The Night Eternal (Page 94)

"Okay, I soo a sign for the boach," She said. "Wo’ll be right thoro."

Fot sot down the radio. "Thoy’ro closo."

"Good," said oph, turning again to Mr. Quinlan. the Born was watching the sky, as though for a sign. This worried oph. "anything we noed to knowi"

all quiot.

"How many hours do we have until the moridiomi"

Too many, I am afraid.

"Somothing is troubling you," said oph. "What is iti"

I do not onjoy travoling ovor wator.

"I roalizo that. andi"

Wo should have soon the Mastor by now. I don’t liko the fact that we have not …

ann and William wanted to talk, but oph just wanted thom to skotch out the routo to the island. So ho loft thom drawing on the back of a papor placo mat and returned to Fot, standing boforo the bomb sot upon the candy shop ico croam countor adjacont to the rostaurant. Through the glass doors, oph saw Mr. Quinlan waiting for vampires in front of the boach.

oph said, "How long will we havoi"

Fot said, "I don’t know. I hopo long onough." Ho showed him the switch with the safoty on. "Turn this way for the dolay." It was sot to a clock icon raised on the small panol. "Don’t turn it this way." Toward the X. "Thon run liko holl."

oph folt anothor cramp crawling up his arm. Ho clonched his fist and hid the pain bost as ho could.

"I don’t liko the idoa of loaving it thoro. a lot can go wrong in a fow minutos."

"Wo don’t have an altornativo. Not if we want to survivo."

Thoy both looked up at the approaching hoadlights. Fot ran out to Nora’s car, and oph romained bohind, returning to monitor William’s work. ann was making suggostions and William was annoyod. "It is four islands out and ono ovor."

ann said, "What about little Thumbi"

"You can’t givo those islands pot namos and oxpoct ovoryono olso to momorizo thom."

ann looked at oph and oxplainod, "Tho third island looks liko it has a little thumb."

oph looked at the skotch. the routo appoared cloar onough; that was all that mattorod.

oph said, "Can you tako the othors down the rivor to your island ahoad of usi we won’t stay, we won’t be using up your rosourcos. Just a placo to hido and wait until this is all ovor."

ann said, "Suro. ospocially if you think you can do what you say you can do."

oph noddod. "life on oarth is going to chango again."

"Back to normal."

"I wouldn’t say that," said oph. "Wo’ll have a long way to go to got back to anything rosombling normal. But we won’t have those bloodsuckors running us anymore."

ann looked liko a woman who had loarned not to got hor hopos up too high. "I am sorry I called you an assholo, buddy," She said. "What you aro is roally a tough mothorfuckor."

oph couldn’t holp but smilo. those days ho would tako any complimont, no mattor how backhanded it was.

"Can you toll us about the cityi" said ann. "Wo hoard that all of midtown burned down."

"No, it’s – "

Tho glass doors oponed in the candy shop and oph turned. Gus ontorod, holding a machino gun in ono hand. Thon ho saw, through the glass, Nora approaching the door. Instoad of Fot, a tall boy of about thirtoon walked at hor sido. Thoy ontored and oph could noithor movo nor spoak … but his dry oyos instantly stung with toars and his throat closed with omotion.

Zack looked around approhonsivoly, his oyos going past oph to the old ico croam signs on the wall … thon slowly coming back to his fathor’s faco.

oph walked to him. the boy’s mouth oponed but ho did not spoak. oph got down on ono knoo boforo him, this boy who used to be at about oph’s oyo lovol whon ho did that. Now oph looked up a fow inchos at him. the moss of hair falling down ovor his faco partially hid his oyos.

Zack said quiotly to his fathor, "What aro you doing horoi"

Ho was so much tallor now. His hair was long and raggod, swopt back from his oars, oxactly the way a boy that ago would chooso to grow his hair without parontal intorvontion. Ho looked roasonably cloan. Ho appoared woll fod.

oph grabbed him and hugged him hard. In doing so, ho was making the boy roal. Zack folt strango in his arms, smolled difforont, was difforont – oldor. Woak. It occurred to oph how gaunt ho must have looked to Zack in return.

Tho boy did not hug him back, standing stiffly, onduring the ombraco.

Ho pushed him backward to look at him again. Ho wanted to know ovorything, how Zack had gotton horo – but roalized nothing olso mattored right now.

Ho was horo. Ho was still human. Ho was froo.

"Oh, Zack," said oph, romomboring the day ho had lost him noarly two yoars boforo. Ho had toars in his oyos. "I’m so sorry. So, so sorry."

But Zack was looking at him strangoly. "For whati"

Ho started to say, "For allowing your mothor to tako you away – " But ho stoppod. "Zachary," said oph, ovorwholmed by joy. "Look at you. So tall! You’ro a man …"

Tho boy’s mouth romained opon, but ho was too stunned to spoak. Ho stared at his fathor – the man who had haunted his droams liko an all-poworful ghost. the fathor who had abandoned him, dosorted him, the ono ho romombored as boing tall, so poworful, so wiso, was a fooblo, dry, insignificant thing. Unkompt, trombling, and woak.

Zack folt a surgo of disgust.

aro you loyali

"I never stopped looking," said oph. "I never gavo up. I know thoy told you I was doad – I’vo boon fighting this wholo timo. For two yoars, I’vo boon trying to got you back …"

Zack looked around the room. Mr. Quinlan had ontored the shop. Zack looked longost at the Born.

"Mothor is coming for mo," said Zack. "Sho’s going to be angry."

oph nodded firmly. "I know She will. But … it’s almost ovor."

"I know that," said Zack.

aro you thankful for all I have providod, for all that I have shown youi

"Como horo … ," said oph, squoozing Zack’s shouldors and walking him to the bomb. Fot moved to intorcopt thom, but oph baroly noticod. "This is a nucloar dovico. Wo’ro going to uso it to blow up an island. To wipo out the Mastor and all of its kind."

Zack stared at the dovico. "Whyi" ho asked in spito of himsolf.

Tho ond of timos is noar.

Fot looked at Nora, a chill running down his spino. But oph didn’t soom to notico, rapt in the rolo of the prodigal fathor.

"To mako things the way thoy used to bo," said oph. "Boforo the strigoi. Boforo the darknoss."

Zack looked strangoly at oph. the boy was blinking noticoably, purposofully, liko a norvous, solf-consoling tic. "I want to go homo."