Emma shrugged. “That’s understandable. Practically everything in the rain forest is out for your blood. I’ve heard the rumors, of course, and Annabel told me that it wasn’t the Incas who destroyed the Cloud People, or the Spanish. The locals and descendents whisper of a great evil who murdered in the night, sucking the life from them and turning families against one another. The Cloud People were fierce in battle and gentle in their home life, but they supposedly succumbed one by one or fled the village to the Incas. When the Incas came to conquer the forest people, apparently most of the warriors were already dead. It’s rumored that the Incas living here suffered the same fate as the ones killed by the marauding evil. Their bravest warriors died first.”
“That’s not in the history books,” Ben said.
Still, she had the feeling he wasn’t surprised, that he’d heard that whispered version. There were many more stories, of course, each more frightening than the other. Tales of bloodless victims and the tortures and horrors they’d endured before being murdered. Annabel had managed to boost her antenna levels for the weird and unbelievable so much that she was beginning to wonder if she would find normalcy back at home. Would the witches follow her back here?
“Are you talking vampires?” Ben asked, causing Emma to blink.
He’d slipped that question in so casually. Too casually. He probably had a deeper agenda than mining for traveling to the barely explored region. Old legends? Could he want to write? Whatever his reasons, Emma was certain they had nothing to do with mining. She frowned, thinking it over.
Could the evil entity whispered about be a vampire? She thought, remembering Freya and her friends, including her professor. They weren’t evil. She smelt none around them even though they drank blood. So, she discounted it and decided to play dumb.
“I honestly have no idea. I’ve never heard whatever the entity is called a vampire, but the languages have changed so much over the years, quite a bit is lost in translation. I suppose it’s possible. Vampire bats play an important part in Inca culture and among the Chachapoyas as well. At least based on what little Annabel told me before the insects attacked. There isn’t a lot to go on.”
“Fascinating,” Ben said. “If we get a chance, I’d like to hear more from her. I find cultures interesting, and here, in this part of the rain forest, the tribes and stories seemed to be shrouded in mystery, which intrigues me all the more. I’m a bit of an amateur writer and I take every opportunity when exploring a new region to learn as much as I can about old myths. I find that no matter where I go, certain legendary creatures have infiltrated cultures all over the world. It’s intriguing.”
At a soft sound, Emma turned to find Annabel standing close. Annabel was unguarded for a moment, her face swollen with bites, her eyes watchful and very suspicious of Ben.
Emma stared at her in surprise. Annabel was the most open, gentle woman Riley had ever been around. She didn’t have a mean, suspicious bone in her body. As a rule she shared information, was at ease with everyone, and most people gravitated toward her. As a matter of fact, Emma felt protective toward the older lady because she was so trusting where Emma wasn’t.
Annabel blinked and the look of suspicion was gone, leaving her friend simply looking at Ben. Emma felt a little as if her world was spinning. Nothing, no one-not even her friend-seemed familiar. “You should be resting, Annabel. So many bites can make you sick.”
Annabel shook her head. “I’m okay. The gel Gary gave me is very soothing. It took the itch away, and you know the bites aren’t poisonous. Gary and his friend must be very good at studying the properties of plants, because the gel really works.”
Ben glanced over at the two men. Although both were clearly American, Gary and Jubal had journeyed from somewhere in Europe to search for a mythical plant with extraordinary healing properties that supposedly grew high in the Andes. By the expression on his face, he thought both men were slightly insane.
Annabel took Emma’s hand and they nodded at Ben and moved toward a clutter of soft sofa, in the center where they were alone.
Emma heard the pilot’s voice boom across the speakers. She didn’t know exactly what he said, but she was sure that they would be landing soon.
She looked out at the window again. Lines of big birds swayed high in the clouds, an eerie sight. They were still following them. It was a disturbing sight, as if the birds were lying in wait, motionless, waiting for dark to begin the hunt-this time for human prey. She gave a little shudder at her own dramatic fantasy.
But she wouldn’t be surprised if the birds were witches, monitoring spirits. She remembered that Margo had taken the form of a small kite to come see her for the first time in Derek’s house. She wondered what they would do when the plane finally landed. Shapeshift to humans? She didn’t think so. That would cause a commotion that she believed the supernatural world wasn’t ready to handle.
Emma felt eyes on her and turned to see Miles staring at her. He grinned and pretended to shoot an imaginary rifle at the creatures. She turned away. Miles’ need to be the center of attention every moment disgusted her. But his reaction to the birds was just a little too close to the way she was feeling-and she didn’t want to feel anything at all in common with the man.
She turned her attention back to her friend, taking her hand and gripping it tightly. Everything will be fine. She mentally affirmed to herself. She didn’t know how she would scale through this, but she believed that whatever the fates have in stock for her, she will handle it. If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t have been projected as the prophecy.