Harvester Read online

  “I haven’t noticed anything,” said Sean. He turned his head and peered behind them through the corner of his eye.

  “Sean, love, watch the road,” said Kristy in a well-worn, but calm voice.

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Sean, can you see them?” Shannon asked.

  “See them? Yes. Sort of, anyway.”

  Kristy smiled at her husband. “As a child, Sean figured out how to see past their disguises by ‘not looking’ at them.” She chuckled. “He’s tried to teach me, but I can’t let go enough to make it work.”

  “What do you mean, ‘not looking?’”

  “Well, as a kid, a deputy named Karl Munnur attached himself to my mother and me. At the same time, a kid named Leif Lawson attached himself to Kristy. But it wasn’t a kid and a deputy sheriff, it was a demon. He was yellow and looked like a gorilla. See, I had‍—‍”

  “LaBouche,” Shannon breathed.

  “LaBouche? Karl never used that name.”

  “Lee LaBouche was the partner of one of my friends in the State Police. But in reality, he was a demon that Toby described as ‘banana yellow and built like a great ape.’ He had a large mouth filled with shark teeth.”

  “That’s Karl, all right. At first, I couldn’t see him, but there was something off about him. He… He kept bringing up my father—who died in Vietnam. And when he did, I would catch him staring at me with a sort of greedy expression from time to time.”

  “Tell her about the dreams.”

  “Oh, right. The dreams. I started dreaming about a yellow monster, and this one time, when I was sick, I woke to find Karl staring at me, and he made a veiled threat. In my dream, he was always after Kristy, and in one of them, he wore her skin like a cape. He‍—‍”

  “You never told me that,” said Kristy.

  Sean glanced at her and ducked his head. “Yeah. I didn’t think you needed to know about that one.” He switched his gaze to Shannon in the rearview mirror. “Anyway, one night Karl had set Kristy up for a…” Again, he peeked at his wife.

  “Leif was selling me to old men,” Kristy said. “He was pimping me out. He had me hooked on drugs and got me to do all sorts of things.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, I was out for a walk one night and saw Leif driving Karl’s car, so I followed him. Long story short, I interrupted his plans and broke Kristy out of there. After that, Karl was gone, but I’d see this other old car following me or driving by the house. One night, I had this dream that Kristy was in trouble. That Denny Cratchkin was going to hurt her.”

  “Dennis the Menace?”

  “The same,” said Kristy.

  “When was this?”

  “December of 1979. You’d already…”

  “Sure,” said Shannon. “I remember Denny going to juvie around then.”

  Sean nodded. “Yep. That night I had the dream, he broke into her house and tried to brain her with a hammer.”

  “Tell her about how you saw Karl outside your house.”

  “Right, okay. So, I woke up from this dream where Kristy was being raped and hurt, and I knew she was in trouble. Back then, I didn’t know how I knew, I only knew it was true. I peeked out through my blinds, and there was this car down the road. A Ford Galaxy that I’d seen around. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t see the driver, too many shadows, not enough light, whatever. As I turned away, I caught a flash of yellow in the corner of my eye.”

  “LaBouche.”

  “If you say so. Anyway, I messed around until I got my brain to avoid zeroing in on the yellow with my eyes. I let my peripheral vision do the work.”

  “And that’s harder than it sounds,” said Kristy. “I never could get the knack of it.”

  “I’d like to try something,” said Shannon.

  “Sure, okay,” said Sean.

  “Find a place where you can park that hides the car from above.”

  Sean turned in to a self-serve carwash—the kind where drivers had to get out and spray their cars with a pressure washer—and pulled in to one of the bays. “Now what?” he asked.

  “Get out and go around the side of the building.”

  “Er…why?”

  “Go along, Sean,” said Kristy.

  “Yeah, okay. Sure. Be right back.” Sean climbed out of the car and walked around the wall into another bay.

  Shannon squeezed her eyes shut and tried to change the appearance of the car. Her pulse throbbed in her veins, and her head felt as though it might explode, but it worked. “Okay, call him back.”

  Kristy blew the horn, and Sean came around the corner then froze. He backed up and looked in the neighboring bay, then came back to the bay they were in. “What’s going on?” asked Kristy.

  “To him, this bay looks empty.”

  “What? How can you‍—‍”

  “I can hear my loudmouth wife,” Sean said, “but I can’t see her.” He turned his head to the side as if to look away but froze there for a moment. When he turned back, a broad smile decorated his face. “That’s neat!” He walked unerringly to the driver’s side door and climbed in. “How do you do that?”

  “You could see us? Using that corner-of-your-eye trick?”

  “Sure, yeah.”

  “Interesting,” said Shannon with an exhausted sigh.

  “Yeah, okay. Once I saw you that way, the illusion no longer worked.”

  “Even more interesting.”

  “Come on, Sean. My patient is getting tired. Let’s get her home.”

  “Right, sure. Okay.” Sean started the car and drove on.

  10

  As twilight fell, the storm began to abate. The pavilion still stood, though the entrance was flooded by drifts of golden sand. Toby filled the dipper with cold water and slaked his thirst, but there was nothing to mitigate his hunger.

  It’s time to decide, he thought. I can’t sit here waiting for a demon who may never return. On the other hand, I can’t leave my only water source behind.

  He stooped by the water barrel and wiggled his fingers around its base, trying to find purchase. But a band of slick copper wrapped the bottom of the barrel, and he couldn’t shift the barrel far enough to slide his fingers underneath. If she had left rope or had the pavilion been one of canvas rather than silk, he could’ve fashioned a sling and carried the water barrel on his back—heavy or not.

  He put his shoulder against the barrel’s lip and pushed, rocking the barrel onto its rearward edge. He slipped his fingers underneath and tried to lift the barrel using only his arms and shoulders. He could move it, but picking it up so he could walk wasn’t going to happen.

  I could call her. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not an admission; it’s not a pledge to serve her. Toby pulled his fingers out from underneath the barrel and slowly lowered it back to the ground. I should just do it and be done with it.

  Yes, do it. What could it hurt?

  11

  Dan flew in a circle above the driveway. He’d adopted the look of a sparrow, and since the hunter was otherwise occupied half a world away, he could afford to fly out in the open.

  Out on the road, a car slowed, then turned into the gravel track that led to the asphalt pad near the garage and house. He peered at the driver but didn’t recognize him.

  In the house, someone whooped, and the front door banged open.

  12

  As Sean turned on the twin-rutted track that led to Toby’s mansion on the cliff, the front door of the house slammed open, and Benny came sprinting out. “Shannon!” he cried. He sprinted up the drive to the car and ripped the back door open. “Shannon!” He dropped into the seat next to her and made as if to hug her but pulled back at the last minute. His gaze zipped here and there, cataloging her injuries while Shannon grinned at him.

  Mike came to the front door and looked out, his shoulders slumped and a dour expression on his face.

  “Drive on, Sean,” said Shannon. “I have to talk to Mike.”

  “Right, yes.” Sean pulled up in front of the house and k
illed the engine. Benny jumped out and ran around to Shannon’s side, opening the door for her and offering his hand.

  Kristy watched for a moment, then turned and punched Sean in the shoulder. “You never do that for me!”

  “Get mauled by a demon and I will.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Uh-huh, okay. Not funny. I take it back, O mysterious powers of the multiverse.”

  Shannon gestured toward Mike, and Benny helped her hobble to the door. She held out her good hand, and Mike took it.

  “I’m happy to see you, Shan,” he said.

  “I saw him, Mike. I made them take me to him so I could see him with my own eyes.”

  Tears sprang into Mike’s eyes. “And?”

  Shannon squeezed his hand. “It’s touch and go. He…” She chewed her lip and winced as she pulled one of the lacerations. “He had an aneurysm that they had to repair, and he’s still unconscious.” She turned her head. “Doctor Walker can tell you more, but he’s alive, Mike.”

  Mike nodded soberly, his gaze locked on the couple as they got out of the car. “Is that…”

  “Sean and Kristy Walker,” said Shannon.

  “From Oneka Falls. Yeah. I knew Sean, and everyone knew Kristy. Come on in.” Mike turned and led the way to the living room. “Do you know about Scott?” he asked over his shoulder.

  “Scott?”

  Benny sucked his teeth. “Scott’s gone, honey.”

  “Gone?”

  “What do you remember?”

  “The demon.” Shannon shuddered and leaned closer to Benny.

  “Right. The demon charged you, and Greg tore him off. He was struggling to hold him when Mason Harper came up behind him and…” Mike slumped into a recliner, shaking his head and wiping at his eyes.

  “Scott ran to help. He shot Mason, then shot the demon attacking you.” Benny helped her onto the couch and sat beside her. “The demon turned on him and‍—‍” Benny’s voice hitched, but he took a deep breath and went on. “And it killed Scott, honey.”

  “Oh, my God,” Shannon murmured. She looked around with tears blurring her vison. “Where’s… Don’t tell me Toby…”

  Benny shook his head. “We don’t know. Do you remember the two new ones?”

  “The two new whats?”

  “You were in and out of it. Two new, super powerful demons joined the fight, and we had to run. One of them took Toby right out of the driver’s seat of the Suburban. Mike and Eddie kept us from crashing, but only just.”

  “Eddie?”

  “Yeah. Eddie and Amanda Mitchell. Eddie’s been haunted by one of the new demons—the one made of golden fire—for all of his life.”

  “Since I was seven,” said Eddie from the top of the stairs.

  “Sure, okay. And you owned the lamp?” asked Sean advancing toward the stairs as though he wanted to sprint up them and interrogate Eddie.

  “I did. I still do, I guess.”

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Sean’s one of our researchers,” said Shannon. “He’s found something.”

  All eyes turned to Sean. He blushed under the scrutiny and looked out the picture windows at Lake Erie.

  “He’s also got a neat trick for seeing the demons. Could come in handy since Toby’s missing. If we can learn how he does it.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” said Benny. “Both Eddie and Amanda can see them, too.”

  13

  He had dithered most of the evening away, first arguing against calling Lily’s name, then switching it up and supporting it. And now, with the moon directly overhead, he had only a few hours to travel. He still had no way to carry the water barrel, and still he could not determine the best direction in which to walk.

  She had come for him last time. She had come in time to save him from dying of exposure, and she’d given him water without forcing him to ask. Perhaps if he set off, she’d come again, save him again.

  Don’t be an idiot. She’s an archdemon, a demi-goddess, feared by the demons in Oneka Falls. Why in the hell would she care whether Toby Burton lives or dies?

  Toby shifted his weight from foot to foot, staring at the long shadow the pavilion painted on the sand in the moonlight. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so torn by a decision. “Oh, this is ridiculous!” He’d always taken pride in the fact that he could make good decisions quickly, but it seemed that ability had abandoned him as surely as Lily had. And now, I’m talking to myself aloud. Perfect.

  He stepped out of the pavilion and climbed the dune that had sheltered him from the worst of the sandstorm. At its peak, he turned a full circle, his gaze darting from dune to dune, following an unbreakable line that marched toward the horizon. “Which way do I go?”

  For a moment, that spooky dirge he had first heard when Lily had kidnapped him out of the moving Suburban came to him on the breeze, but it died with the dying of the wind. An odor wafted toward him. A scent that filled his mouth with saliva.

  He turned and dropped his attention to the pavilion below him. He couldn’t see into the silk structure from the top of the dune, but he didn’t need to. The red silk tent was lit from within, and it glowed like a bed of coals.

  Lily was back, and she was cooking him dinner.

  Toby tried not to acknowledge her, tried not to sprint down the face of the dune into her presence.

  He tried and failed.

  14

  Benny relaxed into the sofa, his eyes glued to Sean Walker as the man repeated what he’d already told Shannon at the hospital. Shannon sat at Benny’s side, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  “And as I told your beautiful wife, the phrase occurs in the ancient texts and legends of Akkad, Sumer, and Babylon. The name Lilitu seems to be used interchangeably with the name Ardat Lili.”

  “This is fascinating, but I don’t see how it‍—‍”

  “A few more minutes,” said Sean. “That’s all I ask.”

  Benny tilted his head to the side and stared at Sean for the time it took him to draw three deep breaths. “Okay.”

  “Yes, okay. Right. The legend goes all the way back to Akkadian mythology. It seems Lilitu was the wife of a demon named Lilu, and the pair were somehow tied to a disreputable priest. Lilu disappeared, but references to Lilitu appear even in the Judeo-Christian belief system, though they name her Lilith.”

  “Okay,” said Benny.

  “Oh, that’s not the best part.” He opened his phone and swiped through his pictures. “Take a look at this.” He held out the phone, and on the screen was the photo of an ancient pottery bowl. The inner surface was crowded with something written in a strange language, but the figure at the bottom of the bowl drew Benny’s undivided attention. It depicted a woman.

  A woman wearing a black dress. She had bright red hair and orange eyes.

  “Holy shit,” muttered Benny.

  “Yes, exactly. The language is Aramaic, and it dates back to the sixth century.”

  “What does the inscription say?”

  “It’s an incantation against evil.” Sean looked at each of them. “An evil named Lilitu.”

  “And that’s who took Toby?” Shannon asked.

  “Yes.”

  The room started to spin, and Shannon grabbed Benny’s hand. “I feel sick.” She squeezed her eyes shut against the spinning, but it was no use. She fell into Benny’s lap, and everything went black.

  15

  “Ah! The intrepid explorer returns,” said Lily as Toby burst through the entrance of the tent. Her eyes twinkled, and one side of her mouth curled upward.

  Toby stood just inside the entrance, panting from his exertion of slogging through the loose sand and staring at her. The eerie melody was back, though at low volume, like mood music at an upscale Manhattan restaurant.

  “Cat got your tongue?” Lily’s voice lilted with amusement. “Come in. Sit down. We have much to discuss, but we can do that while I cook.” Tilting her head, she peeked up at him. “I a
ssume you won’t say no to more goat?”

  Toby’s jaw worked, but he said nothing. The truth of it was that he felt immense gratitude that Lily had returned, and he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want her to know anything about it.

  The volume of the dirge increased a little, one ethereal strain following the next. Toby shook his head from side to side. “Where is that music coming from?”

  “Do you like it? No human has played my melodies for thousands of years, though some have heard it.”

  “It’s terrible.” Toby thought she might be offended, that he might anger her with his blunt assessment, but Lily only smiled.

  “It is great and terrible, but the music is also steeped in power. My power.”

  “Can you make it stop? I find it…distracting.”

  Lily’s smile grew broader. “Can I make it stop? Of course I can, but that isn’t your question.”

  Toby sank into a crouch and arched one eyebrow at her. “No?”

  “No. Your question is: will I make it stop. And so far, it seems the answer to that is in the negative.” She glanced down at the grill and turned the skewers of meat roasting atop it. “Come closer, Tobes. Sit next to me. Sit close enough to brush against my flesh.”

  Toby found it incredibly difficult not to rush to her side, to stop his hands from racing across her form.

  Lily took another quick peek at him, then chuckled, and her clothing disappeared. “Tempted?”

  Toby’s jaw worked, and once more, he didn’t trust himself to speak. My God! She is beyond perfect! Her skin is like cream and her proportions… If ever a woman could embody perfection, that woman sits naked in front of me cooking my dinner.

  Lily threw him a wink. “Ay, que chulo, papi. I’ve made you speechless.” She stood and faced him, letting the light from the grill dance across her flesh.

  Lust was like a physical thing within Toby, like a wild tiger refusing to be contained. Without meaning to, he crawled a step closer, his gaze riveted on the candy-red triangle of hair below her navel.

  “Come to me. Do it, habibi. Take what you so clearly want. Come to me and take me.”

  Her words danced across his mind like a brush fire, burning as they went, and leaving charred remains behind. Half of him wanted to leap across the distance between them and bury himself in her, but the other half… The other half knew better. Even so, it was a struggle to keep himself from dashing to her.