Roma nodded her head only slightly, her eyes unreadable. 'Yes,' she said. She turned and walked away.
'She is very angry,' Nydia said.
'Not nearly as angry as she'll be when she sees that cross around your neck.'
'Or the burn on your chest.'
'Probably be best if we don't swim after this.'
'That was to be my next suggestion.' She squeezed his hand as they walked down the hall to their rooms. 'Sam? I'm not afraid any longer.'
'I don't know whether that's good or bad. But neither am I.'
'Wonder why?'
'I don't know. And I'll tell you something else: I cannot think of you as my half sister.'
'Then don't.'
'How come,' Sam said, his grin identical to his father's mischievous grin, 'if I'm supposed to be so holy all of a sudden, my thoughts are so sexy?'
'I don't know about that.' Her hips brushed his, the touch charged with wanton longing. 'But mine aren't exactly pristine.'
'Are we both awful?' Sam's question was spoken in all seriousness.
'No.' The young woman's reply held the same weighty tone. 'I think we're just being honest.'
'What … do we do about it?'
They walked slowly through the great house.
'Give it some time,' she said. They were at her door. She lifted her eyes to his. 'I'll keep the door between our rooms unlocked.'
'It's to be my decision alone?'
She said, 'My mind is already made up.' She opened the door and stepped into her room. The door closed softly behind her.
Sam showered quickly and dried off, stepping into underwear shorts. He padded barefoot into his bedroom to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. The dark, thick mat of hair on his chest looked strange with the burned- on scar of the cross directly in the center. He wondered if the hair would ever grow back.
He gazed into his mirrored reflection. 'I have a mission.' He repeated his father's words, speaking in a whisper. 'And it may destroy me. I will be tempted, and fall to some of those temptations.'
He wondered if his father had been writing of Nydia or Roma, or both? Then he decided his father had been referring to Roma.
He stepped away from the mirror and carefully hid the containers of holy water. He opened the manila envelope and sat on the edge of the bed, studying the 8 x 10 of his father. He was still gazing at the 8 x 10 when the knock sounded on the hall door.
Slipping into a robe, Sam opened the door. Adam Benning stood in the hall, smiling at him.
'Sam.' Adam stuck out his hand. 'Bet you're surprised to see me?' It was spoken in a greasy manner.
The two young men did not get along well. Although the same age, Adam was a senior while Sam was a freshman. And Adam was a sly, sneaky type . . . the type Sam didn't like.
Sam shook the offered hand. It was clammy and soft. Sam resisted the urge to wipe his hand on his robe. 'Yes, I am. Black didn't tell us he had invited others.'
Adam grinned lewdly. 'Thought you'd have Nydia all to yourself, huh?'
Sam stared at him just long enough for Adam to begin to feel uncomfortable under the unblinking gaze. 'I think I'll lie down for a time, Adam. So if you'll excuse me … ?'
Adam flushed hotly, clenching his hands into fists at his side. 'Well, there's always one, I guess; always one person that has to screw up a good thing.'
'Meaning me, Adam?'
'You might learn a thing or two up here, Sam. It should be interesting.'
'Maybe more than you realize,' Sam replied.
Adam's smile was ugly. He stalked away without shutting the door. Sam turned at a slight noise behind, tensing, then relaxing as the connecting door to Nydia's room opened. She stepped into the room and Sam closed the hall door, locking it.
'I've got an idea, Sam,' she said, moving closer to him. He could smell the clean scent of bath soap, and the ends of her raven hair were slightly damp from the shower. A pulse beat strongly in her throat.
It was not a holy union, his father's words returned to him.
Sam could see she was wearing nothing under her robe, from the waist up. He could but guess about from the waist down.
If anything, it was blessed by the Dark One.
Sam pushed his father's words from his mind. 'I'll be glad to hear your ideas, Nydia.' His voice was husky. 'I sure don't have any.' Boy, what a lie!
'Your dad may not like this,' she warned, taking another step closer to him.
