F. Paul Wilson - Nightworld

"I'd like him to come along."

"And what did Ba say?" She suspected the answer but wanted to hear it for herself.

"He refused. Said he couldn't leave you here unprotected."

Sylvia turned to the Oriental. "Thank you, Ba."

Ba gave her one of his little bows.

"I respect that," Jack said, "but I think it's shortsighted. When the light goes altogether, you're not going to get a break like this. Those things'll be at you nonstop. You won't get a chance to go out and repair the damage and shore up the weak spots. And I don't care how well fortified you are, Mrs. Nash, sooner or later they're gonna break through."

She glanced at Alan who was nodding silent agreement. And why not? The logic was unassailable.

"You can't do this alone?"

"I might be able to. I usually work alone, but this is different. Time is critical." He lifted his bandaged arm. "I've been out in the dark with those things. And I see by Ba's neck that he has too."

"So have I," Sylvia said.

Jack's eyebrows lifted. "Really? Well then, you know what it means to have someone watching your back."

Sylvia remembered the tentacles entwined in her hair, pulling her backward…

Repressing a shudder, she said, "How long have you known this Glaeken fellow?"

"A few days."

"And you're completely convinced?"

He shrugged. "I've seen a lot of scams—worked a few myself. This guy's for real. Besides, everything's going to hell out there at about a hundred and fifty miles an hour. After what I've seen in the past three days, I'm a believer."

Reluctantly, Sylvia admitted to herself that she, too, was becoming a believer.

"When would you be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. With any luck I'll have him back on your doorstep sometime Tuesday. Wednesday morning at the latest."

"Two days at the most. You're sure?"

"Pretty sure. Either I can get the necklaces back or I can't. I'll know fairly soon after I get there."

"Two nights," she said slowly. "Ba maybe you should reconsider."

"No, Missus," he said. "It is too dangerous here for you to stay alone."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alan stiffen—a barely perceptible straightening of his spine that would have passed unnoticed by a stranger. But Sylvia knew him too well. Ba would be devastated if he even suspected that his words had stung Alan. He'd never forgive himself.

"Glaeken's offer still stands," Jack told her. "Come into the city. Stay with him. He was right about his place being spared. He's practically hanging over that hole and he hasn't been bothered by a single bug."

"Out of the question," Sylvia said. "Alan and I are quite capable of handling the situation. We won't be driven from our home by these things." She turned to Ba. "We're safe in here, Ba. You saw that last night. Once we locked the doors and rolled down the shutters, we had no further problems. Tonight will be the same. And the night after that. And the night after that."

"Missus, I am not sure—"

"Neither am I, Ba. We can't be sure of anything anymore. Except perhaps that the situation will steadily deteriorate until we're all mad or dead."

"I vowed to protect you, Missus. Always."

"I know you did, Ba," she said softly.

Sylvia's heart warmed at his unflagging devotion. But that devotion could be a burden as well as a benefit. It was a great comfort to know she was protected, but she also had to allow herself to be protected. And that wasn't always easy.

Pulling away from the snug cocoon of that protection, even temporarily, was difficult—akin perhaps to leaving all the windows open in a storm. And knowing the distress it caused in Ba made the move all the more difficult for her.

She asked Jack, "What will the return of these necklaces do?"

He shrugged. "Only Glaeken knows. Set things right, I hope. Mother Nature's gone nuts. Maybe these things will go toward building something that'll give her some electroshock therapy."

"If that's true, Ba…if acquiring these necklaces will help end this nightmare, perhaps you would be adhering closer to the spirit of your vow by going with this man."

Ba stood silent for a moment, the center of attention. His eyes were tortured.

"Missus…"

"Let's do it this way," Sylvia said, lighting on an idea. "We'll see how tonight goes. If Alan and I need your help to get through, then I'll ask you to stay. But if it turns out we can handle things ourselves, then I think you should go with Jack."

"Very well, Missus. If that is what you wish."

I don't know what I wish, she thought. But I know we can't spend the rest of our lives sealed up in Toad Hall.

"That is what I wish," she said.

"All right!" Jack said, clapping his hands once as he rose to his feet. "I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning—bright and early."

Alan said, "It probably won't be bright and it certainly won't be early."

Sylvia watched Jack go over to Ba and extend his hand.

"I respect where you're coming from, Big Guy, but believe me, this is our only chance to really do something about this—to maybe turn it around and stop it so we can all get back to our normal lives. That's worth risking a couple of days, isn't it?"

Ba shook his hand slowly. "I will go with you tomorrow."

Jack smiled. "Try to control your enthusiasm, okay?"

Then he waved and headed for the front door. When he was gone, Ba turned to her.

"Excuse me, Missus. I have work outside."

"Of course," Sylvia said. But as she watched him go, she caught her breath as that recurring phrase slipped into her mind.

Only three will live to return.

"Something wrong?" Alan said.

They were alone now and his gentle brown eyes were fixed on her.

"Is something right?" she said.

"You looked frightened."

"I was thinking about what that lunatic in Glaeken's apartment told you and wondering if I was sending Ba to his doom. What if he's killed on this trip? It will be my fault."

"I've never believed anyone could tell the future," he said. "And as for fault, that's a no-win game. If Ba goes off and gets killed, it's your fault. If you don't convince him to go and he gets killed around here, it's also your fault. But actually, neither scenario is anybody's fault. It's nothing but a mental trap."

"I guess you're right. I'm treating some nut's rant as if it's really going to happen. I must be as crazy as he is." She leaned over and kissed him. "Thanks, Alan. You're good for me."

He gave her a kiss of his own. "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For saying, 'Alan and I are quite capable of handling the situation.' That meant a lot."

So…he had been stung by Ba's remark.

"Ba didn't mean anything."

"I know that."

"Ba admires you and respects you. He's forever in your debt for the care you gave Nhung Thi before she died. You're on his Good-Guy list."

"I'd hate to be on his Bad Guy list."

"Ba doesn't really have one of those. All the people he considers bad guys seem to disappear. And he'd be crushed if he thought he'd offended you."

"I wasn't offended."

Sylvia stared into his eyes. "Truth, Alan."

"Okay," he said, glancing away. "That crack about not wanting to leave you 'alone' did get to me. I mean, what am I—a houseplant? I know I'm in a wheelchair, but I'm not helpless."

"Of course you're not. And Ba knows that too. It's just that he's been my self-appointed watchman for so many years, he thinks he's the only one who can do the job. If I had the Eighty-second Airborne camping in with me, he'd still consider me unprotected if he wasn't at my side."

"It's funny," Alan said, staring at the wall. "You hear women complaining about being labeled as 'the weaker sex' and not given a chance to prove their competence and equality and maybe even superiority to men in business and industry. They don't see the flip side of the coin. The guys are saddled with the macho ethic. We're supposed to be tough, we're supposed to be able to handle anything, be cool in any situation, never back down, never surrender, never admit we're hurt, and for God's sake, never ever cry. It's not easy to handle even when you're at the top of your form; but when something happens to knock you off your feet, I tell you, Syl, it becomes a crushing burden. And sometimes…sometimes it's just plain murder."