Pandora's Box: Book 3 of the Crystal Raven Series
Chapter 25

Cantara crawled back into the fortress three hours later, tired, torn and looking to skin a few Wiccan teenagers. Or one teenage Wiccan in particular. It was hardly her fault, Gwen countered when the two finally met up. Cantara was the one who kept jumping in front of her zinger. The djinn would have to stay out from in front of the pointy end when she zinged. And if the door wasn’t between them at the moment, well, that would have been a totally different story. Gwen might not have laughed when she said she was sorry. The djinn would have seen to that.

And the girls all retired for the night, but wait until Cantara got her out onto the mountain. They would leave the next night, shortly before dark. Angel and Alvaro did not think the vampyres would try another assault for several days, and they should leave while it was still quiet. Soon enough, the vampyres would gather enough forces to make another assault. At the moment, they were still battling remnants of the Turkish army and struggling to subdue the Turkish populace. Until both were handled, the bulk of their forces would be tied up. But after that, well, the men and women in the fortress were in for a real shit storm.

Ember spent the entire time closeted with her four friends. She had several long talks with each, and while they might not have understood her words, they sensed her sadness and worry. Twice she had cornered Alvaro, and once Angel, lecturing both on how each of her children needed to be cared for and on the idiosyncrasies that made each unique and special. Strawberry liked her ears scratched just so, and Tangerine his belly. Blueberry needed the boogers cleaned out of his nose – she knew it was gross, but if you did not do it, he would eat them and get sick. And Huckleberry, well, he was a dog. He liked to take walks and to play, and once and a while liked to sit with his head in your lap and have his ears scratched.

She was still stuffing equipment in her pack when the others walked out the rear of the fortress. With a cry of ‘wait for me,’ she pelted from her quarters, stopping every three or four steps to shoo one of her hounds back. It was no use. She would send them back when she caught up to the others. They always obeyed Cantara. When she was almost caught up to the girls, Jean-Claude stepped out of the shadows by the rear gate. He gave a sheer whistle, and as one, the three peeled off and came racing back towards him. Once they had pelted through the gate, he shut it behind him, locking them inside. He was getting better at manipulating the physical in this world.

Alone, for a long time the four girls looked back to the fortress while it still remained in sight. Only Cantara did not look back. Her eyes remained locked on the mountain ahead, her mind on thoughts of what they would face in the days to come. For the first three days, their trek was more a hike than a climb, but once they reached the mountain proper, there were several sheer cliffs to climb. They were not making a summit assault, merely seeking a site three-quarters of the way up and across some of the mountain’s most rugged terrain. Somehow Cantara thought it would be more difficult than a plain Jane summit assault, far more difficult.

It was not that the girls with her were inexperienced climbers, it was more that – except for Crystal – they lacked any real mountain climbing experience. And this was not the mountain to earn that experience on. It had difficult patches of crumbling rock, crevices hidden beneath blankets of snow, and areas where rock slides and avalanches were common.

“We came in from the other side,” Crystal explained, studying the surrounding countryside. “The last time I came this way.”

“And how long ago was that?” Cantara teased.

“Three,’ Crystal shrugged, “four hundred years ago.”

It was soon daylight, and the skirt of the mountain was hot and dusty. By noon the muscles in their calves and thighs were aching from constantly walking uphill. Sometimes the slope of the land was so subtle that only the ache in their legs spoke of it; at others, it was so steep they were walking vertical – or crawling if they were honest with themselves. It was on top of one of these rises that they stopped for lunch, more by default than by choice. The climb up here was so steep and so rugged that by the time they made it, no one had enough energy even to drink from their canteens, let alone get up and take another step.

“Does that count as a cliff?” Gwen asked, looking way down to the bottom, where she thought she might have left one of her lungs.

“Naw,” Crystal teased, “that was a mountain. Everest, I think.”

“Nepal, not Turkey,” Alex ribbed, “but thank you for playing.”

“Yeah, that’s what you think,” Crystal shot back. “That mountain’s sneaky. It hides where you least expect it.”

The afternoon was more of the same, a monotonous blur of rocks, scrub grass and dirt. There were still two hours of daylight left when Cantara decided to stop for the night. They had been walking for almost eighteen hours. Darkness could creep up on you this close to the mountain, and the little sheltered vale they were now in offering a perfect campsite. They would be sleeping out in the open soon enough so they might as well enjoy a hot meal and the tent while they could. As soon as they made it through the pass, they would be leaving the tent and much of the other camping equipment behind. It was too damn heavy to carry.

Cantara ordered Alex, Aiko and Ember to set up the tent while she and the other two collected wood. Despite the small size and scarcity of scrub trees growing up here, there were always a few twigs to supplement their own meagre supply. It only took some real work replaceing them. Easter egg hunts at a camp for blind children were a little less difficult, but if they wanted a hot meal, it was this or nothing. They needed to keep their Sterno and scant supply of wood for when they climbed onto the mountain proper. And so it was almost an hour later before they were seated by the fire warming themselves and several can of beans.

“We should have rethought our menu,” Gwen remarked wryly. “It might get a little pungent tonight.”

“Speak for yourself,” Aiko sniffed. “I do not eat seeds or weeds.”

“More for us,” Alex replied, poking at her can with a spoon.

“I’d kill for a burger from April’s diner,” Ember sighed. Her stomach gurgled loudly.

“At least that is almost food,” Aiko complained. “Sheep eat grass.”

“Baaa!” Crystal teased.

“Succubus looks more tempting every day,” Aiko muttered.

“You wouldn’t like me,” Crystal teased, “I bite back.”

Talk fell off soon after. It wasn’t quite dark when they crawled into the tent, falling exhausted into their sleeping bags. Eighteen hours of steady walking was the best inducement for sleep and the dreamless variety of the righteously exhausted. Aiko took the first watch, sitting and staring at the night through the flaps. Within minutes she was alone with her thoughts, only the even breathing of her companions for company. It looked like the night would pass peacefully, not only the breeze disturbing them. And then four uninvited guests crashed their sleepover.

Aiko blinked as a large black tongue licked the back of her head. How had those four gotten behind her? She sat in the doorway of the tent, and although she felt more tired than she usually did, she had been wide awake and alert.

“Eeeew, God!” Alex cried. “Who let one go? That smells worse than one of Strawberry’s ass bombs.”

“It is Strawberry,” Gwen complained. “Eeeew! Ember, stick her bum out the door.”

“I would,” Ember grunted, “But Tangerine and Huckleberry won’t get off of me.”

“Why did you let them in, Aiko,” Cantara complained.

“I didn’t,” Aiko replied.

“Ember,’ Cantara warned, “if they’ve ripped the tent, you’re sewing it up first thing in the morning!”

But they hadn’t. When they woke up at dawn, the hounds and imp were gone. Cantara, who had been on watch for the last four hours, had not seen them leave. Aiko rolled from the tent with a sour look on her face. While she did not often rest, last night, she had slept rather heavily. Two steps from the tent, a wave of nausea struck her, and she suddenly bent over and emptied her stomach. She scowled down at her boots, angry. Vampyres did not get sick.

“Aiko!” Gwen scolded. “Did you eat some of the beans last night? You know that our food makes you sick.”

“I don’t blame her for tossing her cookies,” Alex complained. “Between Strawberry and Crystal, it was pretty rank in there.”

“It was that little blue imp,” Crystal laughed. “Honestly. He crawled into my sleeping bag.”

“Frankly,” Gwen retorted, “one demon’s farts smells as bad as the next.”

“I do not fart,” Crystal replied. “I am a lady and ladies fluff.”

“Let’s get the tent packed and get moving,” Cantara suggested. “If we move fast enough, maybe the hounds won’t replace us.”

The landscape grew even more barren as they moved closer to the pass. Once on the move, Aiko felt much better. Vampyres never got sick. Perhaps all she needed was some fresh air and a little exercise. The terrain was definitely growing rougher, more broken, and she had no time to think of anything but the constant grind of climbing up and down at irregular intervals. Maybe it was only the constant climbing and scrambling that was making her feel so exhausted by the end of the day? And maybe she only needed a good feeding? When they stopped for their midday meal, Aiko needed the rest as much as any of the other girls, and she ate despite having shared a meal with Alvaro only two days previously. Did vampyres require more blood as they age?

In the afternoon, they entered the long draw that led into the pass itself. Navigating the pass would take at least five hours, but Cantara did not want to spend the night in there. All day she had kept a sharp eye out for those pests, and although she did not see any sign of them, it did not mean anything. Yesterday she had not seen them either, and they still showed up at their camp. Plus, the pass was too good of a place for an ambush for them to risk being in it after nightfall. Those that might follow them could only move with the night. Daylight, as always, meant safety.

The djinn could not help eyeing Ember suspiciously. She never looked back over her shoulder as if searching for her friends. She walked, climbed and scrambled over boulders without the slightest hint she was leaving a trail. At least no more of a trail than any of the others. And while she talked more than the others, she had always talked more than any three human girls – except maybe for Gwen. Still, Cantara muttered darkly, she had to be doing something. How had those beasts found them?

Soon sheer cliffs rose on either side. The six began to move along a narrow, rocky trail, shrouded in shadow. In places, it was too dark to see the rocks and scree underfoot, and soon they all had barked shins and stubbed toes. It seemed ridiculous to use flashlights with a clear blue sky overhead, but as the afternoon waned, the narrow draw grew darker. It was either the flashlights or risk breaking an ankle in this rough country, and that would bring their mission to an end before it even started.

Gwen had taken the lead. She was scrambling up a large boulder that blocked their path when she thought she saw something. On the crest, she paused, studying the cliff tops while the others waited on her down below.

“You gonna stand there gaping all day,” Crystal complained.

“What?” Gwen turned, seeing the impatient faces behind her. “Oh, sorry. I thought I saw something up in the cliffs.”

“The shadows can play tricks on you at this time of day,” Aiko offered.

Still, each of them stopped at the top of the boulder, studying the cliff tops in turn. It was human nature, and even djinn and vampyres were not immune. Cantara stopped the longest, convinced it was those pesky hounds, although she did not know where or how they could have climbed up there. They were demons, after all. Well, at least three of them were. Spying nothing, she convinced herself it was merely Gwen seeing things. Nothing could climb those sheer cliff faces, not without some serious climbing gear. And Hellhounds could not climb ropes, could they? No. She was being ridiculous.

An hour later, the sky above began to darken. With still two hours to go before they would climb above the pass, the hikers resorted to their spelunking lamps. Without them, it was pitch black in the draw – maybe preferable to the lurid shadows that now leapt out at her, Gwen thought as she stumbled over a hidden rock. Not that the light was doing much good. The damn rocks were too good at hiding in the shadows.

Crack! A rock bounced off the wall of the draw like a rifle shot. The climbers froze. A dull rumble filled the narrow space, a sound like thousands of bees swarming. A trickle of stone dribbled to Ember’s left.

“Take cover!” Cantara cried.

A loose rock struck Ember a glancing blow, knocking her down between two boulders. And then the mountain fell on the girls….

Huckleberry and Tangerine were fighting over the body of a creature with the head of a jaguar. Both were growling and shaking their heads, refusing to let go of their prize. Blueberry sat on a large rock, chittering angrily at Strawberry. The large Hellhound sat, head cocked, looking at the imp curiously. Finally, she pawed the rock and whinged. Blueberry jumped on the offending rock, leaping up and down and screeching non-stop. And then Strawberry picked up the rock in her massive jaws, carrying it to Tangerine as the imp chittered encouragingly.

Seeing his sister playing a new game, Tangerine left off his tug-a-war over the well-chewed corpse and went to join in. As Blueberry leapfrogged from rock to rock, the two hounds lifted them and carried them to Huckleberry. A booted foot became visible, and Strawberry stopped to give it a lick. A chitter from the imp set her back to work.

Crystal and Gwen had crawled in behind the same boulder. When Tangerine moved a large rock, they were able to dig themselves out. They were bruised and a little battered, but thanks to the bulk of the boulder, relatively unhurt. The foot ended up belonging to Ember. Seeing it, the two girls set to work helping the dogs dig her out, or directing them to move a particularly heavy rock. It took less time than either girl thought. Despite at nasty bump on the head and a bruised ankle, she seemed to be uninjured but groggy. Gwen made her sit on a rock well away from the slide. Moving from the girl to rejoin the dig, Gwen scanned the clifftops again.

Aiko and Cantara had both taken shelter under a ledge. Aiko, when she realized it was safe, rematerialized next to Gwen. All three – vampyre, djinn and ghost – had fled into their other dimensions when the rockslide had begun. Now, only Cantara needed to be dug out. While Aiko helped the two girls and the dogs free the djinn, Alex drifted up the cliff face to explore the source of the rock slide. She was not quite sure what she was looking for, but an untriggered pile of stones leaning against a log made her think it was intentional.

When she rejoined the others, Aiko, Cantara and Crystal were studying the remains of Tangerine’s meal.

“I think someone did that intentionally,” Alex remarked.

“I told you I saw something,” Gwen called.

“I can go look,” Aiko offered, “I’ve set traps like this before.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Cantara interjected. “Ember needs some rest, and we need to replace somewhere more defensible to camp.”

As they collected their gear, Cantara barked, “Huckleberry, ward.”

At least there was the one well-trained wolfhound in the bunch. If only he would stop letting the imp ride him around like a pony.