Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 3

It was raining, of course. non a terrible storm, justa steady spitting patter that Maggie hardly noticed.It plastered her hair down but it also concea conduct thenoise of her steps.And the lowlying clouds blocked out MountRainier. In clear weather the mountain loomed over the city handle an avenging white angel.Imactually acquireing mostbody,Maggie model. She could hardly believe it, but she was veryly woful down her own home street like a spy,skirting cars and ducking behind rhododendron bushes.While all the metre keeping her eyes on the pure figure in front of her.That was what kept her going. She might havefelt silly and almost embarrassed to be doing thisbut not tonight. What had happened put her farbeyond embarrassment, and if she started to relax inside and feel the empty-headed pricklings of uncertainty,memory surged up again and swept everythingelse away.The memory of Sylvias sound. The buckle might not have been fastenedright.And the memory ofher mothers hand going limp as her body sagged.Ill follow you no matter where you go, Maggie thought. And thenShe didnt agnise what then. She was trusting to instinct, letting it guide her. It was stronger andsmarter than she was at the moment.Sylvias apartment was in the U district, the college area around the University of Washington. Itwas a longsighted walk, and by the time they reached it,the rain was coming down harder. Maggie was gladto get out of it and follow Sylvia into the under ground garage.This is a dangerous place, she thought as shewalked into the repeat darkness. But it was simply a note made by her mind, with no emotionattached. At the moment she felt as if she couldpunch a mugger hard enough to brag himagainst the wall.She kept a safe distance as Sylvia waited for the elevator, then headed for the stairs. Third floor. Maggie trotted up faster than the elevator could make it and arrived not even breathing hard. Thedoor of the stairwell was half open and she watched from behind it as Sylvia walked to anapartment door and raised a hand to knock.Before she could, the door opened. A male child wholooked a undersize older than Maggie was place it,letting a couple of laughing girls out. Music driftedto Maggie, and the smell of incense.Theyre having a party in there.That shouldnt be so shocking-it was Saturdaynight. Sylvia lived with three directionmates they were undoubtedly the ones having the party. But as the girls walked knightly Sylvia they smiled and noddedand Sylvia smiled and nodded back before walkingcalmly through the door.Hardly the sort of thing you do when your boyfriends just been killed, Maggie thought fiercely.And it doesnt exactly fit the tragic heroine act,either. because she noticed something. When the boy holding the door let go, it had swung almost shut but not quite.Can I do it? Maybe. If I look confident. Id haveto walk right in as if I belonged, not hesitate.And hope she doesnt notice. Then get behindher. See if shetalksto anybody, what she saysThe laughing girls had caught the elevator. Maggie walked straight up to the door and, withoutpausing, she pushed it open and went inside.Look confident, she thought, and she kept ongoing, instinctively moving toward a side wall. Herentry didnt seem to have caused a stir, and it waseasier than shed thought to walk in among these strangers. The apartment was very dark, for onething. And the music was medium loud, and everybody seemed to be talking.The altogether problem was that she couldnt see Sylvia. She put her back to the wall and waited forher eyes to adjust.Not over there-not by the stereo. Probably inone of the bedrooms in back,changing.It was as she moved toward the little hallwaythat led to the bedrooms that Maggie really noticedthe strangeness. Something about this apartment,about this party was shoot. Weird. It gave her thesame feeling that Sylvia did.Danger.This place is dangerous.Everybody there was so good-looking or elseugly in a really fashionable way, as if theyd juststepped off MTV. But there was an air about themthat reminded Maggie of the sharks at the SeattleAquarium. A coldness that couldnt be seen, onlysensed.There is something so wrong here. Are they alldrug dealers or something?Satanists?Some kindof junior-grade mafia? They just feel so evil.Maggie herself felt like a cat with all its fur standing on end.When she heard a girls phonate coming from thefirst bedroom, she froze, hoping it was Sylvia.Really, the most secret place youve ever imagined. It wasnt Sylvia. Maggie could just see thespeaker through the crack in the door. She waspale and beautiful, with one long black braid, andshe was angle of inclination forward and lightly touching theback of a boys hand.So exotic, so mysterious-its a place from thepast, you see. Its ancient, and everybodys forgotten about it, but its still there. Of course, its terribly dangerous-but not forus.Not relevant, Maggies mind decided, and shestopped listening. Somebodys weird vacationpla ns nothing to do with Sylvia or Miles.She kept on edging down the hall. The door atthe end was shut.Sylvias bedroom.Well, she has to be in there she isnt anywhereelse.With a surreptitious glance behind her, Maggie crept closer to the door. She leaned toward it untilher cheek touched the cool white paint on the wood, all the while straining her eyes toward theliving room in case somebody should turn her way. She held her breath and tried to look casual, buther heart was beating so loudly that she could only hear it and the music.Certainly there was nobody talking behind thedoor. Maggies hopes of eavesdropping faded.All right, then, Ill go in. And theres no point intrying to be stealthy shes going to notice.So Ill just do it.It helpedthat she was so identify up. She didnt even need to brace herself her body was at maximum tension already. Despite her sense that therewas something menacing about this whole place, she wasnt frightened, or at least not in a way that felt like fear. It fe lt like rage instead, like being desperately ready for battle. She wanted to snapshot some thing and shake it to pieces.She took hold of the knob and pushed the dooropen.A new smell of incense hit her as the air rushedout. It was stronger than the living room smell,more indecent and musky, with an overlying sweetness that Maggie didnt like. The bedroom was even darker than the hall, but Maggie stepped inside.There was tension on the door somehow as soon as she let go of it, it speak shut behind her.Sylvia was standing beside the desk.She was alone, and she was still wearing theGore-Tex climbing outfit shed had on at Maggieshouse. Her shimmering fine hair was starting todry and lifting up like little angel feathers awayfrom her forehead.She was doing something with a brass incenseburner, adding pinches of powder and what looked like herbs to it. That was where thesickeninglysweet smell was coming from.Maggie had plannedas far as shed plannedanything at all to,rush right up and ge t in Sylviasface. To startle her into some kind of confession. She was going to say, I need to talk to you. Butbefore she could get the first word out, Sylvia spokewithout looking up.What a shame. You really -should have stayedhome with your .parents, you know. Her voice wascool and languorous, not hasty and certainly notregretful.Maggie stopped in her tracks.Now, whats thatsupposed to mean? Is it athreat? Fine. Whatever. I can threaten, too.But she was taken by surprise, and she had toswallow hard before speaking roughly. I dontknow what youre talking about, but at least youvedropped the weepy-weepy act. You were really badat it.I thought I was very good, Sylvia said andadded a pinch of something to the incense burner.Im sure the officers thought so, too.Once again, Maggie was startled. This wasntgoing at all as she expected. Sylvia was so calm, somuch at ease. So much in control of the situation.Not anymore, Maggie thought.She just admittedit was an act. All that chokey close up while she was talking about MilesFury uncoiled in Maggies stomach like a snake.She took three fast steps forward. You knowwhy Im here. I want to know what really happenedto my brother.I told youYou told a bunch of lies I dont know what the truth is. The only thing I do know is that Miles would never make a stupid mistake like not buckling his harness. Look, if you did somethingdumb-if hes lying out there hurt or something,and you were too scared to admit ityoud better verbalize me right now. It was the first time shed putinto words a reason for Sylvia to be lying.Sylvia looked up.Maggie was startled. In the light of the singlecandle by the incense burner, Sylvias eyes werenot violet but a more reddish color, like amethyst. They were large and clear and the light seemed to play in them, quivering.Is that what you think happened?Sylviaasked softly.I said, I dont knowwhat happened Maggie feltdizzy suddenly, and fought it, glaring into Sylvias strange eyes. Maybe you had a fight or some thing.Maybe youve got some other boyfriend. Maybe you werent even out climbing on Halloween in the first place. All I know is that you lied and that theres no body to find. And I want to know the truthSylvia looked back steadily, the candlelight dancing in her purple eyes. You know what yourbrother told me aboutyou? she asked musingly.Two things. The first was that you never gave up.He said, Maggies no move up scientist, but once shegets hold of something shes just like a little bull terrier. And the second was that you were a complete sucker for anybody in trouble. A real bleeding heart.She added a few fingernail-sized chips of smoothbark to the mixture that was smoking in the incense burner.Which is too bad, she went on thoughtfully.Strong-willed and compassionate thats a real recipe for disaster.Maggie had had it.What happened to Miles? What did you dotohim?Sylvia laughed, a little secret laugh. Im afraidyou couldnt guess if you spent the rest of yourshort life trying. She shook her head. It was toobad, actually. I liked him. We could have beengood together.Maggie wanted to know one thing. Is he of a sudden?I told you, youll never find out. Not even whenyou go where youre going.Maggie stared at her, trying to make sense ofthis. She couldnt. When she spoke it was in a levelvoice, staring into Sylvias eyes.I dont know what your problem is-maybeyoure crazy or something. But Imtellingyou rightnow, if youve done anything to my brother, I am going to killyou.Shed never said anything like this before, butnow it came out quite naturally, with trace andconviction. She was so angry that all she could seewas Sylvias face. Her stomach was knotted and sheactually felt a burning in her middle, as if therewere a glowing fire there.Now, she said, areyou going to tell me what happened to him?Sylvia sighed, spoke quietly.No.Before Maggie quite knew she was doing it, shehad reached out and grabbed the front of Sylvias green Gore-Tex jacket with both hands.Something sparked in Sylvias eyes. For a moment, she looked startled and interested and grudgingly respectful. Then she sighed again, smilingfaintly.And now youre going to kill me?Listen, youMaggie leaned in. She stopped.Listen to what?Maggie blinked. Her eyes were stinging suddenly.The smoke from the incense burner was rising directly into her face.YouI feel strange, Maggie thought.Very strange. Dizzy. It seemed to come over herall at once. There was a pattern of flashing gray spreading across her vision. Her stomach heavedand she felt a wave of queasiness.Having a problem? Sylvias voice seemed tocome from far away.The incense.It was rising right in her face. And nowWhat did you do to me? Maggie gasped. Shereeled backward, away from the smoke, but it wastoo late. Her knees were horribly rubbery. Herbody seemed to be far away somehow, and the sparkling pattern blind her completely.She felt the back of her legs come up against abed. Then they simply werent supporting her anymore she was slithering do wn, unable to catch herself with her useless arms. Her lips were numb.You know, for a moment there, I thought Imight be in trouble, Sylvias voice was sayingcalmly. But I was wrong. The truth is that yourejust an ordinary girl, after all. Weak and powerlessand ordinary. How could you even thinkabout going up against me? Against my people?Am I dying? Maggie wondered. Im losing myself.I cant see and I cant move.How could you come here and attack me? How could you thinkyouhad a chance at winning? Even Sylvias voice seemed to be getting more and more distant. Youre pathetic. But now youll find out what happens when you mess with real power.Youll learn.The voice was gone. There was only arushingnoise in anendless blackness.Miles, Maggie thought. Im dour.Then she stopped thinking at all.