was only Charm's guttural singing from the next room. But finally Hiram's lips moved, so weakly that Jay did not catch the words.
"What?" he whispered.
Hiram turned his head. "Foul ... oh God, Jay, you don't know what it's been like ... so many times, I just wished for it to be over... that he'd kill me the next time ... but I'm too powerful, you see. I'm an ace. He wants aces ... wants the powers ... I'll never be free. And you... it'll be the same...."
"No way," Jay said. "Hiram, don't let him take me."
"I can't hurt him! I told you."
"Then hurt me," Jay said. "Kill me, if it comes to that. But don't let him take me." He never thought he'd hear himself beg for death, but his flesh was crawling at the very thought of Ti Malice. It would be like his nightmare, but this time he would never wake, this time it would go on and on forever.
Hiram Worchester stared at him with sudden wonder on his broad face. "Kill you," he murmured. His fingers flexed, closing slowly into a fist, then opening again. "He would be angry, Jay. . . so very angry, you can't imagine. Perhaps ... perhaps then he might ... free me."
Jay knew what he meant by "free."
7:00 A.M.
They waited at the airport all night for the first available flight to Atlanta. Jennifer fell asleep around midnight, but Brennan could not. He sat up all night meditating on a playing card, an ace of spades, left him in a will.
When it was time to board the flight, he slipped it into the breast pocket of his denim jacket where it would be close at hand.
9:00 A.M.
When the door opened, Jay caught a brief glimpse of pale, thin sunlight filtering down from above. Blaise stepped into the cellar, stumbling on the last step, almost tripping over the end of his cloak. The boy looked dead on his feet, his face drawn and pale. He'd been ridden to exhaustion, and beyond.
Sascha stepped forward to remove the heavy felt cloak. "We were concerned for you, master," he said as he undid the ties. "We heard sirens ... screams in the night. . .."
Ezili laughed from the doorway. "The night was magic, Sascha," she said, running a tongue across her lower lip. "Hartmann went mad. We watched it on the television. A circus of blood. Then the jokers went mad, too. We wandered in the park and played with them all night long. No one noticed." She shut the cellar door behind her, and darkness resumed its reign.
"This mount is tired," Ti Malice announced in Blaise's hoarse, weary tones. "It is time to try the other. Bring it." Everyone looked at Jay.
Sascha folded the cloak, set it aside, turned his face toward Jay. There might have been pity in his eyes, if he'd had eyes. He nodded at Charm, and the huge joker shambled forward.
"Can't we talk this over?" Jay asked.
Charm ignored him. Hands gasped his legs, shoulders, feet, and jerked him into the air. Charm flung him over a shoulder, carried him across the cellar. The place still smelled like a butcher shop. Flies swarmed around decaying pieces of human flesh. Charm tossed Jay down on the mattress. Ezili bent over him and kissed him lightly, her lips wet and hot. "Soon," she said., "Prepare it for me," Blaise's voice commanded.
Charm grabbed a handful of Jay's shirt and yanked sharply. The fabric tore with a loud ripping sound, until it got tangled in the jacket.
"Its bonds are in the way," Ti Malice noticed. "Untie it. Strip it."
"Master," Sascha cautioned, "he is dangerous when his hands are free."
"I can't even feel my fucking hands," Jay complained. He tried not to think about what he was thinking about. Sascha picked right up on the thought he was trying not to think. "He thinks he'll have a chance once he's untied."
"Is it afraid?" Ti Malice asked.
"Of you, very much. Of being a mount. And there is some other fear, an older fear...." The telepath frowned. "A dream he's had. You remind him of this nightmare, master."
"Free its hands," Ti Malice said. "This young mount has the power to hold it still."
Charm turned him over, slammed him down into the mattress, and pinned him with a boot while hands fumbled behind his back.
Jay's wrists had been bound for so long he couldn't feel any difference when they were free. Charm kicked roughly at one arm, and it fell heavily