This Present Darkness (75 page)

“Now you are free!” Madeline said gleefully.

BRUMMEL STARTED SPEAKING
for himself. “The authorities … the state attorney general … Justin Parker … the feds! They know everything!”

“What?” some of the psychics cried, jumping out of their seats. They started to ask questions, to panic.

Young tried to keep order, but he was failing.

RAFAR DROPPED HIS
hold on Langstrat so he could better handle this traitorous upstart.

LANGSTRAT SNAPPED OUT
of her trance and could feel the psychic energy in the room collapsing.

“Get back in your seats, everyone!” she shouted. “We have not accomplished our purpose here!” She closed her eyes and called out, “Rafar, please return! Bring order!”

BUT RAFAR WAS
busy. Lucius was smaller, but he was very quick and very determined. The two swords flashed about the room like fireworks, burning and clanging. Lucius flitted about Rafar’s head like a pesky hornet, jabbing, swinging, and slashing. The whole room was filled with Rafar’s swirling wings and his chugging breath, and his big sword traced fiery red sheets through the air.

“Traitor!” Rafar screamed. “I’ll cut you to pieces!”

LANGSTRAT MOVED TOWARD
Brummel with wild eyes. “Traitor! I’ll tear you apart!”

“No,” Brummel muttered with widened eyes, his hand going to his side. “Not this time … no more!”

Young shouted at them both, “Stop it! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

THE DEMONS IN
the room were dividing into camps.

“Prince Lucius speaks the truth!” said some. “Rafar has led us to our doom!”

“No, it is
Lucius
who is the enemy’s fool!”

“You are the fools, but we will save ourselves!”

More swords flashed into view.

Rafar knew he was losing control.

“Fools!” he roared. “This is a trick of the Enemy! He is trying to divide us!”

It only took that one brief moment when Rafar’s eyes were on his quarreling demons and not on Lucius’s sword.

IT ONLY TOOK
that one moment of terror to push Brummel over the edge. He pointed his police revolver at the wild-eyed Langstrat.

LUCIUS’S BLADE SANG
through the air and slipped just under Rafar’s parrying sword. The tip ripped deeply through Rafar’s hide and opened his flank with a deep, gushing wound.

LANGSTRAT MADE JUST
one wrong move and the bullet thudded into her chest.

IN THE CONFERENCE
room they all heard the shot. Marshall was out in the hall in an instant.

BERNICE LEAPED FROM
her spot on the front steps. It was Eldon Strachan with Norm Mattily himself, and Justin Parker, and that had to be Al Lemley—and those three guys in their nice three-piece suits had to be FBI! Oh, and there was Harvey Cole with a stack of papers under his arm.

She ran up to them, her black eyes wild with excitement. “Hello! You made it!”

Norm Mattily’s eyes got big. “What’s happened? Are you all right?”

Bernice had paid a lot for these bruises; she was going to use them. “No, no, I’ve been attacked! Please hurry inside! Something terrible is happening!”

The VIPs ran into the building with serious business in their eyes and guns in their hands.