go out there. Hector said that Creon was headed our way.?
?That?s not necessary, Lucas. As long as you keep your distance
from us, we?re well hidden,? Daphne said confidently as she
stepped out onto the sidewalk, rolling her fancy leather suitcase
behind her.
As Helen watched her mother walk out the door, she happened to
glance across the street. Creon was standing on the other side,
staring up at the hotel windows with his reflection-defying vision.
His eyes dropped down when he saw Daphne. Then he looked at
her suitcase, squinting his eyes in concentration.
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As soon as she saw Creon, Helen?s senses rewound to her last encounter
with him. She could still feel his humid breath on her neck
as he whispered preciosa in her ear right before he stabbed her.
Most of all, she remembered the suffocating darkness that had left
her feeling like she was lost in space and utterly helpless. The
terror-echo she felt made her forget for a moment that both she
and her mother were protected by their borrowed shapes.
?Mom! Stop!? she screamed instinctively, reaching out to pull
Daphne back into the hotel.
Creon made eye contact with Helen as she shouted. Then he saw
his cousin Lucas stride up and grab the strange girl frantically.
Creon looked from the cute brunette to Lucas, noticing how they
held each other so protectively. Then he looked back at the tacky
woman with the expensive luggage and smiled. He ran across the
street, his head lowered and his shoulders rounded like a bull.
?Daphne! He knows!? Lucas shouted, throwing Helen behind
him and moving impossibly fast to intercept Creon.
The cousins collided in the middle of the street, both of them using
their momentum to put power into their first punches. But Lucas