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Her irls?

And Daniel? Did she dare cry out? Was Aaron watching for her, waiting?

She shed her shoes to walk through the grand entry hall and past the stairway She looked into the kitchen and dining room, the parlor, and then the library

Daniel Canady was there, slumped over his desk The desk where he had drawn his books out when she had come here She remembered how she had sat with Sean at aseat It had been so wonderful A night with hi his eyes, hearing his laughter, having his fingers brush her, touch her But this here it had brought the that she couldn’t bear it if she had brought about the deaths of Daniel or her friends How could she ever face Sean again if she had caused the murder of his father, and how could she ever live with herself if Cissy or Angie were to die, and so horribly, because of their association with her? She closed her eyes suddenly Her father had loved her; he had refused to believe that she had been daiveness so badly that she had damned all those around her?

"Please!" she prayed silently, and she wondered if her prayers could ever be answered as shefeet into the library Daniel’s back was to her She was terrified that she’d touch him--and discover he was slumped over because his head was nearly detached fro, she fell to her knees by his side, trying to see hied streak of lightning lit up the sky beyond, and she saw that a trickle of blood streaked down his face from his temple But his flesh ar for a pulse, and she found one

A whi sound came to her, and she turned There they were as well, Cissy and Angie, both still alive, tied together and sluie stared at her ide, terrified eyes that pleaded for help

"Oh, thank God!" she breathed Coie started across the roo that Cissy was conscious, and that she’d be able to run

But suddenly, a cold draft see papers on the desk

"Maggie "

She heard her naan, MegMs M

Montgoie? Can you see ht me? If you win, they live If you lose, I do as I choose

And you suffer until you wish you were dead anyway, Maggie, Maggie, Magdalena!" She kept walking across the roo to discover where he was

"Aaron, this is between us--"

"Canady is between us Did you like the present I left you in the foyer?"

"Who was she, Aaron?"

"Maggie, I don’t even know The Avon lady, maybe A poor misfortunate who stumbled into my path I told you, I was rudely awakened by Lieutenant Canady Then I was just so awake, and I knehat I had to doI hurried right over to Montgoirls, Maggie I was just on fire! I didn’t want to do anything premature, so I slipped into a local strip joint for a bite before collecting the girls and bringing theet you to this old houre out where we are soon It was just that once I picked up your lovely friends to bring them here, I was so tempted to drink

and I wanted you here for the finale, of course You shouldn’t feel too badly This one didn’t hurt at all She died crushed inevery minute of it"

"I hate you, Aaron I hate you because you’re a cold-blooded killer--"

"No, Maggie, we’re all cold-blooded killers You can’t change nature, not the nature of the beast"

"No, you’re wrong, we don’t have to be cold-blooded killers--"

"What a lying, self-righteous little beauty you are, my sweet You’ve killed You know you’ve killed"

"Only when--"

"When you judged a ie, you’re a spawn of Satan, and you want to give yourself the power of a god! You think you can set yourself up as judge and jury?" She shook her head "Go to hell, Aaron, where you belong I still believe in God"

"Fool, for God has forsaken you! Do you think you can find forgiveness because the blood you crave comes from the Red Cross?" he mocked

"Aaron, you’re the fool What will this prove? I hate you for your brutal cruelty, for the vicious sickness that’s so apparent in your eyes Aaron, you were alaughter filled the roo to come from everywhere

"Diseased? You consider us diseased, my dear?"

"Yes! Exactly!" she said in a soft whisper

He shook his head "We are nificent creations! We are the culmination of the power of evil, or so we can be! We are predators, like sharks, like crocodilians--black s, Maggie, if you will We are born to kill, to rip, to tear, to weed out the human population You are a blind little fool to deny it, to try to be what you are not!"