The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Str - By Amanda Quick Page 0,98

barred the way. Her only real option was to continue buying time for Joshua to find her. That meant not provoking Clement to a killing fury.

Clement had himself in hand once more. “You are right, Victor. I will not kill Miss Lockwood now. That pleasure will come later.”

“There is no need for anyone to die tonight,” Victor said.

He spoke in soothing tones, as if he were an attendant in an asylum attempting to calm a patient. It was clear this was not the first time he had talked Clement out of a fit of madness.

Beatrice thought about the metallic rattling she had heard when she had come up against the workbench. She glanced over her shoulder to see what had made the noise.

An array of gleaming surgical instruments—scalpels, clamps and syringes—was set out on the workbench. A row of glass jars containing dead rats floating in liquid sat on a nearby shelf.

Victor was still calming Clement. She had to take the chance. It might be the only one she would get. She reached behind herself and groped cautiously. Her fingers closed around the handle of one of the scalpels. She slipped the blade into the hidden pocket of her gown, the one designed to hold a hankie.

Clement straightened his shoulders. He was composed once more but his eyes still burned.

“We have wasted enough time,” he said. He went to the statue that stood next to the sarcophagus. “Bring Miss Lockwood to me, Victor.”

Victor gave Beatrice an apologetic look. He started toward her.

“It will not be necessary to put your hands on me again,” she said in her iciest accent.

Victor stopped, waiting.

She moved slowly toward the sarcophagus.

“I still do not understand what you think I can do to assist you in this madness,” she said quietly.

“There are two steps to the awakening process,” Clement announced. He sounded like a professor now. “The first requires that the power infused into the statue be released.” He picked up the trailing end of the gold wire that was wrapped around the neck of Anubis. “That is your task. The energy will be conducted along this wire into the Egyptian Water. That will cause a chemical reaction that will reverse the state of suspended animation.”

She thought about telling him again that he was insane but decided that as he had not responded well the last time, it would probably not be wise to do so.

“What is the second step of the process?” she asked.

“Once the Egyptian Water has been ignited it will be necessary to add fresh blood to the chemicals in order to keep the process going long enough to accomplish the awakening. My beautiful Emma was a woman of talent. It’s obvious that the best source of strong blood would be that of another female with strong psychical abilities.”

She looked at the surgical instruments set out on the workbench.

“Me,” she said.

He smiled. “Yes, Miss Lockwood, you.”

Victor frowned. “Clement assures me that the process does not require a great deal of blood, merely a small amount to spark the energy of the Water. You will not be a sacrifice, Miss Lockwood.”

She looked into Clement’s mad eyes. “You lied to Mr. Hazelton about that aspect of the thing, didn’t you? You’re going to murder me tonight.”

“Nonsense,” Clement said. “As Victor said, the process merely requires a small amount of blood.”

He was definitely lying but there was no point arguing.

“What if I can’t awaken her?” she asked.

“Then I will have no further use for you, will I? You will live only as long as you are useful to me. Enough. It’s time. Victor, help me remove the lid of the sarcophagus.”

Victor went forward, leaned down and placed both hands on the edge of the crystal-and-stone lid. Clement did the same. Together they pushed the top of the coffin to the side, angling it so that it rested across the foot of the burial box.

The heavy scent of harsh chemicals grew abruptly stronger. Beatrice winced and took a step back. The body floating in the liquid appeared unreal, a beautiful wax doll made to resemble a sleeping woman.

Clement pulled on a pair of leather gloves and picked up the end of the gold wire. He submerged the tip into the preservative fluid.

“Touch the statue’s eyes and release the power,” he ordered.

Beatrice studied the Anubis. “What, exactly, do you want me to do?”

“I just told you, touch the eyes. When you make physical contact with the obsidian stones you will sense the energy locked inside. Even I can