Excerpt
Paolo sat up and shook off China’s caressing hand. “You mean, they’re spying on us? All the time?” His voice crackled with anger.
“I’d guess you’re under constant observation wherever you go. Damn it, I shouldn’t have left you. No matter what——” Jess broke off with a quick, nervous glance at India.
“I don’t understand any of this,” India's mother whimpered. “You keep saying ‘they.’ Who are they? What is it they expect to discover?”
“They, Nida, are the Interplanetary Patrol. And what they are looking for is evidence to prove that at least one of us is host to a Viseg.”
Nida stared wild-eyed at Jess. India’s pulse throbbed in her temples. Unable to look at Jess, she fixed her gaze on her mother’s terrified face.
Meri stammered, “But we’re not hosts, Jess. None of us.”
Nida found her voice. “That’s right,” she agreed too eagerly. “Riccard was the host. The Viseg died with him.”
“Visegs aren’t easy to destroy. They never seem to perish through their own actions.”
Tears flowed down Nida’s cheeks. “I thought we were free. All those years of hiding! I thought they only wanted to punish us for the destruction of the airvans when Riccard . . . when Riccard . . .” Her voice faltered.
Jess stroked her hair. “I know, Nida. I let you think that. But now you’re in too much danger. You have to face the truth.”
“Viseg. One of us!” Nida sobbed brokenly. “Jess, who?”
He did not answer.
“Not you, Jess?” China dared to ask. India sat stone still, but inside her the thing crawled, seeking light.
Jess shook his head. “It would be easier if I could blame my weakness on something beside myself. But, no. I’m a drunk, but I’m not a Viseg host.”
“Who, then?” Nida demanded again.
God, why didn’t they stop? India cowered against the wall, hiding from the glare of the lamp beside the couch.
Nida straightened. She lifted her face so the light shone full on it. “Paolo!” Her gaze swooped like a hawk to fasten on the boy’s thin face.
“No!” The sharp denial came from China.
Paolo said nothing; he looked ill.
“Nida, it’s better not to ask.” Jess stroked her hair. “Don’t wake it with your questions.”
Too late. The thing lashed around like a snake in a jar. India jumped from her chair and dashed from the room. She could not loose the thing on those she loved.
She tore through the narrow hall, took the steps two at a time, raced through the foyer, grappled with the door, pushed it open, and ran into the street.
Steps behind her told her someone had followed. Afraid to turn around, she hurled herself down a dark alley through piles of rotting garbage, into another street, where she outran the swirls of dust stirred by her passage. At last, lost in the darkness of a narrow alley, she leaned, gasping, against the side of a building.
Her guilty secret was out. But the demon hadn’t gotten loose. Yet. It lay coiled like a viper, waiting to strike.
Her limbs were trembling. She forced herself to move. They might be searching for her. She had to get farther away, had to keep them from finding her.