“Ow! Ed, I’m sore all over.” But he only kissed her harder, eagerly sucking the blood from her lips. Before she knew what was happening, he had her against the wall. She turned her head away from him, struggling in vain to slip away. “Ed! Please!”
He seized her chin roughly and turned her to face him. “Stop calling me that,” he growled.
Sarah screamed for help, her voice echoing in the tiny room, but she knew no one would be able to hear. She punched him, scratched at his face until her nails drew blood, but her resistance had no effect. Smiling and breathing heavily, he grabbed her right wrist and forced it upward until her arm was stretched up over her head.
* * *
Big John stopped at the end of the corridor and looked around him. Which way had Ed gone? Things were happening just as Arthur had said they would. Of course he should never have doubted Arthur—he would have to assign himself a penance later—but the practical side of him, the ex-cop, still had a hard time believing some of the impossible things he’d seen since his conversion. Surely Lord Orc would forgive him for that. He couldn’t help his past.
He chose the hallway to his left. There were several doors on either side of the corridor. John tried the first one he came to; it was locked. The second was a small utility room, no larger than a closet, with nowhere to hide. He moved on to the third door, marked WOMEN. He reached for the handle.
“Men’s room is down the hall,” a woman’s voice said behind him. John spun around to find a cute little red-haired woman standing there, hands on her hips. She was smiling at him, but not in a friendly way.
“I’m a little lost,” he replied, leaning up against the wall with feigned unsteadiness. Maybe she would think he was stoned and leave him alone. He didn’t feel like hurting anyone today, especially not a girl.
The girl didn’t go away, though. She continued to smile at him disarmingly. Her teeth were very white. “The show’s back that way,” she told him, motioning behind her. “You from around here? You don’t sound Canadian.”
John opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when he saw the expression on the woman’s face change suddenly, at the same moment that he heard a faint noise behind him. His cops’ instincts took over and he dropped and spun simultaneously, narrowly avoiding the swinging fist of the big black man who had been sneaking up on him. People were always surprised at how fast Big John could move when he wanted to. It was just that he didn’t want to move fast all that often.
The black man lost his balance, caught up in his own momentum. John grabbed him by the shirt and they scuffled momentarily, each one trying to get on top of the other. The red-haired woman watched silently with her hand over her mouth, still standing where she’d been all along. The black man got in one good, hard punch to John’s jaw, making his vision go blurry for a moment. John managed to get the upper hand, but a third person leapt onto his back and started punching his head. He planted a hand on the black man’s face to lever himself to his feet.
“Rayfield, get up!” cried the third one, a girl who was now clinging to John’s back like a monkey. She wasn’t very big, and John was able to stand up easily despite her weight and the blows she kept landing on his ears and the top of his head. She wasn’t punching him very hard. The black man, whom John presumed to be Rayfield, scrambled to his feet and prepared to rush John again, but hesitated when he realized he couldn’t hit John without risking hitting the girl on his back. John used the opportunity to back up into the wall, earning a satisfying grunt of discomfort from the girl.
“What do you want with Ed?” demanded the red-haired woman, glaring at John with her arms folded across her chest.
John, wincing slightly at the punches the girl was still raining down on his head, said, “Ed and I go way back. We’re good friends.”
“Oh?” said the redhead. “So that’s why you followed us for thousands of miles in your old brown car. And I guess you shave your hair because it’s such a pain to wash?”
“I saw you fighting him!” the girl on his back yelled. “You work for Arthur, and you want to—well, I don’t know what you want to do to him, but it’s no good, whatever it is!”
She landed an especially hard punch on his right ear, at the same moment that a woman’s scream sounded from inside the ladies’ room. “Ow!” said John. “Ma’am, I think somebody needs help in there. Let’s figure this all out later, all right?” He walked right past the black man, still carrying the girl on his back, shoved open the ladies’ room door, and stopped in the doorway when he saw the mess of broken glass and blood on the floor. “Jeezum Crow,” he whispered. The girl, a tiny blonde, dropped off his back and rushed around him into the room.
Ed was in there with that Doris girl. He stopped kissing her and turned when he realized they weren’t alone.
* * *
Ed watched helplessly from behind his own eyes while Nathaniel pressed Sarah up against the wall. He wanted to close his eyes—he didn’t want to watch this—but even his eyelids refused to obey him. Why don’t you go find Tom? he raged. He’s the one you’re after. What did she ever do to you?
There’s time for a quick one, Nathaniel thought. Only take a minute.
To Sarah he whispered, “Quiet. Quiet, quiet. I’ve got him in here and I can kill him if I want.”
Sarah stopped her screaming and stared in confusion for a moment. Then she caught his meaning, and her remaining strength seemed to leak out of her. She closed her eyes. He’s lying, Ed wanted to say. He won’t hurt me. Keep screaming, for God’s sake! But Sarah kept quiet as Ed’s fingers clumsily found the spot they were looking for. Tears leaked out of the edges of her eyelids, but she remained quiet.
Ed fought with renewed fury against the monster in his head. His struggles had no effect, but even so, he couldn’t sit in the back of his own mind while this happened.
Then the restroom door flew open with a crash. Ed’s head snapped around, Nathaniel’s vile curses filling his head, but Nathaniel fell silent when he saw who was at the door.
Big John Visconti stepped into the room, ducking his head to keep from hitting it on the doorframe. Joy was with him; she squeezed into the room and stood just inside the doorway, staring wide-eyed. “Let her go and step back,” John said.
Ed’s face contorted in fury, but he took a step backward just the same. “No! You have to let me get to Kajdas.” Nathaniel seemed to have forgotten the gun under his shirt, Ed thought, but his relief turned to alarm when he remembered Nathaniel could hear his thoughts. As though on cue, his hand began fumbling under his shirt for the gun.
“Don’t hurt him!” said Sarah, leaning unsteadily on the edge of the sink. “He’s not Ed, but―”
John nodded. “I know. The killer is controlling him. Run.” He lunged forward and seized Ed’s arm, knocking the gun to the floor. A quick kick sent the gun skidding under the stall, where it hit a toilet with an audible tink.
“What killer?” Sarah took a tentative step toward the door.
“Run!” cried John. “I’ll handle him.”
“No, you won’t,” said Rayfield’s deep voice as the tall man entered the room and stood next to Joy. Perla entered as well, and the three of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder like a defensive line.
“Rayfield,” Sarah whispered.
“Hello, Doris,” said Rayfield. To John he said, “You go on outta here. Ed told us all about you and Arthur and yo’ shenanigans. Go on, before I―”
“I want to know why you followed us all this way!” Perla interrupted. “What exactly do you want from him?”
“Forget all that, just beat him up!” cried Joy. “What are you waiting for, Rayfield? Beat the bejeezus out of him!”
“Now, will you people just hold on a minute?” said John, still gripping Ed’s arm despite Nathaniel’s struggles. “This man is possessed. Look at him!”
The others all looked at Ed. “He don’t look possessed,” Rayfield said uncertainly.
“It’s not Ed in there,”
Sarah whispered. Ed’s eyes met hers, and he felt a sneer come involuntarily to his face. Cringing, Sarah pushed Perla aside and ran out of the room.
“Somebody go keep an eye on her,” John told the others. “Kajdas is still out there, and probably others with him.” Perla hesitated a moment, then went after her.
“I can help Ed,” John went on, “but not if I have to fight you at the same time. I need you to leave us alone.”
Rayfield and Joy stood there, unmoving.
John sighed. “Fine, have it your way.” He turned to Ed. “Is Ed still in there?” Nathaniel tried to rip his arm free, but John’s grip was immovable. John pushed him slowly back against the wall and put his other hand on Ed’s neck. He didn’t squeeze—yet—but the threat was unmistakable. “Can you hear me, Ed?” he said softly. “Nathaniel’s in there deep, almost deep enough to kill both of you if I pull him out too fast. Bear with me, okay?”
“You’re one of his, then,” Nathaniel spat through Ed’s lips.
“Arthur?” John smiled. “Yeah, I’m with Arthur. He says hello.” Nathaniel tried to dart sideways, but John tightened his grip on Ed’s throat and held him there, pinned helplessly against the wall. Deep inside his own head, Ed felt a wave of panic as his air supply was cut off. Moving closer until his face was only inches away, John said, “Let me show you a little trick I learned from Arthur.”
Then, effortlessly, he entered Ed’s mind and began to pursue Nathaniel.
* * *
Blinded by tears, Sarah fled on slippery shoes to the noise and the crowd outside. People gave her odd looks as she passed, but she ignored them. She had to get away.
It was toward the main exit she pushed, though the masses of people forced her to pick her way back and forth instead of taking a direct path. The sky was now fully dark, but the stadium lights were almost painfully bright. She wanted nothing more than to get out, away from the people and the music and the smells of sweat and alcohol and grass.
One man she bumped into was older than the rest. It was strange to see a head of gray hair amid all the youth. “Why, hello there,” the man said cheerfully.
48
Points of Light
Sarah recoiled at the sight of him, tried to back away, but there was no room to move. Kajdas caught her easily with an arm around her waist and pressed something hard against her middle. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “Why did he have to get you involved in this?”
“Let go of me!” Sarah kicked him hard in the shin and tried to spin away from him, but Kajdas maintained his grip and pulled her closer. There were too many people around; she couldn’t hurt him without hurting a dozen others as well. Possibly even killing them.
“If you scream,” he murmured into her ear, “I’ll put a bullet in your belly. Please don’t make me do that. You seem like such a pleasant gal.”
Sarah looked around for some help, but not a single person had noticed her predicament. Everyone was focused intently on the stage, where the emcee was taking up the microphone to announce the next act. The sound of his voice was vaguely familiar. “I’d like you all to help us out with something,” he said. “John and Yoko are here―” Someone in the audience screamed. “Yeah!” said the emcee, playing to the crowd. “Right on! They’re here and they’re real excited to play for you. There’s just one thing I want you all to help me with, and then we’ll get them up here to play for you.”
Tom brought her attention back to him by jabbing the gun barrel deeper into her abdomen. “A lot of plans have gone into this,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re interfering with.”
“I think I do,” Sarah shot back lamely.
“Be quiet, please. Ed has an important job to do here, a very important job, and the last thing he needs is for you to distract him.”
Sarah frowned. Was Ed still working for Kajdas? After everything that had happened? No; Ed wasn’t all that bright, but he wouldn’t make that mistake twice. “You’re insane if you think he’s going to help you,” she snapped.
“Quiet, I said.”
She tried to think of something else to say—anything at all, if only to defy his order—but before anything came to mind, the whole stadium abruptly went dark.
Someone had turned off all the lights. For a moment Sarah saw nothing except absolute blackness, decorated with the afterimage of the spotlight that slowly faded from her vision. Then, up in the highest part of the bleachers, something caught her eye. A tiny yellow light blazed into existence. Then another. Soon the dark stadium was filled with the glow of hundreds of matches and cigarette lighters. Thousands. The sight was so beautiful that for an instant she nearly forgot about Tom Kajdas and his gun.
“Come with me, dear,” Kajdas said, taking her by the arm. He began to guide her through the crowd. As they walked, the flames started going out. Darkness gradually filled the stadium once more, and then the music started up again.
* * *
Rayfield helped Ed stagger out of the restroom. His legs were not fully under his control, but at least they were his own once again. Joy followed closely behind. There was no sign of John. After chasing Nathaniel out of his mind, he’d dropped Ed on the floor in a heap and walked out the door without another word. Nathaniel had fled, leaving him blessedly alone in his head once again.
Ed strained to bring up a memory of Arthur. So many of his memories had been lost forever. Many were probably still out there, waiting for him to find them again, but others were simply gone. He could recall a meeting with the man—the details of that meeting were foggy, but Ed remembered that Arthur had delved into his mind much as Big John had just done.
Outside, Sarah and Perla were nowhere in sight.
“We have to find Sarah,” Ed said, leaning close to Rayfield and Joy to be heard. He gently pushed Rayfield’s arm away and tried walking on his own. He didn’t tip over. “Kajdas is here. One of his men is dead, but there could be others. We’d better split up. If Kajdas gets his hands on Sarah...” He didn’t want to finish that thought. “Just look for her. You two stay together. I’ll meet you by the main gate in”—he looked for his watch, but his wrist was bare—“let’s say about half an hour.” Rayfield patted his shoulder and, taking Joy by the hand, started picking his way carefully through the throng.
Fowley had taken the stage again and was preparing the audience for the penultimate act of the night. The Doors were last on the bill. If there was another assassin out there—and Ed knew there had to be; Kajdas would be sure to have a second plan—he would be preparing to make his move. “There’s just one thing I want you all to help me with,” Fowley said, “and then we’ll get them up here to play for you. When I say the words ‘Plastic Ono Band,’ I want everybody to light a match. All right? Get your matches ready.”
A head of silver hair stood out in the stadium lights, some twenty yards ahead of where Ed was standing. He couldn’t make out a face, but how many gray-haired men would be at a show like this? Ed pushed past the people furiously, earning a number of angry looks and unpleasant names. As he drew closer he saw that it was indeed Kajdas, and he was holding someone close—a petite figure with long, dark hair. He was sweeping his eyes across the crowd. Looking for Ed, no doubt.
Ed pushed his way closer. As he inched nearer to Kajdas, he kept losing sight of him in the crowd and had to stand on tiptoe to see. For the thousandth time in his life, Ed wished he had a few extra inches of height.
Soon he had reached the spot where Tom had been, but there was no sign of him now. Craning his neck, he thought he saw a glint of gray hair off to his left. Then the lights went out.
* * *
The fans erupted into cheers as the lights came back on. Kajdas ushered Sarah to the exit, keeping the gun concealed by a jacket that he kept draped over his right arm. Every eye was riveted on the stage; no one took any notice of Kajdas and his hostage. He kept looking over his shoulder, and he didn’t seem to like what he saw. Sarah went where he indicated, biding her time until she could
make her move. She wanted to be well away from the people when she did.
They walked a short distance down the street to where a man was waiting for them at the corner. Driscoll. An expression of shock crossed the young agent’s face when he looked at her, a look which he quickly hid behind his emotionless mask. Kajdas appeared not to notice. “Take her to a safe place,” he said. “Out of sight.” To Sarah he said, “No one’s going to hurt you, young lady, although you’ve done more than your share of damage. This is for your own safety.”
Sarah fought to bring focus to her mind. She dreaded the pain and feared what it was doing to her own brain every time she used her strange power, but she could see no other way. If she timed it perfectly, she thought she might be able to disable both of her captors at once. Maybe even kill them. She closed her eyes and started to summon the power, but hesitated when she heard someone approaching on foot.
* * *
As he came out of the stadium, Ed saw Tom handing Sarah off to another agent. Her eyes were shut tight in fear, and she stumbled when the agent seized her by the arm and began leading her across the street.
Tom turned to face him. “Ed!” he called, frowning like a stern grandfather. “Come here and talk to me.” Ed ignored him and ran right past, intent on Sarah, but Kajdas called him up short. “Go on, keep going after her and see what happens.”
Ed stopped in the middle of the street. A driver slammed on his brakes, narrowly missing him, and honked his horn angrily. Ed gave him the finger and stalked back to the sidewalk. The younger agent was already halfway down the next block by now, pulling Sarah roughly by the arm. Heedless of what any bystanders might think, he held his gun in plain view, pointed directly at the back of her head. The metal shone dully under the streetlights.
Forest of the Mind (The Book of Terwilliger 1) Page 46
