moment longer to make sense of what she was seeing.
Perenelle s heart began to beat so strongly in her chest that she could
actually feel her flesh vibrating. Hanging upside down from the ceiling were
a dozen creatures. Talons that were a cross between human feet and birds
claws bit deep into the soft stone, while leathery bats wings wrapped around
skeletal human bodies. The upside-down heads were beautiful, with the faces
of young men and women not yet in their teens.
Perenelle mouthed the word silently. Vampires from the Indian subcontinent.
And unlike Scathach, this clan drank blood and ate flesh. But what were they
doing here, and more importantly, how had they gotten here? Vetala were
always linked to a region or tribe: Perenelle had never known one to leave
its homeland.
The Sorceress turned slowly to look at the other open doorways lining the
gloomy corridor. What else lay hidden in the cells beneath Alcatraz?
What was Dr. John Dee planning?
SUNDAY,
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
rolled him out of bed, leaving him swaying on his feet, trying to get his
bearings in complete darkness.
Sophie screamed again, the sound raw and terrifying.
Josh blundered across the bedroom, banging his knees on a chair before he
discovered the door, visible only because of the thin strip of light beneath
it. His sister was in the room directly across the corridor.
Earlier, Saint-Germain had escorted them upstairs and given them their choice
of rooms on the top floor of the town house. Sophie had immediately picked
the one overlooking the Champs-Elys es from the bedroom window, she could
actually see the Arc de Triomphe over the rooftops while Josh had taken the
room across the hall, which looked over the dried-up rear garden. The rooms
were small, with low ceilings and uneven, slightly sloping walls, but each
had its own bathroom with a minuscule shower cubicle that had only two
settings scalding and freezing. When Sophie had run the water in her room,
Josh s shower stopped working altogether. And although he d promised his
sister that he would come talk to her after he d showered and changed, he d
sat on the edge of his bed and almost immediately fallen into an exhausted
sleep.
Sophie screamed for a third time, a shuddering sob that brought tears to his
eyes.
Josh jerked open his door and ran across the narrow corridor. He pushed open
the door to his sister s room and stopped.
Joan of Arc was sitting on the edge of his sister s bed, holding Sophie s
hand in both of hers. There were no lights in the room, but it was not in
total darkness. Joan s hand was glowing with cool silvery light and it looked
like she was wearing a soft gray glove. As he watched, his sister s hand took
on the same texture and color. The air smelled of vanilla and lavender.
Joan turned to look at Josh, and he was startled to discover that her eyes
were glowing silver coins. He took a step toward the bed, but she raised a
finger to her lips and shook her head slightly, warning him not to say
anything. The glow faded from her eyes. Your sister is dreaming, Joan said,
though he wasn't sure whether she had spoken aloud or if he was hearing her
voice in his head. The nightmare is already passing. It will not return,
she said, making the sentence into a promise.
Wood creaked behind Josh and he whirled to see the Comte de Saint-Germain
coming down a narrow staircase at the end of the hall. Francis gestured to
Josh from the bottom of the stairs, and although his lips didn't move, the
boy clearly heard his voice: My wife will take care of your sister. Come
away.
Josh shook his head. I should stay. He didn't want to leave Sophie alone
with the strange woman, but he also knew instinctively that Joan would never
harm his sister.
There is nothing you can do for her, Saint-Germain said aloud. Get dressed
and come up to the attic. I have my office there. He turned away and
disappeared back up the stairs.
Josh took a last look at Sophie. She was resting quietly, her breathing had
slowed and he noticed that the dark rings had disappeared from beneath her
eyes.
Go now, Joan said. There are some things I have to say to your sister.
Private things.
She s asleep , Josh began.
But I will still say them, the woman murmured. And she will still hear
me.
In his room, Josh dressed quickly. A bundle of clothes had been laid on a
chair beneath the window: underwear, jeans, T-shirts and socks. He guessed
the clothes belonged to Saint-Germain: they were about the count s size. Josh
dressed quickly in a pair of black designer jeans and a black silk T-shirt
before slipping into his own shoes and taking a quick look in the mirror. He
was unable to resist a smile; he d never imagined himself wearing such
expensive clothes. In the bathroom, he cracked open a new toothbrush from its
packaging, brushed his teeth, splashed cold water on his face and ran his
fingers through his overlong blond hair, pulling it back off his forehead.
Strapping on his watch, he was shocked to discover that it was a little after
midnight on Sunday morning. He d slept the entire day and most of the night.
When he left the bedroom, he stopped at the door to his sister s room and
looked inside. The smell of lavender was so strong it made his eyes water.
Sophie lay unmoving on the bed, her breathing regular and even. Joan remained
beside her, holding her hand, murmuring softly, but not in any language he
could understand. The woman turned her head slowly to look at him, and he
discovered that her eyes were once again flat silver discs, without any hint
of white or pupil. She turned back to Sophie.
Josh stared at them for a moment before turning away. When the Witch of Endor
