Perry grabbed the chain tightly into her fist. 'Got it,' she said, laughing a little nervously.
Molly arched her back and groaned. 'Thank God I was never meant to be an ox, even if I look like one.' She leaned her back against the attic wall to catch her breath.
Perry glanced at the necklace just as Molly's scream rattled the air. She looked up in time to see Molly's huge body fall backward, disappearing as a panel in the wall gave way. Papers and dusty wicker baskets flew everywhere, cluttering the air and burying Molly completely in useless rubble.
A voice shouted from the heap, 'Perry! Perry!'
Perry hurried to Molly's aid, grabbing her fluttering hand and pulling her back to her feet. 'Are you all right?' she asked as she dusted off her friend.
'What happened?' Molly asked. Both women turned to examine the fallen wall. It was obvious that this was not a wall at all but only a panel placed to close off a corner of the attic. Long ago someone had sealed off this small attic space and purposefully designed the panels to conceal the existence of the room within.
'Get the candle,' Molly whispered to Perry, as if someone might overhear. 'Somebody's trying to hide somethin' up here and I aim to find out what it be.'
Lifting the candle, Perry moved toward Molly. A flicker of fear flashed in her mind. It might be better to wait until morning, but curiosity, mixed with the adrenaline in her veins, pushed her forward.
Both women stepped together through the opening left by the crumbled panel. A dusty, foul odor surrounded them as they brought their light into the small chamber. Perry held her candle high and the yellow light spread in beams around the room. A modest table and chair stood before them. The spiderwebs were thick, forming a fine, lacy netting over the table. The chair was turned toward the table, away from the women. It seemed occupied with a bundle of dust-covered clothes.
Molly stepped forward first, for a closer examination. Perry glanced around the room, wondering how anyone could leave such clutter behind. Trash lay covering the floor like a thick carpet. Many of the papers looked as if they had been torn from a book years ago.
Perry's gaze fell on Molly in time to watch her face blanch. Her fingertips buried themselves in the candle wax as Molly shattered the ancient air with her scream. Terror seemed to ricochet off the aging walls, disturbing years of quiet neglect.
For several seconds both women stood like statues frozen in time. Slowly Molly's blood returned in abundance to her stout cheeks and her breath came in short puffs, sounding like a small, overworked engine. 'Come no closer, child.' Molly's order came too late, for Perry moved the few steps to join her.
Perry braced herself for a shock but was unprepared for what she saw. The dark bundle in the chair was not a pile of old clothes at all but the decaying body of a man. The rotting flesh, once wrapped in layers of blankets, now looked with a dead stare up into eternal darkness. Perry found that she couldn't pull her eyes from the face that had once held human life. The skeleton now sat patched together with remaining bits of tissue and muscle. A spider glided along an invisible tightrope from the hair of the corpse to the tabletop.
Feeling a mysterious weight pushing up out of her lungs, Perry stifled her screams. She couldn't get blood and oxygen to her brain, and her mind began to spin. She fought fainting with every ounce of energy she could muster, but her eyes couldn't pull themselves from the ghastly guest before her. After all these years of fear and fighting, Perry now found herself looking at death's face. Here, only a foot away, sat an enemy she had fought all of her life. Here was the face of the shadowy, hideous figure who haunted her dreams and laughed each time someone around her died.
As she stared, a worm crawled out of one eye socket and slithered into the other, curdling her blood with horror.
The candle slid from Perry's grasp. As Molly shouted, the candle splashed into the trash on the floor, splattering fire around both women. Molly scanned the attic for something, anything to slap the fire out as Perry remained hypnotized by the form before her. She didn't notice the fire dancing around her feet but remained motionless until her knees buckled and she fell into total blackness. Neither woman heard three men clambering into the attic.
In seconds Hunter was through the panel opening and beside Perry. With lightning quickness he removed his rain-soaked cape and wrapped it around her. He lifted her into his arms as Abram and Luke began pounding the flames with their wet coats.
Hunter showed little interest in the room. His main concern lay cradled in his arms. 'Get out of here, Molly. I've got Perry. They can get the fire out faster if we get out of the way!' he shouted above the noise. He held Perry tightly to him as he waited for Molly to pass through the opening. Flames lashed out at his muddy boots. Molly moved faster than he thought her capable.
He followed the old woman down the stairs and along the hall to Perry's room. Kicking the door wide with his foot, he issued commands to Molly, who was already throwing the bed covers back. 'Get some brandy and something for her feet.''
Molly nodded. 'There's some downstairs. I'll be right back.'
Hunter placed Perry on the white sheets. Her glorious hair spilled over the lacy pillows. For a minute he stared at her loveliness while she lay as if in sleep. In all his life he'd never seen such a wonder of beauty, nor felt such fear when he realized how close he'd come to losing her. Every nerve in his body had felt as if it were exploding when he'd topped the attic stairs minutes ago. From the hall he'd heard Molly's scream and the noise of the panel falling. He had reached the top of the stairs at the same time Perry dropped the candle. His heart nearly stopped as he watched the fire spring up around her, a moment before she crumbled into the flames. Had he been any later, she could have been badly burned or even killed. He tenderly brushed a few strands of hair from her face,, unable to hide his smile at the relief-no, pleasure-that this was a real face and not just a figment of his imagination.
Molly appeared beside him. She shoved a half-filled glass of brandy into his hand and turned her attention to Perry's feet. Though her gown hem was blackened in several spots, her legs did not seemed badly burned. 'Hold her head up when you give her a little brandy. She's had quite a shock, but it will bring her around,' Molly ordered as she covered Perry's legs with a blanket.
Hunter sat on the edge of the bed, very gently lifting her head. As the warm brandy passed over her lips Perry's eyes opened slightly.
'Molly!' she whispered in fright. 'Molly, are you all right?'
'I'm fine, dear. How is the little lady?'
Perry's hand rested on Hunter's chest. In spite of his treatment of her, she felt safe from her nightmares in his arms.
'All you need is some sleep and you'll be good as new in the morning,' Molly said as she moved away. She could hear Abram and Luke in the hallway. 'I'll go check on the others.'
Perry watched Molly disappear into the hallway before closing her eyes. She heard her friend directing Luke and Abram to the kitchen. The brandy had burned its way down her throat, relaxing her from inside. She pushed the horrible vision of the body she'd seen from her mind and relaxed in sleep.
Hunter held her for several minutes, feeling her relax in his arms. He gently laid her back among the pillows and drew the blanket up to her chin. As he moved her arm to put it under the covers, something fell to the floor. Bending, he retrieved his medallion. He smiled to himself as he lifted her hand to his lips. Turning her palm up, he saw the small scar running across her hand and remembered when she'd slashed it to save them. He kissed the scar tenderly, as if to take away the pain. The beautiful woman before him and his angel were one. Placing the gold disc in her hand, he closed her fingers around it. 'How could I have been so blind?' he asked himself. 'Why could I not see beneath the dirt and old clothes? How could I have ever thought this tiny beauty to be a boy?'
As he kissed her forehead he remembered how a month ago her face had been swollen and blackened. Wrinkling his brow, he realized how badly she must have been hurt the last time he'd seen her. He strode to the door. How could anyone have beaten such a lovely creature? He hurried to find Molly and the answer to his question.
Chapter 26
Hunter found Abram and Luke huddled at the kitchen table, with Molly standing above them as she halved a pie.
