?Why did you come here?? he asked, almost begging.
Helen stopped struggling and looked into his infuriating face. He
had his eyes closed. He was trying the trick she had used in the alley,
she realized. She shut her eyes as well, and felt a tiny bit better.
?I lied to the police. I didn?t tell them you were there tonight,?
Helen grunted, the unbelievable weight of him pressing the air out
of her. ?You?re crushing me!?
?Good,? he said, but he shifted his weight, seeming to get lighter
somehow so she could fill her lungs. ?Do you have your eyes
closed, too?? he asked, sounding more curious than angry.
?Yeah. It helps a little,? she replied quietly. ?You see them, too,
don?t you? The three women??
?Of course I do,? he replied in a baffled voice.
?What are they??
?The Erinyes. The Furies. You really don?t understand. . . .? He
stopped abruptly when a woman?s voice called his name from what
Helen assumed was his house. ?Damn it. They can?t find you here
or you?re dead. Go!? he ordered. He rolled off of her and jumped
up into a run.
As soon as she was free, Helen bolted and didn?t look back. She
could almost feel the three sisters reaching out with their clammy
white arms and bloody fingertips to touch the back of her neck. She
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ran in a panic for Kate?s car, dove behind the wheel, and drove
away as fast as she dared.
After half a mile she had to pull over and take a few deep breaths,
and as she did, she noticed that she could smell Lucas on her
clothes. Disgusted, she took her shirt off and drove home in her
bra. No one would see her, and if they did they would just think
she was out for a dawn swim. At first she left her shirt on the passenger