Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Ru headed off in the direction she’d gestured in, and Cutter followed behind, watching as she picked her way through the dense foliage, stopping from time to time as if she was trying to sense her way forward.

It took nearly half an hour over the rough terrain for Ru to see something in front of them and hasten her pace. Cutter didn’t see it a first, but once the fog lifted a bit, he saw where she was headed. In front of them, three trees, remarkably shaped even more oddly than the others, stood out against the black backdrop. Unlike all of the other twisted, tangled trunks, whose bark was deep brown or even black, these trees were a dirty white, as if they’d once been made of chalk and had grown dingy over their years of standing amidst their darker neighbors.

Ru stopped about ten feet away from them where there was a clearing. The fog here was thinner, more like a mist, and it didn’t encumber their vision at all. Turning to look at him, Ru seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for Cutter to speak.

“Do you feel something?” he asked, quietly, thinking, if the portal opening was truly here, it would be guarded.

“Nervous,” Ru admitted.

Cutter gave her a reassuring smile. “Do you feel anything coming from these trees?”

“Evil.”

He could feel it, too. It was the kind of feeling that kept its distance, though. More like the intense stare of a calculating killer lurking in the shadows than the terror one encounters just before a hand protrudes from beneath the bed and snatches an ankle. It was concentrated, aware, almost like a living, disembodied force.

Cutter knew this sensation having experienced it once before when he’d been stalked by a full-fledged demon. Though Reapers were offspring of demons and humans, they were not as powerful as their forefathers. Where a Reaper might escape when engaged by a Keeper, seldom could one battle against the powers wielded by Keepers successfully enough to overcome the assault. A demon, on the other hand, could easily destroy Keepers by the dozen with little to no effort. Memories of his own situation sent shivers down his spine. If it hadn’t been for the help of an Arch, he likely wouldn’t have survived the plans designed to destroy him, a plot constructed in the pits of Hell.

Using his mind, Cutter felt for his teammates. There was never a transfer of words in these types of communications, although it would be possible to do so, and Keepers did communicate through their minds with beings in other realms regularly. In this case, he only sent out a signal to the others to assemble here. They would sense him and find their way over shortly. In the meantime, Cutter watched Ru carefully as she approached the trees, unsure what might happen. If this was a trap laid by Nat to lure her in and pounce upon her, it was well disguised. Cutter did not sense any Reapers in the area, only the sensation of being watched by something far more sinister.

Ru’s first few steps were tentative, but once she began to find her footing, she gathered her speed until she was only a foot or so away from the middle tree. She reached her hand out, palm up, as if feeling for vibrations in the air. Shaking her head, she dropped her hand and went to the tree on the left, doing the same thing and getting the same response. The tree on the right yielded nothing either. She began to check the spaces between them.

“Whoa!” Cutter turned to see Rider standing behind him. “Now, those are some damn creepy trees.”

“Yep,” was all Cutter could muster. He turned back to watch Ru, who was standing back in front of the middle tree, her hands on her hips, clearly frustrated.

“We gonna check these out, too, or just watch her?”

“Give her a minute.”

Ivy and Lyric approached as well, and Cutter noted they had come from the respective directions Ru had indicated earlier. They both gasped in amazement at Ru’s find but said nothing as she continued to search for the portal opening. After several more minutes of feeling the area with her hands, Ru stepped back, frustrated. “There’s nothing here.”

Cautiously, Cutter advanced. “Do you mind if we check?”

“Check all you want,” Ru shrugged, taking a few more large steps backward into the clearing, leaves crunching under her boots. “Nothing looks different. Nothing feels different.” Her hand went around her midsection again, as if she might double over or throw up at any second, but her face stayed stoic as Cutter walked around her.

The others spread out around the trees as well, and carefully, taking their time, the team covered the area. Not only did he feel nothing emanating from the trees, he didn’t even feel a life force coming from the trees themselves. Generally, all living things gave off some sort of vibration, but these were as lifeless as cardboard cutouts. Never could Cutter remember ever encountering such a dead space before. To the touch, the trees felt the same as any of the others he’d collided with or bumped into during their battle and this search, but the rest at least had a trace of a signal that they were alive. These had nothing.

“I don’t get it,” Ivy said, quietly. “It’s like they’re not even here.”

“I know,” Lyric agreed. “Nothing.”

While Cutter was glad the girls had come up with the same assessment he did, it was still disturbing. He’d expect Ivy to feel even the faintest of trickle of life here if there was one since she was a Keeper of the Earth, but she found nothing.

“Stupid imposter trees,” Rider mumbled, kicking the one to Cutter’s left. The tree shook and a few leaves tumbled to the ground, sinking into the spongy earth below.

“Careful,” Ivy warned. “These trees might not be what they appear to be, but you know we’re not alone, right?”

“Yeah, I feel it, too.” Cutter instinctively looked around, though he couldn’t quite tell where the presence was that was observing them. It felt as if it was everywhere, a sensation that was more than a little unsettling.

“Whatever it is, it’s invited to come right on out and suck my…”

“Rider!” Lyric shouted, cutting him off. “Stop! It’s not a Reaper. It’s something… else.”

“It’s a demon.”

They all turned to face Ru, who was still standing off in the clearing as she had been when they started their inspection. Her eyes had a tinge of a gloss to them, which immediately alarmed Cutter, and he took a step closer to her. “Are you okay, Ru?”

“I’m fine,” she shrugged. “But it’s definitely a demon.”

“Okay,” Cutter said placing his hand protectively on her shoulder. “I think we’ve done enough reconnaissance for tonight. We can come back here in a few days. For now, I think we should call it quits.”

“Will we be able to get back here?” Ru asked, meeting his gaze. He noticed a bit of panic behind her eyes and wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to hear an affirmative or negative response, but he nodded, and she looked relieved. “Even if we’re in Los Angeles?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, biting her bottom lip.

“Ivy and I were going to stay out and see if we could gather any information,” Lyric explained.

“Okay. Just be careful. Don’t stay here.”

“You afraid of the boogeyman?” Rider asked, his mouth snarling into a half-grin.

“Yes,” Cutter admitted, and Rider’s smile disappeared. His cousin would remember what had happened when they were younger more than anyone else. “Ready?”

“I am,” Ru replied, though her eyes lingered on the trees.

“Then lead the way.”

She turned around and stepped further into the clearing, Cutter keeping his hand on her, though he had to swivel his wrist when she turned. With a deep breath, Ru closed her eyes and reached out her arm, parting the air, and stepping through. He followed.

He felt her stirring in his arms before he even opened his eyes. She’d slumped to the side a bit when she left her body so that when they returned, her head was resting on his shoulder. Even once she was fully back, she didn’t move. “You okay?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper. The fragrance of vanilla filled his lungs when he inhaled, but with her hair less than an inch from his face, he also smelled a bouquet of florals.

“I’m okay.” Her voice wasn’t very convincing. Cutter tightened his grip around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He had no idea what was bothering her, but he wanted to reassure her that she was safe and that she could tell him what the trouble was if and when she was ready.

Ru slipped her hand around his waist, entangling herself further in his embrace. Her head was cradled in the crook of his neck, and Cutter breathed her in. The movement was completely innocent, he knew. She was looking for reassurance, not intimacy of the kind he longed for, but at this point he would take whatever she was willing to give him and remind himself he needed to let go whenever she was satisfied.

Ten minutes turned into twenty before Ru slowly sat up. It was still pitch black, his senses still heightened, and the feel of her hand trailing along his back as she withdrew it sent a sensation through him he’d never experienced before. Thoughts of her fingers brushing against his bare skin interfered with reality momentarily until she began to speak. “Cutter,” Ru said quietly, “I didn’t feel right out there, especially once we were standing in front of those trees.”

“I noticed,” he admitted. “What were you feeling?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. Only her knee was touching him now, and he tried not to let it distract him. “It was a tightening in my stomach, sort of like when I’m nervous or anxious about something, but more intense than I’ve ever felt before. You know how, when you go down a steep hill on a roller coaster your stomach ends up in your throat?”

“Sure,” Cutter replied, thinking of all of the roller coasters he’d ridden at theme parks. “It’s like that?”

“Yes, but more intense. It’s almost like there’s a fire in my gut, fighting to surface. What could cause something like that?”

Cutter thought for a moment. Over the years, he’d felt lots of different reactions to danger, but nothing anywhere close to what she was describing. “I’m honestly not sure.”

Ru sighed, frustrated. “Do you think anyone might be able to tell us?”

“Maybe. I hope so.” He thought about all of the wiser, more experienced Keepers, many of whom lived in Los Angeles now. “We can ask when we get home.”

“’Kay,” she said, but her voice wasn’t too convincing.

“You about ready to go to bed?” he asked. “You’ve had a long night, and I know you’re anxious about tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Her answer was short, and Cutter couldn’t blame her. He wished there was something he could do to make her conversation with Liddy Brown easier, but she was right when she said it was something she’d have to do on her own. He prayed things would go as smoothly as possible. Without another word, he felt through the darkness surrounding them and took her hand, pulling her up and leading her toward the door. The light on the other side awaited them.