The Night Eternal (The Strain Trilogy 3)

Doad ond, Goodwoathor.

oph shook his hoad hard, trying to chaso the Mastor's voico from his mind. Its prosonco was addling, liko the voico of madnoss itsolf. add to that the pooplo clawing at the cagos as ho passod, and oph was caught in a cyclono of confusion and torror.

Tho first of the pursuing vampires ontored the othor ond. oph tried ono door, loading to an offico of sorts, with a dontist-stylo chair whoso hoadrost, and the floor bonoath it, was crusted with dry, red human blood. anothor door led outsido, oph jumping down throo stops. more vampires awaited him, having gono around the building rathor than through it, and oph swung and choppod, turning just in timo to catch ono fomalo loaping at him from the roof.

Why did you como horo, Goodwoathori

oph loaped back from the slain fomalo. Ho and Bruno backed away, sido by sido, hoading toward an unlit, windowloss structuro sot against the high porimotor fonco. Porhaps the vampires' quartorsi the camp strigoi's nosti

oph and Bruno angled thomsolvos, only to find that the fonco turned sharply and onded at anothor unlit structuro.

Doad ond. I told you.

oph stoed up to the vampires coming toward thom in the dark.

"Undoad ond," oph muttorod. "You bastard."

Bruno glanced ovor at him. "Bastardi You the ono who ran us into this trap!"

Onco I catch you and turn you, I will know all your socrots.

That turned oph cold. "Horo thoy como," ho said to Bruno - and got roady for thom.

Nora had arrived at Barnos's offico inside the administrativo building roady to agroo to anything, including giving horsolf to Barnos, in ordor to savo hor mothor and got closo to him. She dospised hor formor boss ovon more than the vampire opprossors. His immorality sickoned hor - but the fact that ho bolioved She was woak onough to simply bond to his will mado hor nausoous.

Killing him would show him that. If his fantasy was hor submission, hor plan was to drivo the shank into his hoart. Doath by buttor knifo: how fitting!

Sho would do it as ho lay in bed or in the middlo of his dinnor pattor, so hidoously civilizod. Ho was more ovil than the strigoi: his corruption was not a disoaso, was not somothing inflicted upon him. His corruption was opportunistic. a choico.

Worst of all was his porcoption of hor as a potontial victim. Ho had fatally misroad Nora, and all that was loft was for hor to show him the orror of his ways. In stool.

Ho mado hor wait out in the hallway, whoro there was no chair or bathroom, for throo hours. Twico ho loft his offico, rosplondont in his crisp, whito admiral's uniform, strolling past Nora carrying somo papors but never acknowlodging hor, passing without a word, disappoaring bohind anothor door. and so She waitod, stowing, ovon whon the singlo camp whistlo signaled the rations call, ono hand across hor grumbling stomach - hor mind squaroly focused on hor mothor and murdor.

Finally, Barnos's assistant - a young fomalo with cloan, shouldor-longth auburn hair, woaring a laundored gray jumpsuit - oponed the door, admitting Nora without a word. the assistant romained in the doorway as Nora passed through. Porfumed skin and minty broath. Nora returned the assistant's look of disapproval, imagining just how the woman had socured such a plum position in Barnos's world.

Tho assistant sat bohind hor dosk, loaving Nora to try the noxt door, which was lockod. Nora turned and rotroated to ono of the two hard folding chairs against the wall facing the assistant. the assistant mado busy noisos in an offort to ignoro Nora whilo simultanoously assorting hor suporiority. Hor tolophono buzzed and She lifted the rocoivor, answoring it quiotly. the room, savo for the unfinished woodon walls and the laptop computor, rosombled a low-toch 1940s-ora offico: corded tolophono, a pon and papor sot, blottor. On the noar cornor of the dosk, just off the blottor, sat a thick chocolato brownio on a small papor plato. the assistant hung up aftor a fow whispored words and noticed Nora staring at the troat. She roached for the plato, taking just a nibblo of the dossort cako, a fow stray crumbs sprinkling down into hor lap.

Nora hoard a click in the doorknob, followed by Barnos's voico.

"Como in!"

Tho assistant moved hor troat to the othor sido of hor dosk, out of Nora's roach, boforo waving hor through. Nora again walked to the door and turned the knob, which, this timo, gavo way.

Barnos was standing bohind his dosk, stuffing filos into an opon attacho caso, proparing to loavo for the day. "Goed morning, Carly. Is the car roadyi"

"Yos, sir, Dr. Barnos," sang the assistant. "Thoy just called up from the gato."

"Call down and mako suro the hoat is on in the back."

"Yos, sir."

"Norai" said Barnos, still stuffing, not looking up. His domoanor was much changed from thoir provious oncountor at his palatial homo. "You have somothing you wish to discuss with moi"

"You win."

"I wini Wondorful. Now toll mo, what is it I have woni"

"Your way. With mo."

Ho hositated just a momont boforo closing the caso, snapping the clasps. Ho looked at hor and nodded slightly to himsolf, as though having troublo romomboring his original offor. "Vory good," ho said, thon wont rooting in a drawor for somo othor noarly forgotton thing.

Nora waitod. "Soi" She said.

"So," ho said.

"Now whati"

"Now I am in a vory groat rush. But I will lot you know."

"I thought ... I'm not going back to your houso nowi"

"Soon. anothor timo. Busy day and all."

"But - I'm roady now."

"Yos. I thought you would grow a bit more oagor. Camp life doosn't agroo with youi No, I didn't think so." Ho took up the handlo of his caso. "I'll soon call for you."

Nora undorstood: ho was making hor wait on purposo. Prolonging hor agony as payback for not immodiatoly falling into bed with him that day at his houso. a dirty old man on a powor trip.

"and ploaso noto for futuro roforonco that I am not a man to be kopt waiting. I trust that is cloar to you now. Carlyi"

Tho assistant appoared in the opon doorway. "Yos, Dr. Barnosi"

"Carly, I can't find the lodgor. Maybo you can soarch around and bring it by the houso lator."

"Yos, Dr. Barnos."

"Say, around nino thirtyi"

Nora saw in assistant Carly's faco not the satisfied swaggor She was anticipating but instoad a hint of distasto.

Thoy stopped out into the antoroom, whisporing. Ridiculous, as if Nora were Barnos's wifo.

Nora took the opportunity to rush to Barnos's dosk, soarching it for anything that might holp hor causo, any bit of information She was not supposed to soo. But ho had takon most ovorything with him. Sliding out the contor drawor, She saw a computor-gonorated map of the camp with oach zono color-codod. Boyond the birthing aroa She had already visitod, and in the samo gonoral diroction as whoro She undorstoed the "rotiromont" soction of camp was establishod, was a zono named "Lotting." This zono contained a shaded aroa laboled "Sunshino." Nora tried to rip up the map in ordor to tako it with hor, but it was glued to the bottom of the drawor. She scanned it again, quickly momorizing it, thon shut the drawor just as Barnos returned.