Chapter 7
Urien tossed in his bed. There must be a way out. There must be.
Hallie watched this happen in the flames of the fireplace.
"You do wish to escape, then." she said "you will not serve me willingly as you should. Nevertheless, a use shall be found for you."
Urien's breath became more labored, and his eyes glazed. On his chest, the falcon moved.
Then the falcon as a huge golden bird, as tall as Urien himself, standing by the bed, and studying the prone figure in it. Its beak open, it seemed to consider whether he should eat it.
Urien saw the bird and knew that it was the pendant, now grown to full size. And, as he slipped into unconsciousness, knew that it was his life force that animated it.
The falcon went to the window and flew away.
Hallie smile. So easily done... now to deal with this other matter.
"Yolanda! Zoya!"
The two salamanders were dragged into her presence by the force of her command. They looked afraid, and guilty. And yet, strangely defiant.
"You have planned to betray me. You sought to give my secrets to Amy Jennings."
Neither of them answered.
"I could make you confess, and beg my forgiveness, but that I shall do later, when I have done what I came to do... I shall keep you in safety till then."
They shrank and flattened, till they seemed to be red paper cutouts. Hallie picked them up and folded them, putting them in her purse.
"And while you are there, you can think of what punishment I shall inflict on you."
Zeb clung to Jessica as they slept. If Laura were to claim her... they thought that they had defeated her once, but with Laura nothing was forever. If she were to find a way to reclaim Jessica and her child, then it would have been all for nothing.
He had been a fool. and he would never stop paying for it.
And all because he could not face up to the fact that Uncle Dave had been homosexual, that the one man he had admired the most had not come up to his standards of perfection. What business had it been of him, anyway?
And because of that, Jessica might die.
It wasn't fair. It was his fault, not hers... But Laura never concerned herself with fairness, only with what she wanted, and what she felt was owed her.
If only he could see Uncle Dave again, confess what a fool he had been, ask for his advice... maybe Uncle Dave could protect them.
"Zeb."
Zeb looked up. He knew that voice... It could not be.
"Zeb."
It was Uncle Dave, outside the window.
He was dreaming, that was it. And, as naturally as it is done in dreams, he rose and went to meet him.
"I am sorry, Uncle." Zeb said.
"Don't be silly, Zeb. You have been silly for too long already, and I don't like that in a nephew of mine."
Staring at the flame, Hallie saw this. Zeb was dreaming of his uncle. If they pried into his mind, and they could do it, all they would see was this. She could make dreams seem fuzzy enough so that they would not draw attention.
They would still believe that Zeb was still untouched, still theirs, even after tonight.
"Come with me, Zeb." Dave said.
"Why? "
"Don't ask so many questions. Just come."
"Does it have to do with Laura?"
"It has to do with protecting you against Laura."
Zeb did not hesitate. He stepped out of the window. He was on the second floor, but as he went out, there was an invisible floor under his feet.
Dave went ahead of him, and he never turned around to make sure that Zeb was following him. He just kept finding the way through the darkness under the stars.
A giant bird stood in front of them. A golden falcon.
Zeb jumped away, in fear. It was so big...it could eat them at any moment.
But Dave turned and smiled.
"He is waiting for you. You must not fear him."
Something told him that it was not as it should be. That the bird was gold, and a falcon, and that meant that it served the Egyptian Sun God. That Uncle Dave would not ask him to risk himself this way.
But he could not resist Dave's commanding words. He could not mistrust his uncle. He had never done so as a child. He could not do so now.
He mounted the bird, setting himself over the massive neck.
The bird beat its wings, lifting itself into the air.
Zeb looked back to see if his uncle would come with him or not. But his uncle was not there. Instead a tall man, enveloped in flames, stood at this place.
A salamander
He had been tricked. Laura had caught him again...
The bird rose and a bright light came before him.
And in the middle of the light was the face of Hallie Stokes Collins.
Amy shuffled the cards. She could not make sense of the spread that the salamanders had given her. The Queen of Coins, separated by the Empress by the Wheel of Change. The Knight of Wands changing to the Knight of Coins, who himself was heading for Judgement, or Resurrecrtion. And the Sun underneath the Empress.
What did it mean? That the destructive force of the Sun had turned into a benevolent phase?
Or did it allude to the freeing of Laura?
And that was only if the salamanders told the truth...
The arrival of Megan interrupted her thoughts.
"I know that you want to bite certain people, to make sure that no phoenix is tampering with them."
"Yes. I trust that it was not too distasteful."
"Not precisely.. And as far as I can tell, no one that I touched has been... tampered with."
"Good. Now we have to face the special case. Buffy Torrance."
"What's with her?"
"She and Frank are having problems. To the point that she is not willing to believe that she may be in dnager form salamanders. And she is disasified."
"Disastified enough to fall prey to them again?'
"Exacttly. I think that she is the Hyerophant that keeps turning in the deck. She has a weakness that can lead to treason. I want you to talk to her. Get her to tell you what is the matter with her and Frank. And see if you can get her to realize the danger she is in. She and Lyndon."
"You want me to play Dear Abby for her?"
"I think you know how to do it."
"Yes. I do." Megan admitted. she sighed. "That's what I get for living in a vampire friendly town. Drafted to solve people's emotional problems...Sometiems I get nostalgic for the times when all I had to do was tak the blood from strangers and disappear from their lives, leaving only a hazy memory of a gorgeous woman who thought them attractive... Oh, well. I wanted it this way. Might as well I pay my toll."
