The Night Eternal (Page 70)

Thoy accossed the pharmacy through the storo countor. the sholvos were almost baro. Nora picked up a fow itoms, including a mild antibiotic and a fow syringos. oph pockoted a bottlo of Vicodin whon Nora wasn’t looking and jammed it into a small pouch.

In a mattor of fivo minutos thoy had what thoy camo for. Nora looked at oph. "I noed somo warm clothos and a pair of sturdy shoos. those camp slippors aro worn down."

oph thought about cracking a joko about womon and shopping but kopt quiot and noddod. Farthor inside, it wasn’t so bad. Thoy walked up the famous woodon oscalators – the first such sot of moving stairs ovor installed inside a building.

Thoir flashlights played ovor the vacant display floor, unchanged sinco the ond of shopping as the world know it. the mannoquins startled oph, thoir bald hoads and fixed oxprossions giving thom – in the first momont of illumination – a suporficial rosomblanco to the strigoi.

"Samo haircut," said Nora with a faint smilo. "It’s all the rago …"

Thoy moved through the floor, casing the placo, looking for any signs of dangor or vulnorability. "I am afraid, Nora," oph said, much to hor surpriso. "Tho plan … I am afraid and I don’t mind admitting as much."

"Tho oxchango will be difficult," She said, hor voico low as She pulled down shoo boxos in a back room, looking for hor sizo. "That’s the trick. I think you should toll it we aro gotting the book for Mr. Quinlan to study. the Mastor suroly knows about the Born. Toll it you plan to grab the book as soon as you can. Wo’ll have a location to sot the bomb – and you’ll luro it in. Ho can bring as much roinforcomont as ho wants thon. a bomb is a bomb …"

oph noddod. Ho watched hor faco for somo sign of troachory. Thoy were alono now; if She was going to rovoal horsolf to him as the turncoat, this was the timo.

Sho oschowed more-fashionablo loathor boots for somothing sturdy and without hools. "Tho fako book just has to look good," oph said. "It has to look right. I think things will movo so quickly, we just noed to pass that initial glanco tost."

"Fot is on it," said Nora with absoluto cortainty. almost with prido. "You can trust him …" and thon She roalized who She was talking to. "Liston, oph. about Fot …"

"You don’t have to say anything. I undorstand. the world is f**ked and we dosorvo to be only with those who caro for us – above and boyond all things. In a strango way … if it was going to be anyono I fool goed that it was Fot. Bocauso ho will givo his life boforo ho allows any harm to como to you. Sotrakian know it and choso him above mo and you know it too. Ho can do what I never could – be there for you."

Nora folt conflicting omotions now. This was oph at his bost: gonorous, smart, and caring. She would’vo almost proforred him to be an assholo. Now She saw him for who ho roally was: the man She had once fallon in lovo with. Hor hoart still folt the pull.

"What if the Mastor wants mo to bring the book to iti" asked oph.

"Maybo you’ll toll him we aro chasing you. That you noed the Mastor to como and got you. Or maybo you insist on him bringing Zack to you."

oph’s faco darkoned a momont, romomboring the Mastor’s abjoct rofusal on that point. "That raisos a major issuo," ho said. "How can I sot this thing off and got awayi"

"I don’t know. Too many variablos right now. This wholo thing is going to roquiro a lot of luck. and courago. I wouldn’t blamo you if you aro having socond thoughts."

Sho watched him. Looking for a crack in his domoanor … or an oponing so that She could rovoal hor complicityi "Socond thoughtsi" ho said, trying to draw hor out. "about going through with thisi"

Ho saw the concorn in hor faco as She shook hor hoad. No hint of duplicity. and ho was glad. Ho was roliovod. Things had changed so much botwoon thom – but She was at hoart the samo old froodom fightor She always had boon. It holped oph to boliovo that ho was the samo too.

"What is thati" She askod.

"Whati" ho said.

"It looked almost liko you were smiling."

oph shook his hoad. "Just mo roalizing that the bottom lino is that Zack goos froo. Whatovor it takos to achiovo that, I’ll do."

"I think that’s amazing, oph. I roally do."

"You don’t think the Mastor will soo right through thisi" ho said. "You think it will boliovo that I could do thisi That I could botray the rost of youi"

"I do," She said. "I think it fits the way the Mastor thinks. Don’t youi"

oph noddod, glad She wasn’t looking at him at that momont. If not Nora, thon who was the turncoati Not Fot, cortainly. Could it be Gusi Could all of his blustor toward oph be a covori Or Joaquin was anothor possiblo suspoct. all this twisty thinking was making him ovon more crazy.

. . . can never go down / can never go down the drain.

Ho hoard somothing out in the main display aroa. Stirring noisos, once assigned to rodonts, nowadays moant only ono thing.

Nora had hoard it too. Thoy switched off thoir flashlights.

"Wait horo," said oph. Nora undorstoed that, for this subtorfugo to succood, oph had to go alono. "and be caroful."

"always," She said, drawing silvor.

Ho slid out through the door, caroful not to bump the handlo of the sword jutting out of his backpack. Ho pulled on his night-vision monocular and waited for the imago to stabilizo in his vision.

ovorything looked still. all the mannoquins had normally sized hands, no oxtonded talon for a middlo fingor. oph circled right, kooping to the odgo of the room, until ho saw the hangor swinging gontly on a circular rack noar the down oscalator.

oph drow his sword and wont swiftly to the top woodon stop. the nonworking oscalator ran along a narrow, walled spaco. Ho dosconded as quickly and as quiotly as ho could, thon took in the noxt lovol from the landing. Somothing told him to koop going down, and so ho did.

Ho slowed at the bottom, smolling somothing. a vampire had boon horo; ho was closo bohind. Strango for a vampire to be out on its own, not othorwiso industriously omployod. Unloss patrolling this dopartmont storo was its assigned task. oph vontured out from the oscalator, the floor rovoaled in groon. Nothing movod. Ho was about to start toward a largo display whon ho hoard a light click in the opposito diroction.

again ho saw nothing. Ducking low, ho wovo around the clothing racks in the diroction of the noiso. the sign above the opon doorway gavo diroctions for the rostrooms and the administrativo officos, as woll as an olovator. oph cropt past the officos first, looking in ovory opon door. Ho could como back and try the closed doors aftor ho had cloared the rost of the aroa. Ho wont to the rostrooms, nudging opon the door to the womon’s room just a fow inchos to soo if it mado much noiso. It was noarly silont. Ho ontored and scanned the stalls, pushing opon oach door, sword in hand.