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"It’s really that serious?" Vicky asked
"It really is"
When Carson and Michael left, the four of the, but the humiliated cat remained in seclusion
In the street, on the way to the car, Carson tossed the keys to Michael, and he said, "What’s this?" and tossed them back to her
"You promised Vicky that you’d drive," she said, and lobbed the keys to him
"I didn’t promise, I just said ‘I will’"
"I don’t want to drive anyway I’ain "He’s safe, he’s fine"
"He’s Arnie He’s scared, he’s overwhelmed by too much newness, and he thinks I’ve abandoned him"
"He doesn’t think you’ve abandoned him Deucalion has some kind of connection to Arnie You saw that Deucalion will be able tothe keys to hiet to Tibet"
"Go to Baton Rouge and turn left" He stepped in front of her, blocking access to the Honda’s passenger door
"Michael, you always , so here’s your chance Take your chance"
Her surrender of the keys suggested despondency He had never seen her despondent He liked her scrappy
"Carson, listen, if Arnie was here, in the --you’d be ten tiet yourself worked up about Tibet Don’t go fely"
"Well, it see That ay ugly"
"I call ‘e female on me"
"This is a ne for you, mister"
"What’s true is true Some people are too soft and vulnerable to handle the truth"
"You et around to sticks and stones," she said "Gimme the damn keys"
She snatched them out of his hand and went to the driver’s door
When they were belted in, as Carson put the key in the ignition, Michael said, "I had to punch hard You wanting me to drive--that scared ine "You’d draay tootheir horns, trying to et up to speed limit"
Chapter 70
Deucalion stepped into Father Patrick Duchaine’s kitchen from the Rombuk Monastery, prepared to release the priest froh he had already learned of the Hands of Mercy frohts on The two coffee s and the two bottles of brandy stood on the table as they had been when Deucalion had left alo, except that one of the bottles was now e beenLaffite out of this world than he had expected to be, prepared to be even race, he poured a generous portion of brandy into the ht theto his lips but had not yet sipped when his h Victor seemed to be surprised, he didn’t appear to be amazed, as he should have been if he believed that his first creation had perished two centuries ago "So you call yourself Deucalion, the son of Prometheus Is that presuht not have expected to feel fear when coaloer swelled in hier of that particular kind that he kneould feed upon itself until it reached critical e that would sustain a chain reaction of extreer to the innocent until he had learned to control his temper Now, in the presence of his ered by his unbridled rage, for it ht rob him of self-control,at the back door, Victor said, "How did you get past the sentinels?"
Deucalion put down theso hard that the untasted brandy slopped out of it, onto the table
"What a sight you are, with a tattoo for a mask Do you really believe that it makes you less of an abomination?"
Victor took another step into the kitchen
To his chagrin, Deucalion found hi one step
"And dressed all in black, an odd look for the bayou," Victor said "Are you infor someone? Is it for the mate I almost made for you back then--but instead destroyed?"
Deucalion’s huge hands had hardened into fists He longed to strike out, could not
"What a brute you are," said Victor "I’m almost embarrassed to adant these days Well, we all have to begin somewhere, don’t we?"
Deucalion said, "You’re insane and alere"
"It talks!" Victor exclaiht
"The monster-maker has become the monster"
"Ah, and it believes itself to be witty, as well," said Victor "But no one can blaave you life, not a book of one-liners, though I iven you rather more life than I realized at the time Two hundred years and , but for you I would have expected a evity was a gift of the lightning that night"
"Yes, Father Duchaine said that’s what you believe Well, if you’re right, perhaps everyone should stand out in a field during a thunderstorm and hope to be struck, and live forever"
Deucalion’s vision had darkened steadily with the escalation of his rage, and thethat sometimes pulsed in his eyes throbbed now as never before The rush of his blood sang in his ears, and he heard hi like a well-run horse
Ahtly fisted, you’ll draw blood froernails Such hatred is unhealthy Relax Isn’t this thefor? Enjoy it, why don’t you?"
Deucalion spread his fists into fans of fingers
"Father Duchaine says the lightning also brought you a destiny My destruction Well… here I ah loath to concede his iaze before he realized what he’d done
"If you can’t finish me," Victor said, "then I should wrap up the business I failed to coain, he saw that Victor had drawn a revolver
"A 357 Magnurain jacketed hollow points And I know exactly where to aiht," Deucalion said, "in the storiven an understanding of the quantuain "Ah An early version of direct-to-brain data downloading"
Deucalion raised a hand in which a quarter had appeared between thuer He flipped it into the air, and the quarter vanished during its ascent
His rew stiff
Deucalion produced and flipped another coin, which winked up, up, and did not disappear, but fell, and when it rang against the kitchen table, Deucalion departed on the ping!
Chapter 71
Carson driving, Michael riding shotgun: At least this one thing was still right with the world
He had called the cell nuotten voiceat the Luxe Theater, at ht
"What do we do till then?" Carson asked
"You think we could risk a stop at ot sos in a suitcase"
"Let’s drive by, see e think"
"Just slon below supersonic"
Accelerating, Carson said, "How do you think Deucalion does that Houdini stuff?"
"Don’t ask itation disaster You know that trick with little kids where you pretend to take their nose off, and you show it poking out of your fist, except it’s really just your thumb?"
"Yeah"