The Servants of Twilight

She looked at him with evident gratitude, and he winked at her, and she smiled a halfway real smile this time, and Charlie wanted to kiss her, but he didn't.

"Not a German shepherd," Christine said." They sort of scare me. Not a boxer either."

"What about a Great Dane?" Charlie asked, teasing her." Or maybe a St.

Bernard or a Doberman?"

"Yeah!" Joey said excitedly." A Doberman!"

"How about a big, fierce Alsatian with three-inch-long teeth'?"

Charlie said.

"You're incorrigible," Christine said, but she smiled again, and it was that smile he was trying so hard to elicit.

"We'll get a good dog," Charlie said." Don't worry. Trust me."

"Maybe I'll call him Pluto," Joey said.

Charlie looked askance." Why would you want to call me Pluto? "

Joey giggled." Not you. The new dog."

"Pluto," Charlie said, mulling it over." Not bad."

For that one shining moment, it seemed as if all was right with the world. It seemed there was no such thing as death. And for the first time, Charlie had the teeing that the three of them somehow belonged together, that their destinies were linked, that they had more of a future together than just their investigatorclient relationship. It was a nice, warm feeling. Too bad it couldn't last.

14

Two revolvers and two shotguns lay on the work table in the armory. All four weapons had been loaded. Boxes of spare ammunition stood beside the firearms.

Mother Grace had sent Edna Vanoff on another errand. She and Kyle were alone.

Kyle picked up the shotgun." I'll lead the attack."

"No," Mother Grace said.

"No? But you've always told me I'd be allowed to-"

"The boy won't be easy to kill," Mother Grace said.

"So?"

"He isn't fully human. Demonic blood flows in his veins."

"He doesn't frighten me," Kyle said.

"He should. His powers are great and growing every day."

"But I've got the power of Almighty God behind me."

"Nevertheless, this first attack will almost surely fail."

"I'm prepared to die," he said.

"I know, dear boy. I know. But I mustn't risk losing you at the very beginning of this battle. You're too valuable. You're my link between this world and the spirit realm."

"I'm also the hammer," he said petulantly.

"I'm aware of your strength."

She took the shotgun away from him, returned it to the table.

He felt a terrible need to strike out at something-as long as he was striking out in the name of God, of course. He no longer needed to wreak pain and destruction on the innocent merely for the satisfaction of it. Those days were gone forever. But he longed to be a soldier for God. His chest tightened and his stomach twisted with his need.

He had been looking forward to the attack tonight. Anticipation had rubbed his nerves raw." The hammer of God," he reminded her.

"And in time you'll be used," she assured him.

"When? "

"When there's a real chance of destroying the child."

"Huh? If there's no chance of destroying him tonight, then why go after the little bastard? Why not wait?"

"Because, if we're lucky, we might at least hurt him, wound him," Mother Grace said." And that will shake his confidence.

Right now, the little beast believes that we can never really cause him harm. If he begins to think he's vulnerable, then he'll become more vulnerable. We must first weaken his self-confidence.

Do you see?"

Reluctantly, Kyle nodded.

"And if we're very fortunate," Grace said, "if God is with us and the devil is off guard, we might be able to kill the mother.

Then the boy will be alone. The dog is already gone. If the mother is removed, as well, the boy will have no one, and his confidence will collapse, and he'll become extremely vulnerable."

" Then let me kill the mother," Kyle pleaded.

She smiled at him and shook her head." Dear boy, when God wants you to be His hammer, I'll tell you. Until then, you must be patient."

Charlie stood at the window with a pair of high-power binoculars that doubled as a camera. He focused on the man standing by the white van on the street below.

The stranger was about six feet tall, thin, pale, with a tightly compressed mouth, a narrow nose, and thick dark eyebrows that grew together in the center of his face. He was an intense-looking man, and he couldn't keep his hands still. One hand tugged at his shirt collar.

The other hand smoothed his hair, then pinched one ear lobe. Scratched his chin. Picked lint from his jacket.

Smoothed his hair again. He would never pass for an ordinary workman taking a leisurely lunch break.

Charlie snapped several pictures of him.

When Christine Scavello and Henry drove away in the woman's gray Firebird, the watcher almost got in the van to follow them. But he hesitated, looked around, puzzled, and finally decided to stay where he was.

Joey stood beside Charlie. He was just tall enough to see out the window." He's waiting for me, huh?"

"Looks that way."

"Why don't we go out there and shoot him?" Joey asked.

Charlie laughed." Can't go around shooting people. Not in California, anyway. Maybe if this was New York. "

"But you're a private eye," Joey said." Don't you have a license to kill?"