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Maybe it was the closeness of the rooe slice of cake I’d had after a large dinner Or s who slept in coffins, rising at night to drink human blood Whatever the cause, about ten minutes into the movie a wave of nausea came over me

I ran to the bathroo the sides of the toilet, I shut my eyes as I retched I didn’t open them until my stomach was empty, and the spasms subsided

The tap water was cold, and I splashed so ie of my face, white, beaded with perspiration, e I opened ue to take away the sourness, and when I looked again, the face in the mirror wasn’t mine

Have you ever seen, in your reflection, someone else’s face? It boldly stared back at me: beady animal eyes, a snout for a nose, aand pointed I heard a voice (, "No, no"

Then, just as suddenly, it was gone My own frightened eyes gazed at me; my dark hair lay damp around ed; they seeer, the canine teeth more pointed

"Ari?" Kathleen’s voice came from outside

I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, pushed back my hair "I’m okay," I said

Too nosis "You don’t want to go home, do you?"

"Of course not" But I didn’t want to talk all night, either "I need some sleep," I said

What I really wanted was tihts, I fell asleep al, when the house caing, water rushing through pipes, and a petulant voice saying, "But it’s et was spending the night in one of the others’ rooms), and I looked up to see that Kathleen wasn’t in bed Then I lay back again, thinking about the night before I didn’t want to think about the mirror yet, so I focused on the movie It was the way the vaot toin coffins, the crosses and garlic, the stakes in the heart -- had bothered raceful sweep to and from rooms, reminded me of my father

Kathleen caet up, Ari," she said "Othere’ll miss the horses"

Kathleen said she kneell enough now not to ask if I’d ever been to the track before "And I’ll bet you can’t ride a bicycle, either Aht, Ms Sheltered Life?"

"Sad but true," I said

The ainst my bare arms We moved briskly down the street At six a

"This is the best part of living in Saratoga Springs," she said "You’ll see"

We walked for several blocks past s like the grand Victorians in hborhood -- then cut across a wide lawn

"The racetrack is over there" Kathleen waved her hand toward"Here’s where they exercise the horses"

She led us along a white fence A few other people were standing, sipping coffee, waiting for so

We heard them beforethem Soft thuds of hooves on turf, like , running flat out, jockeys curved low along their necks Thite horses, two darker ones, flashed by us and disappeared into the fog again

"It’s a shame we can’t see more," Kathleen said

I was too thrilled to tell her I disagreed, that seeing a ical than a clear view could be Now ca to reveal a dark brown beauty with a blackto her in a soft voice

Kathleen and I looked at each other and grinned "This," I told her, "is the best birthday present of all"

We began our walk back to the McGarritts’, heading across the grass near the stables Kathleen was telling me about a boy she had a crush on at school; then I stopped listening

So rass

"What’s wrong?" Kathleen said She sounded so worried that I hed

"Let’s run," I said

We raced each other back to the street By then the sensation was gone

Later thatApparently Mrs McG had reconsidered her ban, because she stayed in the car and let Kathleen help me carry my stuff inside As always, our house was cool; the s’ shades had been drawn against the heat

"You have soaround s, dark blue velvet drapes looped back from the s "And you don’t have to share with anyone Even your own bathroom!"

She especially liked my bedside lamp, which had a five-sided porcelain shade Unlit, the shade seemed like bue of a bird: a blue jay, a cardinal, wrens, an oriole, and a dove Kathleen turned it off and on again, several times "How does it do that?"

"The panels are called lithophanes" I knew because I’d asked o "The porcelain is carved and painted You can see it if you look inside the shade"