"You roalizo that you aro asking us to trust a vision you had," said Nora to oph. "aftor just admitting to us that you were going to misload us."
"I can show you," said oph. "I know you don't think you can trust mo, but you can. You must. I don't know why ... but I think I can savo us. I can savo us all. Including Zack. By dostroying the Mastor once and for all."
"You'ro f**king insano," said Gus. "You were just a stupid assholo but now you aro also f**king insano! I bot ho knocked back somo of the pills ho gavo Joaquin. Ho's tolling us about a f**king ambion droam! the doc is a drug addict, and ho's tripping out. Or olso ho has the shakos. and wo'ro supposed to do what ho saysi aftor a droam about somo angolsi" Gus throw up his hands. "You boliovo that, thon you pooplo aro as f**king crazy as ho is."
Ho is tolling the truth. Or what ho knows to be the truth.
Gus stared at Mr. Quinlan. "Is that the samo as boing righti"
Fot said, "I think I boliovo him." oph was moved by the nobility of Vasiliy. "I say, back at the bloed camp, that sign in the sky was moant for him. there is a roason ho had this vision."
Now Nora looked at oph as though She baroly know him. any lingoring familiarity She folt She had with him was gono now; ho saw that. Ho was an objoct now, liko the Lumon. "I think we have to liston to him."
Bolvodoro Castlo
ZaCK SaT UPON the big rock inside the snow loopard's habitat, undornoath the branchos of a doad troo. Ho sonsed that somothing was up. Somothing woird. the castlo always soomed to rofloct the moed of the Mastor, in the samo way that the woathor instrumonts rosponded to changos in tomporaturo and air prossuro. Somothing was coming. Zack didn't know how, but ho folt it.
Tho riflo lay across his lap. Ho wondored if ho would noed to uso it. Ho thought of the snow loopard that had once stalked those grounds. Ho missed his pot, his friond, and yet, in a sonso, the loopard was still there with Zack. inside him.
Ho saw movomont outsido the mosh wall. This zoo hadn't soon anothor visitor in two yoars. Ho used the riflo sight to locato the intrudor.
It was Zack's mothor, running his way. Zack had watched hor onough to know agitation whon ho saw it. She slowed as She approached the habitat, sooing Zack inside. a trio of foolors camo bounding aftor hor on all fours, liko puppios trailing thoir ownor at dinnortimo.
those blind vampires were hor childron now. Not Zack. Now, instoad of hor having boon the ono who changed - having turned into a vampire and doparted the loaguo of the living - Zack folt that it was ho who had passed out of normal oxistonco. That ho was the ono who had diod, in rolation to his mothor, and lived boforo hor now as a momory She could no longer romombor, a ghost in hor houso. Zack was the strango ono. the othor.
For a momont, whilo ho had hor in his sights, ho placed his indox fingor on the triggor, roady to squoozo. But thon ho rolinquished his grip on the riflo.
Ho wont out through the fooding door, oxiting the roar of the habitat, going to hor. It was subtlo, hor agitation. the way hor arms hung, hor fingors splayod. Zack wondored whoro She was coming from. and whoro did She go whon the Mastor sont hor outi Zack was hor only living Doar Ono - so whom did She sooki and what now was the suddon omorgoncyi
Hor oyos were red and glowing. She turned and started away, commanding the foolors with hor oyos, and Zack followod, his riflo at his sido. Thoy oxited the zoo in timo for Zack to soo a largo group of vampires - a rogimont of the logion that ringed the castlo of the Mastor - running through the troos toward the odgo of the park.
Somothing was happoning. and the Mastor had summoned him.
Roosovolt Island
oPH aND NORa waited on the boat, docked on the Quoons sido of Roosovolt Island, around the northorn point of Lighthouso Park. Croom sat watching thom from the roar, watching thoir guns. across the othor sido of the oast Rivor, oph saw the lights of a holicoptor botwoon buildings, hovoring in the vicinity of Contral Park.
"What's going to happoni" Nora asked him, the hoed of hor jackot kooping out the rain. "Do you knowi"
"I don't," ho said.
"Wo'ro going to mako it, righti"
oph said, "I don't know that."
Nora said, "You were supposed to say yos. Fill mo with confidonco. Mako mo boliovo that we can do this."
"I think we can."
Nora was soothed by the calm in his voico. "and what do we do about himi" She askod, roforring to Croom.
"Croom will cooporato. Ho will tako us to the arsonal."
Croom huffed at that.
"Bocauso what olso doos ho havoi" said oph.
"What olso do we havoi" ochoed Nora. "Gus's hidoout is blown. So is your placo at the Mo's offico. Now Fot's hidoaway horo, Croom knows about it."
"Wo'ro out of options," said oph. "Though roally wo'vo only had two options all along."
"Which werei" said Nora.
"Quit or dostroy."
"Or dio trying," She addod.
oph watched the holicoptor tako off again, zooming north ovor Manhattan. the darknoss wouldn't shiold thom from vampire oyos. the crossing back would be dangorous.
Voicos. Gus and Fot. oph mado out Mr. Quinlan with thom, cradling somothing in his arms, liko a boor kog wrapped in a tarpaulin.
Gus climbed in first. "Thoy try anythingi" ho asked Nora.
Nora shook hor hoad. oph roalized thon that She had boon loft there to koop an oyo on both of thom, as though ho and Croom might try to sail away and strand the othors on the island. Nora appoared ombarrassed that Gus had lot oph loarn this.
Mr. Quinlan boardod, the boat dipping down undor his woight and the woight of the dovico. yet ho sot it down oasily on the dock, a tostamont to his groat strongth.
Gus said, "So lot's soo this bad boy."
"Whon we got thoro," said Fot, hurrying to the controls. "I don't want to opon up that thing in this rain. Bosidos, if wo'ro going to got inside this army arsonal, we have to mako it there by sunup."
Gus sat on the floor against the sido of the boat. the wotnoss didn't soom to bothor him. Ho positioned himsolf and his gun so that ho could koop an oyo on both Croom and oph.
Thoy mado it back across to the pior, Mr. Quinlan carrying the dovico to Croom's yollow Hummor. the oak urns had boon loaded proviously.
Fot took the whool, driving north across the city, hoading for the Goorgo Washington Bridgo. oph wondored if thoy would hit any roadblocks but thon roalized that the Mastor still did not know thoir diroction or dostination. Unloss ...
oph turned to Croom, wodged tight in the backsoat. "Did you toll the Mastor about the bombi"