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was the house key she had never thrown away. It went into the lock and turned with surprising
smoothness, as though of all things destiny and the universe had thrown at her, in this one realm, this
thing that Elektra must do, it would allow nothing to stand in her way.
The door swung open on cranky, grating hinges, and she stepped into the oversized foyer. It was like a
tomb tiled in dusty black and white; no footprints marred the layer of gray on the floor no one had
been in here at all, not since her father had closed up the house after her mother s death and relocated
the both of them to New York. As Elektra moved through the house, she found the same thick coating of
time draped over all the dust coverings protecting the furniture; here and there cobwebs hung in the air,
so heavy with the gray dust that they waved in the drafty air like the tattered remains of ancient lace
curtains.
She went all the way through the mansion, back to the far wall of the rear sitting room. That wall had
floor-to-ceiling windows hung with thick, burgundy-colored drapes; their color had gone gray with time
and yanking them open sent a cloud of pale dirt into the air. The windows behind them were also grimy,
but not so bad that Elektra couldn t see through the glass, across the expanse of the drained and covered
Olympic-sized swimming pool to the stone pool house she had known so well. Looking at it like that,
through the sitting room window, was like opening a fountain of youth and pouring out all her
childhood memories to be relived all over again.
She prances across the lawn in her new summer dress, the one her mother had the seamstress at Nieman
Marcus custom make just for her. It s yellow, bright and cheerful, but the best part is the spray of scarlet
flowers down the full skirt& or maybe it s the hand-tatted lace ruffles sewn around the bottom hem&
or even the way the front of it laces up like one of those Swedish milkmaid dresses. This is a great
summer, the best she s ever had, with her mother and father happy and nothing in the world to worry
about
She executes perfect cartwheels, one after another, her feet landing surely on the grass again and again
as her father watches with a smile on his face. His laughter is full and it rings in her ears as she performs
for him
The maze, her great and wonderful green hiding place, gives her up to her mother s knowing steps.
She d never been so happy as right now, as she and her mother play together init. Her mother chases
and finally catches her, tickling her until Elektra begs her to stop. The world flies by in flashes of blue
sky and green leaves as her mother picks her up and twirls her, turning around and around and around
And then, the demon or is it a man? slips out her mother s bedroom window&
If Elektra didn t want to talk to him, that was fine, Mark thought sourly. But he wanted to know where
his daughter was, and to make sure she was all right. That she was probably in Elektra s cabin with her
was just a coincidence, and he wasn t going to let Elektra s anger with him prevent him from keeping
tabs on Abby.
As he hobbled up to the cabin door, Mark gritted his teeth against the aches down his legs and for the
hundredth time wished he could have healed as quickly as Elektra had recovered from the typhoid fever.
He looked around again, then frowned. The cabin was dark, but that didn t mean anything Abby had
fallen asleep in here before and stayed the night rather than find her way back to their own small place
in the dark. He usually didn t mind, but& All right, fine so he was going to use this as an excuse to
face off with Elektra. It was about time.
He knocked on the door, then knocked again after a long few moments. Balancing on his crutch, Mark
finally pushed the door open and swept the wall on his right until his fingers brushed the light switch. It
flipped on and even though it was a low wattage bulb, the sudden glare against the blackness made him
squint. When he could finally open them, he was facing nothing but an empty cabin with a neatly made
bed in the center.
Where the hell was his daughter?
Stick s cabin was as dark as Elektra s had been, and at first, Mark thought the man wasn t there. But no
 Stick didn t need lights to see, so why would he bother? When Mark knocked, Stick s voice
answered immediately, and Mark just had to deal with the fact that he was going to be holding a
conversation in an utterly dark room.
 They re gone, Mark announced. He stepped through the open door then felt his way in as far as he
dared. There wasn t any sense in being delicate.  Both of them.
He had to strain his eyes to make out the movement, but he finally saw Stick nodding. The older man
was sitting on a straight-back chair with his hands folded on his lap, as calm as Mark was frantic.  I told
Abby not to go, Stick said, more to himself than Mark.  She is as willful as Elektra. He inclined his
head and for the first time, Mark noticed a green-clad ninja standing silently against the far wall. The
man had nearly blended in with the shadows.  We should ready the men.
 Go? Mark demanded.  Gowhere? He couldn t stop himself from emphasizing his question with a
thump on the floor with the end of his crutch.
 Elektra has left the compound, Stick responded with that same damnable tranquility.  I presume, to
draw Kirigi s hand. Your daughter has followed her.
Mark stared at him in astonishment, but that rapidly gave way to fear. Abby might think she was tough,
but she was nowhere near ready to face off against people like Kirigi and his thugs. What? Then what
are we doing here we have to go after them!Now, old man!
But Stick only stared blandly at him, and both he and Mark knew it would do no good to threaten him.
 Mr. Miller, Stick said patiently,  we will go as quickly as we can, but you are in no condition to
fight& and you never will be. As for Abby& you must accept that your daughter is becoming a
warrior.
 She s thirteen years old! Mark said loudly. He couldn t seem to control his voice.  She s 
 She is strong, Stick interrupted.  And so is Elektra. Put your faith in them.
This time, Markdid grab at Stick, gripping his upper arm the way a drowning man snatches at a rope
hanging from the side of a boat. As much as he wanted to hold on, when Stick swiveled his head in
Mark s direction and fixed that endless blue stare on him, Mark knew he had no choice but to quietly let
him go.
 God, you re a cold bastard, he said thickly.
 I suppose, Stick replied, but he was anything but affected by Mark s proclamation.
Churning with frustration, Mark swung around and hobbled toward the door.
 You re too late, Stick said from behind him. It s already started.
But Mark, of course, had no choice but to keep going.
Elektra had stayed in the rear sitting room, looking out at the abandoned pool and the pool house as she
first mulled over her childhood memories, then went into a cleansing, calming meditative state. While
she might want to remember only the happy memories except for her mother s death, of course her
life in this house had been a mixed blessing. Even so, it had been the only place where she d had an
existence with both parents at once, and that made the time most special and irreplaceable in her mind. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]