Dance of Death (8 page)

Madeline felt his powerful body drawing the blood from her body in great gulps. Her legs felt heavy and thick. Her head was dizzy and light. She glanced around the garden, desperate for help.

Her vision blurred and spun. All she could see were roses. Rosebushes as huge as houses, spinning around her. Closing in on her. Suffocating her with their disgusting perfume. Draining her life's blood away with their sharp prickly thorns… .

She closed her eyes and gathered her last shreds of strength. I've got to stop him. I've got to stop him before he kills me. Before he drinks every last drop of my blood.

Justin's blue eyes stared up at her. Madeline gazed back, mesmerized. As she watched, the whites of Justin's eyes slowly turned red.

They're filling up with my blood!

Madeline lashed out. She pushed Justin backward with every bit of her remaining strength.

Justin tumbled over, tangling in the rosebushes. He jumped up and tried to grab her. But the prickly branches clung to his clothes, pulling him back into their thorny embrace.

Madeline turned and ran. But her legs were so heavy, she could hardly move them.

I've got to get away from here. I've got to get away from Justin.

“Madeline,” Justin cried behind her. “Don't go. You don't understand. I had to do it.”

Madeline felt his hands tugging on her skirts. I can't let him catch me! If he does, I'll surely die.

She stomped down on Justin's hand, crushing Justin's fingers. Justin gave a terrible cry. Madeline staggered forward, stumbling across the garden. She pushed open the garden gate and dashed out into the road.

I've got to run home. It's my only chance. I've got to run home.

Cousin Deborah and Cousin Marcus will protect me. They will keep me safe from Justin.

Madeline's legs felt so stiff and heavy—like blocks of solid wood. Every step she took made her head pound and her teeth rattle.

Run. Run for home.

“Madeline!” she heard Justin call behind her. “You don't understand,” Justin shouted. “The thorn was poisonous. It could have killed you. I had to suck the poison out.”

Madeline didn't believe him. She had seen his face. He
wanted
to do it. He wanted to drink her blood.

She heard Justin's footsteps on the roadway behind her. Faster and faster the steps came. Soon he would catch up with her.

Then he'll finish the job he started, Madeline thought. She plunged off the road. She lost her footing on the rough ground of the steep embankment. She fell and began to roll and roll.

“Madeline!” she heard Justin call. “Where are you?”

Brambles tore at Madeline's hair and skirts as she tumbled down the steep hill. She gritted her teeth and covered her face with her hands as her body bounced against branches and rocks.

Crash!

She smashed into a tree trunk. The air whooshed from her lungs.

“Madeline,” Justin called again. His voice sounded closer.

No, Madeline thought in horror. No!

She scrambled across the moist earth on her hands and knees. The leaf mold felt slick beneath her.

Her dress. She'd surely ruined her beautiful white dress. But she didn't care. Nothing mattered but escaping Justin.

If I can crawl far enough into these woods, Justin won't be able to see me from the road. I'll be hidden by the trees, she thought.

Madeline's hand slipped and she plunged facedown on the leaves. Worms oozed out of the damp leaf mold. Madeline felt them slither down the back of her neck. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming as they wriggled across her face and ears.

Madeline jerked her head back and frantically brushed the worms away. Clumps of leaves stuck to her hair and face. One fat, red worm dangled down from her forehead, twisting and turning. Madeline opened her mouth to scream.

The worm dropped toward her mouth. Madeline snapped her mouth shut. She batted the worm away.

“Madeline! I know you're there. Don't hide from me. Wherever you are, I will find you!” she heard Justin shout.

Madeline shoved herself to her feet. She lifted her dress and dashed through the leaves. Her legs pumped wildly as she raced through the woods. Through the dense cover of the trees. Down the hill toward her cousins' house.

Finally, she saw the looming outline of the old house. If I can just reach home, I'll be safe, she thought.

Tree branches whipped by Madeline. Twigs clawed at her clothing. Leaves tangled in her hair.

Keep going. I've got to keep on going.

Breathless, she staggered to the back door. She reached out and seized the doorknob.

It felt stuck. The door wouldn't open.

No, Madeline thought in horror. No!

She lifted her hand to rap on the glass window—and someone grabbed her by the shoulders.

Justin!

Chapter

14

M
adeline spun around, ready to attack.

Her cousin Deborah stood behind her. “Good heavens!” Deborah cried. She gave the door a hard shove. It popped open. “What happened, Madeline? Why, look at your dress. Whatever is going on?”

“Oh, Cousin Deborah,” Madeline gasped as she tumbled through the doorway. “I'm so glad to see you. Quick, lock the door behind us. Please!”

“Lock the door?” Deborah echoed. “Heavens, child, don't be ridiculous. We never lock doors around here. There isn't any need.”

“There is now,” Madeline panted. “Please, do as I ask, Cousin Deborah. Justin will be here any moment. You've got to protect me from him. You've got to help me get away.”

“Protect you from Justin?” Cousin Deborah repeated. “Madeline Simms, whatever do you mean?”

“He hurt me,” Madeline stammered. “He chased me through the woods. He—”

Her voice stuck in her throat.

“Now you come right into the kitchen with me, young lady,” Cousin Deborah commanded, grabbing her by the wrist. She led Madeline through the pantry and into the large, cold kitchen. Madeline saw none of the servants. She hoped Marcus wasn't at home, either. She felt relieved that no one but Deborah would see her in such a wild state.

With a gentle push, Deborah sat Madeline down in a chair. “You rest,” Deborah instructed. “While I clean you up a bit, you tell me everything.”

“There isn't time,” Madeline protested. She started to rise out of the chair, but Deborah pushed her back down. “Please, Cousin Deborah, you've got to listen to me.”

“I intend to listen to you,” Deborah answered. “Just sit still and do as I say, dear,” she ordered in a gentle but firm tone. “My, but you are in a state, aren't you?”

Deborah took a cloth and bowl of water from the sideboard and dabbed at Madeline's face.

Madeline took a deep breath and stared down at the floor. Yes, Deborah was right. She had to get control of herself. If she sounded hysterical, no one would believe her. Her cousin would think she'd imagined it all.

Deborah would think she had gone mad.

But she wasn't insane. She had not imagined the way Justin Fear sucked her blood.

Madeline sat perfectly still as Deborah washed the
dirt from her face and plucked the leaves from her hair.

Madeline looked down at her hands. She slowly turned her left hand over. Her stomach churned with nausea at the sight of the bloody gash in the center of her palm.

The wound where Justin's mouth had fastened. And sucked her blood.

No, she had not imagined a thing.

Her cousin soothed her as she fussed with Madeline's hair. “Now,” she said, “tell me everything.”

Madeline pressed her hands together. She couldn't stand looking at the bloody gash on her palm for another instant. In a trembling voice, she related what happened in the rose garden. She stumbled when she told how Justin sucked her blood. But she forced herself to tell Cousin Deborah everything.

Finally, she lifted her hand and showed Deborah the jagged gash in her palm. Deborah barely glanced at it.

“Well.” Deborah sighed. “That's quite a story, I must say.”

“You don't believe me, do you?” Madeline cried, leaping to her feet. “You're not going to help me. You think I'm insane.”

“There, there, my dear,” Deborah murmured soothingly. “Calm yourself.”

Madeline put her hands over her ears. “Don't say that!” she shouted, losing control completely. “That's what everybody always said to Mama.”

Madeline began to laugh wildly. Mama! I mentioned Mama, she thought. Now everyone will know that I am crazy.

Deborah slapped Madeline sharply across the face.

Madeline's cheek stung. Her whole face tingled. She collapsed onto the kitchen chair. Her head dropped against the table as she tried to hold back hysterical sobs.

I can't start crying. If I do, I know I'll never stop.

“I'm sorry I had to do that, Madeline,” Deborah apologized as she patted Madeline's shoulder. “But your behavior left me no other choice. And it's a good thing you brought up your mother. I wanted to do it myself, but I didn't know how. I know your mother was—not quite right in the head.”

“Say it,” Madeline whispered. She lifted her head and stared straight at her cousin. “Go ahead. My mother was crazy and you think I'm just like her.”

“No, I don't think you're
just
like her,” Deborah answered. She sat down next to Madeline.

“Not yet. But I think you
could
be like your mother, Madeline. Particularly if you keep letting your imagination carry you away.

“You are very important to Justin, Madeline. Your Cousin Marcus and I both saw that at once. Yesterday Justin took care of you after your accident. Why on earth would he want to hurt you today?”

“I don't know,” Madeline replied. “Cousin Deborah, I just don't know.”

“Didn't he offer any explanation for what happened?”

Madeline thought for a moment. Justin had called some sort of explanation after her, hadn't he?

“I think he said something about the rose thorn being poisonous,” she answered slowly. “That he had to suck the blood out to make sure the poison wouldn't hurt me.”

Deborah clapped her hands in excitement. “There!
You see? It's a perfectly logical explanation. Justin is a doctor. He knows about such things. Why on earth didn't you believe him?”

“Because—” Madeline began, then stopped.

Why didn't I believe him? It all seems so hazy now.

“Did something else happen in the rose garden, perhaps?” Deborah asked, her sharp green eyes watching Madeline closely. “Something you're not telling me?”

Madeline felt her face start to burn.

Deborah pounced. “So, something else did happen.”

Madeline nodded. “Justin kissed me.”

Deborah uttered a delighted squeal and clapped her hands again. “I knew it!” She reached over and hugged Madeline in a suffocating embrace. “I see what happened now. It's all so simple. But I'm not surprised you didn't see the answer, my dear. You're only a young girl, after all. Justin's kiss must have awakened strong feelings in you.”

Deborah sounded so knowing. So wise about such matters. Is that what happened? Madeline wondered.

“You were in such a state,” Deborah reminded her. “Your emotions were heightened. Then something frightening and unexpected occurred. Your imagination got the better of you. You lost control. You'll have to work on that, my dear. We don't want you turning out like your poor mother.”

Madeline's relief was so great that she felt dizzy. Deborah's explanation made perfect sense.

Justin's kiss
had
aroused deep feelings in her. He wasn't trying to hurt me, Madeline thought. It was just my overactive imagination running away with me. That's all.

If I can control it, I won't end up like Mama. All I have to do is stay in control.

“I'm afraid I have to say this, Madeline,” Deborah continued. “I don't want to upset you anymore. But you owe Justin Fear an apology. I think you should go over there right now.”

“Now?” Madeline gasped. “So soon? Oh, Cousin Deborah, I couldn't.”

“Nonsense,” Cousin Deborah said briskly, pulling Madeline up from her chair. “It's just like climbing back on a horse after you take a bad fall. It's better not to think about it too much. Just do it and get it over with.”

“But I feel so embarrassed now at the way I acted,” Madeline confessed. “And look at me,” she stared down at her tattered, dirty dress. “I look a sight!”

“Let's go right upstairs, put a fresh dress on and fix your lovely hair. You'll be as good as new,” Deborah assured her.

She looked at Madeline slyly. “Confess. Wouldn't you like to kiss and make up with Justin?”

Madeline felt a quick burst of emotion as she remembered the feeling of belonging in Justin's arms. “Yes,” she admitted. “I'll go apologize right now.”