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The Laughing Corpse :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 174 из 213John shifted on the couch. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"She's staring at me."
"I will do a great deal more than stare at you, chica." Her voice crawled low. The hairs at the nape of my neck tried to crawl down my shirt.
"A threat." I smiled. "I don't think you're going to be hurting anybody anymore."
"You mean this." She held out the charm. It writhed in her hand as if thrilled that she had noticed it. She crushed it in her hand. It made futile movements as if pushing against her. Her hand covered it completely. She stared straight at me, as she brought her hand slowly to her chest.
The air was suddenly heavy, hard to breathe. Every hair on my body was creeping down my skin.
"Stop her!" John said. He stood.
The policeman nearest her hesitated for only an instant, but it was enough. When he pried her fingers open, they were empty.
"Sleight of hand, Dominga. I thought better of you than that."
John was pale. "It isn't a trick." His voice was shaky. He sat down heavily on the couch beside me. His dark face looked pale. His power seemed to have shriveled up. He looked tired.
"What is it? What did she do?" I asked.
"You have to bring back the charm, ma'am," the uniform said.
"I cannot," she said.
"John, what the hell did she do?"
"Something she shouldn't have been able to do."
I was beginning to know how Dolph must feel having to depend on me for information. It was like pulling fucking teeth. "What did she do?"
"She absorbed her power back into herself," he said.
"What does that mean?"
"She absorbed the gris-gris into her body. Didn't you feel it?"
I had felt something. The air was clearer now, but it was still heavy. My skin was tingling with the nearness of something. "I felt something, but I still don't understand."
"Without ceremony, without help from the loa, she absorbed it back into her soul. We won't find a trace of it. No evidence."
"So all we have is the tape?"
He nodded.
"If you knew she could do this, why didn't you speak up earlier? We wouldn't have let her hold the thing."
"I didn't know. It's impossible without ceremonial magic."
"But she did it."
"I know, Anita, I know." He sounded scared for the first time. Fear didn't sit well on his darkly handsome face. After the power I'd felt from him, the fear seemed even more out of place. But it was real nonetheless.
I shivered, like someone had walked on my grave. Dominga was staring at me.
"She's staring at me."
"I will do a great deal more than stare at you, chica." Her voice crawled low. The hairs at the nape of my neck tried to crawl down my shirt.
"A threat." I smiled. "I don't think you're going to be hurting anybody anymore."
"You mean this." She held out the charm. It writhed in her hand as if thrilled that she had noticed it. She crushed it in her hand. It made futile movements as if pushing against her. Her hand covered it completely. She stared straight at me, as she brought her hand slowly to her chest.
The air was suddenly heavy, hard to breathe. Every hair on my body was creeping down my skin.
"Stop her!" John said. He stood.
The policeman nearest her hesitated for only an instant, but it was enough. When he pried her fingers open, they were empty.
"Sleight of hand, Dominga. I thought better of you than that."
John was pale. "It isn't a trick." His voice was shaky. He sat down heavily on the couch beside me. His dark face looked pale. His power seemed to have shriveled up. He looked tired.
"What is it? What did she do?" I asked.
"You have to bring back the charm, ma'am," the uniform said.
"I cannot," she said.
"John, what the hell did she do?"
"Something she shouldn't have been able to do."
I was beginning to know how Dolph must feel having to depend on me for information. It was like pulling fucking teeth. "What did she do?"
"She absorbed her power back into herself," he said.
"What does that mean?"
"She absorbed the gris-gris into her body. Didn't you feel it?"
I had felt something. The air was clearer now, but it was still heavy. My skin was tingling with the nearness of something. "I felt something, but I still don't understand."
"Without ceremony, without help from the loa, she absorbed it back into her soul. We won't find a trace of it. No evidence."
"So all we have is the tape?"
He nodded.
"If you knew she could do this, why didn't you speak up earlier? We wouldn't have let her hold the thing."
"I didn't know. It's impossible without ceremonial magic."
"But she did it."
"I know, Anita, I know." He sounded scared for the first time. Fear didn't sit well on his darkly handsome face. After the power I'd felt from him, the fear seemed even more out of place. But it was real nonetheless.
I shivered, like someone had walked on my grave. Dominga was staring at me.