She took one step forward and felt a hand touch her gently.
“Catty.” The voice of the mysterious stranger made her stop.
“What now?” She didn’t bother to hide the irritation in her voice.
“Why are you delaying?” His tone sounded urgent.
“The Scroll has a curse,” Catty reminded him and slipped her hand into her pocket. She curled her fingers around the mirror she had taken from the dresser in her mother’s house.
“Every second you delay gives the Atrox more of a chance to find the Scroll.”
“It’s not as simple as you make it sound,” Catty responded angrily and slowly inched the mirror from her pocket.
“It is your destiny as heir.” His voice sounded as angry as hers now.
“Well, it’s not exactly as if I’m not trying,” Catty answered and eased the mirror upward. “But I’ve had to deal with Regulators and the death of my birth mother.”
Abruptly she brought the mirror up high enough to see the reflection of the person who stood behind her. She gasped and quickly turned. “Chris?” Her heart beat so rapidly she thought it would leave her body. She dropped the mirror back in her pocket. She felt totally confused, now. How could Chris be the one who had given her the Secret Scroll?
Then she started laughing. She felt mentally exhausted and supertired. No way was Chris the mysterious stranger. She must have misunderstood what he had said to her or maybe she had even fallen asleep in the geraniums and he had just now awakened her.
But when Chris spoke she knew with certainty that she had not been dreaming.
“I guess I’m glad I don’t have to pretend anymore.” His real voice was neither the one Chris had used with her before, or that of the mysterious stranger, but a pleasant tone in between. “It’s been really hard.”
She shook her head. Her thoughts whirled. Could it be true? “You gave me the Secret Scroll?”
He nodded.
“Why didn’t you just hand it to me?” Catty asked with mounting exasperation. “Why all the mystery?”
“I had to hide who I really was,” Chris insisted. “So I could succeed in accomplishing the task I have been ordained to do.”
Catty folded her arms over her chest. “Which is?”
“To protect the Scroll,” Chris explained. “The Keeper must always hide his identity.”
“Keeper?”
Chris stepped closer to her. “The one who protects the manuscript until it can be given to the heir.”
She exhaled. “I believed your act. You convinced me and my friends.”
His hand went up and gently touched her cheek. “I hated deceiving you, Catty. I really care about you. You gave me back emotions I hadn’t felt in years.”
She felt her heart skid away from her.
“What is it?” He seemed to sense her distress.
She cocked her head and stared at him. “You’re not just some guy I’m going to go to the prom with, are you?”
He shook his head.
“Why did you let me like you then?” She hated how desperate her voice sounded.
His hands rested on her shoulders and even in the faint lighting she could see the regret in his eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to happen this way. When I first met you I had no idea you were the one I’d be giving the Scroll to.”
“Why not?”
“Normally, I know who is going to be heir to the Scroll from the moment of their birth, but when your mother hid you from the Regulators she also hid you from me.”
“But you’re in Los Angeles now,” she stated. “Why did you come here?”
“I discovered that Maggie was in Los Angeles, so I assumed the Daughters were also here. When I saw the four of you go into Maggie’s apartment, I knew one of you was the heir, but that was already after I had met you. I really liked you. I still do, but I couldn’t chance having the Regulators see us together.”
Then another thought came to her and she pulled back. “Is this the way you really look or have I been kissing some decrepit old man?”
He laughed. “No, this is me.”
At least she hadn’t been kissing some old geezer. She sighed.
“What?” he asked and pulled her closer to him.
“I’m living in a nightmare,” she answered. “And it just keeps getting worse.”
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I knew I had to give up seeing you for the sake of the manuscript but I couldn’t. I never thought I would feel what it’s like to be in love again.”
She looked up at him, startled. Had he said in love? She couldn’t control the foolish smile spreading across her cheeks.
“Maybe we can be together someday,” he whispered.
“Someday?” she asked.
“You don’t stay in this form forever,” he said. “And if the Atrox is defeated…” He didn’t complete the sentence. He leaned forward and started to press his lips against hers.
“If the Atrox is defeated what?” she asked, her lips brushing the words against his mouth.
“Then we can be together.” He started to press against her but pulled back suddenly. “You’re too young to understand how much you mean to me.”
“Well, I’m not centuries old yet,” she added defensively.
“Not yet,” he chuckled and pulled her close against him.
He felt like flesh and bone. She opened her eyes. His skin looked young. His eyes were bright and clear.
“Have you finished checking?” he asked, his breath caressing her cheeks.
She closed her eyes and he kissed her. She parted her lips and felt his tongue brush lightly against hers. She leaned against him, forgetting all her problems and let herself feel the comfort of his arms around her. Maybe everything would turn out all right.
And then Chris reluctantly released her. “I can’t stay with you, Catty. The Regulators don’t know who I am yet, and they don’t know for sure which one of you is the heir. It’s safer if we don’t see each other for now.”
He walked backward until he was at the corner of the house, then he turned and walked away.
She felt suddenly optimistic, better than she had in days. With a sudden impulse she decided to share the news about Chris with Vanessa. Everything was going to work out now. She was sure of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
CATTY RAN INSIDE and checked on Kendra. She was sleeping, a bottle of aspirin beside her bed. “You’re going to be all right, Kendra,” Catty promised her. “I know I’ll find a way to help you.” She kissed her forehead. The skin felt hot and dry. She took another blanket from the closet and placed it around Kendra, then she called a cab.
Twenty minutes later, she was running up the walk to Vanessa’s small Craftsman-style house. She hurried past the twisted olive tree in the front yard and went around to the back. Even before she opened the door, she could smell popcorn. She walked in, calling Vanessa’s name.
“It’s me, Vanessa,” she called. “Please be home.”
Vanessa crossed the kitchen. Normally, a smile burst across her face when she saw Catty, but her face seemed solemn. Her hair was tangled, and she was rubbing her eyes.
“Something wrong?” Catty asked and pinched a kernel of popcorn from the bowl on the table. She threw it up in the air and caught it with her mouth.
Vanessa smiled sluggishly. “I must have fallen asleep on the couch.”
“Guess what?” Catty opened the refrigerator and pulled out a Coke. She popped the top and took a drink.
Vanessa only stared at her.
“Well, you could show some enthusiasm,” Catty squealed. “I’m about to tell you one of the most exciting stories of my life!”
“What?” Vanessa was suddenly interested.
“Chris!” Catty shouted. “He’s not seeing anyone else.”
“I never thought he was,” Vanessa answered. “Is that what you came over to tell me?”
“But guess what else?” Catty set the Coke aside. She felt too excited to drink it now.
/>
Vanessa got a surprised look on her face. “You didn’t…”
“Of course, we didn’t,” Catty interrupted her and sat down at the table. “This is way more exciting.”
Vanessa looked puzzled. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and faced Catty. “More exciting than that?”
Catty leaned forward. “He’s the mysterious stranger.”
A worried look flashed across Vanessa’s face and then it was gone. “What do you mean?” she whispered as if she were afraid someone would hear.
“The person who gave me the manuscript,” Catty announced. “It was Chris all along.”
Vanessa’s hand clasped Catty’s and her face looked confused as if she were fighting conflicting emotions.
“What’s wrong?” Catty turned.
Toby walked quietly into the kitchen, his eyes glaring.
“Do you always listen to private conversations?” Catty practically yelled, then she turned to Vanessa. “You should have told me that Toby was here.”
Vanessa didn’t respond. She seemed almost unaware that anyone was in the room with them, her eyes were glazed and her mind seemed far away.
Catty glanced back at Toby. He smiled at her smugly. “Now I know who the Keeper is.”
Catty felt her heart sink. “A Regulator.” As Catty said the word the room seemed to come alive with an electrical charge. The small hairs on her arms and neck rose, and she suddenly understood why she and Jimena and Serena were always getting tiny shocks when Toby was around.
“You liked my disguise?” Toby grinned maliciously and his eyes became clouded, rheumy with age, and yellowed. The skin on his face fell into wrinkles as the flesh turned a sickly green color. His perfectly cut hair grew into thick tangles. But worse was his smell, and the bluish mold that gathered on his clothes and skin.
Catty stood suddenly. The chair legs scraped across the kitchen floor with a horrible scream. She backed away from him. Her hand rose automatically and covered her nose.
“Now you two can see the real me.” His mouth stretched into a ghoulish wound and his fingers grew longer, the nails yellowing and splitting.
Toby crouched over Vanessa, his breathing labored, and kissed the top of her head.
Catty wondered how Vanessa didn’t cringe from him. She didn’t even seem to notice the way Toby looked now, or his putrid smell.
Toby stood up again, his clawlike hands resting on Vanessa’s shoulders. “Vanessa can only see me the way I want her to see me,” he bragged in an ugly rasping voice. “I’ve gone into her dreams every night and influenced all of her thoughts.” He patted Vanessa. “You see me as quite charming, don’t you, Vanessa?”
Catty felt ill. She looked at Vanessa and wondered what she could do to save her friend. She felt too rattled to think clearly.
Toby cleared his throat and when she looked back at him, he was again in his high-school-boy disguise.
“I will take care of Chris,” he spoke with assurance. “All that remains is for you to destroy the manuscript.”
“No chance of that.” Catty folded her arms across her chest.
“Is that so?” Toby asked. “All right, then.” He turned to Vanessa. “Do you want to go away with me, Vanessa?”
Vanessa stood quickly and placed her arms around him. “Yes,” she answered without hesitation, but Catty thought she saw a flicker of doubt cross Vanessa’s eyes.
“Come, then.” Toby took her hand and started to lead her out the back door.
“Wait!” Catty yelled.
Toby glanced back at her.
“I’ll get rid of the manuscript,” she offered. “Just let Vanessa stay with me.”
“You’ll get rid of it?”
She nodded.
He considered her for a long moment.
“Meet me tomorrow night in Griffith Park before the full moon rises. Bring the manuscript with you, and I’ll show you how to destroy it.”
“Where in the park?” Catty asked.
“Near the carousel.” He started to lead Vanessa out the door again.
“Wait.” Catty ran after them and grabbed Vanessa’s hand. “Vanessa stays with me.”
Vanessa cast Catty a strange look and jerked her hand away. “What are you doing, Catty?”
“I want you to stay with me,” Catty urged.
“Why?” Vanessa looked perplexed.
Catty grabbed Vanessa and held her tightly. “Please, I’ll give you the manuscript right now,” Catty told him. “Just let Vanessa stay.”
“That’s not what I want,” he assured her. “The manuscript cannot be destroyed by ordinary means. It can only be destroyed by the destined heir.” He looked at her maliciously. “Bring it to the park tomorrow night and then you can have Vanessa back.”
Catty nodded her agreement but she knew intuitively that there was no way Toby was going to surrender Vanessa once Catty had surrendered the manuscript. The Regulators would destroy them, or worse, change them both into Followers.
Before she was even aware that she was speaking, words spilled from her mouth. “O Mater Luna, Regina nocis, adiuvo me nunc.” The prayer was only said in times of grave danger.
Catty watched Vanessa leave. She felt totally hopeless.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AT HOME, CATTY sat on the front porch steps and gazed up at the western sky. Veils of smoke wreathed around the moon. The fire in the hills behind her home had been contained but a larger one had started in the chaparral in another area.
She didn’t see any way to outwit Toby. She thought about calling Serena and Jimena, but that felt too dangerous. She’d only be inviting them to their doom, and she didn’t want more people harmed by the manuscript.
Maybe it was best to destroy it. That might save Chris and Kendra at least. Why would Regulators need to go after Chris if there was no manuscript to protect? And if the manuscript were destroyed, then perhaps Kendra would be free of the curse as well.
The night had fallen quiet but for a fleeting moment, she thought she heard someone call her name. She listened carefully wondering if it was Kendra.
Then soft steps crossed the porch and she turned expecting to see Kendra, but instead a woman walked toward her with slow, easy steps. Was she a neighbor searching for a lost pet? Catty didn’t recognize her and she didn’t feel like talking with a stranger.
“Can I help you?” Catty asked.
“You help me?” the woman answered and a wry smile crossed her face as if she thought the idea was funny. She sat down on the porch stoop next to Catty and stared up at the moon.
The woman sighed and looked at Catty. “How can you lose hope now, when it is most important?”
Catty shook her head. She didn’t know what the woman was talking about, and just as quickly the woman answered her thoughts.
“You know very well what I’m talking about,” the woman said. “That’s all you’ve been thinking.”
Catty studied her. She had an inexplicable feeling that the woman sitting beside her wasn’t just a neighbor. Serena and Jimena had each told her about visits from a moon goddess when they were desperate. Could the woman beside her be the goddess Selene in disguise? Catty felt a wrinkle of irritation. Her situation really was hopeless. “This is the end,” Catty said. “There’s no escape. I don’t have any choices left.”
Again the woman smiled as if she found humor in Catty’s answer. “You always have a choice.”
“Right,” Catty answered sarcastically.
“No situation is ever completely hopeless,” the woman insisted. “You’re just not seeing the alternatives.”
“Get real,” Catty said.
“Maybe if you told me your problem—”
“I thought you already knew about my problems,” Catty cut in.
“Suit yourself.” The woman stood to leave.
Catty sighed heavily and spoke in a weary voice. “I don’t even know if the manuscript is worth saving, because it has hurt so many people. It turned Maggie against me,
and the curse is so powerful that even the Regulators are afraid to touch it.”
The woman sat down again. “Maggie never betrayed you.”
“She didn’t?” Catty turned sharply and stared at the woman. “How do you know?”
“Trust me.” The woman smiled. “Maggie believes in the curse, and she thought she was protecting you.”
“But why were the Regulators in her apartment, then?” Catty desperately wanted to believe in Maggie, still. “She was going to give the manuscript to them.”
“Yes,” the woman nodded. “She wanted to see the manuscript destroyed, so that the Atrox would think it was safe. She didn’t know the manuscript could only be destroyed by the heir. If the Atrox believed it was safe, it would be less cautious. Only then would she send her beloved Daughters to fight it.”
Catty’s heart pounded.
The woman tilted her head and looked at Catty. “Maggie had memorized the Path of the manuscript before she offered to surrender it to the Regulators, but then…” Her eyes twinkled and she shrugged. “The manuscript mysteriously disappeared from her apartment.”
“I stole it,” Catty confessed.
“Of course you did.” The woman smiled kindly.
“Did…did they harm her?” Catty’s voice was shaky and her hands trembled. She couldn’t bare it if one more person were harmed because of her stupidity.
“No. After all, she was going to give them the manuscript. They wrongly consider her an ally.”
Catty felt relieved. She didn’t know what she would have done if the Regulators had hurt Maggie. The woman glanced at the moon. It was beginning to set. “Well, my time is up.” She stood and started to leave, then turned and looked back at Catty. “It’s strange,” she started.
“What?” Catty asked.
“Just that you’ve never followed the rules before,” the woman explained. “And so now I’m wondering, why are you going to follow them when you are dealing with the most deceitful being in creation?”