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The rooolden-ocher walls On one of thelory Several clay sculptures rested on built-in teak shelving, including a bust that could have been Nefertiti Leather cushions were tossed around the floor, one resting beside a coym

It was Dee’s bedroorandmother, Aba, had made of Dee There was a stack of textbooks by the bed and a pile of half-cohtstand

Jenny loved this roo Dee next fro

Once they were inside, the door shut behind the, she saw nothing but a blank ocher here the door used to be

"Great-noe’re trapped," Jenny said

Dee was frowning "There must be a way out"

They tried theInstead of the Ice Age outside it was the ordinary view frorass below, illue, or-as they discovered when Dee swung a ten-pound barbell against it-break

"So nohat?" Jenny said "Why are we in your roo on"

"If this place is like a drea it, we should be able to change things With our minds Maybe we’re supposed to make a way out of here"

They both tried, with no results Nothe door reappear, nothing happened

"I give up" Dee took off her jacket and flopped on the bed-as if this place really were her roo to think Her brain wasn’t working properly-shock, she supposed "All right, look That guy said we’re each supposed to face our nightan, but Dee interrupted

"What else did he say? Who is he?"

"Oh Do youdo you believe in the devil?"

Dee gave her a scornful look "The only devil I know is Dakaki, and he onlyto Aba"

"I think he wanted me to believe he was the devil," Jenny said softly "But I don’t know"

"And he wants us to play the Game with him? Just like the one in the box, only for real?"

"If we get to the turret by dae can go," Jenny said "If we don’t, he wins" She looked at the other girl "Dee, aren’t you scared?"

"Of the supernatural?" Dee shrugged "What’s to be scared of? I always liked sword-and-sorcery stuff; I’lad it’s true And I don’t see e can’t beat him I swore to kick the Shadow Man’s ass before-and I’ to You wait"

"But-this is all so crazy," Jenny said Now that she had ti again "It’s like you’ve always thought, sure, s out there in the dark But you never think it could happen to you"

Dee opened her mouth, but Jenny rushed on

"And then it does and everything’s different and it isn’t possible and it’s still happening" She looked hard into the dark eyes with the slightly a

"That’s right," Dee said briefly, returning Jenny’s gaze "It is happening So all the rules are changed We have to adapt-fast Or we’re not going to , Jenny You knohat your proble about it any"

Dee’s straightforward, razor-sharpwas happening, possible or not They had to deal with it if they wanted to live Jenny wanted to live

"Right," she breathed "So we adapt"

Dee flashed her brilliant smile "Besides, it’s kind of fun," she said "Don’t you think?"

Jenny thought of To

invisible on the floor She leaned her forehead onto her fingertips

"Soh," she said after a htmare"

Dee picked up a beaded Ndebele bracelet frohtstand and examined it "My usted look "Her stuff at the university-colanced toward the

Jenny saw only the curtains made of applique cloth froy?" she said in disbelief

"I ay I just like to be able to deal with things-you know, directly" Dee held up a slender clenched fist, and Jenny looked at the corded tendons in the dark forearm No wonder Dee wasn’t afraid of the "sword and sorcery" stuff-she fit right into the heroic o to college," Dee said "I want to itharty"

"Aba would sood as your hands-" She broke off because Dee was once again looking at the

"Dee, what did you draw?" she said, sitting up straight and finally asking the question she should have asked in the first place

"Nothing’s happening"

"What did you draw?"

A red light was blossolow of a distant fire Jenny whipped her head toward a crackling sound and saw that Dee’s stereo had begun to smoke

"What-?" Jenny breathed Dee was alreadyto happen?" Jenny yelled, ju sound that suddenly permeated the room It resonated in Jenny’s bones

Outside, a silhouette appeared against the light

"Dee!" Jenny grabbed for the other girl, trying to pull her away fro outside was huge, blocking out the stars, dull black and non-reflective itself but haloed in its own red glow The eucalyptus trees outside were thrashing in a violent wind

"What is it?" Jenny screa back at her But that was a stupid question What could it be, hovering outside a second-story , shaped like a half-sphere with the flat side down? As Jenny watched, six beaht as phosphorous flares, shot out frohts swung around to shine directly through theJenny was blinded, but she heard the shivery tinkle of glass, and a blast of wind blew her hair straight back The ’s gone, she thought

The wind roaring past her was freezing and felt somehow electric Behind her a brass tray fell off a wooden stand with a crash

That hen Jenny found she couldn’tlike jelly There was the strong pungent odor of an electric stor consciousness

I’ht I’ll never wake up

With a great effort she turned her head toward Dee for help Dee was facing the light stiffly, pupils contracted to pinpoints Unable to help Jenny or herself

Fight, Jenny thought weakly

This tie

The roo on a table that confor, and she felt a great disinclination to ht shone down on her froht it would be," a husky voice said Jenny fought off the lassitude enough to turn her head Dee was on another table a few feet away "It’s just like what I’ve read about the Visitors, just like ht much about UFOs at all, but this wasn’t what she would have expected The only thing she knew about aliens was that they-did things-to people

"So this was your nightmare," she said

Dee’s perfect profile was tilted up toward the white spotlight above her, looking exactly like an Egyptian carving "Oh, brilliant," she said "Any other deductions?"

"Yes," said Jenny "We’ve got to get out of here"

"Can’t move," Dee said "Can you?"

There were no obvious restraints, but Jenny’s ars were too heavy to lift She could breathe and hts

I’ht about how Dee must feel As an athlete, physical helplessness was Dee’s worst fear The strong, slim body that she’d cultivated with so much care was no use at all to her now

"This place-it’s so sterile," Dee said, her nostrils flaring "Smell it? And I bet they’re like hive insects, all the saht theot weapons, obviously"

Jenny understood Muscle and ingenuity wouldn’t do anything against sterile, hellishly efficient technology No wonder it was Dee’s personal nightmare

Jenny noticed a movement in her peripheral vision

They were small-Summer’s size To Jenny they looked like de dark eyes No noses, slits for lowed like bad rown in a cellar without ever seeing the light Jenny noticed an odor of almonds

They were alive, but they were as alien and wrong as the bleached things that crawl around at the bottoht of them struck Jenny with sick terror

They were naked, but Jenny couldn’t see anything that would make them male or female Their bodies were hideous blanks, like dolls’ bodies They’re its, Jenny thought

So to hurt her

Dee made a faint sound

Jenny turned toward her It was easier than it had been the other tiht above her had dihter, because Dee was trying to get away

Jenny had never seen Dee frightened before-even in the parlor Dee had lookedelse But now Dee looked like a terrified animal Droplets of sweat stood on her forehead with the effort to ht above her got

"Dee, stop it," Jenny said, agonized She couldn’t stand to watch "It’s just a dreaet to you"

But Julian had said if they got hurt in the dreaot hurt for real

The Visitors were clustering around Dee, but they didn’t seem alarmed They seemed absolutely indifferent One of them pushed a cart over to the far side of Dee’s table Jenny saw a tray of gleaht

Dee collapsed back on the table, exhausted

Another being picked up so and shiny from the tray, exa a few ti practice runs with a brush It seeh with its masklike face Jenny didn’t kno she could tell this Then it casually flicked the thing up Dee’s thigh and Dee screa your father screaet up, and only succeeded in disarranging her legs slightly One of the beings repositioned the her feet toward the bottom corners of the table

She had never felt so open, so utterly vulnerable

Dee’s black spandex legging gaped where the thing had cut it Jenny could see blood

The being handed the instrument to one of the others, which took it away If they were talking or co, Jenny couldn’t sense it Certainly nobody tried to co around again One of them-the same one who had cut Dee?-took up a new instrument and went to Jenny’s table With a swift, defttouched the instrument to Jenny’s hand Jenny felt a pinch

Then the probe went in her ear Outraged, Jenny tried to roll her head away, but s as claws inside o in deeper, and she squirmed frantically It touched her eardrum and hurt like a Q-tip stabbed too deep