Page 61 of Mountain Captive

“I don’t know.” He got out of bed and put on his pants and shoved his feet into his shoes. “I’ll check.”

Harley ran ahead of him down the hall and began barking again—angry, staccato barks like shouts. “No!” someone commanded.

Rand switched on the living room light and found Harley cowering submissively at a man’s feet. The man was fit and trim, with stylishly cut silver hair and a tan. He wore a light gray suit with a white shirt and no tie, like a well-off businessman relaxing after work. The man looked from the dog to Rand. “Even dogs know to obey me,” he said.

“Who are you?” Rand demanded.

“I’m the Exalted.” He smiled a smug grin.

“Edmund Harrison,” Rand said.

“That person hasn’t existed for years,” he said. “I’m the Exalted. And I’m here for Elita. Or, as you know her, Chris. Hand her over and there won’t be any trouble.”

Rand pressed his back to the wall and surveyed the room.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Harrison said. “I came alone. The sheriff arrested Jedediah and the rest of my inner circle this afternoon. But I don’t need them. All I need is Elita. With her, I’ll start a new band of followers.”

“How did you find us?” Rand asked.

“Did you forget we have your phone? There’s a lot of information on a person’s cell phone. I had your address within minutes of my people handing it over to me.”

The hallway floor creaked. Rand forced himself not to look back, his eyes fixed on Harrison. The man was walking around the room, studying the books on a shelf. He didn’t register that he had heard the noise, though Harley had turned his head that way.

“Harley, come here.” Rand snapped his fingers at the dog, who obediently trotted over.

Harrison stopped and looked at Rand. “I’m waiting,” he said. “Bring Elita to me, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“I’m not going to hand Chris over to you,” Rand said.

“Then you leave me no choice.” Harrison withdrew a pistol from the jacket of his suit. Rand recognized his own gun—the one Jedediah had taken from him. Harrison raised the weapon and aimed it at Rand. “You don’t have to worry,” he said. “I’m a very good shot. You’ll die quickly.”

“No!” Chris burst into the room, something in her outstretched hand. When she aimed the item at Harrison, Rand realized it was the wasp spray he had left on the kitchen counter. She squeezed the trigger, and the spray arced across the room, striking Harrison in the face.

Harrison screamed, and the pistol fired twice, striking the floor and the wall. He bent double, clawing at his eyes and coughing. Then Rand was on top of him, wrestling the gun free. Chris dropped the can of insect killer and began kicking at the man who writhed on the floor. Then Harley moved in and began tearing at his arm.

“Stop!” Harrison cried. “He’s going to kill me.”

“Harley, release!” Chris shouted.

The dog let go, and Rand grabbed the man’s bleeding arm and brought it behind his back. “Get me something to tie him with,” he said.

Chris left and returned seconds later, tearing at a pillowcase. She handed a strip of fabric to Rand and he used it to bind first Harrison’s hands, then his feet. Meanwhile, Chris called 911.

By the time the sheriff arrived, Rand had retrieved his first aid kit and bandaged Harrison’s arm. The man hadn’t shut up the whole time. He had variously cursed Rand, condemned him to perdition, prophesied a disastrous future for him and railed against the injustice of someone like him being treated this way. “You have no right,” Harrison yelled. “This man attacked me without provocation. I want to talk to my lawyer.”

“You’ll be given a chance to contact your attorney,” Travis said. “Meanwhile, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.” He recited the rest of the Miranda rights, even as Harrison continued to rant.

“This is unforgivable,” he said. “Why are you arresting me?”

“We’ll start with kidnapping, child molestation, theft and murder.”

“Murder?” Chris asked.

“We found the bodies of the two young men who brought Danny and Rand into the camp,” Travis said.

“I’m innocent,” Harrison protested. “This is an outrage.”

He was still ranting as Dwight and Ryker led him away.

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