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IV

HARRY: WEIRD WARNINGS

BONNIE JEAN: SHE WONDERS AND

WORRIES

Beyond the bayover the distant hills and glea th BJ &039;s powers - or some of them, such as her metamorphism - had waned with it But others had been hers froreatest talents had been his mentalism and, upon a time, his metamorphism, of course; and BJ was blood of his blood She would have all that was due to her in the fullness of timeeven if it took another two centuries for full developuiler That was her art: hypnotism Aided by the wine, her eyes and mind would exercise such power even over this aard subject, this Harry Keogh, that he would become as a toy in her hands: hers to command, to do with as she willed And because she had never failed, BJ never once considered the idea of failure

In this she was surely fortunate, for Harry Keogh&039;s metaphysical mind wasn&039;t at its best It resisted the Necroscope&039;s contours; echoes of Alec Kyle&039;s precognitive talents continued to shape it; its defences had been under But Bonnie Jean knew none of this

Now, drawing the small table to one side, she positioned her chair so that the chandelier hung just to the right of her head, where its scintillant pendant crystals continued to turn to and fro but on a level with her eyes And in this position she faced the hteen inches to two feet of space, and said, &039;Harry, noe&039;ll do so else When I tell you to, I want you to look into my eyes Not now, but when I tell you Is that understood?&039;

&039;Sure,&039; he said &039;But it&039;s still your turn&039;

Oh, he had willpower, this man! But so did BJ, and she also had the wine - and powers other than will - to subvert the will of others &039;But that game is over now,&039; she insisted &039;And at my command you will look into my eyes&039; And before he could answer, if he&039;d intended to:

&039;Harry, this is no longer a "normal" conversation Your mind isn&039;t yours to control You feel the effects of the wine You feel ill as never before Your brain is swi Only I can stop it Only an to loll on the cushions, to and fro, backwards and forwards More beads of sweat stood out on his brow, foroten frowns But his pin-prick pupils never once left the pendants, even though his eyes roled to the motion of his face and head

&039;You do believe me, don&039;t you?&039; she went on &039;You do feel those effects I&039;ve described?&039; In co, persuasive voice, the action of the delusion-inducing, suggestion-enhancing orked on Harry&039;snow and beginning to convulse As rapidly as that, he displayed al the syht even be sick!

And: Now! thought Bonnie Jean, reaching behind her back to the top of her sheath dress, finding the zipper, drawing it down, down, and shrugging the garment off her shoulders Let it be now! For ato her breasts, then fel forward and exposed her to the waist She stood up, stepped out of the dress as it fel, and pushed down her panties And once again: Now! Let it be now!

This would take some effort; it wasn&039;t her time; the ful moon was BJ&039;s tith now, h would listen to her as a woman, and obey her to a point But as the Other she would be more powerful yet and have complete control over him, or so nearly co herself naked before hiht fill her brain It forht there in her rooe powers, and one of change And Bonnie Jeanchanged!

It was as if her flesh rippled; it was as if her colours flowed, especialy the colour of her hair, out of her head and into her body The grey highlights were highlights no rey, almost white Her coat, pelt, fur, hite! And her eyes: their shape was angular now, triangular, or at least frae, and their colour - was blood!

And Bonnie Jean&039;s lipsher mouthher teeth!

It was metaplasia, but almost instantaneous It was metamorphosis, monstrous and immediate If the Necroscope had been awake, or other than entranced - if he&039;d seen it, experienced it - then he would have knohat it ould have known to cry out And the one awesome word he would have cried: 169

Wamphyri!

But he hadn&039;t seen, didn&039;t know And the breath he ht have felt upon his face, which came from scant inches away noas still sweet - not with the sweetness of perfume but an animal sweetness, or h, a grunt, a growl, but still her words which he must obey:

&039;My eyes, Harry Only my eyes If you would put an end to your sickness, your misery, then look into my eyes

Don&039;t look at mebut only into aze, into those eyes which had fascinated Mesmer himself, into a hypnotic whirlpool that was easily the equal of Doctor James Anderson&039;s; except James Anderson had been here first, and his post-hypnotic commands still applied They were buried deep, but they were here and they were still active

And: There,&039; the creature that was Bonnie Jean husked, binding Harry to her gaze &039;And all your pain is eased, your sickness is washed away, the whirling of your brain has been stilled Now tel ood, Harry?&039;

The Necroscope tried to answer but couldn&039;t; his tongue ollen, his throat parched But she heard his sigh, and sa the heaving of his chest gradually subsided And finally, completely under her spell, he nodded

And his pinprick pupils were like criaze, or tiny planets swayed by the lure of twin suns

In the ht headache and felt like death warmed up Then he sahere he was, knew that he&039;d spent the night here without re about it (well, except for the really i-roo onto the stairwell landing in a towelling robe She&039;d showered and her hair was still da fro

&039;God!&039; said Harry, sitting up and laying aside the blanket she had thrown over him And he meant it when he repeated: &039;God!&039; For the last ti in London, after taking Darcy Clarke&039;s sleeping pill

She sered back his hair and gritted his teeth, and told him: &039;When you went, you went really fast and never knehat hit you But I have to admit I asked for it After all, you&039;d warned me that you weren&039;t runted That stuff? How can anything that tastes so good be so wicked?&039;

&039;But isn&039;t that always the way is it?&039; She laughed at his pained expression &039;Anyway, it was either the wineor the life of a secret agent is very, very strenuous!&039;

&039;Ah!&039; he said &039;I told you about that?&039; (But how much? Had he been that drunk, or ill, or whatever?)

&039;Nothing specific - but I would have known anyway I mean, you were so calm and controlled in that awful situation in London You would have to be soet us out of that place the way you did!&039;

With which ht The words &039;that awful situation in London&039; were a er, a trip to release his stored &039; neatly into place

Her irls were very special to her, and she felt like a mother to them; in almost every case they&039;d been in need of care up until the time she employed them Also, she had known that Skippy was &039;a bad one&039; If the police weren&039;t able to pin the ether and work out that BJ had fingered hi for her! It seemed like a perfectly sound motive - to the Necroscope, at least Because BJ had told hi on the heads of the ornamental crossbow bolts? Perfectly acceptable Even the odd little chap who had been watching the place: the father of one of the bar&039;s hostesses,that she worked in a decent place? Or perhaps a private detective following one of BJ &039;s more dubious custo Jih, too!

And so his memories seemed whole, cole discordant note to jar his ht was concerned, that page of the Necroscope&039;s mind had been re-written

Maybe he frowned once or twice, and blinked as BJ sat down beside him and poured coffee, but that was all Harry&039;s ht noas that he hadn&039;t been botherso her red winewell, the night&039;s events were vague, to say the least!

&039;Have you decided, then?&039; BJ broke into his thoughts

Startled, he looked at her &039;Decided?&039;

She nodded, sighed, said, &039;My, but you&039;re having a really rough time of it, aren&039;t you? Have you decided when you&039;ll continue your search for your wife and baby! It was the very last thing you said to me before you, er, turned in? No, I can see that you don&039;t remember You said that you&039;d have to sleep on it You toldat you thisI can&039;t say I&039;d advise you to travel anywhere too far too fast, Harry Keogh!&039;

Too far too fast&039; The word sequence opened another door in the Necroscope&039;s mind Brenda and his son He had come here to find out if there was a connection between Bonnie Jean and their disappearance Forlorn hope! No, BJ was just a strong-willed young wo matters into her own hands And Harry couldn&039;t deny that if he&039;d been in her place he would probably have done prettyAn eye for an eye Her connection therefore was purely coincidental

And despite his false ht: where Brenda was concerned, BJ&039;s co on the scene had been entirely coincidental

So, back to her question Til think it over - think it out - a while longer,&039; he said &039;Well, for a couple of weeks, anyway&039; (A couple of weeks? Yes, he was decided Three weeks at least to think it out) And fingering his scalp again: That is, when I can think again! But I&039;l need at least that long to work out soed &039;Well, it&039;s none of my business, of course It&039;s just that I wish you luck But whatever you do, you will stay in touch, right? Letat her; he was sitting there holding his head between his hands, blinking his stinging eyes and trying to focus the half off his foot But her words rang in his ht involuntary jerk, was unable to stop his reaction, as a short, sharp series of vivid scenes flooded his old, sailing a clear night sky That was al he should have seen, and he knew it - knew so however briefly, like a naue that coly away: &039;When theits full, stay in touch!&039; That was all there should be, yes But there was s, salivating leathery lips, pointed ears and grey fur; and co soe that Harry couldn&039;t read Then thethe wolfs head in silhouette, thrown back in a silent, throbbing howl!

The kaleidoscopic scenes were thereand they were gone And even the knowledge that they&039;d been there was gone, except for a fading shadow on Harry&039;s , or not entirely correct, conclusion: it had to be Alec Kyle, his precognition!

But had it been a warning, or what? Or was it simply an echo not of the future but the past, a flashback to the madness and one

BJ had seen hi hi her off balance There was a ses of one - that she hadn&039;t quite ht out, as it were, she shook her head and said: &039;So there we have it: no drinking h!&039;

So, she&039;d been sht? But a very secretive sort of sain Harry juood many heavy drinkers in her bar Alcoholics even Let&039;s face it, you could find alcoholics in just about any bar anywhere in the world Couldn&039;t you? The trouble was the Necroscope didn&039;t know much about them

Only what he&039;d heard For instance: one drink is enough for soht and never show it for a moment What kind of drinker had Alec Kyle been, really? A heavy one, h to hold down his job at E-Branch? And here was Harry Keogh, lumbered with Kyle&039;s body And his addiction?

He looked at the tray where BJ had set it on the pine table The coffee looked good but he really didn&039;t fancy anything to eat His throat was sandpaper-dry and his brain felt like a wet sponge! But Bonnie Jean had asked him a question God, he felt so stupid! What was it she&039;d asked?

&039;Won&039;t I be seeing you again?&039; She obliged him

&039;I I have your number,&039; he told her &039;I&039;ll knohere to contact you&039; (But why in hell would he want to contact her, apart froht? He was sure that nothing had happened here)

Mulling it over, he drank his coffee&039;

Half an hour later he left, walking off along the street into a dreary irls reported back to her and said: &039;I followed him, like you said But I lost hiry She had obtained Harry&039;s telephone nuht, an error on her part She&039;d wanted to knohere he lived, how to get there and what it looked like - things that she could have asked hiht It had seemed such a perfect coincidence: the fact that he had a place up here close to Edinburgh! But she&039;d known that Harry would &039;stay in touch&039; with her, and so hadn&039;t really considered the possibility that he irl after hiive it a little ent What if this place of his wasn&039;t &039;his&039; place at all but a safe house?

Perhaps it was a good thing her girl had lost hi for him, to whistle him away, and the telephone number was merely a contact number She kneas listed, which meant she couldn&039;t use it to discover his address All very irritating! And because the girl hadn&039;t answered her yet: &039;How could you lose hient&039;s,&039; the girl told her hurriedly &039;I thought he&039;d be buying a newspaper and waited in my car

But he didn&039;t come back out&039;

&039;Maybe he&039;d spotted you!&039; BJ snapped &039;I told you to be careful He&039;s no fool, that one&039;

&039;I thought I was careful,&039; the girl looked bewildered

BJ&039;s attitude softened, and finally she said, &039;Maybe he went out the back way&039; And she left it at that For after all, Harry was that kind of man And in his line of work ittailed

Indeed, he had said as ain she reht in London: the action in the garage, and howso had happened to her, before she came to her senses in the alley; then how Harry had seeood at his job, all right! But in any case, what difference did it ain, and even when he would be in touch: in just three weeks&039; tiirl went down to tidy up in the bar room For in fact she, too, was lost for an explanation as to how she had so stupidly, even ridiculously, lost her target Because as far as she knew - having checked and double-checked - the newsagent&039;s shop in question didn&039;t have any back way out!

Harry&039;s coat was of the voluht have worn in so out of it in the old house near Bonnyrig, he beca out the left-hand side pocket, and of extra weight on that side He would have noticed it sooner, except he wasn&039;t up to noticingIt was a small, flat bottle of BJ&039;s wine; no label, but the saift, obviously What, froht anyone would think she&039;d know better Red wine and Harry Keogh didn&039;t mix! Maybe she&039;d simply dumped it on him before soave it no further considerationbecause he&039;d been told not to

There was so else that BJ hadn&039;t mentioned about her &039;Greek&039; wine: the fact that it was savagely addictive, far more so than any cocaine derivative But even if the Necroscope had,known, right then he wouldn&039;t have been able to so much as look at the stuff Not yet, anyway

It was , and Harry was stil tired; he had a stiff neck froover Taking aspirins, he tried to think straight There were things he had to do this- if only he could remember what they were! But -

- Call your superiors The people you worked for Getout any unnecessary investigations on an innocent girl, noe?

No, of course not ButBonnie Jean wasn&039;t on the hook, was she? They didn&039;t even-know about her! Even as these pseudohts crossed his mind, Harry had picked up the &039;phone and dialled Darcy&039;s nuht be in his office And he was

&039;Harry? What can I do for you?&039; And more quickly: &039;If it&039;s about Brenda, I&039; else,&039; the Necroscope cut in And now he knehat it really was about &039;Darcy, check and see if the police down there have an unsolved irl or young woo? If they have, you can tell them the case is closed Tell them it was down to Skippy or our would-be olf - or both of the on that?&039;

&039;No, it was just so that came up&039;

&039;Oh Well, thanks anyway&039;

&039;Oh, and you re on the heads on those crossbow bolts? Well, it was ornamental They once decorated a wall over a fireplace in a hunting lodge or so&039;

&039;You have been working on it!&039;

&039;No,&039; Harry sighed &039;Just checking back on everything that was going on at that time, that&039;s all The time when Brenda and my son

you know&039;

&039;Sure,&039; said Darcy And: &039;Well, thanks again, Harry&039;

&039;Also,&039; the Necroscope blurted, before Darcy could put the &039;phone down, &039;youmore about Alec Kyle&039;

&039;If I know, I&039;ll tell you,&039; Darcy answered

&039;I asked you if he liked a drink You told me he wasn&039;t a heavy drinker, but that when he did take a nip, then he really went to town on it&039;

That&039;s right&039;

&039;Could he have had a problem that you didn&039;t know about? I mean, is it possible he was an alcoholic and knew it, but he had it more or less under control? Except on occasion, when it would break out and he&039;d have to feed it? Wait! Don&039;t give ht It could be very important, and I kno loyal you are, Darcy"