Jack cursed himself for not guessing Luke might be palming a folder.

"Luke!" Semelee cried. "What're you doin'?"

"Taking care of business."

"I've got the sh.e.l.l! Put that away!"

Luke shook his head. "Uh-uh. We're leavin' with Carl and and the sh.e.l.l. None of this trade s.h.i.t." the sh.e.l.l. None of this trade s.h.i.t."

Jack started creeping his free hand around toward his back while they argued, taking his time, moving a few millimeters at a time.

"Luke," Semelee said, "we told him we'd trade and that's what we're gonna do."

Luke shook his head, never taking his eyes off Jack. "I'm callin' the shots here, Semelee. This is man's work."

"You better put that knife away, Luke," Semelee told him. "His daddy's over there in that willow thicket with a rifle trained on us."

Jack stiffened. The little stand of trees where he'd stationed his father was about a hundred and fifty yards away. How did she know?

Luke's gaze snapped past Jack's shoulder, then back. He grinned. "That old coot? What's he gonna do?"

"Think about that," Semelee said. "He's got a rifle and he's been watchin' this spot since before any of us arrived."

How did she know know ? ?

"Yeah? So? He ain't gonna hit nothin' from that distance. But if he's watchin', maybe he'd like to watch me cut his little boy's face."

As Luke drew back his arm for a slash, Jack reached for his Glock and raised his free arm to block the thrust, but didn't have to.

Everything seemed to happen at once-red sprayed from Luke's head, something whizzed by Jack's ear, a rifle cracked cracked from somewhere behind him, though not necessarily in that order. from somewhere behind him, though not necessarily in that order.

Semelee screamed as Luke staggered back, spun, and crashed face first into the water. A bright red stain began to drift away from him in the barely existent current.

Jack drew the Glock and turned to stare at the thicket.

Jesus, Dad! You didn't have to go for a kill shot.

This was going to make for big trouble-police, coroner's inquests, the whole legal ball of wax-s.h.i.t!

"Luke! Luke!" Corley cried as he splashed toward him.

Jack kept the Glock trained on him; to his left, Semelee hadn't moved; she stood with her hands pressed against her mouth. Carl was in a squat, looking around like a cat who'd just heard thunder for the first time.

And then, miraculously, Luke jerked his face out of the water and coughed. He shook his head and sat up. Blood still streamed down his forehead, but Jack could see now that it was from a front-to-back furrow along the center of his scalp.

Jack had to laugh. Dad, you p.i.s.ser! You p.i.s.ser! p.i.s.ser!

"He only parted your hair, big boy," Jack said. "Next time, he parts your tiny brain." He waved his pistol at Corley. "Get him back to the boat." Jack motioned Carl toward the canoe. "Welcome back, Carl. Get that thing turned around and ready to go."

Carl grinned. "You got it."

"Wait," Semelee said as Jack turned to go.

"Sorry. Gotta go. We're finished with this bulls.h.i.t."

"No." She reached out and touched his arm. Gently. "I need to talk to you."

"Sorry."

"Please?"

8.

Jack waited. Semelee looked around as if checking to make sure Luke was out of earshot.

She lowered her voice. "You gotta believe I didn't know Luke was gonna pull somethin' like that."

Jack looked into her eyes and did believe. "Okay. But that wouldn't have made much difference if I was the one bleeding now instead of your pal there."

"Please don't be mad at me."

The plaintive note in her voice, the fawn like look in her huge dark eyes...Jack couldn't fathom what she was up to.

"Lady, you've got to be kidding." He went to jab a finger at her and realized he still had the Glock in his hand. So he pointed with his left. "This is all your doing. We're all here because of you. You kidnapped Carl. You're behind the deaths of three innocent folks, and it was only by luck that my dad didn't wind up the fourth."

"You gonna tell the cops?"

"Maybe."

A slow smile stretched her lips. "No, you ain't. I can tell."

Well, she had that right. Jack couldn't see any point of bringing cops into the picture. The Dade County DA was going to charge Semelee with what? Murder by coral snake? Murder by bird? Yeah, right.

"You can't blame me," she said. "Don't you see? It wasn't really me. It was all part of the plan."

"Plan?" Jack felt the weight of the pistol in his hand. I should put one in her right now, he thought. Who knew how many lives he'd save if she never got back to her lagoon. "Well, you'd better come up with another plan, because I'm declaring this one over, done, finis finis."

"Ain't my plan."

That caught Jack off guard. "Then whose?"

"The lights'."

Oh, boy, Jack thought. Here we go.

"You mean the lights-the ones that supposedly come out of your sinkhole-are behind all this?"

She beamed. "Yeah. I didn't see it before, but then I got the big picture. It's all been part of a plan, one big, beautiful plan."

"Okay. The lights have a plan." The lights...if they were connected to the nexus point, then, according to Anya, they were connected to the Otherness. "Tell me about it."

Her smile widened. "Can't tell you all of it, but I can tell you some. I can tell you that the lights drew me back here so's I could find out who I was."

"Really. And who would that be?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that. Leastways not yet. Only someone real close to me can know that."

"Well, I'm only a foot or two away."

"Not that that kind of close. The other kind of close...the way you're gonna be with me real soon." kind of close. The other kind of close...the way you're gonna be with me real soon."

Oooooh, lady, I wouldn't count on that, Jack thought.

"Really."

"Yeah. Which brings me to another part of the big picture: the sacrifices. They was done for a purpose."

"Like what?"

"To get you down here."

Jack's mouth went dry. All along he'd had a niggling suspicion, a creeping fear that his father hadn't been a random victim; but having it laid out before him like this was unnerving.

I'm responsible.

But he saw a problem.

He licked his lips. "Wait. That doesn't make sense. You say your lights figured if they killed my father I'd come down here. But I might not not have come. My brother might have come instead. And why the other three deaths before him?" have come. My brother might have come instead. And why the other three deaths before him?"

Semelee shrugged. "Who can explain how the lights think? Maybe they liked the sacrifices, maybe they knew Mr. Weldon would get to your daddy sooner or later and so they just let things happen. Maybe your daddy's name came up when only you could come. Don't much matter none. You're here, ain't you."

Yeah, he thought. I'm here all right.

"Why would your lights want me here?"

Semelee smiled. "For me."

"For you? What do you want with me? What do you even know about me?"

"I know you're special. And I know we was meant to be together."

"Yeah? Well, sorry. You and your lights are a little late. I'm taken."

"Don't matter. It's gonna be you and me. Can't stop it. It's like...like..."

"Kismet?"

"Kiss what?"

"Destiny?"

"Yeah, that's it. Destiny. You and me's destined to be together. You're gonna bring me in, take me back with you, make me belong, and then together we're gonna rule the roost."

Make you belong? he thought. Boy, sister, have you picked the wrong guy. "Listen, if you're an outsider, the last guy you want to hook up with is me."

"Lemme be the judge of that." She stepped closer until her lips were barely an inch from his. "I'll meet you tonight at-"

"Sorry," Jack said, backing away. "Game over. Hangout with your lights and your buddies here, do whatever floats your boat, but stay away from Gateways, especially from my father." He raised the Glock and held it beside his head, muzzle skyward. "I see you or any of your clan within a hundred yards of my father, you're dead. Not figuratively dead, not virtually dead, not merely dead, but clearly and sincerely dead. Got it?"

She stared at him with her big, suddenly sad eyes. Her lower lip trembled.

"No...you can't..."

"Got it?"

Jack turned and sloshed over toward where Carl waited with the boat in the deeper water.

"You can't!"she screamed behind him.

Watch me.

9.

"He needs killin', Semelee," Luke said. "He needs killin' real bad."

They had the deck of the Horse-ship Horse-ship all to theirselfs. Semelee sat with her legs danglin' over the side, starin' at her reflection in the water. Luke crouched next to her. all to theirselfs. Semelee sat with her legs danglin' over the side, starin' at her reflection in the water. Luke crouched next to her.

His head had stopped bleedin'. Finally. For a while there she'd thought he was gonna lose every drop of blood in his body. He'd refused to go to the hospital, sayin' he'd heal up just fine without no d.a.m.n fool doctors stickin' him with needles. Maybe he was right, but he sure looked stupid with that red bandanna tied across his head and under his chin.

"You're right," Semelee told him. "For once, I ain't got no argument with you."

Luke stared at her with shocked eyes. "You mean it?"