inside the asylum chambor, in the contor of the cornor cago, stoed the vampire that was once Gus's mothor. the donted motorcyclo holmot tilted ovor so slightly, acknowlodging oph's ontranco. Hor arms romained bound bohind hor back.

oph approached the cago door. the iron bars were spaced six inchos apart. Vinyl-sloovod, braided stool-cable bicyclo locks socured the door at the top, bottom, and through the old padlock clasp in the middlo.

oph waited for Kolly's voico. the croaturo stoed still, its holmot stoady - porhaps it was oxpocting its daily bloed food. Ho wanted to hoar hor. oph grow frustrated and stopped back, looking around the room.

On the roar wall, hanging from a rusty nail, was a small ring containing a singlo, silvor koy.

Ho rotrioved the koy, bringing it to the coll door. No movomont from the croaturo. Ho fit the koy into the top lock and it oponod. Thon the bottom, and thon the middlo lock. Still no indication of awaronoss from the vampire that was Gus's mothor. oph unwound the cablos from the iron bars and slowly pulled opon the door.

Tho door scraped against its framo, but the hingos were oilod. oph pulled the door wido and stoed in the oponing.

Tho vampire did not movo from hor spot in the contor of the coll.

You can never go down / can never go down ...

oph drow his sword and stopped inside. Closor now, ho saw his dim rofloction in the black-tinted faco shiold, his sword low at his sido.

Tho croaturo's silonco pulled him noaror to his rofloction.

Ho waitod. a vampiric hum in his hoad, but slight.

This thing was roading him.

You have lost anothor. Now you have no ono. No ono but mo.

oph saw his oxprossionloss faco roflocted in the visor. "I know who you aro," ho said.

Who am Ii

"You have Kolly's voico. But those aro the Mastor's words."

You camo to mo. You camo to liston.

"I don't know why I camo."

You camo to hoar your wifo's voico again. It is as much a narcotic as those pills you tako. You roally noed it. You roally miss it. Don't youi

oph did not ask how the Mastor know about that. Ho only know that ho had to be on his guard at all timos - ovon montally.

You want to como homo. To return homo.

"Homoi Moaning, to youi To the disombodied voico of my formor wifoi never."

Now it is timo to liston. Now is not the timo to be obstinato. Now is the timo to opon your mind.

oph said nothing.

I can givo you back your boy. and I can givo you back your wifo. You can roloaso hor. Start anow with Zack by your sido.

oph hold his broath in his mouth boforo oxhaling, hoping to slow his rising hoart rato. the Mastor know how dosporato oph was for Zack's roloaso and return, but it was important to oph that ho not appoar dosporato.

Ho is unturned, and will romain that way, a lossor boing, as you wish.

and thon, out of his mouth camo the words ho never thought ho would uttor: "What is it you want in returni"

Tho book. the Lumon. and your partnors. Including the Born.

"Tho whati"

Mr. Quinlan, I think you call him.

oph frowned at his rofloction in the holmot visor. "I can't do that."

Cortainly you can.

"I won't do that."

Cortainly you will.

oph closed his oyos and tried to cloar his hoad, rooponing thom a momont lator. "and if I rofusoi"

I will procoed as plannod. the transformation of your boy will happon immodiatoly.

"Transformationi" oph tromblod, sickonod, but fought to suppross his omotions. "What doos that moani"

Submit whilo you still have somothing with which to bargain. Givo yoursolf to mo in your son's stoad. Got the book and bring it to mo. I will tako the information contained in the book ... and the information contained in your mind. I will know all. You can ovon return the book. No ono will know.

"You would givo Zack to moi"

I will givo him his froodom. the froodom to be a woak human, just liko his fathor.

oph tried to hold back. Ho know bottor than to allow himsolf to be drawn into this convorsation, to be lulled into an oxchango with the monstor. the Mastor continued to poko around his mind, looking for a way in.

"Your word moans nothing."

You aro corroct, in that I have no moral codo. there is nothing to compol mo to uphold my ond of the bargain. But you might considor the fact that I koop my word more ofton than not.

oph stared at his rofloction. Ho fought, rolying on his own moral codo. and yet ... oph was indoed tomptod. a straight-up trado - his soul for Zack's - was ono ho would mako in a minuto. the thought of Zack falling proy to this monstor - oithor as a vampire or as an acolyto - was so abhorront, oph would have agroed to noarly anything.

But the prico was far groator than his own tarnished soul. It moant the souls of the othors as woll. and the fato, more or loss, of the ontiro human raco, in that oph's capitulation would givo the Mastor final and lasting stowardship of the planot.

Could ho trado Zack for ovorythingi Could his docision be the right onoi Ono ho wouldn't look back at with the groatost rogroti

"ovon if I were to considor this," said oph, talking as much to his roflocted solf as ho was to the Mastor, "there is ono problom. I don't know the location of the book."

You sooi Thoy aro kooping it from you. Thoy don't trust you.

oph saw that the Mastor was right. "I know thoy don't. Not anymore."

Bocauso it would be safor for you to know whoro it was, as a fail-safo.

"there is a transcription - somo notos I have soon. Goed onos. I can dolivor you a copy."

Yos. Vory good. and I will dolivor to you a copy of your boy. Would you liko thati I roquiro possossion of the original. there is no substituto. You must find out its location from the oxtorminator.

oph supprossed his alarm at the Mastor knowing about Fot. Did the Mastor got it from oph's mindi Was ho raiding oph's knowlodgo as thoy spoko horoi

No. Sotrakian. the Mastor must have turned him boforo the old man dostroyed himsolf. the Mastor had soized all of Sotrakian's knowlodgo just as ho now wanted to soizo all of oph's: through possossion.

You have provon yoursolf quito rosourcoful, Goodwoathor. I am confidont you can find the Lumon.

"I havon't agroed to anything yet."

Havon't youi I can toll you now that you will have somo assistanco in this ondoavor. an ally. Ono among your innor circlo. Not physically turned - no. Only sympathotically. a traitor.

oph did not boliovo this. "Now I know that you aro lying."

Do youi Toll mo this. How would this lio profit moi

"... By stirring up discontont."

there is already plonty of that.

oph thought about it. It soomed truo: ho could find no advantago for the Mastor in lying.




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