Chapter Eighteen

The trapdoor to the tunnels stood open, the vertical tunnel a gaping, dark maw. Someone had gone down recently, might even still be down there.

Cal leaned over the black hole. "Rachel?"

No one responded and he couldn't see anything in the abyss. Without a flashlight, he'd be of no use.

Too much time had passed since he'd last seen Deme. The fool woman wouldn't wait for him to join her before she made her next move against the Chimera. Cal could only hope her sisters would hold her back, talk sense into her—make her wait until he could get to her.

Cal ran up the stairs to the kitchen and searched cabinets, drawers and a broom closet before he located a flashlight that worked. Back down in the basement, he tied the flashlight to his belt loop with a thin strap and climbed onto the ladder.

Although it had been only a couple hours since he'd been down in the tunnels, it felt like a lifetime. And he didn't want to go down now any more than he had wanted to go then. But he had to suck it up to save Rachel from doing something completely stupid. Having seen what the Chimera was capable of, Cal knew one girl didn't stand a chance against it. Much as he'd rather be with Deme, she would want him to take care of Rachel first.

He lowered himself down the ladder, moving as quickly as possible. When he reached the horizontal shaft, he ran in the direction of the Chimera's lair. He slipped once on crumbled bricks and nearly twisted his ankle tripping over the abandoned railroad tracks. On the final turn toward the foundation to Lion Hall, he saw a light ahead—a woman's body silhouetted by its glow.

"Rachel!"

The figure paused for a moment, and the light bounced away from him. She was running toward the Chimera's lair.

Cal leaped over a rail switch and ran down the tracks, fearing he wouldn't be able to stop her in time.

Halfway to her, a roaring rumble filled the tunnel and the walls trembled. A blast of wind sucked Cal forward, lifting him off his feet. He'd been running full sprint, and with the added force shoving him along, he couldn't slow down fast enough to stop his headlong rush. The ground beneath his feet shifted so sharply, the force threw Cal forward. He tumbled, falling to his knees, rolling head over heels in a painful somersault. The flashlight flew from his hands, light bouncing then blinking out three feet from where Cal came to a jolting landing.

His head throbbed, probably from hitting the train railing. It hurt to breathe, indicating a bruised or broken rib, and his ankle ached, but he could move. Cal patted the ground in the direction he'd seen the flashlight fall, dust filling his lungs, choking him so badly he had to pull his shirt up over his nose in order to breathe.

So far his fingers found only the ice-cold steel of the train rails and crumbled brick. No flashlight. Without a light to guide him back to the exit, Cal doubted he'd make it. He could be trapped in the dark maze for a long time. No one knew where he was, and he still hadn't reached Rachel. His chest tightened, his breathing labored as he fought a full-scale panic attack. Now wasn't the time to be thinking negative thoughts. He would find the flashlight and he would get himself and Rachel out of this mess so that he could return to Deme.

His fingers closed around a smooth, round cylinder. The flashlight. He picked it up and flicked the switch on and off. Nothing. Frustration raged through him, kicking adrenaline through his veins. "Damn it," he growled. "You're going to work." He slapped the metal tube against his palm and a beam of light flashed across the tunnel.

Dust particles filled the air, reflecting light back into his eyes but not into the distance. One slow, painful step at a time, Cal limped toward the chamber that had once been the foundation of Lion Hall. Blinded by the light reflecting off the dust, Cal could only inch along, checking his footing as he went in case he happened to trip on the woman who'd run from him.

"Rachel?"

When he thought he'd gone far enough to be at the tunnel's end, his foot connected with something soft.

A feminine groan rose up from the ground.

"Rachel?" Cal squatted, cringing as pain shot through his knees and ankles.

"Not Rachel," a lower, familiar voice said.

The woman pushed up into a sitting position and scrubbed the layer of dust from her face. "It's me, Diane Masterson."

Cal reached out to the woman. "What are you doing here?"

She laughed, the attempt bringing on a coughing fit. "I came to kill it."

"Kill what?"

"The beast. I came to kill the beast."

"What do you know about it?" Cal asked. Had Lieutenant Warner filled her in on all the details of what lay beneath campus?

"I know it can't be stopped by just anyone. I know it's evil. I know that it's what raped me thirty years ago." Her words grew louder and faster as tears welled in her eyes and made dirty tracks running down her face. "It ruined my life by impregnating me with a baby. A baby I had to abandon, to throw away because it was so hideous." She buried her face in her scuffed hands, sobs shaking her shoulders. After several seconds, she sucked in a sharp breath, raised her head, her lips pulling back in a sneer. "That beast has to die so that I can live."

Cal placed a hand on her shoulder, not sure what to do to ease the woman's pain. She had seemed so strong, so well put together. For her to fall apart… It shook him to the core. But that didn't get them out of the mess they were in.

"Can you stand?" Cal gripped her arm at the elbow.

"I think so." She reached out for her flashlight and then leaned on his arm, letting him leverage her to her feet.

"Come on, let's get out of here before the ceilings cave."

"No!" She jerked out of his grip and stepped backward, toward the chamber where the Chimera resided. Her light panned the vast cavern.

The dust had begun to settle and as it did, their flashlight beams revealed…nothing.

Cal moved into the chamber. Only hours ago, it had been a seething mass of impenetrable vegetation. Now it was concrete pillars, pipes, old rail tracks and open space. Complete silence surrounded them, the scuffs of their feet the only sound echoing off the concrete walls.

"It's gone."

"No." Dr. Masterson stumbled forward. "It has to be here. It was here earlier. I could tell by your faces as you emerged from the tunnel. It has to be here."

"It isn't now." In Cal's gut, he knew this. Just as he knew that although it was gone from here, they weren't out of danger. That same gut feeling told him that Deme and her sisters were in more danger than ever before. If he wanted to be there to help defeat the Chimera, he had to get out of the tunnels and back up on campus. "Let's get out of here. The tunnels aren't safe."

"It isn't fair. I've spent the last thirty years living in fear, afraid of my own shadow, sleeping with lights on. Afraid of its return. It can't end like this."

Cal didn't have time to be nice. "Get a grip, Dr. Masterson. If we don't get out of here soon, it won't matter. And there are people I love up there who just might need my help." He gripped her arm and manhandled her toward the tunnel and their exit out of the maze beneath the city.

After they'd traveled several hundred feet, Dr. Masterson pulled out of Cal's grasp. "I can manage on my own." She cinched the belt on her trench coat, the jacket hanging heavy on one side.

Cal didn't have time to contemplate why. He pushed forward. If Dr. Masterson decided to stay behind, he couldn't take the time to drag her along. Deme needed him. He knew this as he knew the sun wouldn't rise in the morning for him if she wasn't in his life anymore. His long strides ate the distance and soon he was back at the ladder, staring up at the small circle of light shining down from the basement.

He turned back to see that Dr. Masterson had managed to keep up with his pace. Her light bobbed along as she hurried toward him.

Without delaying any longer, he tied his flashlight on his belt and grabbed the rungs of the ladder, beginning the long climb upward. The bang of the light hitting the metal rungs and the sound of his breathing getting heavier were the only noises he could make out. He made it to the top in less than five minutes.

"You gonna be all right?" He called down to Dr. Masterson.

"Yeah. Go on. Don't wait for me." She was only halfway up when he turned away from the trapdoor and left the basement.

Deme needs me. The mantra reverberated in his head, setting the pace, pushing him faster. When he burst through the exit doors of the student commons, he was running all out toward the garden.

When the garden came into view, Cal saw Rachel crowded against the gate, screaming through the wrought-iron bars.

He caught her by the shoulders and spun her around. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"They're in there." Rachel pointed toward the garden.

"Who's in there?"

She shook her head, her gaze darting past him to the sky over the top of the gate. "It'll kill them."

Cal peered through the gate covered completely and held securely by twisted vines.

Wind whipped past him, the moon cloaked by sinister clouds, the light of the city reflecting off their blanketing thickness.

Thunder rumbled and lighting slashed the sky, fingering offshoots that spread out in a thousand different directions. As the thunder died down, an eerie roar started low and built until it made Cal's eardrums burn. He'd heard a similar sound like that in a zoo. The roar of a lion.

Cal ripped his knife from the casing on his belt and cut at the vines. "I…really…hate…vines!" His last word coincided with his final hack, freeing the gate enough that he could push through.

Once inside he passed a stand of bushes and trees to where the lawn opened out in a wide swath between rosebushes. What had been empty minutes before was filled with a monster that consumed the majority of the space between the buildings.

On the other side of the beast, Deme and her sisters crouched low. Only there were five women, one with pale blond hair, pushing up from the ground, her hands and face dirty, her skin white.

The beast reared back on its hind legs, its two massive heads rising as high as the clouds, one a goat with wicked horns, the other a ferocious lion with long, razor-sharp teeth. Its tail whipped around and struck at Cal, the shape of a serpent with the fangs of a pit viper.

Cal leaped backward, the snake's teeth ripping through the thick layers of coverall, missing his skin by a fraction of an inch.

Gina raised her arms to the beast and a wave of water swelled in front of her. Like a tsunami, it bore down on the raging titan. Before it could smash into the creature, the wave twisted and elongated into the shape of a giant paw, and it altered course, swatting Gina, knocking her five feet into the air. She screamed as she sailed across the garden, her cry cut off when she crashed to the earth.

Deme and Brigid advanced on the beast with nothing but their hands and their questionable powers of the pentagram to defend themselves. Deme took no more than five steps before her feet were mired in briars, enveloping her legs like concertina wire, bringing her to a complete standstill.

Brigid moved forward, eyes narrow, palms cupped, fireballs swirling and ready to launch.

She reared back and flung the first one straight at the closest head. The goat opened its mouth and swallowed the fireball.

Without pausing, Brigid launched the second at the lion's head.

It, too, swallowed the fireball. Then at the same time, the two heads shot the fireballs at Brigid.

"Look out, Brigid!" Cal yelled, but the speed was too great. Brigid didn't have time to duck or dodge the attack.

The fiery orbs hit her dead-on, knocking her on her butt and catching her shirt on fire. Brigid crab-walked backward, slapping at the spreading flame. Finally, she rolled over, smothering it out in the grass.

With Gina, Deme and Brigid incapacitated, that left Selene and a weak Aurai standing against the beast that moved toward them.

"Run, Selene," Aurai cried. "Our powers are of no use against it."

Selene stood still, her gaze pinned to the advancing monster, her arms rising out from her sides.

The Chimera roared and reared again, its paws rising above Selene. If it dropped to all fours, it would land directly on top of her.

Cal ran forward, knife drawn, yelling like a banshee.

The snake struck out.

Fast and true, Cal swung his knife, severing the serpent's head.

The lion roared and dropped down, barely missing Selene.

Before the giant could turn, Cal grabbed its mane and hauled himself up onto the demon's back.

The Chimera flung its head back and forth, roaring, angry.

Cal plunged his knife into the beast's neck again and again. The injury didn't seem to have any effect on the beast but to make it more annoyed. Its body twisted and bucked.

Cal felt himself losing grip. He flung his knife down to Deme. "Get out, Deme," he yelled, then he was flying through the air. He hit tree branches, crashing from one to another as gravity brought him down to earth, flat on his back, the wind knocked from his lungs.

For several seconds, he couldn't move, couldn't lift a finger. He just lay there stunned and immobile.

Like a one-woman vigilante, Diane Masterson charged into the fray, her hair standing on end, tunnel dust covering every inch of her body from hair to feet. She waved a forty-five magnum and screamed like a demented Valkyrie, "Die, you son of a bitch!"

Cal sucked in a breath and yelled. "Get down!"

Aurai tackled Selene, throwing her to the ground.

Deme, having cleared the briars, dove for cover, and Brigid rolled over where she lay as a loud bang ripped the air.

Masterson was flung back, landing hard on her butt.

The Chimera flinched, the bullet having pierced its front shoulder. It reared again, spinning on its hind legs, and landed in front of the college president.

Holding the pistol in both hands this time, Dr. Masterson fired again.

The bullet slammed into the beast's chest, bringing it to a complete halt.

"That's for what you did to me. The creature you impregnated me with. For ruining my damned life!" Tears streamed down Dr. Masterson's face as she raised her weapon again. She pulled the trigger but the gun jammed.

The Chimera growled, a low gurgling sound that made the trees shake.

Diane Masterson tried to pull the bolt back to dislodge the bullet, but it wouldn't budge.

The beast stumbled forward, its lips stretching over fangs the size of butcher knives.

The college president flung the pistol to the side and crab-walked backward, scrambling to get to her feet.

Cal sucked in a deep breath, pulling air into his lungs, finally able to move again. He leaped from the ground and ran for the Chimera.

Deme beat him there. Dodging the beast's massive paws, she dove beneath it and rolled to her feet directly below its throat. With both hands, she rammed the knife into its jugular, ripping a long gash downward. Blood gushed like a geyser.

The Chimera roared, the sound less menacing, gurgling with the fluid filling its lungs.

With its last breath, the Chimera lurched forward.

Cal dove beneath it, knocked Deme out from under and rolled to the side as the giant crashed to the earth.

Dr. Masterson screamed.

The beast landed on Cal's leg, trapping him beneath a mound of fur and bones.

Deme lay in the grass a few feet away from him. So very still.

Unable to reach her, Cal cried out to her, "Deme!"

For the longest moment of his life, Cal struggled to free his leg, his gaze on Deme.

Then her hand twitched and she moaned.

Cal's eyes misted. Thank God, she was alive. He shoved and pushed, but the weight of the creature pinned him to the ground.

"Let me help." The pale-haired Aurai stood beside him, her hands rising palms upward, her eyelids drifting closed. A gentle breeze lifted the fine strands of her hair, spreading it out to the sides like a cape of gold.

The lifeless body of the Chimera rose from the ground, just enough that Cal could slide his leg free.

His first stop was to check on Deme.

She pushed up to a sitting position. "I'm all right. What about my sisters?"

"I'm good," Brigid called from the other side of the creature's corpse.

"Me, too," Gina said, coming up behind Cal.

"And me." Selene appeared around the side of the Chimera.

"What about Dr. Masterson?" Deme asked.

"Not so good for her." Brigid rounded the front of the beast, carrying a forty-five Magnum pistol. "One of the beast's fangs pierced her heart. Likely she died instantly."

Selene shook her head. "Poor woman. What a terrible truth to live with."

"What did she mean about being impregnated?" Brigid asked.

"I don't know." Deme heaved a weighty sigh. "Now we can't even ask. At least we're all here and alive." She climbed to her feet and gathered her baby sister in a hug. "And you're back."

Aurai laughed. "I was beginning to wonder how long it would take you to find me."

Brigid, Gina and Selene crowded in for a group hug.

Cal took the pistol from Brigid and cleared the misfired round, waiting for the women to finish their reunion hug.

"We wouldn't have found you without Cal's help." Deme opened the circle of sisters and grabbed Cal's arm.

Suddenly he was drawn in and included in the family hug.

Awkward at first, he couldn't help the way his chest swelled. He hadn't felt this loved…well, since his parents passed on. He could easily get used to being a part of this family of sisters.

But for how long would Deme include him? Now that Aurai was safe amongst them, would Deme return to St. Croix?

Cal pulled free of the sisters.

Deme's brow wrinkled and she stared across the top of Aurai's head into his eyes.

"We need to talk," Cal said.

Deme nodded. "Yes, we do. Let's do it now."

With all five sisters staring at him, Cal fidgeted. "Can we go somewhere more private?"

"I share everything with my sisters. Anything we have to say can be said in front of them."

Cal gazed into five pairs of eyes so different from each other, but bearing the same stubborn streak he so admired in Deme. "Okay, then, for starters, you can't go back to St. Croix."

Deme nodded. "Agreed."

"You're staying here close to family. Your sisters need you. You need them and you need me."

"Right." Deme smiled, detangling herself from her sisters' arms and walking toward Cal.

"I don't care how much you like living on a sun-baked island in the Caribbean, you have to come back to Chicago, where I can see you every day."

She walked right into his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck, dragging his mouth close to hers. "I'm with you so far."

"And you can't leave again." He pressed a brief kiss to her lips. "Did I mention that part?" His lips found hers again, taking her mouth more completely.

"I love you, Detective Cal Black. I'm not leaving you ever again. So get used to it."

"I was just thinking how easy it would be to get used to you being around all the time. And I wouldn't mind it if your sisters came to visit us."

"Oh, really?" Brigid stood with her legs parted. "Does that mean you're not going to freak out every time one of us uses our powers?"

Cal's gazed didn't leave Deme's. "I think your powers are what make you special."

Deme smiled up into his eyes. "And here I thought you'd run screaming."

"I don't scream." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I yell on occasion, but I don't scream."

"I'll have a few loose ends to tie up in St. Croix."

"I feel a honeymoon coming on." He kissed her full on the lips, hard and fast, then dropped to one knee.

Selene sighed. "How romantic."

Aurai hugged her brown-haired sister. "I hope we find a man like Cal."

"Not me." Brigid huffed. "Men are overrated."

"Only because you haven't found one who makes your knees weak." Gina backhanded her leather-clad sister in the belly. "Shut up and let him finish."

Deme shot a quelling glare at her sisters and they fell silent.

Cal laughed and took her hand in his. "Deme Chattox, can you find it in your heart to love me as much as I love you? To live with me through thick and thin, through Chimeras and whatever else this crazy world has to throw at us? I live a dangerous life. It can be hard on a woman."

"I'm not just any woman, Cal Black. As you said, I'm special." Deme dropped to her knees and took both of Cal's hands in hers. "But let's be perfectly clear. What exactly are you asking?"

"I'm asking you to marry me and be my partner for life."

Deme sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Her pause had to be the longest seconds of Cal's life.

Then her eyes shone with moisture that spilled down her face.

For a moment, Cal's stomach clenched.

"By the goddess, if you won't say it, we will." Brigid joined hands with the other four sisters.

"Yes!" The four sisters said in unison.

"Do you mind?" Deme glared at them, then her frown cleared and a smile shone across her face. "In case you didn't get the message, the answer is yes." She closed the distance between them, cupping his face with her hands, and kissed him long and deep.

Cal threaded his fingers through her tangled auburn hair and sealed the deal, his tongue thrusting past her teeth to stroke hers.

"Ahem." Brigid rolled her eyes. "If you two could finish, we might get this place cleaned up and the kids back in time to finish out the semester."

Cal gathered her in his arms and rose to his feet, hugging her tight.

"I'll need to get a job or open another investigation agency," Deme said. "I won't be a kept woman."

Brigid walked by her, tossing over her shoulder, "Or, you can come to work for the Chicago Police Department with me and Cal."

Deme stared up into Cal's eyes. "And investigate things like what happened here?"

"It seems Brigid and I have been recruited for special projects. Lieutenant Warner thinks we have the necessary skills to tackle the weird and unusual."

"Probably because we are weird and unusual." Brigid laughed. "What do you say, sis? Want to work for the city?"

Deme's gaze never left Cal's. "You okay with that?"

"More than okay. It means I get to see a lot more of you."

Deme's smile turned sexy. "Oh, you'll get that as soon as we get back to your apartment."

"Mind keeping it G-rated?" Gina jerked her head toward Aurai. "Child here."

"I'm not a child." Aurai stomped her foot. "I'll be twenty in a couple weeks."

"Sure you can put up with my family?" Deme asked. "I don't plan on running out on them again."

"I'm positive." Cal tipped her head back and kissed her again. "Especially if it means I get to be with you."

When Deme broke the kiss, she looked around at her sisters. Aurai stood nearby, a rumbling sound emanating from her belly. "We need to get Aurai some food."

Aurai laughed, her hand covering her stomach. "I could use a bite."

Selene stood beside the Chimera, her face tipped back, her eyes closed.

"Feel anything?" Deme and Cal walked across the grass to join her.

"They're leaving," Selene said.

"Who?" Gina joined her.

"Our sisters." Selene smiled. "They said thanks for doing what they'd tried to and failed." Selene opened her eyes and stared around at her living sisters. "They need one last favor."

"What's that?"

"To help them dispose of the body."

"Civic-minded of them." Brigid walked across to Selene.

Selene held out her hands.

The sisters came together in a circle beside the Chimera, all closing their eyes and raising their faces to the full moon breaking through the clouds. Their voices rose together into the night.

"With the strength of the earth

With the rising of the wind

With the calm of the water

With the intensity of fire

With the freedom of spirit

The goddess is within us

She is power

We are her

We are one

Blessed Be."

Cal didn't pretend to understand, still mystified by the magic these sisters wielded. He stood by and witnessed the unexplainable union of their spirits.

As they repeated the chant over and over, the Chimera rose from the ground, its massive body appearing weightless in the light from the moon.

The sisters' voices grew softer and softer until they stopped as one.

On the final "Blessed Be," the Chimera's body trembled then shimmered and exploded in a cloud of vapor.

"They're gone." Selene's eyes filled with tears. "I feel empty."

"You have us." Gina slipped an arm around her waist and drew her close.

"And we have Aurai back." Brigid pulled her younger sister into the group hug.

Deme wrapped her arms around them. "We have each other."

Cal stood by, waiting patiently, feeling as if he was spying on a family gathering he wasn't a part of. He hoped to change that soon.

When Deme held out a hand, he smiled. Maybe sooner than he expected. He joined the sisters in the hug. Part of a very unique family, and damned proud of it.