it from Dovecrest. The pointed end of the hammer had broken off neatly, a full inch away from the tip.
“I don’t know how we can thank you,” Vickie said, hugging Todd close to her. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along.”
Dovecrest shrugged. “These woods are very deceptive. Not a good place to be, especially at night. It would be very easy to get lost. Would you mind if I walked you back to your home?”
“Not at all,” Erik said with obvious relief.
The house wasn’t really far away at all. Dovecrest didn’t say anything until the lights finally came into view. Todd’s sobbing had stilled under Vickie’s hugs.
“You asked me how you could thank me,” Dovecrest said. “There are two things you can do.”
“Anything,” Erik said, sensing that they owed Todd’s life to this man.
“First of all, promise me that you won’t go off exploring these woods by yourself. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about your son going back.”
Erik met Vickie’s eyes and the both nodded.
“Second. The gift I gave you. Hang it over your door. Your back door. Do it tonight.”
“Consider it done,” Erik said.
“Good. Don’t forget. It’s very important.”
Then, just when Erik was about to ask the man to come in for a cold drink, he was gone, stepping out of the flashlight beam and vanishing like a creature of the night.
-5-
The pain had subsided a bit as he had called the small boy to him. But now it was back again, stronger than before and mixed with the frustration of failure.
He cursed his bad luck and his weakness. If he hadn’t been distracted and had to reach out to stop the other one from killing the store clerk, he might have won.
But the boy had gotten away. Just when he had had his prey trapped like a fly in his web, he had let his guard down, and the tiny insect had suddenly turned on him, stinging his still-sensitive consciousness hard and escaping from his jaws. And as he’d reached out to punish the boy’s transgressions, he had felt the familiar presence of his age-old enemy, the one who had put him down so long ago. Then the other one, the one he had called to him, was about to do something very stupid. Still hurting and suddenly shocked by his enemy’s presence, he had been forced to pull back and deal with the other one, which enabled to boy to get away.
He was still weak and in pain, not yet ready to take on the boy—or any other human life form, for that matter. No. He needed more strength. He would start out smaller and build his power gradually, despite his continuing pain.
After all, he wasn’t going anywhere. He had all the time in the world. All the time. The suffering would only make him meaner, more determined.
As the searing, burning pain gripped him once again, he allowed himself the luxury of hate.
He would have the boy before it was over. But not until he grew stronger. Not until he was ready. Not until his power was full. He had tried to move fast, but he’d take his time now. Then he would make the insect pay the price. And he’d destroy his age-old enemy once and for all and claim his rightful place in the world.
CHAPTER FOUR
-1-
The smell of freshly brewed coffee woke Erik from a sound sleep. Vickie was already up and had opened the curtains so that the sun shone fully on his face. Ever since they had been married, that had been his wife’s way of waking him up without being cruel; he never had liked mornings.
He crawled out of bed, remembering the ordeal of the night before and silently thanking God that his son was all right. It could have been a real tragedy.
He came downstairs and saw that Todd and Vickie were already having breakfast. Todd was playing with his Corn Flakes instead of eating them, and Vickie nibbled on a piece of toast and watched him with a worried expression.
“Morning,” Erik said.
“Morning,” Vickie replied, while Todd looked up at his father and forced a smile.
“How you doing, Sport?” Erik asked, tousling his son’s hair as he shared a nervous smile with Vickie.
Todd shrugged.
“I think he’s got a fever,” Vickie said.
Erik placed his hand over Todd’s forehead. “He does feel warm. Maybe you’d better get some Tylenol into him.”
“Already did.”
He poured himself a large mug of coffee, dumped in two spoonfuls of powdered creamer and three spoons of sugar and then sat down at the table.
“Do you want any breakfast?”
“No, thanks. It’s too early to eat.”
“It’s nine o’clock.”
“That’s right. It’s too early. You know I never eat before noon.”
“You writers,” Vickie said, shaking her head.
They quickly ran out of small talk and watched Todd absently playing with his cereal.
“So, Todd,” Erik said, trying to act nonchalant. “Want to talk about what happened last night?”
“No,” the boy mumbled, looking down into his cereal bowl.
Erik looked helplessly at his wife. The boy had refused to talk last night, but they had hoped he’d say something this morning, in the light of day. The kid had been frightened terribly—they all had.
“It’s all right, Todd, Erik said in a reassuring voice. “I’m not going to yell at you. I’m not even going to punish you. I don’t think you’ll be pulling that stunt again in a hurry. We just want to know what happened. What ever possessed you to go off into the woods like that anyway?”
Todd shivered as if an ice cube had slithered down his back.
“Nothin’,” he said softly, still staring down.
“He doesn’t want to talk, Erik. He doesn’t feel well.”
“I want to know what happened, Vic.”
“He got lost in the woods, for God’s sake. It was darker than pitch out there. That’s enough to scare the hell out of anyone. Hey, I was scared. And so were you. Admit it.”
“I was afraid for Todd,” he said, telling only half the truth. He wanted to tell her about the scream he’d heard, and about his own terror of the woods. But he was embarrassed by his own weakness. And the scream—who knew what he had really heard.
“He’ll tell us about it when he’s ready,” she said.
“All right. All right. I’ll leave
