The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [101]
“Oui, Mademoiselle.”
“Merci.”
She got into the Mercedes, started the engine, went up the long driveway, and turned onto the main road. The sun came up as she was driving to the little community of Grand Anse, about a third of the way around the island. She checked her side mirrors; the road behind her was empty.
As she neared Grand Anse she drove past three side roads and turned off on a fourth. A quarter mile away stood a small white brick church, its grounds immaculately kept. No one was anywhere to be seen.
She parked the car, opened her shoulder bag, and removed her pistols, sliding them into her holsters. Then she got out and began walking cautiously toward the church. Some birds set up a commotion, but she ignored them and concentrated on the sides of the building, looking for any lurking enemies.
Finally she reached the front door of the church and entered. A rather pudgy priest was standing beside the altar, and he turned to face her.
“How may I help you, my child?” he asked.
“You can’t, Father,” said Lara. “But I can help you.”
“Oh?” he asked curiously.
“Get away from here.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“There’s probably going to be some trouble here in just a few minutes,” she said seriously. “I want you to leave before it begins.”
“If there’s trouble, then this is the place for me,” protested the priest.
Lara pulled out one of her Black Demons. “This kind of trouble, Father.”
His eyes widened, and he gulped hard.
“Who is after you, my child?”
“I haven’t got time to explain,” said Lara. “Just leave. If any shooting starts while you’re still here, I won’t be able to protect you.”
He looked at her guns again. “God be with you,” he said, and walked rapidly out of the church.
Lara approached the altar and carefully began removing a loose stone at the back right-hand corner. Suddenly she heard a stick break as someone approached the church.
Tensing, she released the stone and pulled her guns, training them on the door.
A shot rang out, and she threw herself down behind the altar. She heard the sound of shattering glass hitting the stone floor and realized that the bullet had come through a window on the side of the building rather than the door.
She took a deep breath, then stood up and fired both guns at the window. Two, three, four, five shots rang out almost instantaneously, and a man screamed in agony.
She saw a flurry of motion out of the corner of her eye, and turned to face the door. Two men had rushed in. She fired again, and put a bullet between the eyes of the slower one. The other crouched behind a wooden pew.
She looked up, saw a ceiling fan spinning lazily above the man, and put three quick shots into the rod that held it in place. The rod broke, and the fan fell on the hiding man. He yelped in pain and surprise and jumped to his feet, and a Black Demon spat four .32 slugs into him.
A face appeared at another window. She fired half a dozen shots, and it vanished.
She knelt down behind the altar, pulled fresh clips out of her holster, inserted them, and then listened intently. When she heard the sound of feet shuffling, she stood up and began firing. Three more men dropped just inside the door. A fourth turned to flee, ran into the door frame, careened back into the church, and paid for his mistake as she riddled him with bullets.
She hid behind the altar again. When there was no more noise and no more gunfire, she slowly stood up, looked around carefully, then cautiously walked to the door. There was nobody else in sight, just bodies piled up by the door and beneath the two windows. Their silence throughout the fight made her sure that her attackers were Silent Ones, as she had expected. But if her guess was right this was just the beginning.
Could I have been wrong? she wondered, frowning. Did I set this up for nothing? Where are you?
She stepped over the bodies, and walked back to the altar.