Blood Oath, Blood River (The Downwinders Book 1) Read online

  “It’s up ahead,” Winn said. “I’m going to slow down and let them catch up a little, so we can see them turn.”

  “I’ve got this map,” Deem said. “I’ll be able to see if they turn.”

  Winn slowed down his Jeep nonetheless, and passed the turn to St. George, continuing straight. The road ahead didn’t have any curves. He slowed to twenty miles per hour and watched his rear view mirror.

  The lights from the car behind them covered the distance rapidly.

  “They’re not turning,” Winn said. The lights were approaching at a great deal of speed. Winn was afraid he was going to slow and would be hit.

  “They passed the junction,” Deem said. “They’re still following us.”

  Winn pulled his Jeep off the road. The car behind them was barreling down on them, not slowing. Just as he got the wheels of the Jeep off the asphalt and onto the gravel, the car behind them sped by. Deem felt the Jeep shake from the wind turbulence.

  They both watched the tail lights of the car passing away from them down the road.

  “Was that him?” Winn asked. “I didn’t see what kind of car it was. I was trying to get off the road so it didn’t hit me!”

  “They’re still behind us,” Deem said, observing the map.

  “Impossible,” Winn said. “There’s nothing back there.”

  Deem showed him the screen. “It passed the turn off, still following us. He’s back there.”

  “How far back?” Winn asked.

  “I don’t know,” Deem said. “A thousand feet? A quarter mile? I’m not sure. There’s no scale on this thing.”

  “Is it moving?” Winn asked.

  “No, it’s still,” Deem said. “Not moving.”

  Winn made a U turn and drove back down the highway. “Is it still there?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Deem said. “We’re coming up on it. Slow down.”

  “There’s nothing here, Deem.”

  Winn looked in his rear view mirror. No cars – the road was empty. Late on a Sunday night, cars should be few and far between on this desolate stretch of highway. He let the car drift forward.

  “It says we’re on it,” Deem said, reading the screen. “It’s right here.”

  “There’s no car here,” Winn said.

  “What the fuck?” Deem asked. “It’s got to be!”

  Winn squinted at the other side of the road and stopped the Jeep, turning the wheels a little toward the other lane of traffic, the one they’d sped down just moments before. He put the headlights on high beam, and stepped out of the car. He was assaulted by a dry wind.

  Deem looked at the window of the Jeep in disbelief. At first she thought it was a bird, but then she realized a bird couldn’t remain stationary off the ground. There, floating about four feet off the asphalt, in the middle of the road, was the tracking device. A few pieces of duct tape still hung from it, flapping in the wind. She watched as Winn walked up to it and grabbed it. Then he got back into the Jeep. He handed it to Deem.

  “They’re fucking with us,” Winn said.

  She turned it over in her hand, examining it, becoming angry. It looked exactly the same as when she’d placed it under the BMW. “We’re gonna fuck back,” she replied.

  Chapter Ten

  “Are you sure about this?” Winn asked as he pulled his Jeep into Dayton’s driveway, parking directly behind the BMW. “It seems a little reactionary.”

  Deem opened the door to the Jeep. “Come on,” she said. “I need you as a witness.” She slammed the Jeep’s door closed and began marching up to the front door of Dayton’s house.

  “A witness?” Winn asked, following her.

  “I’m not going to be intimidated by these people,” Deem said. “They need to know that.”

  Deem pounded on the door. It opened, and Deem was ready to start laying into the person opening it. Then she realized it was a small boy, maybe five years old.

  “Hello?” he asked.

  “Is your father here?” Deem said. “I need to speak with him.”

  The boy turned and ran away, leaving the door open. “Dad!” he yelled as he disappeared deeper into the house.

  Deem pushed the door open and stepped into the entryway. Winn remained outside.

  “Come on,” she said. “They won’t know the kid didn’t invite us in.”

  “You’re scaring me a little,” Winn said.

  “You love it,” Deem answered.

  “Yeah, I kinda do,” Winn replied.

  A woman emerged from around a corner and walked toward them. She was tall, lean, and pretty. “Deem?” she said as she approached. “Is that you?”

  “Hello, Sister Dayton,” Deem said, trying to tamp down the anger in her voice. “I need to see Brother Dayton. Is he home? It’s urgent.”

  “I think he just got back from a meeting,” she said, eyeing Deem and then giving Winn a once over. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since the funeral. I hope you’re doing well.”

  “Well enough,” Deem said.

  “I haven’t seen you at church in a while,” the woman said.

  Always watching, Deem thought. Nothing ever slips by these people.

  “That’s what I need to speak to Brother Dayton about,” Deem replied.

  At that moment Dayton arrived in the room, the small five-year-old boy in tow.

  “Sister Hinton,” Dayton said, approaching Deem. He extended his hand for the customary handshake. Deem took it, playing along.

  “Can I speak with you?” Deem said. “I really need to talk to you for a moment.”

  “It’s late,” Dayton said. “I’m on family time at the moment. Can I schedule an appointment with you for tomorrow?”

  “It’s urgent,” Deem said. “Ten minutes, and I promise I’ll be done.” She turned to Dayton’s wife. “I’m sorry for the interruption at home, Sister Dayton. It’s just…” Deem looked like she might break into tears.

  “Joe, you’d better see her,” Dayton’s wife said, grabbing Dayton by the arm. “I’ll keep the kids downstairs.” She grabbed the five-year-old’s arm and they left the entryway, disappearing deeper into the house.

  “Do we have anything to talk about?” Dayton asked. “Really?”

  “We do,” Deem said.

  “Then come into the living room,” Dayton said, waving them to the right. “Have a seat.”

  Deem picked a couch where Winn joined her. Dayton sat across from them in a leather chair.

  Winn looked around the room. It was expensively furnished. Above the fireplace was a large picture of the St. George temple, in a gilded, ornate frame.

  “What can I do for you?” Dayton asked.

  “You’d like me to stop following you,” Deem asked. “Fine. I will. You give me my father’s journals, and you’ll never hear from me again.”

  “I don’t have your father’ journals,” Dayton said.

  “Then where are they?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know where they are. Usually a person keeps them at home. Have you checked at home?”

  “I’m not some stupid kid you can condescend to,” Deem said.

  “I don’t think you are. It’s late. Is there anything else?”

  “We both know you’re part of a secret organization,” Deem said. “I’d hate to have to spill the beans about it to people. Spread the secret around.”

  “I think you’re misunderstanding something, Sister Hinton, and I would strongly advise you against this course of action.”

  “What was all that up in Caliente?” Deem asked. “We talked with Brother Hester. He said you intend to kill me.”

  “Brother Hester? In Caliente? He died thirty years ago. I think you must be mistaken.”

  “How can you lie like this?” Deem asked. “You just go repent to yourself and call it good?”

  “Sister Hinton, I think something’s gone wrong. You used to have the spirit i
n you. I remember you bearing your testimony as a little girl. You were so sweet, but more than that, you were always dynamic, a real powerhouse. But something has happened. I suspect it has to do with losing your father, who was a righteous father in Zion, a man I greatly respected. Now you seem to be filled with the spirit of contention. I think you might be in need of care, some kind of mental help. The things you’re saying – well, they seem delusional; I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “How dare you bring my grief over my father into this,” Deem asked. “It’s all a game to you, isn’t it? Pretend to be just a counselor in a Stake Presidency, when we both know you’re much more than that. Something every normal member of the church around here would find evil.”

  “I take my calling very seriously, young lady,” Dayton said, standing. “I realize something has upset you, but I assure you there’s little I can do about it. Or need to do about it. Our meeting is over, it’s time to go.”

  Deem sat on the couch, fuming. Things hadn’t gone with Dayton how she’d imagine them going on the ride back into town. She stood and turned to Winn.

  “We’ll find another way to locate his journals,” she said to Winn. “Then we’ll expose these motherfuckers.” She walked out of the living room and to the entryway.

  “Sister Hinton,” Dayton said, “I do not allow that kind of language in this house.”

  “What are you going to do?” Deem repeated, turning to Dayton. “What exactly are you going to do, you so-called man of God?”

  Dayton’s calm exterior had broken, and his eyes betrayed his anger. “I’m not going to do anything,” he said, measuring each word. “The Lord will take care of you. He’s got plans for you.”

  Deem walked up to Dayton and stuck her face in his. “You gonna kill me?” Deem said. “You and your little band of gifteds who meet in the dark, in secret, like criminals? Like Gadianton robbers? How are you going to do it? Blood atonement style? Are they going to find me in my bed, my throat slit from ear to ear? Is it going to be you? Are you going to slide the knife? Or are you going to hire a Danite to do it?”

  Dayton pushed Deem back.

  “Take your hands off her!” Winn said, stepping between the two of them and pushing Dayton away from Deem.

  “We’re not going to do anything,” Dayton hissed. “You’re targeted by a skinwalker. You’re dead already.”

  Deem looked at Dayton, examining his face. He was angry, but truthful. “You guys are a piece of work,” Deem said. “Do you monitor everything around here?”

  “Everything,” Dayton said, staring back at her. “Everything.”

  “I’m not some powerless little member who needs the help of the church to get by,” Deem said. “I can deal with the skinwalker on my own.”

  “Not this one,” Dayton said. “I know what you’re capable of. You’re punching above your weight, with both me and the skinwalker. It’s a shame to lose you, because of how much I respected your father. But unless you repent, you’ll be used up soon.”

  “Did my father behave this way?” Deem asked. “When he was part of your secret club? Was he as reprehensible as you?”

  Dayton pressed his lips closed and stared back at Deem. He was refusing to answer.

  “He was? He was as evil as you?” she asked.

  She stared Dayton down for a second more, then turned. “Come on Winn, I gotta get some air. The stink of hypocrisy is choking me.”

  She opened the door to the house and walked outside.

  “If you harm her,” Winn said to Dayton as he turned to follow Deem, “I’ll kill you.”

  “The skinwalker isn’t my doing,” Dayton said. “You two started that on your own.”

  “I was in that bus, too, with Deem and her mother and aunt,” Winn said. “Why hasn’t it targeted me? It’s funny that it only targeted Deem’s family.”

  “What you don’t know could fill the world,” Dayton said. “You don’t even know yourself.”

  “You really are a hypocrite,” Winn said.

  “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Dayton said. “I don’t expect a sodomite gentile like you to understand it. You’re a far bigger threat to her than me, corrupting her spirit, destroying her chances at the celestial kingdom. She’d be better off if you’d just crawl back under that rock you came from.”

  Winn turned and left Dayton standing alone in the entryway. Deem was already in the Jeep. Winn jumped into the vehicle, started it up, and backed out of the driveway.

  “What was that about?” Deem asked.

  “I wanted to threaten him,” Winn said. “So I did.”

  Deem smiled. “It won’t work with him,” she said. “I know these people. They think they’re above everything. Including the law. Everything I said to him in there was a waste. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “Well, it felt good to say it,” Winn said. “He called me a sodomite gentile.”

  “Ha!” Deem said, laughing so hard spit flew from her lips and landed on the dashboard. “In their world, that’s the best insult they can come up with!”

  “Yeah, ‘motherfucker’ had much more panache,” Winn said.

  Deem laughed even harder, slapping her hand against the dash.

  “Did you see him recoil when you said it?” Winn asked. “It was like you’d slapped him.”

  “Oh god,” Deem said, trying to breathe. “I really shouldn’t think that’s funny, with all that’s going on. But I can’t help it.”

  Winn watched her laugh. It made him smile to see her let loose for a moment. “It’s been hours since you’ve had a Big Gulp,” Winn said. “I’ll bet you’re really jonesing for one.”

  “God, yes,” Deem said. “And some food.”

  “How about we just go to Home Plate and you can load up on soda there?”

  “Sure,” Deem said, still giggling, struggling to breathe normally. “Sodomite gentile!” she repeated, and burst into another round of laughter. “Oh, I am so going to use that!”

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  “What was all that about robbers?” Winn asked Deem as they sat in a booth at the restaurant. He was guzzling a beer and she was sipping on Diet Coke.

  “Oh, you mean at Dayton’s?” Deem asked.

  “Yeah. You called the secret council ‘gaddy-something robbers’. And Danites. What is all that?”

  “I knew it would bother him,” Deem said. “Gadianton Robbers. They’re characters from the Book of Mormon. They were considered an evil, secret organization that would extort governments. Kind of like an organized crime syndicate, but really big.”

  “It did bother him,” Winn said. “I saw the look on his face when you brought it up. And Danites?”

  “When the church was still in Missouri, before they moved to Utah, they were under heavy persecution from the locals. To fight back, Joseph Smith organized a secret group of people to do the church’s dirty work. They operated in secret, and they were called Danites. The name comes from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Anyway, they’d fight back against the Missourians. It’s what led Missouri to issue their extermination order.”

  “Extermination order?” Winn asked. “Extermination of what?”

  “Mormons,” Deem said.

  “A U.S. state issued an order to exterminate all Mormons?” Winn asked. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “You weren’t paying attention in history class,” Deem said. “Missouri hated the Mormons. Especially when a Danite shot the Governor.”

  “You’re making this up!” Winn said as the food arrived and he dived into a patty melt.

  “No, I’m not!” Deem said, pouring ketchup over her fries. “The order wasn’t rescinded until 1976. Anyway, when the Mormons moved to Utah in 1847, the Danites came with them. People think they took orders from Brigham Young, but since they operated in secret, no one knows. The rumors have always persisted though. Many people think they’re still active today, controlled by the church. They clean up problems, put pressure on enemies of the ch
urch, that kind of thing.”

  “Like Men in Black?” Winn asked.

  “I guess, if Men in Black are even real.”

  “Oh, they’re real.”

  “Here we go with the UFO shit again.”

  “It’s not shit, Deem.”

  “Well, whatever. I have no idea if they exist or not. But think about this, Winn. We’re both gifted, right? And we got it from our parents. My father was gifted, so was your mom. They got it from their parents, and so on. This goes way back. Who knows when it first started? Maybe it’s existed from the very beginning. That means, throughout history, there have been gifted people operating in society, including the Mormon church, right? It’s not just Dayton and my father. They’ve existed all along. This secret council that Dayton is part of might have been formed in the earliest days of Mormonism, and there’s probably similar groups in other religions. Maybe that’s what parts of Opus Dei are, to the Catholics. We just have to deal with it here because there’s so many Mormons, kind of like how we have to deal with the mutations in the River because we’re downwind. If we were back east, it might be a group of secret Catholics, or in the south, secret Baptists. When someone finds out they’re gifted, and they’re also part of a religion, they’ve got to balance it somehow. Make both halves work. The leaders of the regions wouldn’t sanction it, that’s for sure, so they operate in secret. Having the gift doesn’t mean you ditch all of your religious beliefs.”

  “You seem to have,” Winn said.

  “Well, I’m different,” Deem said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I always thought it was bullshit. It was easy to stop going. But it wasn’t for my father.”

  “Well, you obviously knew what to say to upset Dayton,” Winn said. “He was furious.”

  “Good, he pissed me off,” Deem said, taking a bite of her hamburger.

  “Do you think he had anything to do with the skinrunner?” Winn asked.

  “I don’t see how,” Deem said. “You were turned on to that by your friend who drove the bus. I think the council just monitors things very closely. They might have a device that tells them if something paranormal occurs within a certain area. I don’t know what the purpose of their secret council is, what they actually do. But part of it involves keeping an eye on anything unusual going on. We should talk to Claude about it, maybe he knows more.”