She returned her gaze to her knitting. "Folks can poke fun at some of the old beliefs, but you know, way back in the old days, in the jungles and deserts, folks knew. They knew about good, and they knew about evil. My girl here, she just happened into the way of evil. But she"s a good girl. And I don"t intend to lose her to any sp.a.w.n of Satan. I was ready." She smiled. "Well, I have to admit, I"m a little bit afraid to be leaving this place myself now, but I was ready. He showed up at that window. And I gave it to him good. You see that silver cross there? I blazed my light on it just as soon as I saw the golden orbs of his eyes at the gla.s.s."
She chuckled softly. "He was gone, lickety split. Yessir, I think we"re going to be fine."
Mark walked over to Judy and took her hands. "Good for you. You"re saving her life, you know. But you"re right; you mustn"t leave here. Not at all. Not until it"s...safe."
"Not until you"ve killed the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, huh?" she asked.
He nodded. "He needed Leticia because she"s a nurse, but she"s also a very beautiful young woman. You"ve kept her from him.
She"s not the one he"s after, but he"ll hurt you, hurt you badly, if he can, because he doesn"t like people denying him anything.
You understand, don"t you?"
She stared at him. "Oh, yes, young man. I understand. I understand much more than you imagine I do. And I won"t be leaving.
Do you see stupid in this old body? I think not!"
Mark had to smile. "I do not see stupid," he agreed.
"Get out there, then. Get out there and stop the monster that did this to my girl."
"Yes, ma"am," he told her, and left.
Outside, he swore. If only he knew where the h.e.l.l the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was going to strike next.
Deanna still didn"t have much strength, though she was doing much better than Lauren would have expected. By midnight, however, she was sleeping again, apparently peacefully.
In her chair, Heidi yawned.
"You all go on to bed now," Big Jim said, looking around the room. "I"ll take first watch. Bobby can spell me in a few hours. And Stacey is always up by six." "I can watch Deanna," Lauren said. "You"re already doing enough, giving up your job to stay here with us."
"You listen to me, Lauren. I know what I"m up against You go get some sleep. You won"t be any good if you"re overtired.."
Heidi stood. "I"m sorry, but I really am exhausted." She grinned. "It"s very tiring, convincing your fiance that you don"t want to sleep with the entire roster of the L. A. Rams. Big Jim, bless you. I"m going to bed."
"Okay,. I guess I"ll get some sleep, too," Lauren said.
"We"ll do it as Big Jim calls it," Bobby said, rising as well, and holding out a hand to Stacey. "Come on, kid."
They all filed out of Deanna"s room.
"Maybe I should bunk in with you," Lauren told Heidi.
"No, thank you."
"But-"
"Lauren, the room is protected. And I have a feeling someone will come home to you eventually. And though I think it"s great you"re getting some at last, I don"t want to be around for it," she said, laughing.
"All right," Lauren agreed. "I"m right next door. If you get nervous, if anything so much as goes b.u.mp in the night..."
"I"ll scream my head off so you can come save me," Heidi swore, then gave Lauren a warm and rea.s.suring hug. "I swear, I almost lost Barry, and there"s no way I"ll let that happen, especially now that I know what I"m up against. I"ll be ready for anything that comes my way, I promise."
Lauren watched Heidi disappear into her room, then headed for her own.
She took a long shower, with plenty of hot water, before dressing in a soft knit nightgown and curling up in bed.
The silence of the house seemed to weigh on her, and she realized that she was listening. Waiting.
Listening for the sound of wings, fluttering in the night. Waiting in fear.
It was exactly what he wanted, she thought. He had been at the hospital. He had wanted to prove that he could go anywhere, that he could injure them when they didn"t even know they were vulnerable. And that he did want her.
Why?
Because she looked like Katie?
It was all so ridiculous.
She got up and decided to read the article Susan had given her one more time. But she still didn"t understand what the seer had been trying to tell her. It was a sad story, and it had all happened in 1870, shortly after the Civil War had torn the nation apart.
She noticed that several sources were cited at the bottom of the article. She wondered if she could find any of them on the computer, or if she would have to go to the library. It was almost two AM, and though she couldn"t sleep, she was exhausted.
She decided to see what she could find in the morning.
She lay down again to try to get some sleep.
Although it seemed futile, Mark decided to try barhopping again.
Big Jim wasn"t playing, he quickly discovered. But he stayed for a beer, and listened to the remainder of the group.
He was still bothered by everything that had happened with "Nefert.i.ti." She had wanted him to destroy her. He was certain she hadn"t seized the child because she really intended to take his life; rather, she had wanted death and had forced his hand. But he was still frustrated, thinking that she might have known something that could have helped him.
He straightened suddenly and looked around. Nothing in the bar looked different, but something had changed.
He sipped his beer and carefully observed those around him. Three college boys were sitting at one of the high tables near the bar.
There were eight people on the dance floor. They weren"t dancing as couples, just moving to the music.
At the table next to him a young woman was seated with an older man. He homed in on their conversation; it was a father and daughter. She was going to Tulane, and he was down visiting.
The bar was spa.r.s.ely populated. Several people appeared to be alone. There were two attractive women in their early fifties enjoying conversation, Margaritas and the music.
A couple at the far end. The man had sandy hair, and was broad-shouldered, tall and dressed in a black tailored shirt and jeans.
He looked like he might be the quarterback on his college team. The girl was pretty. She looked sweet, radiant and innocent. Also very young. She had dark eyes and long brown hair, and wore a tube top and a short plaid mini-skirt. They had their heads bowed toward one another.
Suddenly the girl laughed a little too loudly, probably the result of too much to drink.
He saw the man set money on the bar and whisper to her.
She smiled and flushed.
They started out the door together, hand in hand.
Mark followed.
There was a loud boom, like a burst of thunder.
Lauren started up, alarmed, awakened from a deep sleep.
The French doors had crashed inward. The drapes, white and billowing, were floating like ethereal clouds.
A flash of lightning brightened the darkness.
And he was there. Stephan. He was tall and impossibly forbidding. He wore a black cape that billowed behind him, dark against the white of the drapes.
"Ask me in. Ask me to come for you," he said.
"No. I"ll never ask you in."
"I know you read the article," he said softly.
"What does that matter?" she demanded sharply. "I know the fortune-teller," he a.s.sured her.
"Susan..." she murmured, fear leaping into her heart. Susan had been terrified. She had known about Stephan.
"I haven"t hurt her-yet. But I know she gave you the article."
"It says nothing about you," she told him.
"You didn"t read it properly," he said, and smiled, the gleaming gold of his eyes offering something that was almost tendern. "You want to come with me. You know you do. You know what I can offer. With me, you"ll have everything. You need to turn away from him. He is the evil one."
"No."
"He"s a liar, you know."
"No."
Then he began to laugh, that awful laughter she had first heard issuing from the crystal ball.
"I"m coming for you.... I"m here for you."
The couple seemed to be heading for one of the large hotels on Ca.n.a.l Street.
At first it was easy enough to keep his distance and still keep them in sight, but the closer they got to Ca.n.a.l, the more difficult it was for Mark to keep track of them in the crowd without being spotted. Eventually he saw them enter the lobby of one of the hotels, and he had no choice but to follow closely. He walked to the desk and asked the clerk on duty for directions to the Square. As he pretended to listen to what the man was telling him, he watched the elevator as they entered it, glad that no one else got in withj them, and saw where it stopped. The fourth floor.
Mark pretended to head nonchalantly away, then made for the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the fourth floor hallway and swore softly. It was a big hotel and there was no indication what room they were in.
There was nothing to do but tread lightly and listen.
A television blared from one room; rock music sounded from another. He kept moving. Then he heard it again.
That too-loud laughter. At least she was still alive and apparently well. Even enjoying herself, apparently.
He found the room from which the sound had come and there paused. He heard the low hum of teasing voices. More laughter.
And then a gasp.
Followed by a scream.
Mark burst into the room.
For a moment he paused, frowning.
The guy was on the floor, the girl straddling him, pressing his arms down. For a moment Mark was about to back out of the room in embarra.s.sment. How the h.e.l.l could he have been so wrong?
Then saw that he hadn"t been wrong after all. She laughed again, and in the soft light of the room, her fangs glowed. Dripped saliva...
She stared at Mark as the man beneath her began to let out a terrified mewling sound.
Mark swore, tore across the room and tackled her, forcing her off the man on the floor. She was strong and tough. She fought hard, trying to grapple him to the ground as she had the other man, while, he tried to reach into his pocket for his weapon.
She shoved, and he crashed into the wall, but quickly recovered. She let out a screech of fury and threw herself at him.
He was dimly aware of it when the guy rose, staggered to his feet and went stumbling from the room. Then Mark looked into the gleaming, maddened eyes of his mini-skirted opponent as she started snapping at him, trying to sink her fangs into any part of his flesh that she could.
He threw her off and nearly reached the holy water in the pistol in his pocket, but she came at him again.
He ducked, but not quickly enough, and they both crashed down together. The water pistol went flying. He swore.
She was on top of him, but he gritted his teeth, flexed his muscles and threw her off. She landed on the water pistol. With a howl and a hiss, she leapt up, staring at it, then then him.
She started to laugh again. "You are no match for Stephan," she told him. "You...with your silly weapons. He will have you. He will torment you. He will take all that you love. You think you can hurt him? You think you have hurt him? Never. He knows how to move in the world, how to feed. He knows how to take what he wants. You are nothing! Nothing at all. In the end, you will be nothing but blood. Blood, blood and more blood. There will be a spill of blood, a rain of blood. It will be just like a blood wedding," she cackled.
"Your woman will die. And then she will live. Not like Katie. Katie is dead. Katie is blood. Just a memory of blood. But he will have her, and we who have served him will reign."
Enough.
He made it to his feet and practically flew across the room.
He hit her with such force that they slammed against the window together and shattered it. Then they were falling...