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Lauren signed the registration cards for the inn and left feeling filled with energy, determined to find the fortune-teller at Jackson Square
But she realized, after walking around the square several times, that apparently many of the people orked the area didn&039;t show up until later, probably not until dusk, at least
More upsettingly, she had the feeling she was being followed, even though it was broad daylight The sun was strong, the air warht breeze off the river The world seemed calm, normal
But it wasn&039;t
She returned to the hospital, thinking that Heidi was probably ready to wring her neck
But Heidi wasn&039;t irate in the least
She was sleeping in the chair by the bed when Lauren arrived She didn&039;t wake up until Lauren touched her, and then she flushed and stretched, and see? Has anyone said anything?"
Heidi seemed a little flustered when she replied "Umyes, actually The last nurse who ca and that she&039;s doing well She hasn&039;t couess the doctors are pleased with her progress"
"I&039;one long?" Heidi asked
"Yes But the new place is gorgeous"
"So was the old place," Heidi pointed out
"You&039;ll love Montresse House I proed "It&039;s what you wanted"
"Thanks for hu me"
"Some slave you are"
"Sorry"
Heidi frowned for a ht?"
"Yes, of course"
"Think we could go to lunch together? We "
Lauren hesitated It was broad daylight, she reht outside her door "Want to grab so in the hospital cafeteria?"
"Not really, but okay"
In the hallway, Lauren saw that the officer on duty was about fifty and appeared to be of French or Hispanic descent He had a trustworthy face, a little haggard, but gentle and reassuring When she told hiether, he said, "Good idea I&039;ll sit inside with your friend You take your tiold chain around his neck "Crucifix?" she asked
"Uh-yeah, actually" He drew it out froift from my missus I alear it I like yours, too"
"So you are wearing Mark&039;s cross," Heidi teased
Lauren offered her a vague smile and thanked the officer
In the cafeteria, they discovered that the hospital offered a pretty decent salad bar They filled their plates, then sat down at a table
"I really aone south Mostly, I&039;h," Lauren said
"Oh, don&039;t worry I think that not being able to party hearty has been a good thing I&039;ve had tihtly
"What do you ed "I&039;ve been rethinking the entire e of lettuce halfway to her lips, froze "What?" she said in astonishe I don&039;t know if I&039; is teeks away"
"I know" Heidi, unconcerned, adjusted her napkin on her lap
"Heidi, you love Barry"
"Well, of course, I love hi I&039;m not sure I&039;s change"
"Have you talked to hi?" Lauren asked, perplexed
"No, I wouldn&039;t drea with hireehts"
"Have you talked to him at all?"
"Not since yesterday"
"Then what?"
"I&039;e" She flushed, staring at Lauren "If you must know, it&039;s occurred to me that I&039;amous life"
Lauren just stared at her blankly "Uhwell"
"We don&039;t need to discuss it," Heidi snapped
"Okay"
Heidi set her fork down "I&039;ry after all Since you&039;re here now, I think I&039;ll head out I&039;ll go andat the old place and check out the new one Okay?"
Heidi wasn&039;t really asking; she was leaving That was that
"Okay"
Lauren wasn&039;t sure that Heidi even heard her She was already walking out
Lauren discovered that she wasn&039;t hungry herself and felt a sudden urge to get back to Deanna as quickly as possible
She rushed back upstairs
The friendly officer was still in the roo Heidi&039;s bridal azine
"Some really pretty pictures in there," he said "My wife and I eloped to Vegas So"
"How long have you been uess she was happy hat she got, then," Lauren assured hi that ht, Lauren took a seat at the foot of Deanna&039;s bed
The officer re off, but the next she knew, he was nudging her and telling her that the shift was changing
She woke, blinked and realized it ilight
Lauren wasn&039;t sure if she would really have left Heidi alone at the hospital all night in her determination to find the fortune teller, but luckily she didn&039;t have to worry about it, because Heidi reappeared in ti
Deanna was holding her own, but Heidi&039;s behavior was beyond peculiar She had returned to the hospital in a very pleasant if somewhatfey mood Not a word Lauren usually used, but it was one that see She hadseveral calls fro to be just fine and she would be happy as a little lark to stay with her and watch television or read for the evening When Lauren promised that she would return as soon as she could, Heidi told her not to worry
Lauren couldn&039;t help but feel a little uneasy about leaving Heidi in charge, so to speak, then told herself that she was being ridiculous There was a cop on constant duty at the door, and he was certainly capable of protecting both wo the hospital, Lauren found the nicest taxi driver in the world and asked him to take her to Montresse House, because she&039;d decided to pick up a light jacket before hitting Jackson Square The driver was a native of the area and sy in the hospital Healso believed in the occult and told her that she should buy herself soainst evil
She thanked hiet carried away
Unfortunately, as nice as he was, he wasn&039;t able to get her all the way to Montresse House or even to Bourbon Street There had been an accident, and the streets were blocked off He apologized profusely but suggested she get out a few blocks away and walk
Lauren did, though she wasn&039;t sure exactly where she was There were people around, and there were lights, and she wasn&039;t particularly worried As she walked, she kept going over everything they&039;d done since arriving in the city
A chill seemed to wrap itself around her suddenly, and she stopped walking Frowning, she paused, looking around The street was lined with old residences, with only a few storefronts here and there, and nificent houses sat behind high walls, with bushes lining the sidewalk for added privacy,, and it seeun to rustle
She quickened her pace
Then she stopped
Soh brick wall Soainst the night
She could hear the distant sound of traffic
Laughter
Even ely cool She becaates were closed She wasn&039;t far froht as well have been at the end of the world
The silhouette wasn&039;t , exactly, or at least not in any way she could identify, yet it see just inches above the sidewalk
Then, suddenly, the dark figure became a man, just a man Tall, mid-thirties, athletic build, dark He wore black jeans, a black polo shirt and a casual jacket His hair seeht have been black, too
Except there seeht in them
She told herself to move, to quicken her pace; to hurry past thedead still
And he was s as he approached her
She could hear the blare of a horn froht as well have come from another world It was followed by the plaintive sound of a jazz chord
But it was so far away
"Hello"
Her heart seemed shudder as he spoke She didn&039;t understand why she wasn&039;tIt was as if her limbs had become paralyzed She was furious with herself What the hell was the matter with her?
His voice was deep and smooth She wondered if that was part of what held her so fir still, just waiting, before he had spoken
She didn&039;t reply She just stared at hi for you," he said
He&039;d been looking for her?
Ridiculous She&039;d never seen him before Or had she? At that moment, she knew that she had seen him before; she just couldn&039;t place where or when
To her aed to speak "I don&039;t know you," she said If she tried really hard, she thought, she could probably move
"But I know you And you will remember me in time"
It was the worst pick-up line she&039;d ever heard, she thought
"Excuse ," she murmured, and ed a step, he was suddenly directly in front of her, even though she hadn&039;t seen him move It was as if he had floated there
She stared into his eyes They were gold No, they were dark No, there was solow from within them
That was it She really had lost her e I will not lose you again"
She opened her mouth to speak She wanted to protest that he couldn&039;t lose what he didn&039;t have
But the fire in his eyes was so bright
The cross, she thought The silver cross If she could just produce it
No, that would mean that she believed in vampires, and that was ridiculous
Besides, she couldn&039;t ain She was held by the fire in his eyes She willed her hand to move, pleaded with her body to function
She found the cross with her fingers and drew it out froh his eyes
He opened his mouth
His teeth weren&039;t yellowed; they weren&039;t horrid, rank or dripping with gore
They weren&039;t teeth at all
They were fangs
She willed herself to back away Because noas coht of the cross He started to reach out for her, as if he were in pain but planning to endure that pain He was going to seize her cross and rip it from her neck
And that hen Mark appeared
She didn&039;t knohere he had come from; he was just suddenly there
She felt his arms on her shoulders, felt his, a squirt gun
A child&039;s squirt gun
Then he lifted it and shot her attacker
There was steam, a hiss, acco eyes seemed to disappear in darkness and shadow, even as the sound of his voice remained
And suddenly, there on the street, so near to Bourbon and yet so far, there were suddenly scores of shadows, likepools of darkness
They took on forun
She stared at hiht the toy
"Don&039;t let anyone get the cross Start shooting," Mark ordered
Shooting?
With a squirt gun?
They were crowding around her now So many of them They were people They had been shadows, but now they were people
A girl in a short skirt with a Betty Page haircut and cute freckles A twenty-souy in a Grateful Dead T-shirt A man who looked like a Jaer for the mom on Family Ties