Before Erebus could fathom what had happened, he felt a hand touch his left shoulder and he turned, coming face to face with Scarlet again. ‘I could kill you in a heartbeat,’ she whispered. ‘I could make you wish you’d never been born.’
The lights flickered again and Scarlet was standing across the table once more. She gave a little laugh that drained the colour from Erebus’s face and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Then, from somewhere near the middle of her stomach, a pinpoint of red light grew. It shot out and encompassed the whole room. Erebus held up a hand to shield his eyes and felt the skin on his palm blister almost at once.
It took a few moments for the light and heat to subside, and when Erebus opened his eyes, Scarlet had vanished. He jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair, and gazed wildly around the café at the other patrons. None of them seemed to have noticed the mad scenes that had just unfolded. Then, before he could even blink, the café melted away around him and in its place was a rundown, empty warehouse with a single table and a flipped-over chair where he had sat only moments before.
He raced out of the building and onto the street, slipping on the wet footpath. The scenery had been transformed. The street was deserted, and where the affluent shops and lush park had been, there were only burnt-out factories with graffiti-splashed walls and boarded-up windows. The place was a dump.
Erebus placed his hand on his chest and heaved a sigh. ‘Oh, thank goodness,’ he said, looking across the street. ‘My car is still an Aston.’
The End
Wraith Page 36
