Page 21 (1/2)

"That there are forces in the world Forces of good and evil"

"Andy," she said very gently, "think about it, please People cause the evil in the world"

He shook his head stubbornly and stared at her That stare that could make her so uneasy So aware that there was no one else near theht be alone in the secluded woods with a ," he said stubbornly "And you rip that was as tight as any vise she had ever known before

"Andy, you’re hurting me"

He released her instantly But even so, she are of the leaves, rustling, as if they watched the two of the

"What ti? Halloween? Andy, it’s a holiday, it comes every year"

"All Hallow’s Eve When spirits and de And I’m afraid"

"Afraid of what?"

"You must be afraid, too"

"Why, Andy Whyon the balcony when she returned

The day wasn’t that bright, but he earing his sunglasses He’d ht hiular packs, Finn never bothered with decaf And he was s

Usually, he just sh half a pack of cigarettes

She hadn’t a clue of what he was thinking, not with the sunglasses covering his eyes He looked tense, though, drawn and tired Not a good sign, when they’d only just gone through their first night of work here And he didn’t appear to be in a good raveyard, she was beginning to feel silly for having let hi was so entirely ridiculous When she’d asked Andy why he was so convinced that the demon was after her, he hadn’t known When she’d wanted to knohat he ht want to resurrect a long deadwith her fear, had soared

Somehow, she had forced herself to remember that he was a very old man, with only his tales left to him

She had told him she would be very careful, and that she would consider his words She had also told him he mustn’t say any of it to Finn, that she would not do so herself He hadn’t seened

"I have, at the least, warned you," he told her gravely

He hadn’t brought a car He had coe, and though she’d offered to drop hi in the eerie little place when she had left

And oddly, the glowering sky, the lightning, the threat of rain, had passed It was an almost absurdly beautiful day for late October

"Where have you been?" Finn asked as she joined him on the balcony She couldn’t even tell if his voice was ringed with any kind of anger The sunglasses seeard look, there was so, almost rawly sexy, about the way he slouched in the patio chair, long legs stretched out on the wrought iron rail, hair falling over his eyes, the length of his body in a languid stretch, almost like that of a cat

"Out and about," she said "Just taking in a few sights When did you wake up? I’ve never seen you sleep like that"

He shrugged "Had a bad tione back to bed No wonder you feel dragged out"

He frowned She could see that lasses

"I wasn’t up before"

"Yes, you were Youin the , or sometime"

He stared at her as if she were crazy

"No"

"Finn! When I woke up, there was cold coffee in the pot"

"There was cold decaf when I woke up," he said with a sniff

"Honestly, you had to have been awake Unless so, arette, and left," she said, a "There’s a bruise on your arm"

"Yeah, there is You need to cool it a little"

"What?"

"Finn! You gave nantly

She leaned against the railing, staring at hiht"

"Andyou before plugging in the pot?"

"Finn, you gave me the bruise before you made the coffee I don’t believe this! You don’t reht, like alike that, andout to the porch after a shower, and having a lovely and passionate time--

but I never bruised you!"

"Not the first time"

"There was a second ti it," she murmured She eyed hiht?"