Witch World (41 page)

“And you just met me,” he said.

He was being tactful. He was saying that he understood why I didn’t fully trust him. I played along. “You look so different. It has been like meeting someone new.”

Alfred surprised me by offering his hand. “Take care of yourself, Jessica. Remember who you are.”

Alfred left and I practiced some more on my own. Another hour of focused work and I felt comfortable in my new skin, which was another way of saying I could change my appearance at will.

I even began to get the hang of directing my disguise in a specific direction. The hotel maids appeared and I tried out my new abilities on them. I was able to duplicate the trick Al had used on Alex, Jimmy, and me. To one maid I appeared to be a short redhead, to the other a lanky blonde. More impressive, I didn’t have to ask how they saw me. I just knew.

It was a question of belief versus conviction. Before I had my breakthrough with Alfred, I had been trying to convince myself I looked like someone else. Then, as the power inherent in my genes pushed to the surface, I accepted I was different
and those around me were forced to feel the same way. Deep inside I still knew it was all a lie, but on the surface of my mind I was sure I had changed.

I rented still another car, a Honda Accord, and left the city without a tail. Why should a Lapra tail me? I no longer looked like Jessica Ralle. Outside of town, I turned toward the hill that had attracted Whip’s attention, the one with the rock crown. Yet I felt it was too early to try to locate Lara. There was an excellent chance Susan—Syn—would be with her, and if there was one Lapra who could penetrate my disguise, it would be her.

Besides, Susan had already set a meeting with me for tonight, and I wasn’t ready to discard Cleo’s plan by rejecting Susan’s offer out of hand. Nevertheless, I was hoping to come up with a better plan, or praying that Kendor would. He knew Susan better than anyone and had kept stressing the need to attack.

It was partially Kendor’s attitude that drove me now.

I wasn’t looking for Lara’s house but for Huck’s.

It didn’t matter that there was no Huck in this world.

There was a Kari. No, in witch world her name was Karla. It was odd how the name didn’t come to me spontaneously. But then I realized it was because I didn’t really know her in witch world. Kari was still Kari to me.

Kari’s description of the views from Huck’s house—in the real world—matched Susan’s description of the place where
the Lapras planned to put Lara and me. Again, it made sense these places would be close to each other because it would allow the Lapras to focus their security. Also, Kari had given me another clue to Huck’s whereabouts when she had spoken of the beautiful sound of the chimes that hung from his back porch.

Since becoming connected, all my senses had sharpened. I was confident if I could get near the house, I’d be able to hear the chimes.

The small town of Henderson in witch world looked little different from its counterpart. I quickly found the area Whip had pointed out to Jimmy and me, the bluffs overlooking the desert. But I ran into a problem. It didn’t matter that each house on the edge of town had ten or more acres to itself, which meant the area was spread over a vast stretch of land. . . .

The community was gated.

As far as I could see—and I had binoculars with me—the place was roped in with a fence topped with barbed wire. To get inside, I’d have to get past a guardhouse and two guards.

Two facts inspired me to take a chance. First, the sound of chimes was definitely wafting from a house located at the end of the street where the guardhouse stood. Second, my power had improved even during the short hop from Las Vegas. Now the person who stared back at me from my rearview mirror changed at my command.

True, I didn’t know many Lapras I could imitate, but who better to get past their security than Dr. Susan Wheeler herself? Even if the guards had seen their boss enter earlier, they weren’t going to stop and argue with the woman. I got the impression that questioning the head of the Order was not a prescription for a long life.

I put on Susan’s face and body and locked it in place.

It wasn’t the sort of face I was likely to forget.

I drove up to the guard tower. The two men were dressed in brown uniforms and carried .45 revolvers. They recognized who I was because they suddenly stood up so straight I thought they’d pop a vertebra. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they saluted.

The older guard bent near my rolled-down window.

“How are you today, ma’am?” he asked.

“Fine,” I said.

“We’d heard you were remaining in town today.”

“You heard wrong. Let me through.”

“Of course.” The guard jumped back and signaled to his buddy to raise the blocking bar. It was controlled from inside the shack. A moment later I was driving toward what I hoped was Kari’s house. It occurred to me that if I had the wrong place, I could go back to the guards and ask for directions. They had seemed eager to please.

I parked in Kari’s driveway and got out of the cool car into the scorching heat. Hard to believe but Henderson was worse
than Las Vegas and Apple Valley. Nevertheless, I let the sun beat down on my brow. Inside I could hear my heart pounding. My course of action was unclear. Or was I suffering from a lack of resolve? As the rays of the sun pierced my skin and sweat seeped through my pores, I allowed my face to return to that of Jessica Ralle.

I walked up to the door and rang the bell.

Kari answered. Dressed in shorts and a bikini top, she did not look happy to see me. “Jessica. This is a surprise,” she said.

“I thought I’d check out the neighborhood I’m being asked to join.”

Kari tried to look past me. “Did someone bring you here?”

“I didn’t show up by magic. May I come in?”

Kari hesitated. “Sure.” She opened the door wider. “I wish you’d called ahead of time. The place is sort of a mess.”

Kari was a slob in both worlds. Clothes and plates littered the living-room floor and table.

“I apologize. I wasn’t given much warning myself. Hey, do you have something to drink? A Coke?”

“I’ve got cola. That’s what they drink here.”

“Great. As long as it’s cold, I can drink it out of the bottle.”

Kari got us drinks and we sat in a small kitchen nook that overlooked a deliciously blue swimming pool. It was chilly inside with the air conditioner blasting away. I liked it. I gestured with my bottle.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” I said.

“Thanks.” Kari studied me, she was no fool. “What brought about the change of heart?” she asked.

“You mean, why am I considering the Lapras’ offer?”

“Yeah. That didn’t seem like a possibility the other day.”

I sipped my drink. “A lot can happen in a short time.”

“What happened to you?”

“Don’t they keep you in the loop around here?”

“They tell me what I want to know,” she said.

“Really? I heard they tell you what they think you should know.”

Kari acted bored. “If you just came here to insult me . . .”

“I came here to kill you,” I interrupted.

Kari froze for an instant. Then she tried to act casual and set her bottle back on the table. But her hand was shaking so badly she missed and the bottle fell to the floor. The kitchen-nook tiles were made of stone. The bottle shattered and cola fizzled. Kari tried to act cool, but we both knew it was way too late for that. She snorted.

“You’re so full of shit, Jessica,” she said.

“In a practical sense, you wouldn’t be able to stop me. I can tell by the way you move and carry yourself that you didn’t inherit the strength-and-speed gene. That means you can’t defend yourself and I can get to you before you can dial nine-one-one on your cell. Or is it six-six-six here in witch world?” I paused. “I’m not full of shit, Kari.”

Her fear was growing. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“How did you mean it?”

“I’ve known you for four years. You’re not a killer.”

“For your sake, I wish that were true. But I killed a guy last night, a friend, and I’m probably going to kill a few more before this day’s over.” I stopped. “But if you help me, maybe you’ll survive.”

Kari gestured out the window. “This entire area belongs to the Lapras. I’ve made a deal with them. Which means I’m under their protection. If you so much as lay a hand on me, it’s you who will die.”

I shrugged. “That sounds all good and fine. But you made a mistake when you let the wolf in your door. Me. Because I’m like any other kind of predator whose child is threatened. I don’t care about man-made rules and regulations. I just care about destroying the threat.”

“I don’t want to hurt Lara. When it comes to our kids, Jessica, we’re on the same side. I tried to tell you that at the Mirage. I’ll do anything to protect Huck. So will James.”

“You mean Jimmy. James doesn’t know Huck. He only knows Lara.”

Kari acted offended. “I know all that. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. I really can help you.”

“Tell me where they keep Lara.”

Kari hesitated. “I don’t know.”

I sighed. “You’re lying. A pity.”

“Hold on a sec,” Kari said as she went to stand. In a move
too fast for her to follow, I reached out, grabbed her and shoved her back into her seat. The blinding attack drained all the color from her face.

“Tell me where they keep Lara,” I repeated calmly.

Kari swallowed. “In a house near the base of that hill.” She pointed out the window at the house—it was more of a mansion—with the roughly hewed stone crown hovering above it. She added, “I saw them take her inside there yesterday.”

“Was Susan with them?”

“I think so. Frank was with her.”

“Who was holding Lara?”

“Another woman. I don’t know who.”

“Tell me what kind of security that house has.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been inside. But I’ve seen guards walking the grounds. There are Lapra guards all over this place.”

Kari was still trying to warn me how dangerous it would be to kill her. “How often is Susan at the house?” I asked.

“I hear she’s usually gone.”

“Are there guards in the hills?” I asked.

“Someone told me they keep snipers up there. In case of an attack.”

“Do they anticipate one?”

“The Lapras I’ve spoken to know the Tar’s upset about something but they don’t know what it is.”

“The average Lapra doesn’t know about Lara?”

“No.”

“Interesting.” I sat, thinking. My silence unnerved Kari.

“I’ve answered all your questions,” she said.

I nodded. “You tried your best.”

“You should go now. Someone will spot you.”

“Listen and don’t interrupt. You’re a problem, and by that I don’t mean I’m worried Jimmy’s going to run off with you again. He would never have left me if you hadn’t gotten pregnant. He was trying to do the right thing. So don’t think I see you as a threat in the traditional sense.”

“Bullshit. You’ve always been jealous of me.”

I raised my hand. “Listen, I have given this a lot of thought. As Huck’s mother, you’re always going to be in Jimmy’s life. But because you’re a Lapra, I can’t allow that. It puts him in danger and it puts Lara and me in danger. For that matter, it’s no good for Huck. The boy can’t grow up surrounded by such evil. He’ll end up like them.” I paused. “You can see my concerns are logical.”

Kari tensed. I could hear her struggling to breathe. “We can work this out,” she said quietly.

“I don’t see how. And I’m sorry, really. I don’t like you but I don’t hate you either. If circumstances were different, I’d ignore you. But I can’t. You’re a loose end none of us can afford.”

“You told me if I helped you that you’d let me go.”

“I lied.”

“You’ve just been using me!”

“Yes,” I said.

Again, she went to stand. Again, she got nowhere.

Tears sprang in her eyes and she trembled. “You talk about how evil the Lapras are but look at you. Last week you would never have considered murdering someone. But now, just because you’ve got the power, you’re thinking about it. Don’t you see how you’ve changed?”

I nodded solemnly. “I can’t argue with you. Sometimes I look at myself in amazement. I ask myself, is it the influence of this world? It’s definitely got a cruder morality than our normal world. But then I look deeper and I see I’m just being pragmatic. You’re dangerous, Kari. As long as you’re alive, I’ll never be able to relax.”

Kari leaped up and pointed toward the door. “Get out of my house!” she cried.

I stood and approached her slowly. “If there were any other way to make you vanish, I’d take it. But there isn’t. If I leave you here alive, the second I walk out that door you’ll sound the alarm.”

“No! I swear I won’t tell anyone you were here!”

“You will, you’ll have to, and I can’t allow that.”

Kari shook her head. “No! Wait! You can’t do this!”

I didn’t want her to suffer anymore.

Reaching forward, I grabbed her by the base of her skull and went to break her neck. But at the last instant I realized
she was right. I wasn’t a killer. I couldn’t do it. To just snap her spine, to change her into a rag doll, it made me feel sick just thinking about it. I realized then how quickly my feeling of power had corrupted me.