Читать книгу Lucifer's Daughter - V. J. Banis - Страница 5

CHAPTER ONE

In the world there is evil.

For some, the reality of evil is hard to believe in. But this was not so for Julia Carson. Although a quiet, unassuming girl of twenty, Julia had always felt pursued by evil. It seemed to follow her wherever she went. And she sensed it now. Evil was shadowing her again. She could feel it.

A damp sea breeze brushed against the nape of her neck. Julia glanced fearfully back over her shoulder, as though fearing the presence that stood there—was always standing there—just behind her.

This is no time for bad thoughts, a bright little voice reminded her. You’re on vacation, Julia. Have fun. Don’t start moping. Snap out of it. This is your vacation.

Then came the other voice, the one that made her shiver, the one she knew had a sharp, cutting edge, the one she thought of as being synonymous with evil. It wasn’t a voice, actually, just a dark, brooding kind of tremor that said words sometimes, and often said nothing. Usually it just stayed there inside her head trying to pull her back into its dreary recesses. She tried to ignore it; she never could.

Stop it, Julie. Don’t let yourself be dragged down.

Does everyone have these voices inside them? Julia wondered, glancing at the girl on her left. Does Elizabeth? She looked to her right. Does Margaret? Does Allyson?

Neither of Julia’s voices answered her. She heard nothing now, just Allyson’s laughter and the jangle of loud, blaring music that came from the multicolored arcades lining the pier. The shouts, the cries of children, the mumbling voices of people having fun—she was in the dead center of all of it, yet she was not there at all. True, she was walking along an amusement pier in the seaside resort town of Paradise Bay, but she didn’t feel part of it. She didn’t belong here. Everything seemed so unnatural, so out of place. Dissonant chords hit uncomfortably against her ears as the pinging of a shooting gallery melted into the sounds of a merry-go-round’s shrieking calliope.

The four of them stood watching the gaudy carousel spinning on its axis. Its mirrored panels flashed and danced as it whirled and spun. Its prancing stallions grinned their wide, toothy grins. The music blasted out at them as they stepped under the domed roof.

Julia held back. The deafening roar of the music, the swirling, blurring lights and shapes...she felt a pounding inside her. Her stomach gave a little tug. There was something frightening about the grotesque, painted animals, the squealing riders.

It’s just a carousel.

But the other voice—the evil one—gave an ominous laugh. Julia wanted to put her hands over her ears to shut out the sound of the fiendish laugh.

“Come on, kids,” Margaret called gaily. “I haven’t tried for a brass ring in years.”

Margaret and Allyson giggled and went toward the ticket booth.

“Come on, Julia,” Elizabeth said, tugging at Julia’s arm.

Julia resisted. “No, you go ahead, Liz. Those things make me dizzy. I’ll only wind up sick to my stomach.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said and ran to catch up with the others.

Julia watched the three of them huddled together, giggling, gossiping. They never once looked in her direction. They waited until the carousel stopped spinning, then rushed for the flashy wooden horses that suited their personalities. Even when the merry-go-round started up and they went past her several times, none of them thought to wave or call to her. They were too busy having fun to think about her.

What am I doing here, anyway? Julia asked herself glumly. She tried hard not to watch the twirling platform. She was going to get sick if she didn’t stop staring at it. But she was waiting. She was waiting for one of them—any one of them—to call out to her...to wave...anything...just some sign to say they knew she was there.

Allyson’s long, blonde hair was streaming out behind her while Margaret and Elizabeth shrieked with laughter as they reached far out to snatch at the arm that fed them rings.

Maybe they’ll fall off.

Stop it! Don’t think such things!

Julia heard Margaret hoot. She held up a brass ring. But she didn’t hold it up for Julia to see; she was showing it proudly to Allyson and Elizabeth.

Slowly Julia turned and strolled a short distance away. They didn’t want to bother with her. What was she doing here with them, anyway? she asked herself again.

They’re jealous of you because you’re prettier than they are, the brooding, smooth voice inside her head told her.

Oh, come off it, Julia. Sure, you’re pretty, but they want to have fun. They’re not jealous of you. Cheer up. They like you. Everybody likes you, the other voice told her.

No, they don’t. They’re jealous of you. You’re younger and prettier. They’re jealous...jealous...jealous.

Be quiet, the other voice argued. Let the girl alone.

“Stop it, both of you,” Julia shouted. Several people looked at her. Her face reddened. She turned and pretended to study an advertisement for a rock concert and fireworks display scheduled for the weekend.

Why did I come? she asked herself. They were only being polite in inviting me. They didn’t want me along. Why had I accepted? They were embarrassed just because I was there when Margaret made the slip. They invited me out of politeness, that’s all.

“Oh, that was fun,” Allyson called as the three of them came toward her.

“You should have come along,” Elizabeth said.

“I got the brass ring,” Margaret put in.

“Yes, I saw,” Julia answered, forcing herself to smile. “But I’m afraid those things make me dizzy. I get sick.”

None of the three said anything. They went silent. Their gaiety seemed suddenly dimmed.

What did I say? Why is it a pall seems to come over everything every time I open my mouth?

“Oh, look. Candy apples. Anybody hungry?” Elizabeth asked.

Julia didn’t answer. She just shook her head. She wasn’t going to chance saying anything. She hated candy apples. She’d broken a tooth on one once and it ached for weeks before the people at the orphanage got around to sending her to a dentist.

“What’s the matter, Julia? Don’t tell me you’re afraid to spoil that flawless complexion of yours?” Margaret said.

Don’t take sarcasm, Julia. Tell her off, the slurring, whining voice said. Julia bit down on her lower lip. “I’m just not hungry,” she managed to say.

Again the three girls dashed away and Julia was left with arguing voices that kept echoing inside her head.

She felt strange, standing there in the ebb and flow of people who moved in every conceivable direction. She just stood there and let herself be jostled by the crowd.

Her world was so far, far away from this place, she thought. And her world wasn’t the chrome-and-glass skyscraper where she worked with Allyson, Elizabeth, and Margaret. Her world wasn’t in that sprawling, smog-choked city with its screeching taxi cabs and snaking, dirty subway trains. She almost missed the quietness of the orphanage. She didn’t miss the bad tempers and harsh punishments, but she missed the trees, the soft green grass, the sloping meadows, the lazy blue skies. What fun it would be to spend her vacation among open fields, yawning farmlands, soft, warm animals...real animals, not painted, horrible imitations that laughed and leered at her.

“Watch where you’re going!”

A fat-stomached man puffing on a cigar banged into her. She hadn’t been moving. She’d been standing still. He had bumped into her.

“Sorry,” she said softly.

Why apologize to that big ape?

Let it go, Julia. Don’t make trouble. Where’s the sense to that?

“Want a bite?” Elizabeth asked, holding out the crimson apple, so hard, so shiny, so tempting. Julia thought of a snake and a garden. She shook her head.

“No, thank you.”

“You feeling okay, Julie?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m a little bushed after that long train ride, I guess,” she told Elizabeth.

“Do you want to go back to the hotel?”

Before she could answer, Allyson and Margaret were back. “What’s this about going back to the hotel?” Margaret demanded.

“Julia’s kind of tired.”

“Julia’s always kind of tired,” Margaret slurred.

Tell her off, Julia. Snap her head off.

Again she bit down on her lower lip. “No, that’s okay. I’m not that tired.”

She saw Margaret give her a fishy look. Julia felt her hand move out. She was tempted.

Go ahead, Julia. Slap her smug little face.

No!

Julia’s hand dropped to her side.

“There’s a scary old roller coaster down there,” Allyson said, pointing. “Anybody brave enough to try it?”

“Not me,” Margaret and Elizabeth answered in unison.

Julia brightened. “Sure, why not? Come on, Ally. I’ll go on it with you.” She gave a little toss of her head. She couldn’t trust herself to look at the astonishment on Margaret’s face. She knew her own expression was one of defiance.

“You’re kidding? And you’re afraid of carousels?” Allyson said.

She felt Elizabeth’s hand on her arm. “Are you sure, Julia?”

Julia gave a little laugh. “Sure, I’m sure. I love roller coasters.”

“Have you ever ridden on one?” Elizabeth asked. Her eyes were soft and understanding. “They’re pretty dangerous, you know.”

Tell them you like danger.

Don’t go, Julia. You’ll get hurt.

Julia gave her long, dark hair a flip back over her shoulders. “I don’t mind a little danger,” she said with a haughtiness in her voice she’d never noticed there before. “Besides, it might liven things up a bit.”