CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The house was silent as a tomb.

Julia went quickly along the dark corridor trying to find some way out. She was in a part of the cellar, she thought, noticing the small windows far above her head. The windows were too high up to reach, and too small to climb through even if she were able to reach one of them.

She made a turn in the corridor and, to her surprise, she saw something that looked familiar—crates and boxes and barrels, stacks of straw and piles of sawdust, a statue without its head and the one with a broken arm. She was in her father’s storeroom.

Her father? The word sounded odious to her. She could never think of that man again as her father. The very mention of the word “father” made her stomach queasy. How could she have been so blind as to let herself be so easily taken in? But she had wanted parents at whatever the cost. She knew now that the cost was much too high to pay.

She mustn’t think of anything now but escape. Everything else was secondary to getting out of this house. She would worry about Cagliostro and the others once she was safely away from here.

She looked around, trying to get her bearings. She said a silent prayer for guidance and deliverance. and wandered into the maze of boxes and crates, bales and packages that cluttered up the place. As if in answer to her prayer, a stairway appeared directly in front of her. She recognized it—or thought she did—as the same stairway she’d mounted once before—the stairway that led her outside the house.

Without a moment’s hesitation she went up. She inched open the door at the top of the landing and peered out. She saw the wide lawn, the bushes, the trees, the edge of the woods. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw something else, something she had never expected to see again. He was standing in the shadow of a tree, but his fair hair glinted in the fading light of the sun, glinted just long enough to catch Julia’s eye.

“Dunston,” she said softly. Her pulse beat faster, the blood rushed more wildly through her veins. She eased the door open wide enough to slip through. The moment she showed herself, Dunston emerged from his hiding place. He raised his arm and motioned for her to come ahead. She ran as if the Devil himself were after her. A moment later she collapsed into Dunston’s arms. He pulled her into the shadow of the trees.

“Oh, Dunston,” she sobbed as her fears brought forth her tears.

“I don’t know how you ever got out of there, Julia, but that will have to wait. As much as I enjoy holding you like this, we’d better get the blazes out of here, and fast.”

She gave a frightened look toward the house. “I locked Matilda in the cellar. Cagliostro is in the house somewhere. Do you think he saw me running across the lawn?”

“We can’t take that chance. Come on.” He grabbed her hand. He wished he could enfold her, embrace her, calm her fears, kiss away her tears. She was safe. He was with her again. Danny was safe. They had a life ahead of them after all. It hadn’t ended as he feared it might.

“Where are we going?” Julia managed to ask as they ran blindly through the forest.

“I think the old, abandoned church is our best bet. We’ll hide under the stained-glass window. They’ll be afraid to come looking for us there and if they do, the cross will protect us.”

Swearing silently under his breath, he admonished himself for not having thought to bring some relics or talismans to protect them. He’d given everything to Danny to insure his safety, not realizing that he was leaving Julia and himself vulnerable, naked of any holy article. The stained-glass window was their only sanctuary.

They skirted the town, taking the route that was heavily wooded. By the time they reached the old, abandoned church, the sky was pitch black. Not even a moon hung suspended in it.

They went in through the rear door and hurried toward the altar niche. Strangely enough, Julia did not feel the same fears she’d experienced when first she saw the niche with its cross-shaped stained-glass window. Now, in fact, the cross was comforting and peaceful. It seemed to be stretching out its arms to welcome and embrace and protect her. She smiled up at the window.

“I hadn’t noticed how beautiful it is,” she said softly.

“Come,” Dunston said as he took her hand and pulled her behind the altar where they settled themselves directly beneath the stained-glass cross. Julia sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her body ached. She felt suddenly more tired than she’d ever felt in her life.

Still, she was with Dunston and she felt totally at peace. She pressed her head harder against his shoulder and felt his arms go around her. He laid his cheek against her hair and they sat silent and still, letting the quiet tranquility of the old church settle about them.

“Danny?” Julia asked after a while. “Is he all right?”

“He’s still in his trance.” He proceeded to tell her about his meeting up with Matilda and the choice she’d offered him. “I went to Peabody and put Danny back inside a pentacle. The hospital staff was convinced I was off my rocker, but I told them that it was part of our religious beliefs. Hospitals never interfere with a patient’s religious beliefs, so they let me do what I wanted. Don’t worry about Danny. He’s safe and sound. Nothing can harm him now.”

“Then shouldn’t we be away from here?”

“We must wait here until after your twenty-first birthday. Once that is past you will be safe. I studied a lot about Satanism and I know that their sacrifices must never be performed on anyone over the age of twenty-one. You are something special to them, I believe. They mean more for you than just a simple sacrifice.”

“Cagliostro means to take me as his wife,” Julia told him.

“Then they told you that Cagliostro is not really your father?”

“Matilda told me.” She thought for a moment. “Why did he pretend he was?”

“From what I can gather, I believe he’s had tabs on you ever since Bridget Bishop’s baby was taken away from her. I believe it was all Cagliostro’s doing right from the very start. Your Aunt Rose told me that her sister, Bridget—your mother—lived with Cagliostro as his wife, but Cagliostro loved Rose and not Bridget. Bridget found out about it and got jealous, and in order to get even, she started to carry on with some other man. Rose never said who. You were the offspring of that romance.”

Julia felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“I’m sorry, Julia. It isn’t a very pretty picture. But at least you are not Cagliostro’s daughter, although he tried every trick he knew to make everyone believe you were.”

Julia thought of the gypsy, the medium, the face in the crystal ball, of Adrian, the séance, the luck and ease with which she’d found her birth record at the orphanage. Cagliostro had been following her, preparing her path, leading her to Belham. She had always sensed the presence of evil following her wherever she went. She knew now that it had been Cagliostro who hovered at her back.

Dunston let out a deep breath. “It’s difficult to believe that there are such fiends as Cagliostro in the world. To think that that man arranged for the death of your mother and then had you spirited away to an orphanage until you were ripe to marry according to his devilish doctrines. What a monster he is.”

Julia remembered and orange face, the yellow eyes, the fire-colored hair. “Monster indeed,” she said softly. “But Matilda tells me he can change himself at will. According to her, he really is the infamous Count Cagliostro, to whom Satan gave eternal life and strong powers.”

“Eternal life?”

“Yes. Matilda said his powers are limitless and that he is centuries old.”

“Then he is incapable of being destroyed.”

Julia sighed and gazed into the darkness of the church. “Can evil ever be completely wiped out? It will always be with us, Dunston. Nothing can remove it from the face of the earth.”

“But I must try, Julia. I must try,” Dunston said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. “Cagliostro must be destroyed.”

“You know that it’s useless. We are powerless against him. Surely you realize that.”

“But there must be a way.”

Julia suddenly sat up. “Wait,” she said. “Perhaps there is a way. Matilda said—”

Just then someone outside called Julia’s name. Dunston jumped up and peeked through a broken corner of the window. He saw a cluster of townspeople with torches. They began chanting: “Julia, Julia, Julia....”

“They know we’re in here,” Dunston said. “Don’t be afraid. I don’t think they’ll dare enter the church. All we need do is sit tight and wait it out. If we don’t go outside, we will be safe enough from them.”

“Oh, Dunston, I’m so frightened. They’ll set fire to the church. They’ll burn us alive.”

Dunston held her. “No, I don’t think we have to worry about that. Cagliostro wants you alive, not dead.”

“But the others want me sacrificed. Matilda...all of them....”

“Sacrificed, yes, but not murdered. Besides, the ceremony must take place at the very second of your twenty-first birthday.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think they’ll do anything but try to lure us out of the church.”

Again Julia hugged him. “I’m afraid, Dunston,” she sobbed.

“Don’t be, Julia. I’m with you now. I’ll protect you. They can’t hurt you anymore. Try to ignore their chanting and get some sleep. I promise you we’ll be safe here. They can’t get to us as long as we are under the protection of the crucifix.”

Julia shivered and cuddled closer to Dunston. The night was just beginning. The hours would be long and each of them would be filled with danger. The chanting went on and on.

She was not aware that she slept until she heard the crow of the cock and felt the warm stray beams of sunlight play on her cheek. She stirred, reluctant to open her eyes.

She felt Dunston move. He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. “I didn’t think I’d fall asleep but I did,” he confessed.

“I did too,” she told him.

He smiled down at her. “I know.” He glanced toward the broken corner of the window. “They stopped their chanting just before dawn. Thoughtful of the little beggars to give us a couple of hours sleep at least.”

Julia eased herself away from him and stretched. She felt the ache in her muscles and found that Dunston had put his jacket around her shoulders. When she tried to stand, she gave a little groan of pain as her legs threatened to buckle under her. “Oh, I’m cramped,” she complained.

“And hungry, I’ll bet,” he said.

She found herself smiling, something she never thought she’d be capable of again. “Ravenous,” she admitted.

“Well, I wish I could supply the bacon and eggs, but I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning for that. Do you think you can hold out until then?”

“Do I have a choice?” Julia asked, returning the flippancy.

He laughed softly, liking her spirit. In fact, as he gazed at her, he suddenly realized he liked just about everything about her.

“Do you think it would be all right if we opened the back door and got some fresh air into this place?” Julia asked.

“We could open it a crack. I see no harm in that.” He went over and pulled the door open a half foot or so. “It sure is a beautiful day....” Suddenly his voice trailed off and Julia saw his eyes widen as he stared out into the sunlight.

Julia pulled the door open wide and looked out. There, emerging from the woods at the back of the church, was Dunston’s younger brother.

“Danny,” Julia breathed.

They watched, opened mouthed, as the boy came swiftly toward them. Suddenly a wild beast appeared behind him at the edge of the wood. The beast growled, showing its sharp, gleaming teeth. Danny heard the growl and turned. He froze in horror for a moment, then he pivoted and started to run, not toward the church, but toward the town.

“No, Danny,” Dunston yelled. He threw himself out of the door and raced as fast as he could toward his brother. The hairy beast was gaining on the young boy. Danny veered sharply and dashed into the woods, the animal close on his heels.

“Danny.” Dunston too disappeared into the woods.

Julia stood in the doorway for what seemed an eternity, praying softly for the safety of Dunston and Danny.

Her prayers were violently interrupted by a loud shattering, splintering noise at her back. She whirled around just in time to see a fissure eat its way up from the corner to the very top of the stained-glass window. She screamed as the glass came pouring down and crumbled into a million tiny fragments.

A man appeared in the opening where the window had been. He was tall, dressed all in black, his face the color of the setting sun, his eyes flashing yellow.

“It is time, my pretty,” he snarled. “You’ll not escape me this time.”