Page 105 of Forged in Deception

“On second thought,” he said, reaching out to grab her hand, “you’re coming too. Move!”

KARLIN

There was no chance for either of them to speak.

Karlin followed Axel at a run, the entirety of her focus dedicated to remaining upright as the mud at her feet grew thicker and thicker.

Up ahead, sticks, brush, and other debris were rushing down the hills that led into the valley, carried in a flood of brown liquid.

It was surreal how quickly the water had risen, racing over sand and rock, submerging everything in its path in filthy sludge. Bushes were yanked from weak roots, toppling over and mingling with the rest of the deluge as it continued to flow downhill.

“Come on!” Axel yelled, shoving her forward until she was in front of him. “Run!”

She could see what he was looking at immediately.

Up and to their right, maybe seventy feet ahead, she could see a steep ridge of rock that was still wet, but mercifully free of the slick mud that now covered the floor of the valley.

Allowing Axel to support her body from behind, she rushed toward it and began clambering up the stone, still managing to slip on the craggy surface thanks to the pouring rain. Her arms were aching as she gripped a sturdy-looking bush overhead, allowing it to take some of her weight as she pulled herself up and onto a flat plateau.

She helped Axel up behind her as best she could, only then pausing to rest, her chest heaving as she collapsed hard onto the stone ground.

“You okay?” Axel asked, but she barely heard him.

Her attention was focused behind where he stood.

The valley below was filled with churning mud. The cabin was already half buried, and the entire front porch had been torn away by the force of the water.

Karlin felt suddenly rooted in place, shaking in the cold as her adrenaline began to wear away. “If we hadn’t–” she stammered, struggling to get the words out. “If we hadn’t heard those noises outside and decided to move–”

“But we did move,” Axel said firmly, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze. “God saw us. He protected us, even using the evil of this cult to do it, because He’s in control. And hopefully He’s using us to save someone else’s life tonight. I need to keep moving.”

She couldn’t argue with his reasoning. Not after what they had just survived.

“Fine. But I’m still coming with you,” she said.

This time, he didn’t bother to argue.

“I think the voices were coming from this direction,” he said instead. “Hopefully, the desert wind isn’t playing any tricks on us tonight.”

ASHER

The lightning and thunder had stopped, and the lingering rain slowed once more to a gentle patter as they wound their way through the wild, flood-torn desert.

Asher’s knee still hurt, but it was manageable, and now that the wind had let up, the chill of his damp clothes felt a lot more bearable. Karlin was keeping up with him easily, and if she was uncomfortable or exhausted, her face didn’t show it. Her blue eyes were filled with pure determination.

To the east, he could see that the sky was beginning to lighten just a little, though as far as he could tell, the coming sunrise was still shrouded in heavy cloud. Still, so long as they didn’t encounter another flash flood, he could handle a little gloom.

In the distance, they could see a building that Karlin didn’t recognize, and every so often, the chanting and shouting sounds started up again.

He felt confident that the ritual sacrifice had not yet been completed.

Somehow, some way, he could feel in his heart that the person Cora and Lily were planning to kill, whoever she was, was still alive.

He had to believe that was true. He couldn’t bear the thought that he could be putting Karlin in more danger for nothing.

Part of him was lost in worry, wondering about what was to come, but a bigger part was just thankful that this endless night was almost over.

However this ended, it was going to end.

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