The Servants of Twilight

California was more tolerant of unusual and controversial views than any other state in the union; therefore, California was home to more cults, both good and bad, than anywhere else. It wouldn't be surprising if, for some bizarre reason, one of these cults had gone looking for scapegoats or sacrifices and had settled on an innocent six-year-old boy. Crazy, yes, but not particularly surprising.

Charlie hoped that wasn't the explanation for what had happened to the Scavellos. No one was harder to deal with than a religious fanatic on a holy mission.

Then, as Charlie turned away from Christine, as he looked back at the boy, something odd happened. Something frightening.

For a moment the boy's smooth young skin seemed to become translucent, then almost entirely transparent. Incredibly, the skull was visible beneath the skin. Charlie could see hollow dark eye sockets glaring at him. WonTis writhing deep in those calcimined pits. A bony smile.

Gaping black holes where the nose should have been. Joey's face was still there, though it was like a vague photograph superimposed over the skeletal countenance. A presentiment of death.

Shocked, Charlie stood and coughed.

The brief vision left him almost as soon as it came, shimmering before him for no more than a split second.

And he told himself it was his imagination, though nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

An icy snake of fear uncoiled in his stomach.

Just imagination. Not a vision. There weren't such things as visions.

Charlie didn't believe in the supernatural, in psychic phenomena or any of that claptrap. He was a sensible man and prided himself on his solid, dependable nature.

To cover his surprise and fear, but also to put the grisly sight out of mind, he said, "Uh, okay then, I think now you should just go on to work, Christine. As much as you can, try to carry on as if this were an ordinary day. I know it won't be easy. But you've got to get on with your business and your life while we're sorting this out for you. Henry Rankin will go with you. I've already talked to him about it."

" You mean. he'll come along as my bodyguard?"

"I know he's not a big man," Charlie said, "but he's a martial arts expert, and he carries a gun, and if I had to choose any man from among my staff to entrust with my own life, I think it would be Henry."

"I'm sure he's competent. But I don't really need a bodyguard. I mean, it's Joey the woman wants."

"And getting at you is an indirect way of getting at him," Charlie said

" Henry goes with you."

"What about me?" Joey said." Am I going to preschool?"

He looked at his Mickey Mouse watch." I'm already late."

"No preschool today," Charlie said." You'll stay with me."

"Yeah? Am I gonna help you do some investigating?"

Charlie smiled." Sure. I could use a bright young assistant."

"Wow! You hear him, Mom? I'm gonna be like Magnum."

Christine forced a smile, and even though it was false it made her face lovelier than ever. Charlie longed to see a real, warm, genuine smile take possession of her.

She kissed her son goodbye, and Charlie could see that it was difficult, even painful, for her to leave the boy under these circumstances.

He walked her to the door while, behind them, Joey picked up his Coke again.

She said, "Should I come back here after I leave work?"

"No. We'll bring him to the store at… what… five o'clock? "

" That'll be fine."

"Then you and Joey'll go home with bodyguards. They'll stay the night.

Two of them in the house with you. And I'll probably have a man stationed out on the street, watching for people who don't belong in the neighborhood."

Charlie opened the door between his office and the reception lounge, but suddenly Joey called out to his mother, and she turned back.

"What about the dog?" the boy said, getting up, coming out from around Charlie's desk.

"We'll look for one tomorrow, honey."

During the past few minutes, the boy had not been visibly frightened.

Now, he became tense and uneasy again." Today," he said." You promised. You said we'd get another dog today."

"Honey-',

"I got to have a dog today, before it gets dark," the boy said plaintively." I just got to, Mom. I got to."

"I can take him to buy a dog," Charlie said.

"You have work to do," she said.

"This is not a hole-in-the-wall operation, dear lady. I've got a staff to do the leg work. My job, for the time being, is to look after Joey, and if getting him a dog is part of looking after him, then I'll take him to get a dog. No problem. Is there any pet store you'd prefer?"

"We got Brandy at the pound," Joey said." Rescued him from certain death."

"Did you?" Charlie said, amused.

"Yeah. They was gonna put Brandy to sleep. Only it wasn't just sleep, see. What it was… well, it was sleep, yeah, but it was a whole lot worse than just sleep."

"I can take him to the pound," Charlie told Christine.

"We'll rescue another one!" Joey said.

"If it's not too much trouble," Christine said.

"Sounds like fun," Charlie said.