“Call the police!” I yelled over my shoulder to Velvet as I darted forward.
Annalise had everything on her side at the moment. Not only did she have a lead of several yards, but she had youth as well. She was also in better shape, which was obvious just by looking at her. Rounding out the advantages, it was a sure bet she was more familiar with this maze of tombs than I could ever hope to be, which was something that could play against me at any moment. All she had to do was duck between a stand of the structures or turn down an alley, and I could be lost.
However, I had something I was hoping would trump everything she had stacked in her hand. Determination.
I didn’t take time to look back and see if Velvet was doing as I asked. She knew the whole story about why I was here, and I had filled her in on Annalise when we had met for lunch earlier. She was well aware of how serious this was for all concerned, so I had to hope she was on top of it.
To my surprise, my quarry didn’t run very far, and she was now slowing suddenly as she veered left toward the outer wall of the cemetery. I was still too distant to understand why, but I pushed myself harder, intent on seizing the opportunity that had been presented. Another ten steps and her reasoning became clear. I could see an opening in the wall leading out to a side street. I hadn’t realized there were multiple entrances to the cemetery, but as I suspected, she knew her way around.
Or, so I thought.
Her own footsteps came to an abrupt halt as she literally slammed her body into the iron gate blocking the side entrance. I heard a creak combined with the heavy metallic rattle of a chain. As I continued running, I saw her push hard against the unyielding barrier then heard her shriek at the top of her lungs.
She threw her petite body against the gates yet again, making them bow outward. Wedging her shoulder into the newly formed gap, she tried to force her way through the small opening. The delay this caused gave me the break I needed, and I pumped my legs even harder, quickly covering the remaining fifteen or so yards.
I didn’t put on my own brakes until the last minute. Instead, I grabbed at the first thing I could reach which was the gate itself. I wrapped my hand around one of the upright bars and used my momentum to yank it back, narrowing the already slim gap with her still in it. The frame pivoted inward with a rusted groan, pinning her in place less than halfway through. She let out a pained yelp as the bars compressed across her forearm and wrist, driving in against her chest and shoulder.
Catching her breath, she glared at me then spit in my face before screaming, “Bastard! Va te faire, vous fils d’une chienne! ”
I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand then glared back. Her voice was the same as I’d heard in the vision, however, there was no sweetness in her drawl this go around.
Now that I was so close to her in the flesh, I was even more taken aback by how much she resembled Felicity. There were definite differences, but they were far from glaring. I had assumed the vision had been filling in blanks using my conscious memory as a pattern, but I apparently hadn’t given the ethereal enough credit for its accuracy.
Unfortunately, that preciseness was about to become my downfall. Her appearance was literally so disconcerting that I not only hesitated, but also unconsciously eased up on the gate, which in effect allowed her freedom of movement. That was a mistake that cost me dearly.
I knew I was probably already too close to her, but as usual I hadn’t thought far enough ahead to even consider her response to being cornered. The moment the pressure against her forearm backed off, she jerked it free and twisted toward me. In a flash her hand was up to my face, and her nails were latched on, digging into my flesh with extreme prejudice. I let out my own yelp of pain as I could feel my skin starting to tear. I reached up to grab her wrist but was a half second behind. She ripped the sharp claws downward, taking a good hunk of the skin from my right cheek with them.
I staggered back, still clinging to the gate. I used my weight to yank on it but was again too far behind the curve. Unable to thread herself through the small opening, she pulled back out of the gap and twisted away before she could become trapped yet again.
Swinging forward, I grabbed at her as she continued turning in preparation to run. I managed to catch her upper arm but was unable to actually get a grasp on anything but the sleeve of her jacket, which slipped immediately from my fingers. Still, I managed to knock her off balance enough that it caused her to stumble against the corner of the opening in the wall.
Leaping, I half tackled her from behind, wrapping my arms around her torso. She screeched and struggled as I locked my forearms across her chest and fought to pin her arms.
“RAPE! HELP! RAPE! NINE-ONE-ONE! RAPE!” she screamed.
“Give it up, Annalise!” I shouted over her shrieking. “The cops are already looking for you. They know what you’ve done! It’s over!”
My comment only served to renew her vigor as she fought against me. Bending her knees, she pulled her lower half up at the waist and placed her feet against the wall in front of her. Kicking away from it hard, she caused me to stumble backward and careen into the opposite wall, still holding her in a tight clench. She continued to squirm, and I was thrown completely off balance. We both crashed onto the concrete, although given that she was on top of me along with the manner in which the air burst from my lungs, I am fairly certain I cushioned the majority of her fall. Still, I refused to let go as she struggled to break free.
However, the jarring impact had allowed her to slip farther down in my grasp, and while I was trying to deal with the burning pain in my cheek and the fresh ache running up and down my back, a brand new attack made itself known. Her elbow slammed hard against my ribcage as she fought to inflict as much damage as she could in her bid for escape. The sharp pain hit a second time as she drove it in again, kicking and screaming all the while. When she tried to bring the appendage in for a third strike, I twisted against her, which caused it to glance along my side instead of landing a direct hit. Unfortunately, although the move saved me from another blow to the ribs, it allowed her to wriggle down even more.
In an instant, crushing agony tore into the top of my left wrist, and I let out a scream. A muffled shriek came from her throat as she bit deeply into my arm. Once again I could feel my flesh tearing as her teeth sunk through skin and tendon. My hand jerked with a spasm, and my arms loosened out of reflex. She instantly scrambled upward, and through my watering eyes, I caught a glimpse of her mouth smeared red with my blood. I rolled and pulled myself to my feet as well, but she was already sprinting away.
I flashed a quick glance back to my right looking for help but didn’t see anyone. I had no idea where Velvet had gone, but apparently I was on my own. I started after Annalise, following her up one of the wider “alleys” toward the center of the graveyard. Once again, she was well in the lead.
Darting to the right, she disappeared, and I pressed myself even harder to catch up. Focusing on the point where she ducked from sight, I brought myself in closer to the row of tombs and veered in the same direction. Coming up on the opening, I thrust my hand outward and used it to buffer myself against the structures as I took the turn at a dead run. My wounded appendage thudded against the wall, and I felt a fresh twinge of pain shoot up my arm. I fought to ignore it, but I could feel myself wince as I let out a yelp.
I was starting to pant hard as I fought for breath, but I pushed forward, covering the short distance and hooking around the opposite end of the row of tombs. The area opened up; however, there were two wide alleys, one to the left and one to the right. Acting purely on instinct, I veered to the left and continued running. As I shot past a large crypt, I caught a glimpse of her in another passage to my right, running in the general direction of the front gate.
Skidding on the walkway, I changed my direction and took after her. We zigzagged between tombs, her managing to stay a few paces out of my reach, but with me gaining on her each step.
As we crossed a main alley, she continued straight on and slipped into a narrow gap between two crypts. I started to follow but could tell immediately that I would never be able to fit my frame through the opening, so I whipped to the left and shot around the end of the row. I could already hear her frantic footsteps ahead, so I didn’t even bother making the second 90? turn to go toward where she had cut through. Instead, I kept going forward. She was still ahead of me, but her shortcut hadn’t given her the edge she needed. In fact, it had worked just the opposite, and I was now barely within reach. Lunging, I launched myself through the short space between us and tackled her as she shot out in front of me.
Once again we both went down hard on the concrete, but it was obvious from the way she kept moving that her leather jacket was affording her more protection than my thinner cloth garment was giving me. Still, she screeched as we rolled, and I did the same. I’m not certain if it was from pain or anger on her part, though I suspected it was both.
She rolled over in a flash and kicked at me as she scrambled back against a tomb bearing a brass plate and more than a few X’s scribed on its surface. I wasn’t certain, but I thought I saw the name Marie Laveau inscribed on the plaque before Annalise’s body obscured it from my view. A plate full of coins scattered everywhere when she knocked it from its pedestal. It was soon joined by candles and vases full of flowers that she upset as she continued scrabbling away from me.
I came up to a kneeling position and lunged toward her again, but she twisted out of my way. When she rolled back toward me, her hand was wrapped around the heavy glass container of a seven-day candle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it arcing toward me, so I threw my arm up and twisted, catching the brunt of it against my shoulder. I heard a wounded animal screaming then realized that it was me.
She scurried backwards, kicking me as she moved, then climbed to her feet and started running again. I dragged myself up and started after her, stumbling against the tombs as new and altogether unpleasant agonies joined the old. Slipping along a walkway, I shot out onto the main alley that ran parallel to the front wall. Looking to the left, I saw that she was already hooking to the right and out the front gate.
I ignored ceremony and rushed headlong behind her at a renewed sprint. The souls of the departed were just going to have to cut me some slack this time.