Chapter 2
"So we have to duplicate the chemical composition of what your blood would be like if I were to drive a stake through your heart.
'"Yes. Without having to kill either me or Barnabas."
"Verhoff does not want to?"
"He does not like us. And I cannot make him hold another execution.. Not until someone is caught doing a capital crime, and that may take a while."
Yes, there was no point in convincing Verhoff.
"If I knew it would be like this I would have saved blood when they killed Richard... Or Nunez. Kept it frozen."
"About Richard... we considered calling you, but..."
"But that was Angelique's price for cooperating. I understand. And he was right. It was a romantic fantasy that I was living with him... I hope that Frances did not marry him out of a romantic fantasy. "
"Getting catty?"
"No." Megan shrugged "It is just that Richard, with his history can become dangerously attractive to women starved for romance. Frances had a crush on Barnabas that she never allowed herself to express. She called it gratitude, but it was more than that. And if she transferred it to Richard... Or rather Howard. I have to call him Howard."
"Yes," Julia set up the hypodermic. "You'll have to open your blouse?"
"What?"
"I want a sample from the heart itself."
"I see." Megan sighed. She unbuttoned her blouse and laid down. "Is this payback for what I made you do to Peter?"
"It was not pleasant."
"Stokes had said blood from the heart of the egg's agent. You, or any doctor for any matter, was the only one I could trust to take the blood without harming the child."
"Not physically."
"No, mentally, you mean. It could not be worse than what had been done to him. He would have been worse off in the power of Vassily Petofi... How is he doing it, by the way?"
"Back with Audrey Morton."
"And Iris?"
"I recommended her to a therapist friend of mine. It was better that neither Barnabas nor I treated her. Too many irrelevant subjects would come forth if we did."
"That was smart of you." She flinched as Julia stabbed her, but remained steady until Julia had finished taking her sample. "Call me when you need more samples. Or got good news to tell... Say, couldn't you get samples from Barnabas?"
'Not without telling him the whole story, and given his religious turn these days, he might consider killing himself to cure both of them..."
Adam was not sure if he should keep silent on what he and Angelique had found out. Angelique had made him promise it, and had even hinted at retaliation.
But did Angelique intent to bring those statues to life? Or was she just keeping silent so as not to endanger Barnabas and Megan?
And he did not want that. He had gone into the maze and braved its dangers so that Joe and Maggie could be normal again. Someone had to know that he had succeeded.
And Barnabas had a right to know about it.
Only, what if Angelique got mad at him? She could make life very difficult for you if you made her mad.
The face he had glimpsed in the fire would not leave his mind. It was as if he should remember it, but could not.
Someone that should be important to him.
Someone that he should not fear...
Someone with her hand on his heart...
Why did he think that?
He looked at the flames on the candles again. Who could it be?
Maybe a phoenix was hunting him. But why?
"Does the Devil own you now?"
Urien looked at the charm offered him with skepticism. It came with a long list of claims, which, if true, would give him all the protection he needed and more besides. But if they were not true, he would be out of quite an amount of money,.
Unhappily, the FDA did not concert itself with magic charms - their effectiveness, reliability, and safety of use. Let the buyer beware, that was how it worked for these things.
It did not matter if it was ineffective, even at the price, but should there be any danger to it...
But what else could keep Yolanda away? And cold he afford to wait until a better one came along?
"This one is guaranteed to banish bad dreams." the seller told him "And what causes them."
"Can it banish ghostly manifestations, too?"
"Aha!" the seller said. "It is more than bad dreams, is it? No, the charm is not strong enough for that. You are being persecuted by unseen entities. Entities from the dark?"
"Yes." Urien agreed.
"Such persecution is rarely groundless. Do you know why they persecute you? There might be a way of placating them."
"No. They wish to harm someone I care for. They want me to go to him and carry them with me."
"And that you do not wish."
'No."
"Then this charm." he laid it down again, "powerful as it is, will not be enough. But there is one protection, which will do what you need."
"If it is as powerful as you say, it is worth it."
"It is powerful. You do not have to believe me. Take it home and to you and feel its strength envelop and protect you.. Then, if you are satisfied, you can pay me for it."
"Aren't you afraid that I might just steal it?"
"No. The strength of the charm itself will prevent you from doing that."
"I want to see this charm, then."
The man went into the back shop. He brought back a golden falcon, and felt a twinge as he looked at it. Blood and fire were in its fashioning, and very few earned the right to wear it. He, himself had not earned it yet. But this stranger, who knew nothing of the Mysteries, this man had been granted the wearing of it. It was not fair, he told himself.
It was not up to him to question the designs of the gods. All he could do was carry out his duties and hope that the reward would eventually come.
He went back to the shop, to the impatient Urien.
"Here it is, the Sun Falcon."
Urien took it. And the moment his hand touched it, he knew that this was no junk jewelry, even if it looked like it. Vaguely Egyptian motif. All the occult shops peddled pseudo Egyptian stuff and the lore of the pyramids. And yet this one was different. The cheap appearance was only a disguise, to freely circulate among those who did not understand.
His finger traced the contour, stopping for a moment on the open beak. And a quick, sharp flash ran through his body.
"You sense its power, don't you?' the man asked.
"Yes. I sense it."
"Then this is indeed for you. Take it home, feel its protection. Then come back next week and tell me if you are satisfied, and pay me what it is worth."
"Is there any danger in it?"
"Only if you treat it with disrespect. Wear it always under your clothes, next to your heart, so that your heartbeat warms it. Kiss it every night, begging its strength for your protection. Keep it clean. Wipe it with a clean cloth lightly moistened in wine."
"Do I wear it all the time? Even when I am in the shower?"
"No. When you shower you take it off and keep it in a velvet pouch. Same as when you go swimming. Or when you have sex."
'You sell the velvet pouch, too?"
"It comes with the falcon."
"And how much does it cost? If I decide that I want to keep it, of course."
The man said the price. It was high. But not as high as he feared. He hoped that he could pay it in installments. If the charm worked, it would be more than worth it.
"I will take it."
