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I took a deep breath, told ht Everybody knew that bats were nocturnal I’d be fine I was still repeating it like a mantra when the clerk behind the counter let out an earsplitting shriek of abject terror, grabbed one of those hugeme doith holy water

It wasn’t hoould’ve wanted to test whether or not I could handle holy water, but hey, I got lucky It didn’t burn Nor did the cross she held up glow, burn, or react to rateful for that But it embarrassed the hell out of me, and made me just a little bit pissed Because everybody in the store was staring andto each other under their breath, even as the clerk apologized and handed me paper towels to dry my face and hair

I practically threw the e blessed cross set with enough rhinestones to blind the unwary, and ran froht not to cry Stupid, really I was alive The water hadn’t burned me, hadn’t hurt me at all For a brief moment, I was relieved beyond measure

But I could still see the expression on that woman’s face, the naked fear in her eyes, could see and hear the pulse pounding at her throat

Ithelpless Yeah, I know, pretty much everybody does But I hate it I’ve spent years in therapy, and ain as much control as I can over my life I train my body, my mind I run my own business so that no one can order me around I make sure that each job is planned to the last detail, and that I have the absolute best equip as ry

How the hell was I supposed to cope with that?

I thought about calling in to e the phone first and then load the minutes A black and white police cruiser pulled into the lot and I decided against using the pay phone again Apparently the clerk didn’t like that I was still "lurking" outside I said a couple of uncoine I even gave the cops a cheery little wave as I drove past Bitchy? Possibly But it made me feel just a teeny bit better Today, I’d take every little bit that helped

I’d stop by the office and checkto the police I wouldn’t stay long I was already tired, and I had lots of things to do if I was going to get ready to hunt h that I alet onto the Loop, but I had to cut across two lanes of traffic to do it Traffic was lighter than usual, so I ood time Normally I’d have slipped in a CD, but I turned on the radio instead I was listening for the news If I’d one down, it’d be a headline story at the top of the hour If he hadn’t, the politicos would probably sweep the whole thing under the carpet Because while the press enerally doesn’t, particularly when the folks back home are funda into the e that serviced the Santa Maria de Luna PD Nothing about the prince In fact, other than the unrest in Pakistan and the peace talks going on in the foroing on at all

I knew froe attached to the police department I could take an elevator directly into the second-floor lobby of the building No sunlight Which, all things considered, was probably a good idea Yes, if I had to, I could use the uain, but I didn’t want to Maybe it was denial, or just plain stubbornness, but hiding froe was di after the car’s heat The soft sound ofoff of the concrete

Pressing the button for the elevator, I tried to shake off a growing sense of unease This entire situation was just too strange Nothing made sense Emma would never believe it, but I’s practically to death, and then I double- and triple-check ’em Because I want to control what I can Invariably there are lots of things you can’t control--cos that force you to iot a handle on the other stuff, you have a better chance of success in dealing with the random crap At least that’s what I tell ran, this whole situation was "hinky" and "stank like week-old fish"

The bell rang, and the elevator doors slid open with a gentle whoosh I stepped over the loss Air-conditioning hitme shudder In the distance I could hear the soft rush of water over stone I froze Running water--a big va to be a problem? The holy water hadn’t been I tried to think of a way of finding out withouta spectacle of myself and ca my shoulders, I marched toward the lobby The piped-in strea cells was surprisingly pretty Not only was the waterfall supposed to inspire peaceful feelings in the prisoners, but it also nullified any spells that ht try to break people out