Annie’s face was a mask of horror. Blood dripped from her cheeks like tears. The sound of the rifle shot reverberated in her head. When she opened her eyes, the world was veiled in red.
Then she saw him. He stepped in front of her, said gently, “You okay?”
Annie had trouble finding words. “I’m… not… dead?”
“You almost were,” Prophet said. “A second or two away, I’d guess.”
Annie lowered her gaze to the man who lay in the meadow grass. The side of his head was a mass of blood and exploded bone. She lifted her eyes to Prophet. “You?”
“I didn’t have a choice. He was going to kill you, wasn’t he?”
She thought a moment, gave one nod.
“Come on,” Prophet said. He took her hand. “Let’s get you to Henry and get you cleaned up.”
Jenny had washed her sister’s face of the blood and other matter that came from the bullet’s backsplash as it exited Liam Boyle’s skull. Because Annie’s T-shirt was spattered with blood as well, Jenny had loaned her another. Prophet had taken Waaboo away for a while, but now that Annie was cleaned up, he’d brought the boy back. They sat at the table in Henry Meloux’s cabin, with Prophet standing guard at the door.
Meloux said, “The woods are safe again, Prophet.”
“A little insurance never hurt, Henry.”
“How…?” Annie asked. She didn’t exactly recall what had happened. She remembered the rifle barrel inches from her forehead. She remembered her full embrace of what she believed was to come. She thought maybe she’d had her eyes closed, waiting for the bullet to do its work, but she couldn’t say for sure. She would never be able to say for sure.
“Mishomis warned us,” Waaboo said. “He told us a darkness had come to the woods. We hid.”
Annie looked at Prophet, who stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the afternoon light. “And you…?”
“I went to check things out.”
“Did you have to kill him?” Annie said.
“When he put his rifle to your head, I figured I had no choice.”
Annie frowned a moment, then said, “Thank you.” She looked beyond him to the light outside. “He’s just lying there.”
“His body,” Meloux said. “His spirit has already begun its next journey. Do not weep for this man, Anne O’Connor. This life was not kind to him. In the next, he will find peace.”
“I hope he goes to hell,” Waaboo said.
“Hush, Waaboo,” Jenny said.
“There is no hell, Little Rabbit,” Meloux offered. “Except what we create for ourselves here or others create for us. Better that this man’s spirit has moved on.”
“I need to pray for him,” Annie said.
“Even after what he intended to do to you?” There was a note of anger in Jenny’s voice. “And Waaboo?”
“It’s just like Henry said. Someone created a hell for him here that misshaped his life. We aren’t born with spirits bent on evil. I’ve seen firsthand the hearts of children warped by cruelty. I’ve spent years trying to do what I could to help. With that man, all that’s left to me is to offer prayers that his soul finds rest.”
“I can’t be that forgiving,” Jenny said.
Annie smiled just a little. “You’d make a terrible nun.”
Her cell phone rang. When she answered, Daniel said, “I’ve been trying to reach Jenny or Prophet. No one’s answering. I need to get word to them. Waaboo may be in great danger.”
“Waaboo’s fine,” Annie said. “I’m with him and Jenny now. And Henry and Prophet. We’re all fine.”
“Not necessarily,” Daniel said in a tight voice. “A man named Liam Boyle wants Waaboo dead. He may try to get at him on Crow Point.”
“Liam Boyle,” Annie said. “So that was his name.”
“Was?”
“You don’t have to worry about him, Daniel. Would you like to talk to Jenny?”
“Sure.”
She handed the phone over and listened as her sister spoke.
“I’m sorry, Daniel. We had to silence our phones here for a while. We didn’t mean to scare you.” She listened. “We have a lot to tell you. Best we do that when you get here.” She listened again and nodded. “All right. I’ll see you then. But don’t worry. We’re not in danger anymore, I promise.”
She handed the cell phone back to Annie.
The distant wail of a siren crept into the cabin, and Meloux said, “I will take my rifle now, Prophet. It is best if you stay in the forest for a while.”
Prophet handed the Winchester to the old man. “What will you say, Henry?”
“That although my eyes are not as keen as they used to be, I still have a warrior’s instinct.” Meloux looked at the others and asked, “Who was it that sent the intruder on the Path of Souls?”
“You, Mishomis,” Waaboo said.
“You,” Jenny said.
Annie didn’t answer immediately, and Meloux offered, “If the truth is what you need to hold to, you can always say that your eyes were closed and you did not see who fired the bullet. That will not be a lie.”
Annie shook her head. “It’s not that. I’m just thinking that I’ve been lying to myself and others for too long. It’s time I told a few truths. This won’t be one of them, however. You fired the shot, Henry.” She turned to her sister and said, “But there’s a truth I need to tell you.”