Vampire - The Awakening Part 27

Megan laughed ruefully. "Did you happen to tell Mr. Fallon over at Huntington House that Finn and I had a fight with a loaf of bread?"

"Good heavens, no! I don't air laundry." Martha looked disgruntled. "If anything of that ilk got anywhere... well, never mind."

"You were about to say that Morwenna had been talking."

Martha shrugged. "I wasn't really about to say anything," she said, clearly lying. "But... you're right. You must stay, and finish your commitment at the hotel. Tonight, when you see your husband, make sure he understands that you love him, that you haven't really left him, that you believe you've done the best thing possible for the moment, keeping some distance from him. But it means nothing.

You'll finish your stint at the hotel, go home, and see a counselor. Because you're going to find out just what is causing your problems, solve them, and stay together for the rest of your lives!"

Megan smiled.

"Sounds like a plan," she said softly. "One problem."

"What?"

"What if he's just so angry that he doesn't care about the music-or me." Martha shook her head firmly. "Finn Douglas came after you once. I don't believe that he'll leave you. He's going to be just as determined to keep you now-even if he has to bow down to your wishes for the time being."

"I hope you're right," Megan said softly. She rose, picking up her clean clothes and heading for the guest room.

She put her belongings away, then walked back out to the front porch. Already, night was falling.

She stared at the dusk coming on, and then wondered if she hadn't done the most stupid thing in the world, leaving Finn now.

There were too many other women in Salem who seemed to feel the same instant, deep, carnal attraction to her husband.

He wouldn't!

Or would he? She didn't seem to know him at all anymore.

As luck would have it, Mike Smith wasn't in when he went to the museum. Gayle Sawyer was working, though, and he thanked G.o.d that she was working because she used what few minutes she could to go on and on about how he had saved her the night before. He was glad of the counter between them as well, because he had never felt so convinced that she'd simply jump him were she on the other side.

Restless, irritated, he wandered into a few shops. Many had the same T-s.h.i.+rts. Some had great silver jewelry. Many had extensive book sections. He idly picked up a few t.i.tles. Most were on the Wiccan way of life. Some dealt with herbs, meditation, the power of different metals, and so on.

He came back out on the street. He hadn't attempted to dial Megan's cell phone again; she wasn't picking up. She didn't intend to do so. He wondered if she intended to show up at the hotel to play, but since she had been the one so determined not to wreck their careers, he had a feeling that she would do so. There was no sense in dialing her repeatedly for nothing.

He was studying some interestingly shaped incense burners when he realized that someone was standing in back of him. Someone who made his spine run cold. He swirled around.

Sara.

He frowned, keeping a safe distance. "Did you... hunt me down here?" he asked.

"Yes."

He arched a brow, and Sara shrugged. "Morwenna would have come after you, but she's busy. There's not just the store, but to us, Halloween is a high holy day. And you may scoff, but it's important to us."

"I'm not scoffing at anything, Sara," he said wearily.

"Is that true? I hope so. Because Morwenna is very afraid for you."

"She's afraid for me? I thought the fear was for Megan-and that I'm the one who is to hurt her."

"Morwenna doesn't believe you would ever hurt Megan intentionally."

"That's-good of her."

"You're being used.""By... ?" he demanded skeptically.

"A demon."

He shook his head and turned his back on her. Sara came around the shop, facing him over the display. "Finn, you scare the h.e.l.l out of me. Because there's something... some kind of a strange power in you already. I don't personally know how any of this stuff works-"

"I thought you were a steadfast Wiccan, Sara," he murmured.

"Wiccan, Finn. Wiccan. Not Satanist."

"Satanists, Wiccans, Christians, Jews, Hindus-they're all men, Sara. Just men. And women, of course, forgive me. That wasn't a slight, just a manner of speech."

She waved a hand in the air. "There are powers in the world, Finn. You've got to realize that, and see it."

"So... you believe that demons run around walking the earth?"

"If you believe in G.o.d-"

"Yes, yes, I know, then why not Satan-and of course, then, there would be demons."

She stared at him hard. "Can you explain everything that happens, Finn?"

"I'm not a scientist."

"Your wife has left you, and you don't even know why-except that it had to be something you did last night."

"My marital problems are my own business."

"Do you want help, or not?"

"No," he said, and turned away, but he stopped, his back stiff. He couldn't explain anything. And he didn't understand his own dreams.

He turned back. "Look, Sara, I don't mean to be so rude and hostile."

"I'm sure you don't. But, listen to me, Finn, please. That was no act I put on in Morwenna's store when I read your palm. There is a terrible, frightening aura of evil hanging over you."

"I'm not an evil person, Sara."

"Maybe you're not; but maybe, just maybe, there are powers around you. And they are using you."

"I can't accept that. I won't accept that I could be used by some... some... demon!"

Sara cast her hands on her hips. "Not even one with hundreds-no, thousands!-of years to get to know human psychology, the human mind, and the power of suggestion."

"I don't care what anyone-Satan, or G.o.d himself-told me to do, I'd never hurt Megan."

"I know that you mean that," Sara said earnestly.

"Okay, Sara, what is this help you're going to give me?""Knowledge."

"Knowledge? That's it? No spell, no incantations?"

"You should be blessed, and learn a few incantations-it certainly wouldn't hurt. But for now... Morwenna and Joseph just want you to meet Eddie."

Finn hesitated, head c.o.c.ked, hands on his hips as he studied her a long time. Morwenna and Joseph. Were they really trying to help him-or seal the lid on his coffin?

"What is this knowledge?"

"Come on down the street. There are just books in here, same old, same old. Eddie has bound books that are centuries old, true collector's pieces."

"Then he'd want a mint for them."

"When he sells one of his historical volumes, he does sell it for a small fortune. He has a number, though, that he won't part with."

"All right. Lead the way," Finn said.

Morwenna stood in the bas.e.m.e.nt, a place where only those closest to her, those who shared her beliefs, were ever allowed to come.

The altar was to the rear. Herbs, far superior to any she sold in the shop, lined the walls in various bottles. Her own wand, an exquisite piece with a crystal handle, lay near the altar. Her best ceremonial robe was around her shoulders.

She approached the altar, and said the words, earnestly, from the heart. She made the proper motions, then moved to the centuries-old fireplace. She had burned ash, the proper wood, throughout the afternoon. The potion within the cauldron bubbled and brewed. She added the last of the ingredients, her lips moving as she did so.

She had become so involved that, at first, she didn't realize that Joseph stood in the rear. He had come down the steps, slipped through the false wall, and waited.

When he spoke, his words were terse.

"You're certain you know what you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm certain that I can read, and follow directions," she snapped. "And you mustn't come in like that again. You might have interrupted me in the midst of a chant."

He turned away, ready to depart, but then he paused. He spoke without turning back to her. "You mustn't make any mistakes. Any mistakes at all. If we're right..."

"We are right. And we won't make any mistakes."

"It is happening. It has all truly begun."

He started to slide the door.

"Joseph," she said, calling him back.

He paused again."Blessed be," she said.

He inclined his head. "Blessed be."

Eddie's book shop was just that-a book shop. He didn't sell incense burners, herbs, T-s.h.i.+rts, capes, or anything else. The s.p.a.ce was narrow, and there was barely room for two people to pa.s.s one another in the aisles between the bookshelves.

There was a new section, a used section, and a "collectibles" section. Sara led Finn by them all, calling out to the young man working the cash register that she was on her way to see Eddie.

The tall, lanky, college-age kid nodded his shaved head, waving her on by.

Beaded curtains seemed to be big in Salem that year. They pa.s.sed through one on their way to the back of the shop.

There was a desk there, with the typical computer. Nothing in the back was surprising except for Eddie himself.

Finn started. He was certain he had met the man before. Except that his name hadn't been Eddie, and he hadn't said that he ran a bookshop.

The man behind the desk looked exactly like the cop he had met in the bar the night before-albeit he had been in costume. The man who had introduced himself as Theo Martin. Officer Theo Martin.

"Eddie, this is Finn Douglas," Sara said. "Morwenna called you about him."

"Hi, Finn." The man rose, extending a hand.

Finn stared at him, automatically accepting the handshake. "Eddie?" he said.

"Yeah." The man frowned for a minute, then grinned quickly. "I take it you've met my brother."

"The cop?" Finn said. "You're twins?"

"Identical," Eddie said.

"I believe it."

Eddie grinned. "I hear you want to see some of my books."

"Well, I've been told I should see a few of your books."

Eddie nodded. "The old ones are under gla.s.s. Hang on a minute. Hey, have a seat. There are chairs under the coats there."

Sara didn't mind dumping the coats on a stack of book boxes on the other side of the desk. She indicated to Finn that he should take a chair. Awkwardly, he did so. He'd followed Sara here; he still had a strange urge to keep his distance from her.

Eddie returned a minute later, having gone downstairs in the back, presumably to a bas.e.m.e.nt area. Finn didn't know a lot about books, but he knew that the volume Eddie was bringing was not an ancient text.

He glanced at Sara. "A firsthand account of an ancient Babylonian demon?" he mocked.

She shot him a warning glare.

"Actually, I have some very ancient pieces," Eddie said, taking a seat now on the edge of the desk, facing Finn and Sara. "But they wouldn't do you any good-unless you can read ancient and archaic languages. h.e.l.l, even English is hard in some of the old stuff."