Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

"I brought you a good dinner." he said. "but you made me spill it all over the floor. You'll have to wait for me to get you new food."

"Okay," I said. He studied me.

You know I'm doing all this for us, and you know it's right and the best, don't you?"

"Yes, Linden."

He picked up the dishes and put them on the tray,

"I'll be back in a little while," he said. "Maybe I'll sit here and eat with you."

"I'd like that, Linden."

"Good," he said, and walked out. He closed the door and I heard the padlock scrape through the hasp again.

Only a few minutes later. I heard Miguel working at the hasp. I heard him snap it off, and then he opened the door.

"Willow," he cried, rushing to me.

I threw my arms around him and burst into tears.

"I've called for help. The police and an ambulance will be here very soon."

1 don't want him to be taken to jail, Miguel."

"I know. I'll make sure he's taken to

psychiatric."

"What's he doing now?"

"He's in the kitchen. He's talking as if..."

"What?"

"As if your mother were sitting there watching him."

"How sad."

"But how dangerous and horrible it must have been for you." Miguel said. "When I called and he gave me that story about you leaving. I knew something was very wrong. I actually called the police, but they said they had no justification for coming out here. They phoned, and he answered and sounded very reasonable to them.

"I came as quickly as I could, and then I had to scale the wall to get in. The moment I saw that all the windows in the house had been painted black. I went into a fit of terror and broke through the French door in the den."

I started to cry again.

"It's all right. Willow. It's all right now. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you," he added.

He kissed the tears away from my cheeks and held me tightly.

I could hear Linden downstairs, moving in and out of his illusions, peopled by the same ghosts that had twisted and tormented him for so long.

It was time to drive them away forever.

I couldn't do it alone, but I had no doubt now that I would never be alone as I had often been before, even after I had come here,

Like Linden. I would drive my ghosts away as well.

Epilogue