Hidden Talents

to—”
    Blade's voice floated back through the shadows. “Quiet.”
    Caleb fell silent, but Serenity could feel the simmering rage in him.
    Blade used the lights from the cottage to find the path. The moonglow reflecting off the fog provided sufficient illumination to guide the small party up into the woods. They climbed the path in single file with the dogs leading the way.
    The tension was thicker than the mist. It seemed to Serenity that the night was imbued with a malevolent quality. The glowing fog creating an alien atmosphere that made the familiar forest appear strange and unnatural. She found herself starting at every small night sound. She took comfort in the knowledge that the dogs would give advance warning of Kincaid's presence.
    At the top of the trail, Blade abruptly put out a hand. Intent on finding her footing, Serenity didn't realize he had halted. She bumped into him. Caleb caught her arm to steady her.
    She looked up and saw that both Blade and Caleb were watching the rottweilers. Charon and Styx were standing, stiff and still, a few feet from the cavern entrance.
    Far back in the depths of the cavern, a flashlight beam bounced off the rocky walls.
    “Goddamn you, Marion, come out.” Kincaid's voice rang with a wild, disturbing echo inside the cave. “You can't hide from me. I'll kill you for leaving me. Got to kill you, you bitch.”
    Blade put his mouth close to Caleb's ear and spoke so softly that Serenity couldn't understand what was being said. She saw Caleb nod once. Then he did something to the pistol in hand. There was a tiny snick .
    Anxiety made Serenity's fingers tremble as she touched Caleb's arm. She looked at him, silently entreating him to be cautious. He patted her hand absently and then pointed to a rocky outcropping. It was clear he wanted her to stay hidden behind it.
    Reluctantly, she followed his silent instructions. Blade gave another hand signal to the dogs. Charon and Styx took up protective positions near her as the men separated and slipped away into the mist.
    Serenity realized that she could hardly breathe. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and found the griffin that had saved her life. Her parents' gift to her . She held it fast and told herself that Caleb and Blade would be safe.

    The beam of Kincaid's flashlight gyrated erratically around the interior of the cave, bouncing off the stony walls, ceiling, and floor. From the outside it appeared as if a strange, frantic light show was taking place inside.
    “I'll kill you for this, you whoring bitch, Marion.” Kincaid's voice was becoming increasingly high-pitched. It hovered at the invisible edge of a precipice, almost out of control. “I'll kill you, and when I'm finished with you, I'll go back and get the one who tried to help you. She won't escape me, either. I'll show you both that I'm not weak.”
    Caleb was aware of a ghostly sense of wrongness as he listened to Kincaid's ranting. He felt the fleeting touch of a sensation that he could only call evil.
    Crouching low, he made his way to the left side of the entrance and waited until Blade was in position on the right.
    “Too bad we can't use the dogs as a distraction,” Blade said. “They could get him in the darkness, no problem. But they won't go inside that cave.”
    “The lights,” Caleb said. “We can use them to shake him up a bit. The switch is out here, remember?”
    “Yeah. Hit 'em. See what happens.”
    Caleb found the metal box beside him and snapped the switch that turned on the row of bulbs that lined one interior wall. The weak lights came on inside the cave.
    “What's that?” Kincaid yelled, startled. “Don't come in here, whoever you are.” A shot rang out. It sang with warning as it ricocheted off rock. “This is none of your business, whoever you are. This is between Marion and me.”
    “Put the gun down and come out quietly,” Caleb ordered.
    “No, I'm not finished with her. Keep away from me or I'll kill you, too. I'm going to kill all of you, starting with that bitch who sent me up here. She lied to me, didn't she? It was all a trick.”
    “Guy's actin' like he's Looney Tunes,” Blade muttered softly.
    Not that it took one to know one in this instance, Caleb thought. The diagnosis was obvious. “I don't think we're going to be able to talk him out of there.”
    “No point. Knew a guy like this once. Probably gonna have to kill him,” Blade said matter-of-factly.
    “He's not going anywhere. One of us can