The Hammer - Cor Series Book I

Corvan’s blood ran cold. Without a second thought, he yanked Kate to her feet and away from the hole. Eyes wide, she dropped her rock and stumbled along to crouch with him by the ring of outer boulders.

“Was that the lizard?” Kate asked.

“Yes, I need to block up that hole.” Pulling the hammer from his pocket, he crept forward.

“Be careful,” Kate whispered.

He chose a good-sized rock from the pile and pulled it to his chest with one hand. It slipped free, and he jumped back to save his toes from being crushed.

“I’ll help.” Kate bent to pick up the rock, but Corvan stopped her.

“Here,” he said, holding the hammer out to her. “If the lizard comes out, point this toward it and tell it to go away.”

Kate hesitated before reluctantly taking the hammer from his hand. Her face was tight with fear.

Corvan heaved the rock to his chest, stepped cautiously forward, and held the rock out as far as he could directly over the hole.

A claw appeared. Kate screamed. Corvan lost his grip, and the rock dropped. A screech of pain erupted at his feet as the rock bounced and rolled away. From below the hole, there was a scrabbling of claws and then silence.

He had to find something else to push over the entrance to the lizard’s den and fast.

Corvan looked to the ruined fort. If he could cover the hole with a large board, he could stand on it while Kate found rocks to pile on top. Keeping his eyes on the hole, he picked up a wide plank, but it was too heavy and dipped down toward the hole. Corvan fell to his knees to stop its descent, but it kept falling and rapped sharply on the door.

The lizard shot out of the hole and sank one of its long claws deep into the wood. It glared at him. Its mouth, flecked with foam, muttered something. Corvan couldn’t understand what it said, but a gasp from Kate told him that she heard it clearly.

The angry creature yanked its claw from the wood, took a step forward, and locked its fiery eyes on Corvan. One foreleg and claw were extended toward him, the other hung at its side. Blood was dripping from the end of a crushed paw.

It stopped and stared at him through narrow slits before the dinner bell on the back porch shattered the silence.

The lizard turned toward the house, and its eyes fell on Kate. It moved toward her. With a shaking hand, Kate lifted the hammer toward it. “Stop!” she commanded.

The creature collapsed to the ground as if she’d shot it. Covering its head with its good claw, it whined and writhed before her. Its wounded claw was dragging about in the dust. Hammer held out before her, Kate moved in closer.

“Stay away, Kate. It’s a trap!” Corvan shouted.

Ignoring his warning, Kate kept her eyes focused on the lizard as she continued her advance on the injured creature. Corvan had seen animals feign death and then attack. Kate needed to back away.

The lizard stretched out prone. Kate stood directly over it and was raising the hammer high above her head. The creature lay perfectly still, as if waiting for the fatal blow. Corvan watched in horrified silence as Kate brought the hammer swiftly down and then gently touched the lizard on the back of its neck. With a low metallic groan, the black collar around its neck quivered and fell into the dirt.

The lizard rose slowly, bowed its head to Kate, and backed away. Kate bent to examine the black band, and the lizard shook its head while rattling off a string of clicks and hisses. Kate sank to her knees, and, as she picked the band up, the lizard, hissing and gesturing toward Kate with its healthy claw, ran toward Corvan. What was it saying?

Kate glared at the lizard and thumped the hammer on the ground. The rock shivered beneath them. “Be quiet and go away.”

The lizard glanced at Corvan with a helpless expression on its narrow face.

“Now!” Kate commanded.

The lizard scuttled away and retreated down the hole.

Kate picked up the lizard’s black band and stood with it draped limply over her palm like a glistening black leech. She looked between it and the hammer as if weighing both objects in her hands.

The dinner bell rang again, louder and longer. “We’ve got to go,” Corvan croaked. “I’ll put a rock over the hole.”

“You don’t need to,” Kate said. “It won’t come back now that I’m holding the hammer.”

Corvan stepped toward her. “How did you know what to do to get its collar off?” He held out his hand. “Let me see it.”

Kate shook her head and stuffed the black band into the front pocket of her jeans. “We don’t have time. Let’s go.”

Hammer in hand, she strode down the western trail.

Corvan sprinted to catch up to her. “Kate, the hammer.”

Kate shoved the hammer into her back pocket and sped up. Now she was slipping and skidding down the incline.

“I need that back.” Corvan shouted as he raced after her and grabbed at the back of her shirt, but she was too fast. The fabric slipped from his fingers.

As soon as Kate reached level ground, she broke into a run toward the house hollering, “Race ya!” over her shoulder.

Corvan didn’t even try. Kate always beat him in a foot race. Why was she acting so strange? He watched her disappear into the back porch.

She was already washed up and inside the house when he arrived. His mother came out to pour the potato water into the washing machine and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “What was all the hollering up there?”

His face and neck were hot and prickling, so Corvan concentrated on his soapy hands. “We were cleaning up the mess from when the old fort blew down. Didn’t want that old tarp blowing out into the field.” It was another lie, but his mother would never believe the truth. Right now, he wasn’t so sure he even knew what it was.

Kate met them at the door. “I didn’t realize it was so late. My mom will be home in half an hour, and I haven’t finished the dishes. She’ll be furious.” She went to move past them, but Corvan’s mother put a hand on the door frame.

“You can take along some of the chicken dinner for your supper. That will make her happy.” She hurried into the kitchen and dished hot food into a tin pie plate.

Corvan tried to catch Kate’s eye, but she just stared at the floor. There was no way he would let her leave without getting his hammer back and getting a look at the black band.

Mother wrapped the plate in a tea towel and held it out.

“I’ll carry it for her.” Corvan took the dish from his mother’s hands.

“Then come right back,” she said. “I’ll wait to eat with you.”

Kate slipped out the door and Corvan followed.

As soon as they were out of earshot, he caught up to her. “What happened with the lizard?” he asked.

“It was frightened,” Kate said. Her face was tight—almost angry. “Couldn’t you see that?”

“But what did it say?”

Kate walked faster and did not answer.

“You did hear it talk, didn’t you?” Corvan said, his irritation rising.

Kate stopped but did not turn to face him. Instead, she looked straight ahead. Her voice was low and mysterious, “It said it could not stand against me. That I had the power to destroy everything. Then it begged me to let it live. It said I was the only one who could set it free from the band. All I needed to do was touch it with …”

“I want to see the black band,” Corvan insisted.

“Not now. I’m too tired,” Kate snapped back.

“It’ll just take a second.” He stepped around her and blocked her way into the back alley behind her house.

Kate snatched the plate from his hands. “I said I’m tired,” she huffed. “And I’m not a child who needs to be walked home in the dark. I can take care of myself.” She pushed past and left Corvan alone in the alley.

He watched her go through her gate before he turned for home. Not only did he not get to see the black band, but also Kate still had his hammer. Why was she acting so strange? One minute she was his best friend, and the next she was chewing his head off.

The screen door banged shut behind him, and he slumped down at the table. Mother’s eyebrows arched as she retrieved their supper from the oven. Corvan began to eat as she filled him in on the details of his father’s new job. He was one of the fortunate. There were ten or more families affected by the mine closure, and few of the men would be able to find a job. “It’s going to be a difficult winter,” she said. “We’ll need to help as many people as we can.”

Corvan barely caught what she was saying. His mind was still trying to sort out what had happened with Kate and the lizard.

After supper, they washed the dishes together. His mother suggested they play Scrabble. He agreed, but he found it hard to concentrate. Finally, his mother said they should get to bed, although she seemed pleased that for once she was winning the game. Corvan returned the game to the pantry.

As he turned for the stairs, his mother looked up. “Did you see the letter your father left?”

Corvan looked blankly at her.

“He left it on your washstand when he went up to say good-bye. He didn’t want to wake you.”

Corvan tore up the stairs and burst into his room. Sure enough, a folded piece of paper with his name printed across the front was propped against the water pitcher. He nearly ripped it in his haste to get it opened.

There was only a short note.

Corvan,

I’m sorry I must leave without saying good-bye. I will come home just as soon as I can.

The next four words were crossed out. Contact me if anything. Below the scribbled-out words, he had written,

You will turn 15 and be a man by the time I get back. If anything out of the ordinary happens, use your judgment, and do what you know is right.

Take care of your mom while I am gone.

Love, Dad.

Corvan sat on the edge of his bed. He wasn’t ready to be a man, and his mom was a whole lot stronger than he was. Still, it felt good that his dad trusted him to look after things.

There was a knock at the front door and then an agitated woman’s voice. It must be one of the wives of the men at the mine.

As the voices moved into the living room, his mother called from the bottom of the stairs. “Corvan, can you please come down here for a moment?”

Corvan went slowly down the stairs wondering what could possibly be going on. As he entered the living room, Corvan stopped and stared. Kate’s mother was on the couch, and her cheeks were streaked with tears and mascara. He had never seen her look so sloppy. She took great pride in her looks and that she once had a small part in a movie.

Corvan’s mother entered from the kitchen with her teapot and two cups on a wooden tray. She nodded at the armchair, and he sat on the edge while his mother poured.

“Mrs. Poley believes you might know where Kate has gone.” She fired a warning glance at him from beneath her eyebrows. “When you were walking her home, did she say anything to you about going somewhere?”

Corvan’s heart sank. “No.”

“Did she say anything about me?” Mrs. Poley asked.

Corvan’s jaw tightened. Every time he met Kate’s mom, the conversation was about her. “She only said she was worried that you’d be mad about the dishes not being done.”

Mrs. Poley shook her head. “I was only a little annoyed with her.” She turned to Corvan’s mother. “I get so tired from working those long shifts, you know, and it’s not easy to raise a child on your own.” She paused and dabbed at her eyes. “She told me she had been busy too and had made me a chicken dinner. But as soon as I saw the plate, I knew she was lying because the towel matched the one on the bowl of pastry you sent over.”

She blinked her long lashes, but no more tears fell despite her efforts. “Kate’s never lied to me before, but before I could say anything, she ran to her room and slammed the door. I left her alone while I watched my TV.” She paused, probably expecting them to be impressed that she owned the only TV set in town—it had been an extravagant present from the movie director. “When I checked on her, she was gone. Just took the blanket from her bed and left out the window. She didn’t even take her shoes from the front door, so now she’s running around out there in her bare feet!”

Corvan’s mother patted her shoulder. “I’m sure Kate will come back soon. She just needs time to cool off.”

“She had better do it quickly.” Mrs. Poley pouted. “I’m tired of phone calls about her fighting and her bad attitude. I’ve always been there for her, but now she keeps saying she is old enough to take care of herself.” She stood up and looked out the living room window. “Dave wants me to move to Las Vegas with him. If Kate is so sure she can make it on her own, I have half a mind to just leave her here and go.”

Corvan found himself wondering if there even was half a mind under the dyed blond hair. She could be quite mean to Kate, and Kate had run away twice in the past and spent the night in the fort.

Kate’s mom turned around. “She even took my outhouse flashlight from beside the back door,” she complained. “She knows I hate going out there in the dark.”

Corvan’s mom gestured for him to leave, and he headed for the stairway. He wouldn’t go to sleep though. As soon as Mrs. Poley was gone, he was going to slip out and see if Kate was at the Castle Rock.

Mrs. Poley called after him. “Corvan, do you know who gave Kate that lovely black bracelet?”

He froze. His blood ran cold.

“She was wearing a shiny bracelet, but she wouldn’t let me look at it. You didn’t give it to her, did you?” She studied his face intently as if she would be able to read his mind.

Corvan shook his head.

“She said that even though I didn’t want her, there was someone who did, and I thought …” She cocked her head to one side. “Did she say anything about hearing from her father?”

Corvan stared blankly at Mrs. Poley and shook his head again. His mind was racing. Why would Kate put that black band on after the lizard wanted so badly to be set free from it?

Mrs. Poley crossed the room and went down on one knee, so her eyes were level with his. “Corvan, I know I haven’t been keen on you and Kate playing together. It’s just that I know all too well what can come of a boy and a girl spending too much time together.”

Corvan felt his face flush. Mrs. Poley took his hands in hers. “If she goes to find her father, her feelings will be hurt much worse than if you break her heart. Please don’t let her go to him.” The way she said the words and tossed her hair made it sound like Mrs. Poley was acting in another movie.

His mother ushered the woman back to the couch and then turned to Corvan. “Run along to bed, son. We’ll sort this out in the morning.”

Corvan looked at Mrs. Poley’s tear-stained face. Despite the way she treated Kate, he felt sorry for her. “I’ll find Kate and bring her home,” he blurted out. “I promise.”

Mrs. Poley smiled at him, and Corvan left the living room to slowly climb the stairs. That bracelet must be doing something strange to Kate. He should never have let her hold the hammer in the first place.

After lacing up his tennis shoes, he sat and waited by his window. As soon as his mother was in bed, he would find Kate and roll the boulder back over the door. He would wait for his father to return and help him figure out what to do next.

A beam of light from the rock played past his bedroom window, and Corvan pressed his face against the screen. The shadows shifted as a flashlight flickered around inside the Castle Rock, shot straight into the air, then went out.

A chill raced up his spine.

The hammer was the key to the door in the rocks, and Kate had gone to open it.