located the hide-a-key under a spotlight.

Aric headed toward the other side. "I'll drive."

Jack opened the passenger door, tossing his rifle in. "In you go, Evie!" He helped me up. "Take this key."

I'd just snagged it when more gunshots rained down; like a blur, Aric had covered the distance to us. Stretching out one of his swords, he deflected a bullet about to plug Jack's skull. "Get in, Deveaux!"

Jack dove inside the cab, slamming the door behind him. "Jesus, that was close."

I warily unlocked the door for Death, then handed him the key.

He jammed it into the ignition. When the engine didn't start, his gaze dropped to the row of tiny rocker switches. He yanked off his gauntlet and reached for the switches--just as Jack did.

I slapped away Jack's arm with all my strength. "No!"

"Don't ever come that close to my skin, mortal!"

Jack held his hands up. "Easier if I just enter the ignition sequence."

"Do it." As Aric pulled on his gauntlet, Jack pushed the buttons in the correct order.

"I already unlocked the axles. We're good-to-go."

Once the engine rumbled to life, Aric shoved the Beast into gear. "We've got to get to higher ground." Waves rolled out from the wheels. If this truck hadn't been so high, we'd already be stuck.

Jack said, "Go for the main gates. They'll be reinforced against entry--not against exit. I doubt anyone's manning them."

Aric deftly steered the truck through the outskirts of the settlement, approaching the gates.

I held my breath as he gunned the engine. His straight arm shot out to protect me, just as Jack's did from the other side.

Oh God, oh God . . .

We rammed the metal barrier head-on. BOOM! One gate flew off its hinges. We plowed over the other one.

Free of Jubilee! I exhaled a breath, though we weren't safe by any means. Rising water already covered the sand road. We needed to put miles between us and that trench.

I turned to check Jack for injuries. He had bruises on his face and gashes on his arms. The worst one bisected the old scar on his right forearm.

"You need a bandage." I ripped the hem of my sweater, then tied the strip of material over his wound.

"Ma belle infirmiere. You okay?"

My gaze slid to Aric. "As well as can be expected."

He removed his helmet, swiping his hair off his forehead. His expression remained intent, but I knew him well enough to see how rattled he was. If free of Paul's influence, did he again believe in my pregnancy?

When I turned back to Jack, he said, "Your eye's turning black." He grazed the knot on my forehead. "They popped you good, non?"

I was freaked out and on my last stores of energy. My emotions were as up and down as a teetering plank. "I'm sick of assholes attacking me." Through gritted teeth, I added, "Present company not excepted." Blinding headlights beamed our sideview mirrors as trucks raced out after us and buggies launched off the dunes. "Are you kidding me? Are they running away from the trench or chasing us?"

When a bullet nailed the tailgate, Jack said, "I think it's a little of both."

Aric whipped the wheel as the Beast's engine roared, sending up a spray of water. "What happened back there? Why are these men so bent on stopping you? And why sentence a female to the plank?"

Jack flipped off his rifle's safety and checked the chamber. "A suit of Minor Arcana wanted to kill her because of Tee."

"Tee?"

Jack rolled down the window. "P'tee garcon."

Aric turned to me with his brows drawn. "Little boy?" His gauntlets tightened on the wheel. "Our . . . son."

Guess Death is back to believing.

"Your son--biologically." With that parting shot, Jack hung out of the window, taking aim with the rifle. I snagged his belt, clutching him as he blasted our pursuers.

After taking out a truck tire and a buggy's driver, Jack popped back in to reload. "They planned on beheading Evie. She disagreed with the plan, so she took out the entire suit of 'em."

More trucks and buggies dogged our tracks, trailing plumes of spray. "Can we talk about this later? They're still behind us!"

Aric muttered, "It's not the mortals I'm worried about." Globs of wet sand splattered the windshield. The wipers couldn't keep up.

We launched off a dune, suspended in midair for a long moment; again, two arms crossed over me just before the teeth-rattling landing sent us momentarily airborne a second time. A crack spread out along the windshield.

Aric said, "I didn't think it was that high. Forgive me."

"Forgive?" A hysterical laugh burst from my lips.

A buggy raced closer, the passenger firing on us. Back at the window, Jack took a bead, then squeezed the trigger once. Fire leapt from the vehicle's front. An explosion shot it into the sky. The flames reflected over a sheet of water that seemed to be rising by the second.

"Well aimed," Aric said, with another glance at the rearview mirror.

Jack scowled. "Do what I can."

The remaining vehicles bottomed out, headlights receding behind us. I said, "They're getting stuck!"

Jack twisted around to watch. "Uh, Reaper, you better drop the hammer. I mean, now."

Aric leaned forward against the wheel, squinting at the coated windshield. "Can't see a damned thing." But he floored it, driving blindly. Soon we were hydroplaning across the surface.

"I ain't kidding, Dominija." Jack holstered his rifle in the rack above us. "Head for that incline." He turned the spotlight to mark a large dune ahead.

At the base of the rise, the wheels bogged down, the engine straining. Aric's leg was straight, the pedal all the way down. "Come on, come on."

The tires gripped at last, and we broke free; the Beast chugged up the dune. Once we reached a higher plateau, I glanced back.

The lights twinkling in Jubilee began to topple. The entire water-drenched shelf was giving way.

I watched all that ground get sucked into the trench like a hungry inhalation. As depicted in her temple, Circe had devoured another port.

Terror from the abyss.

42

Jack, Aric, and I rode in stunned silence until we'd reached even higher ground. At every mile, I'd expected that sinister seep to catch us.

"How do you . . . fare?" Aric finally asked me with a glance at my stomach. He would have no way of gauging my pregnancy through my coat.

How did I fare? Wow, he'd stumped me.

When I didn't answer, Jack said, "She's healthy, all things considered. Been eating good since the lion."

Aric swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I am pleased to hear that."

I still couldn't believe I was sitting next to him. Couldn't believe what had just happened to Jubilee. "Why did Circe do that?" I asked in a deadened voice.

"She never intended to hurt you--just the opposite. Unfortunately, she lost control of her powers. It's happened in previous games."

"And we can never forget what's happened in the past."

He parted his lips to say something, then must've thought better of it. Smart man.

But the quiet left me too much time to think. I'd taken down all of the Cups, mainly to save Aric. He'd already been on his way here.

Would a future Empress read about my gory attack with horror? I told myself that all the Cups would've died in Circe's catastrophe anyway.

"Those Minors were clairvoyants," Jack said. "Seems they should've foreseen the loss of their settlement--and their lives."

Aric shook his head. "The future is fluid. Through their own decisions, they altered thei

r fates. Provoking two Major Arcana was . . . ill-advised."

Once we reached what remained of the old coastal road, Aric stopped the truck. "Which direction?"

Jack shrugged. "Doan know, me. Where you wanting us to drop you off?"

In a low tone, Aric said, "I know I have no right to . . . anything, but I will do whatever it takes to protect her."

"Merci for the assist back there, but this isn't your party anymore. Evie and me are heading out together." After last night, Jack must've taken my advice; he was demanding my future. "We made it work for a time in Jubilee. We can again."

"You call that making it work, mortal?"

"You're one to talk, Reaper."

Aric exhaled. "You're right." To me, he said, "If you bid me to leave you, I will only follow."

Jack scoffed. "You goan to keep up with this truck on foot?"

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of. I ran countless leagues to get here."

"Why run?" I asked.

"I lost Thanatos on the way." Lost? That tank of a warhorse had survived a scalding tidal wave and the Lovers' carnates. He'd seemed invincible.

Realization hit. Aric had run that mighty steed into the ground. How hard he must have pushed Thanatos.