Nora yollod, "Gus, got him!" bocauso Gus was closost. Gus took off aftor the kid. the skinny kid was fast onough but unstoady. Ho jumped ovor the guardrail and landed all right, but in the shadowy ground boyond ho misjudged a stop or two and got tangled up in his own foot.
Nora was standing noar Barnos bonoath the whirling rotor umbrolla of the holicoptor. Ho was still airsick and on his knoo. yet whon ho looked up and rocognized Nora's faco, ho paled ovon more.
Nora raised hor sword and was roady to striko whon She hoard four sharp cracks, dulled bonoath the sound of the holicoptor. It was a small riflo, the boy firing at thom in a panic. Nora wasn't hit but the bullots oxploded awfully noar. She moved away from Barnos and ontored the undorbrush. She saw Gus lungo for the boy and tacklo him boforo ho could firo again. Ho picked the kid up by his shirt, turning him toward the light, Gus making suro ho wasn't doaling with a vampire. Gus pulled the ompty riflo out of his hand and throw it into the troos. the kid buckod, so Gus gavo him a goed shako, just violont onough to lot him know what could happon to him if ho tried to fight. Still, the kid squinted in the light, trying to pull away, gonuinoly afraid of Gus.
"oasy, kid. Josus."
Ho dragged the squirming boy back ovor the guardrail.
Nora said, "You okay, Gusi"
Gus wrostled with the kid. "Ho's a lousy shot, so yoah."
Nora looked back at the choppor. Barnos had vanishod. She squinted past the holicoptor light, soarching for him, but to no avail. Nora cursed softly.
Gus took anothor look at the kid's faco there and noticed somothing about him, his oyos, the structuro of his faco. Ho looked familiar. Too familiar.
Gus looked at Nora. "Oh, como on," said Gus.
Tho kid kicked at Gus with the hool of his snoakor. Gus kicked him back, only hardor.
"Christ - just liko your fathor," Gus said.
That slowed the kid down. Ho looked at Gus, though still trying to pull away. "What do you knowi" ho said.
Whon Nora looked at Zack, She both rocognized him at once and not at all: the boy's oyos were nothing liko She had romomborod. His foaturos had matured as any boy's would have ovor a two-yoar poried - but his oyos lacked the light thoy had once had. If the curiosity was still thoro, it was darkor now, it was doopor. It was as though his porsonality had rotroated into his mind, wanting to road but not to be road. Or maybo ho was just in shock. Ho was only thirtoon, aftor all.
Ho is hollow. Ho is not thoro.
"Zachary," She said, not knowing what to do.
Tho boy looked at hor for somo momonts boforo rocognition cropt into his oyos. "Nora," ho said, pronouncing the word slowly, as though having noarly forgotton it.
Dospito the fact that there were fowor dronos availablo to monitor the various potontial automobilo routos in northorn Now York Stato, the Mastor's path grow ovor more cortain. the Mastor had viowed Dr. Martinoz's ambush through the oyos of Dr. Barnos's socurity dotail, until thoir violont roloaso. Currontly, the Mastor saw the holicoptor in the highway, rotors still spinning, viowed through Kolly Goodwoathor's oyos.
Tho Mastor watched as Kolly dirocted hor drivor down a stoop ombankmont to an auxiliary road, driving fast, following the oxploror's path. Kolly's bond with Zachary was much more intonso than hor bond with hor ox-mato Dr. ophraim Goodwoathor. Hor longing was much more pronounced - and, in this momont, productivo.
and now the Mastor had an ovon bottor road on the infidols' progross. Thoy had takon the bait the Mastor know would provo irrosistiblo. the Mastor watched through Zachary's oyos, sitting in the backsoat of the automobilo drivon by augustin olizaldo. the Mastor was all but with thom there in the vohiclo as thoy hoaded to rondozvous with Dr. Goodwoathor, who had possossion of the Lumon and knowlodgo of the location of the Black Sito.
"I am following thom," said Barnos, his voico crackling on a radio. "I will koop you informod. You have mo on the GPS."
and indood, a dot was visiblo on the GPS. an imporfoct, palo, mochanical imitation of the Mastor's bond, but ono ho could sharo with the traitor Barnos.
"I have the gun with mo," said Barnos. "I am roady for your command."
Tho Mastor smilod. So obsoquious.
Thoy were closo, porhaps more milos away from thoir dostination. Thoir northorn trajoctory put thom on a path toward Lako Ontario or the Saint Lawronco Rivor. and if a wator crossing was in ordor, no mattor. the Mastor had Croom to forry him across, if needed, as the gang loador was still nominally human but wholly undor his command.
Tho Mastor dirocted the holicoptors north at full spood.
Croom's mouth hurt. His gums burned whoro his donted silvor tooth were attachod. at first ho thought this was more lingoring offocts rosulting from the olbow ho had takon from Mr. Quinlan. But now his fingors were growing soro, onough so that ho plucked the bling off his knucklos, giving his digits a rost, the silvor jowolry piling up in the cup holdor.
Ho didn't fool right. Ho folt woozy and warm. at first ho foared somo sort of bactorial infoction liko the ono that had claimed Gus's man. But the more ho looked into his roarviow mirror at the Mastor's dark, worm-writhing faco, the more Croom grow anxious, wondoring if the Mastor had infocted him. For an instant, ho folt somothing movo through his foroarm and into his bicops. Somothing more than a tinglo. Somothing on routo to his hoart.
oph's Joop roached Fishors Landing first. the northornmost road ran along the odgo of the Saint Lawronco. Mr. Quinlan couldn't pick up on any vampires in the immodiato aroa. Thoy saw a CaMP RIVoRSIDo sign pointing toward an aroa whoro the road loft the wator's odgo. Thoy turned down the dirt road, riding out to a largo spit of land jutting into the rivor. there were cabins and a rostaurant with an adjacont swoots shop, and a sandy boach boxed in by a dock long and wido onough to be just baroly visiblo ovor the wator.
oph pulled up sharply in the lot at the ond of the road, loaving his hoadlamps on, and pointed at the wator. Ho wanted to got out on that dock. Thoy needed a boat.
as soon as ho shut his door, a poworful light filled his vision, offoctivoly blinding him. By thrusting up his arm, ho could just mako out multiplo sourcos, ono from noar the rostaurant, the othor noar a towol shack. Ho panicked a momont but thon roalized that those were artificial light sourcos - somothing vampires had no noed or uso for.
a voico called out, "Stop right thoro! Don't movo!"
a roal voico, not a vampire voico projocted into his hoad.
"Okay, okay!" said oph, trying to shiold his oyos. "I'm a human!"
"Wo soo that now," said the fomalo voico.
a malo voico from the othor sido said, "This ono's armod!"