Kira is dead, and the town is gettiing back to normal. But Chris bitterness has led him to raid his neighbors chicken coops in wolf form, and worse may come. And Maggie's condition worsens. Barnabas has been hired as a therapist by Julia, since as long as he wants to meddle, he should do it under some sort of control.

TRIAL BY FIRE

Chapter 10

It was quite a party. Xavier footed the bill and he had good reason not to stint on the spending. This was the inaugural party for his center and he wanted have a good start,. Tomorrow the hard work would begin. Tonight, everybody was to have a good time.

But there was no booze. Milk and fruit juices, yes. And all the food was natural and healthy.

"What is this?" Sandy Miller examined the liquid offered to her.

"Carrot juice" Frank answered.

"Carrot juice?"

"It doesn't taste so bad. And I got some booze in a brown bag if you want to spike it."

Barnabas watched Maggie from a distance. Had all that really happened? Was she the same one who had flung herself at him? She certainly didn't look so. The way she was moving around, looking professional, wooing whatever potential voters might be out there...

"Pardon me" somebody said behind him. "are you Ms. Evans campaign manager?"

"Was" he said, turning.

"You quit?"

"And why do you want to know?"

It was an attractive brunette in a pantsuit.

"I am a reporter for 'People' magazine."

He grimaced, "People" magazine was better than "The National Enquirer" but that's all you could say for it.

"And your name?"

"Oriana Falchi."

"The Oriana Fallaci?"

"Falchi F.A.L.C.H.I." she laughed "I get to spell my last name a lot."

He was aware of the beating of her vein against the skin. Watch it, he told himself. She's from out of town, and you know that if you ever touch a tourist the Chamber of Commerce will come after you with a meat cleaver.

And she was a reporter. That could mean extra trouble... although her interest seemed to be mainly on Maggie and would only go after the most superficial story she could find.

"But you were her first campaign manager, weren't you?"

"Yes. I ran her first campaign on a shoestring. Not that I was that good. It was just that we were lucky that the incumbent got caught with a couple of showgirls. Maybe you remember the story."

"I do. And you are no longer her campaign manager?"

"No. For two reasons. One that I was not that good to start with. And second, I needed a job that paid better. Shameful as it may seems, I had trouble living within my budget."

"No disagreements between you two?'

"No. Only financial need of my part."

"And what do you do now?

"Consultant and part time therapist for Dr. Anderson."

"You work both for Dr. Anderson and for Davenport?"

"Dr. Julia Anderson. And yes, I do work for both of them."

"How do you combine the two?"

"It isn't easy."

Harry looked at Xavier from the other end of the room. Both of them knew that there was trouble ahead between the two, but now they enjoyed the truce.

Julia cornered the man she thought to be Chris Jennings.

"You won't regret letting Amy go with Barnabas."

"I understand, Julia."

"Don't feel hurt, please. It is just that this is a difficult time for her and she needs special care."

...Ah, Dr. Hoffman, thought Tom, you didn't sound so high and mighty after I dug my fangs in your throat...

His eyes moved to Angelique, who was talking to Sabrina. Angelique had done him a good turn once. Maybe he would let her live, after all.

But Barnabas and Julia, those two, they would die.

Sabrina looked at him, from afar. She wondered if there was ever a chance of her and Chris getting together again.

Give him time, that was what Barnabas had said. Just how much more time?

David found himself talking to Willie.

"I will be going back for treatments now."

"Julia promised not to give you trouble?" Willie said sympathetically.

"More or less"

It was surprising how easy to was to talk to Willie. He had always thought of him as an oaf, or worse. Suddenly, talking to him was easy.

"Barnabas talked her out of it?"

"Seems so."

Barnabas still couldn't shake Oriana off.

"Is there another reason for this trip by Representative Evans?"

"Don't you think that this center is reason enough? We worked hard for it. And look what it means. Not only an economic revitalization of this area, but also one of many steps towards energy independence. With more and more centers like this we won't belong body and soul to some sheiks at the other end of the globe."

"Was there ever a personal relationship between you and her?"

"We are old friends, and we have grown together fighting for things like this."

"When she came back, she stopped first at Wyncliffe? Was it to see you?"

"It was to see Dr. Julia Hoffman... Anderson. Hoffman is her maiden name. There was a project that they wanted to discuss. and they wanted time and privacy for it."

Oriana bit her lip. There was more to it than he was telling.

"Well, you finally remembered me." Iris said as he began to undress.

"It was tough, back at Wyncliffe."

"It is always tough, back there. You have to find a way to see me more often than this."

"Why don't you come over to Wyncliffe?"

"I am too busy." he gasped when he took off his shirt. "what happened to you?"

"Happened?"

"You are all bruised."

Barnabas sighed. "Remember what I told you about Maggie? About 1967?"

"Yes."

"We finally slugged it out."

"Slugged out seems the proper term. Is there something else? Did you go to bed with her?

"She needed it. She was too full of anger and she couldn't get it out any other way."

Iris ground her teeth. She knew that he was right. But it still hurt that he had done it with Maggie while she did nothing but wait for him.

"I imagine that it was tough for you" she could not hide the irony in her voice.

"It was. It was brutal. Not only she wouldn't be gentle with me, She wouldn't let me gentle with her... Iris, I need gentleness now... will you be gentle with me?"

Old Munsungan was there, as he knew he would be.

He was still afraid, but after what he had gone through with Maggie, things could not get worse.

And he had to talk about it. Julia would not listen. Iris did not understand who important this was to him. How could she? She had not lived through it. As for Maggie...with Maggie it would be dangerous to go further. He didn't have the courage for another night like the last.

So this remained. This last chance to make sense out of the senseless.

"You were right." he said to the old man. "I had to come back." he licked his lips. You know what I want, don't you?"

"Yes. Are you willing to do this?"

"As willing as I'll ever be."

Old Munsungan's hand rested on his forehead. Just as he remembered. And just like the last time, the mists closed on him.

"So you finally got around to it."

It was Woodard, with an ironic smile in his lips.

"Control yourself"" Woodard added "I detest cheap sentimentality."

"What can I say to you?"

"Whatever you feel like saying."

"Why...?"

"Why what? I don't think you want to know why not Maine team ever wins the pennant, although that would be a fair question."

"Is there any point to my saving string."

"Apart from making you look ridiculous, no."

"Why did you ask that of me?"

"Would you rather I asked you to audition for the Gong Show?"

"How would that make things better?"

"Ask Chuck Barry that."

"Why, was the point?"

"Would you rather I went for cheap melodramatics?"

"I...just want to know if you hate me..."

"I think that 'being amused' is a better description."

"I ...I see."

Woodard chuckled. "Do you know what I like about you? You have no idea when someone is putting you on. I tell you to save string, and here you are, saving string. If I had told you to go down Niagara Falls in a barrel you'd have done it too. I really should have told you to audition for the Gong Show. You'd look great, singing in a chicken suit."

"I wanted to so something for you."

"But you can't"

"Isn't there anything...?"

"Nothing. Make what you will of it."

"I can't make sense of it! Julia spat on my face and now she acts as if nothing had happened. Maggie and I tear each other apart, and next we are at a party making small talk and laying the groundwork for the next election. As if... as if it was only a bad headache. I can't do that. I can't put this behind me. Not until I can make sense of it."

"You do like living in the past, don't you?"

"No. That's over with."

"Really? Or you just changed the year and it is 1967 that you want to relive over and over until you can put a happy ending to it?"

"I did not wish to relive it. It came upon me. I had no idea of how much I had hurt Julia. And I can't even get her to talk about it. It is going to be eating her inside, and she won't say a word."

"Yes. Julia always had self-control. Too much of it. I once warned her that unless she learned to express her feelings she'd be terribly hurt when her self-control failed her. What I didn't figure was that I would be caught in the middle."

"Can I do anything for her?"

"If you don't mind being hurt in the process."

"It can't be worse than it was with Maggie."

"It is going to be worse. And better at the same time."

"You don't hate her either?"

"I pity her." he paused "what do you really want of me?"

"Your forgiveness."

"If I gave it to you, would you go away and stop bothering me" he chuckled again. "No, you won't. Because you want something else."

"George said that all I could ever do is to be the kind of person that you'd want for a friend."

"And you want to know if you are making the grade?"

"Yes."

"What if my taste in friends could be described, charitably, as peculiar?"

"If things had been different, could you and I have...?"

"You want some advice? Stay out of iffy questions. They are the shortest road to heartbreak. 'Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are "it might have been"'. Why do you wish my friendship on yourself? Can't you see what it's done to Julia?"

"I can't stop from wondering." Barnabas said apologetically.

"I don't see why you shouldn't plug at it, anyway. If nothing else, you may end up being what is called 'a lovely individual'"

"If I ever make the grade, will you let me know?"

"If you ever make the grade you won't need me to tell you."

Then the mists closed on him. There were still questions that he hadn't asked, but now it was too late. His doubts would remain with him a long time yet. The pain would not go away overnight.

But he had something to look forward to.

"You have taken a burden upon yourself" He heard Old Munsungan say.

"Yes. I have." he said, getting up. "Wish me strength to bear it."

"It will be there."

What will Tom do? Will he resume his previous murderous career using Chris body? What secret is locked inside David's mind that led him to drugs? Will the Davenport Center attract more reporters, and will they find Barnabas noteworthy?

Keep reading...