"I can't believe June is dead," Steven said. "We've failed."

"I'm afraid we have," Roy said.

"We can still save Robbie," Steven said.

"We can't go in there," Roy said. "We can't afford to get June's blood on us. The cops need to see us as innocent, outside the house. Even if we went inside, what would we do when we reached Robbie's room?"

They could hear sirens in the distance. Soon a blue Seattle police cruiser appeared at the house, lights flashing. Steven and Roy walked toward the officer as he got out of his car.

"We called it in," Roy said.

"What's going on?" the officer asked.

Roy explained that they had come by to visit June and her grandson, but when they received no answer at the door, they tried opening it, and saw June's body inside. Then they called 911.

"There's also something very noisy going on in the house," Roy said.

"Noisy?" the officer asked, going back to his car and radioing for backup.

"Yes, noisy," Roy said. "It sounds like a hurricane in there. Maybe something is wrong with the furnace."

"Did you see any guns?" the officer asked.

"No," Roy said, "but there's blood everywhere. I think she was stabbed. And her daughter drove off just a minute before you arrived."

The officer asked for a description of the daughter and her vehicle, and went back to his radio.

"Anyone else in the house? That you know of?" the officer asked.

"Her grandson, Robbie, is probably in there. He's 10," Roy said.

"Did you see him?" the officer asked.

"No," Roy said. "We didn't go in. We only saw June's body from outside the front door."

"I'm waiting for backup to arrive before we go in," he said. "I'm going to check out the exterior of the house while we wait. You two stay here by my car."

They watched as the officer walked toward the house and circled it. As he was coming back, a second police car arrived. The two officers conferred for a moment, then drew their guns and approached the front door. They opened it and walked inside.

The sound of the freight train was audible even from the sidewalk. After a few moments, Steven and Roy heard yelling. Then two shots.

"What happened?" Steven asked.

"I think I may have just f.u.c.ked up," Roy said, lowering his head.

"What?" Steven said.

Another police cruiser pulled up, and an officer got out.

"Officer!" Roy called. The cop walked over to him.

"Two of your fellow officers just went in there," Roy said. "We just heard two shots. I implore you not to go in there."

The officer used his radio to call for more help, and while waiting for the additional backup to arrive, Roy related the events once again. "I believe they're dead. I don't think you can stop what's going on in there. If you go in, you'll die, too."

"And what is going on in there?" the officer asked.

"You need to catch the daughter," Roy said. "She was covered in blood when she drove off, not five minutes ago."

"We'll do that," the officer said, "but I want you to tell me what's in there."

"As far as I know, Robbie is in there, and the other two officers," Roy said.

"And who is Robbie?" the officer asked.

"June's grandson," Roy said. "He's ten years old."

"Anything else?" the officer asked.

"Things are confusing in there," Roy said. "I think your officers might have shot each other. If you go in, the same could happen to you."

While they were talking, three more police cars arrived, making a total of five lined up along the street outside June's house. The noise from the house was increasing.

"What's that we're hearing?" the officer asked Roy.

"I don't know," Roy said. "When we were at the door, it sounded like a hurricane in there. Maybe something is wrong with the air conditioning?"

"Wait here," he said, eyeing them both. "Don't move."

"We won't," Roy said.

The officer left to meet the other police who had arrived. Soon they were removing rifles from their vehicles.

"Oh G.o.d," Roy said. "I've created a nightmare here." He walked over to them. "You can't do that," he shouted at them.

"Stand back," one of the officers said, holding his hand up to stop Roy as he approached.

"You'll all die in there," Roy said. "Please don't go in there like that."

"We've potentially got two officers down," the policeman said. "We've got to go in."

"And a ten year old boy," Roy said. "Can't you treat this like a kidnapping? Try communicating?"

"Not with officers in danger," he said. "Please stand over there and don't move."

"You've got to believe me," Roy said. "I'm trying to save your lives here."

"Stand back or I'll cuff you," the officer said. Roy turned and walked back to Steven.

"They won't listen," Roy said. "Cops only play by their rules. They only understand one way. I should have waited until the demon had finished with Robbie before I called them. This is my fault."

"Finished with Robbie?" Steven asked. "You're writing him off?"

"I have no idea how to stop it," Roy said. "Do you?"

Steven stuck his hands in his pockets and turned from Roy. "Some help we are."

A group of six officers, geared up with vests, safety masks, and rifles, moved in unison towards the house. Two broke off and moved to the back of the house.

"G.o.d, it's going to be a bloodbath," Roy said. Just then, the sound coming from the house began to slow. "Let's hope that means the demon finished," Roy said. "I'm going to trance, Steven. Watch over me."

"Right here?" Steven asked.

"No one's watching us," Roy said. "I'll just have my eyes closed. Shake me if I need to come back."

"Alright," Steven said. "No blindfold though."

"No," Roy said, closing his eyes. "No blindfold."

Within a minute the sound came to a stop. The officers looked at each other for a moment and conferred on their radios. Then they continued into the house.

Chapter Ten.

Later that afternoon they returned to Steven's home, and Steven made a pot of coffee for the two of them. They were detained at June's house for at least an hour after the cops raided it, finding June's dead body in the living room, one policeman shot dead in the hallway and another critically injured. They found Robbie dead in his bedroom. The cops wouldn't let Steven or Roy enter the house, and they seemed content to blame the events on Evie, whom they were searching for. They took Steven and Roy downtown for questioning, and they spent another hour there, giving a statement and recounting the events several times. Then they were released.

"What did you see in your trance?" Steven asked Roy, waiting for the coffee to finish.

"The officer that was injured radioed the others that it was OK to enter," Roy said, "just after the noise stopped which is when the demon left. The cops from outside stormed into the hallway, checked the fallen officers, then opened the door to Robbie's bedroom. Robbie was lying on the floor, splayed open. Just like if you had carved a cross in his stomach and chest, then pulled each of the corners back. Organs spread all over the room. And his hands were gone."

"Christ!" Steven said, holding his head in his hands. "That poor little kid. And June. I can't believe it. It sickens me."

"The cops will start scratching their heads when they a.n.a.lyze the bullets," Roy said, "and discover they shot each other. They'll rationalize it somehow; crossfire, something like that."

"I hate lying to them," Steven said, "that whole story we made up."

"Which is why I try not to involve them," Roy said. "Had I just waited five minutes before we called them, that officer might be alive. That was a huge mistake on my part."

"Waiting five minutes might have implicated us," Steven said. "What if someone had come by while we were waiting?"

"We could have said we knocked but no one was answering," Roy said.

"Another lie," Steven said.

"Well," Roy said, rising to pour some coffee, "it's over now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's over. The demon won."

"Evie's still out there!" Steven said.

"What, you want to hunt her down?" Roy said. "Let the cops do it."

"What if it gets more of them killed?" Steven said.

"It's over, we lost this one," Roy said. "You can't win them all."

"I can't believe you," Steven said. "This is like when you were going to leave Pete in the lurch because you didn't want to face down Jurgen."

"It's nothing like that," Roy said. "You tell me what we should have done. Tell me. What's your plan for Evie?"

"I don't know," Steven said, "but half the time we don't know what we're doing. We research, consult people, work on it until we know what to do. I say we go after Evie, find a way to locate her and stop her."

"I don't think you know when you've been beat," Roy said. "We've been completely out of our depth on this one. I'm like the blind leading the blind. The cops will find Evie, and they'll take care of her. The life of an officer was lost on this, and G.o.d knows if the other will survive they won't stop until they find her."

"And what if they don't?" Steven asked. "Evie must have had a plan. She's not stupid."

"She might be stupid," Roy said. "She never impressed me as particularly witty."

"From the moment Robbie was born," Steven said, "she knew he was going to be sacrificed. For ten years she raised him, knowing he was doomed. Can you imagine that? She's the worst of the worst. I'll hunt her down myself if you don't help."

"What's that light flashing?" Roy said, pointing at Steven's answering machine.

"Don't change the subject," Steven said. "It's a message."

"Well shouldn't you play it?" Roy said.

Steven walked to the machine and pressed the play b.u.t.ton. It was from Jason: "Dad. I've finished my move, why don't you stop by and see my new place. The address is 3710 South 34th. Stop by and you can meet Jennifer, too. And I meant what I said earlier, about the dream. Bye."

"Maybe you should worry about him," Roy said, "and not Evie."

"Maybe I should," Steven said. "At least he wants to help. I've decided I'll talk to him. If he agrees to stay in school, I'll tell him about it. Start the tutoring. But I'll need you to accelerate my training. I can't even trance for G.o.d's sake, how am I going to teach that to him?"

"When?" Roy asked.

"As soon as we're done with Evie," Steven said. "I don't want this demon thing hanging over my head when I talk to him."

"I don't like dealing with demons," Roy said. "Ghosts are bad enough, but these evil creatures, they're not for me. I don't understand them, I don't have experience with them, and I think they're best left for experts, like Judith."

"So we go tell her what happened," Steven said, "and see if she has any suggestions."