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But there were other times when it was necessary for people to knohat they were about to face And this was such a time
She&039;d sensed troubles like these before, but never so strong, so frightening
She concentrated more fully, and at last it ca on the wind
Yesshe could hear it The flapping of wings
She looked up at the sky Bats There were often bats here They rested high up in the eaves of the taller buildings
She removed her hands from her cards, asked the artist to watch her table, then stood and hurried over to the church, looking around nervously as she went
The great doors reh they would be closed very soon
Inside, she knelt down in the aisle and pulled the huge cross she alore frohtly as she h she didn&039;t look up, she sensed it when someone slid into the pew beside her She shook her head "You should not be here"
"It&039;s ood and evil," she said, turning to looked up at the handsoht in the crossfire"
"There are very bad tiain "Yes, I know"
"I have to be here"
"I will pray for you," Susan said
"You must help," he said
"And how can I do that?"
"You see things"
She turned and stared at hi in my head I see what coht evil at every turn, there wouldn&039;t be any evil But you-you should go elsewhere"
"I can&039;t"
"Many here don&039;t trust you"
"I intend to prove ain "You don&039;t knohat you&039;re up against-on either side"
"Then I&039;ll learn," he said grimly
Susan watched hione for several minutes, she rose herself and found the holy water vessel She dan of the cross not just on her forehead, but on her arms, across her chest above her heart, and in several places around her throat
Belatedly, she noticed that there was a young priest at the back of the church, and he was staring at her in perplexed silence
"Evening, Father," she said
He nodded to her Tongue-tied, maybe
As she left, she sertips on her cards and closed her eyes She could still hear the sound of wings beneath the laughter, beneath the carriage wheels and the clip-clop of the mules&039; hooves
Should she keep her peace? Or try to contact the young woman? There was ," someone said
She looked up
And her blood turned cold
It was hiot to the hospital
Lauren was distressed to see that her friend was no longer wearing her engage But with Mark in the room, she didn&039;t want to have a shoith Heidi She couldn&039;t begin to iet how ether since they had left college and ether for two years They wanted the saian Elkhound, one cat, and vacations spent hiking through the Redwoods
"I&039;m fine here byattention, had walked over to Deanna&039;s side He touched her brow and seemed relieved, then reached into the pocket of his jeans and produced another cross on a chain
"What are you doing?" Heidi said sharply
"Just saying a prayer," Mark replied, carefully slipping the chain around Deanna&039;s neck and fu just a bit with the tiny clasp
Deanna shifted restlessly in her deep sleep, then settled again
"She doesn&039;t want that!" Heidi snapped
"It&039;s okay, Heidi," Lauren told her "I-I bought it for her," she lied
"Well, that was stupid," Heidi said crossly
"It won&039;t hurt anything," Lauren said, disturbed by the strange way Heidi was acting "
You should take that thing off her," Heidi said
"Why on earth?" Lauren demanded
Heidi didn&039;t have an answer at first "I think her et her a star of David, too," Mark said
Heidi opened her ain when she couldn&039;t coet out of here for a while," Lauren said firmly
"II&039;m needed here," Heidi said
"Lauren is here now," Mark told her
"Right I can stay here, and you two can go have a nice ested such a thing, but surely he wouldn&039;t want Heidi roa he&039;d said was true
Not if winged creatures could suddenly turn into vampires and attack just a few feet away fro Heidi hissmile "I&039;ll take you out for a bit"
"I just feel that I should stay here," Heidi said stubbornly
Actually, Lauren wished she could go out with Heidi herself,on with her
But would it be safe? Even forewarned and forearmed, with her cross and the somewhat smaller water pistol she&039;d stashed in her purse, could she really defeat what she could barely believed existed?
"Maybe I should take Heidi out for a bit and you should stay here," Lauren suggested
Mark stared at her, just short of scowling
Okay, bad idea
He looked at Heidi His voice was fir hers "Heidi, let me take you to dinner"
"Okay"
To Lauren&039;s areed As if she thought it was thein the world
Mark set his hands on Lauren&039;s shoulders "You stay here And be careful"
"This is a hospital There&039;s a cop in the hall," she reminded him
"Be careful," he repeated
"Of course"
What the hell could possibly happen to her in a hospital roo Coazine and dragging her chair nearer to Deanna&039;s bed As soon as the other two left, she touched her friend&039;s forehead Her skin see sounded even, and when Lauren rested two fingers on her pulse, it was beating regularly
And still she slept like a princess awaiting her true love&039;s kiss, Lauren thought whimsically
She rose for a minute and adjusted the television set She flicked around between channels, aggravated as she caram after another that she didn&039;t want to see, even shows she usually found entertaining
Finally, she decided on the Cartoon Network Spongebob Squarepants fit the bill for the h the pages of one of Heidi&039;s azines when a nurse came in to check on Deanna Lauren tensed, suspicious Great Was she going to start suspecting everybody now?
The nurse added a new bag to Deanna&039;s IV and assured Lauren that her friend was doing very well and with luck would coht, and her red-cell count was rising nicely
Lauren thanked her and tried to settle back and get coe, bored, worried
What had she done?
Aggressive was actually an understateht But she couldn&039;t be sorry She had forgotten time and place and all the horrors that had so suddenly entered her life He had made her feel erotic, sensual, beautiful As if she had known hiht and normal As if
As if they hadn&039;t just battled the undead in an alley, as if one of her best friends wasn&039;t lying there in a coht in the world, the perfect man, a man hom she could easily fall in love
"Lauren"
She nearly jumped from her chair, then looked over at the bed
At first it didn&039;t appear as if Deanna had moved But then she stretched, as if in discomfort Her hands fluttered, moved to her throat
Her eyes re Lauren went over to her, leaning in close
"Deanna, I&039;m here What is it"
"The fortune-teller"
Lauren&039;s breath caught "Deanna, I&039;ed at last "What about the fortune-teller?"
"The fortune-teller," Deanna repeated
Lauren took a seat on the bed, holding her friend&039;s hands, squeezing them hat she hoped felt like reassurance
"It&039;s all right She isn&039;t anywhere near us," Lauren said
"Danger," Deanna mouthed
Great
Lauren looked around The door to the hall was ajar She could hear footsteps in the hall, along with volices She heard the cop directing soer anywhere near
"It&039;s all right," she soothed "Deanna, I&039;ht We&039;re safe"
Suddenly Deanna&039;s eyes opened wide, and she stared at Lauren She even attereatly relieved but still slightly chilled And wary
She squeezed her friend&039;s hands again
Deanna looked likeDeanna Lauren was stunned to feel tears stinging her eyes, she was so relieved
"How are you? How do you feel?" she whispered
Deanna tried to sain, but the attempt failed "Afraid," she said softly
"Because of the fortune-teller?" Lauren asked
Deanna frowned, as if she had no idea what Lauren was talking about
"You don&039;t need to be afraid I&039;m here," Lauren told her
Deanna looked away for a moment "No You don&039;t understand He co for you You&039;re in the hospital I&039;uard in the hallway You&039;re safe"
Deanna shook her head "No," she murmured "He comes in the darkness, in my dreams"
"I&039;m here, and I won&039;t let anyone near you I pro her words carefully "Honestly, I understand He&039;s evil and tries to slip into your h to you somehow"
Deanna stared at her "You can&039;t protect me," she whispered
"I can," Lauren promised "Deanna, there areothers who know about his kind of evil It&039;s going to be okay, honestly I can protect you" Her heart skipped a beat Could she?
Yes She could be strong, very strong She knew she could Even if she was afraid Even if she knew a truth that couldn&039;t be
"Deanna, you said so about the fortune-teller" She hesitated, then asked, "Is she evil?"
Deanna only looked fretful and didn&039;t seeer at that da seemed to have started with her She had to find the wo to be all right"
Deanna suddenly started and cried out "No!"
There was sheer terror in her voice
Lauren looked down at her friend, as looking fixedly toward the
Lauren followed her gaze
A dark shadow, ebony against gray, seeht
And frolow
Like a pair of eyes
Straight from hell