Of course she is. She’s got more guts than any of us, but you’d have to be a damned robot not to be scared at a time like this.
‘That you?’ Jim’s voice in the stillness shot ice through Abilene’s body.
Finley’s back stiffened and she raised the shotgun to her shoulder.
Cora, twisting sideways, grabbed two of the railing uprights and peered down.
Vivian sat up fast, her pale shirt a moving blur.
Abilene drew in her feet. She grabbed the flashlight, then straightened her legs, sliding her back slowly up the wall as Jim said, ‘Over here. They got me tied.’ Shaking all over, heart slamming, she took a step forward. A floorboard creaked under her weight. Praying that Hank hadn’t heard it, she took another step.
Finley was already up against the railing.
Vivian, at the other side of Cora, was on her feet.
Abilene took one more step and felt the split log push against her waist. She gazed down into the blackness. She could see enough of Jim to realize he no longer sat on the floor. He was standing up. Probably looking toward Hank, but she couldn’t make out which way his head was turned - or whether it was turned at all.
Then a black shape slid across Jim, and Abilene could see nothing more of him. She aimed her dark flashlight down at the place where Jim had been standing only a moment ago.
Where he’s still standing, she thought.
Only someone’s in front of him.
Jesus, this is it. This is it!
With her empty hand, she squeezed the top rail to hold herself steady as terror sucked the strength from her legs.
‘Where’s them gals?’ Little more than a raspy, dry whisper. ‘I want ’em, Jimmy.’
From Abilene’s left came a solid metallic snick-clack. Finley thumbing back a hammer of the shotgun.
‘We’re right here, asshole!’ Finley yelled.
Abilene thrust the flashlight switch forward. Apparently, Vivian did the same, for suddenly two bright beams were slanting downward, lighting the intruder who stood in front of Jim.
He was skinny. He was naked. He was red. A savage in gory warpaint.
He looked as if he’d moments ago climbed out of a bathtub full of blood - or dumped a bucket of it over his head.
He carried a long white bone with joint knobs at each end.
His other arm hung limp, swaying at his side.
And Abilene knew this wasn’t Hank.
She knew in an instant, even before Batty spun around and squinted up into the light and the thunder of a gun blast clapped her ears.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The load caught Batty just below the neck. It bit out a big chunk. Blood exploded from the cavity. The red sacks of Batty’s breasts jumped shoulder-high. The bone flew into the darkness and his broken arm leaped, flopping, as the blow slammed Batty backward.
The old lunatic’s head pounded Jim in the belly. It bounced off the muscles there, which knocked it sideways.
Batty crashed to the floor and lay motionless, head between Jim’s feet.
Abilene gazed at the spread-eagled body, stunned. She thought vaguely that she ought to look away from it, but she couldn’t.
Blood was spraying out of the chest hole. It came raining down, and if not for the ringing in her ears, she knew she would’ve been able to hear its soft patter on Batty’s skin.
One breast rested neatly on his ribcage, but the other draped an armpit. She glimpsed his rigid penis, and that was enough to make her look away.
Finley still had the weapon up as if she were contemplating a second shot.
Abilene shone the light in her face. ‘That’s Batty.'
Finley nodded, squinting.
‘What’d you shoot for?’
‘God, Fin,’ Cora said.
‘I thought it was Hank, okay?’
‘Are you blind?’
‘Gimme a break. That was supposed to be Hank down there, and I fired. Anyway, what the fuck was Batty doing here? Looking for us, that’s…’
A belchy coughing sound stopped her words. She leaned forward to see past Abilene. They both looked. Vivian was bent over the rail, heaving. Abilene saw the vomit gushing from her mouth, heard it splatting the floor far below. She gagged, herself, and looked away. But she could still hear it. Then all she heard from Vivian were gaspy sobs and sniffles.
‘Ya okay?’ It was Jim.
‘Yeah.’ She sniffed. ‘Guess so.’
‘Why didn’t you tell us it was Batty?’ Cora called down.
‘Didn’t know. It was awful mighty dark, just couldn’t see who it was. Thought it was Hank, though. Till he talked.’
Abilene pointed her light down. Batty was still sprawled at Jim’s feet, but blood no longer flew from the wound. Jim was looking up, frowning. His belly was smeared with blood where Batty’s head had bumped him.
‘It’s just as well ya got him,’ Jim said. ‘He weren’t up to no good.’
‘He didn’t even have a weapon,’ Abilene muttered.
‘Batty don’t need ’em. Had his magic bone. I seen how he works. He only just gets naked when he’s fixin’ to work his meanest spells. He meant to kill ya all. That’s how come he had the blood on him. That’s his bat blood, ’n he don’t use it less he’s aimin’ to do a murder hex.’
‘See?’ Finley said. ‘I saved us from a whammy.’
‘Yeah,’ Cora said. ‘And we still have Hank coming after us, and a deaf man could’ve heard that gunshot a mile away. If he’s already here, he knows right where to find us.’
Abilene and Vivian both started probing the darkness with their flashlights. They checked the length of the balcony, the staircase, the foyer. The support posts cast shifting shadows against the wall and floor, and the windows that weren’t broken gleamed bright reflections as the lights swept back and forth.
‘Shine it over here,’ Finley said.
Abilene turned the flashlight toward her and watched Finley break open the shotgun, pluck out the spent shell, replace it with one from her pocket, and snap the breech shut.
‘Okay,’ Cora said. ‘Now, kill the lights.’
Two switches snicked. Darkness clamped down.
‘What’re we gonna do now?’ Abilene whispered.
‘Wait for Hank,’ Cora answered, her voice low.
‘Get him the way I got Batty,’ Finley said.
‘But he knows we’re here,’ Vivian protested.
‘Maybe,’ Cora said. ‘Maybe not.’
‘Ya oughta move Batty outa the way,’ came Jim’s voice from below. ‘Hank ain’t gonna come walkin’ right up to me, long as the body’s here.’
‘He won’t be able to see it,’ Cora said.
‘He’ll see it. He can see like a cat.’
‘Jim’s got a point,’ Finley said. ‘If Hank does spot the body, he’ll know something’s up. All we’ve gotta do is
