The Prophet

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I found myself at the edge of the crowd, swaying to that hypnotic beat. At first, I worried that I might be asked to leave, but no one paid me the slightest attention. The ceremony continued, the drumming and dancing becoming more frenzied as the night wore on.

As I looked around that circle, I spotted some familiar faces. Rhapsody had joined the dancers, her bare feet thumping the ground as her body writhed and shimmied, her arms extended toward the sky. Across the clearing, I saw Layla swaying to the music. Her presence made me think that Darius must be nearby, but I wasn’t particularly concerned by this notion. I felt no fear at all, just a quivering excitement that brushed along every nerve ending.

Away from the main clearing, a fire had been built, and as people grew exhausted, they left the circle to gather around the blaze. As I stared into the flames, the image of an embracing couple formed. They were naked and entwined, their bodies pulsating to the beat. I could see the sway of Mariama’s hair against her bare back, the gleam of her skin in the firelight. She splayed her fingers over Devlin’s heart, and he put his hand over hers, whether to shove her away or pull her to him, I couldn’t tell.

She turned to stare at me as she always did in my dreams. But this time there was no seductive smile or taunting invitation. In that moment, I saw nothing but rage in her face, and it frightened me in a way that it never had before because I wasn’t just worried for myself. I was terrified for Devlin.

Robert Fremont appeared at my side. He, too, stared into the flames.

“You see them, too,” I said.

“Yes, I see them.”

“She’ll never let him go, will she?”

“Not unless you find a way to stop her.”

“How?”

Flames danced in his dark glasses as he turned to me. “Tell Devlin what she’s done.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know.”

Yes, I did know. The evidence had been there all along. I just hadn’t wanted to see it. I hadn’t wanted to believe that anyone could be capable of such an abomination, of such an unspeakable act of cruelty. “You met Mariama the day before you were shot in Chedathy Cemetery. It was her perfume you smelled on your clothes when you died,” I said numbly.

“Yes.”

“You argued. You told her that you had no room in your life for a wife, much less one with a child. And when she left you, she purposefully drove her car through that guardrail. Ethan Shaw told me that she called for help from the sinking vehicle. But she couldn’t have because there is no signal on the bridge or in the water. She must have placed those calls from the cemetery. She already knew what she was going to do when she left you. But why has no one questioned any of this until now?”

“Why would anyone question a call for help? Everyone thought it was a tragic accident. Even John.”

“But you knew better.”

“I knew her.” His voice sounded very cold, very distant. “She wasn’t the type to take her own life. She meant to swim ashore and leave Shani behind, but the seat belt trapped her. Mariama tried to rid herself of her only child, and now they are bound to each other forever.”

“She took Devlin’s daughter from him,” I whispered. “The only thing that would have mattered to him.”

“And now she feels threatened by you,” Fremont said. “Shani is her tie to the living world and you’re the only one that can set the child free.”

“How?”

“By convincing John to let her go.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“No one, least of all Shani, will have peace until you do.”

A tall figure came out of the shadows and walked toward me, topaz eyes gleaming in the firelight.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“I came to see you.”

“Am I dead?”

“You’re not dead, not yet.”

“But you blew gray dust in my face.”

“That was merely a harmless charm,” he said. “This is gray dust.” He took a vial from his pocket and I saw the shimmer of a very fine powder as he handed it to me. “Take it,” he urged. “You’ll need this for your journey.”

I wanted to ask what good the powder would do me in a dream, but instead I accepted the vial and put it in my pocket. “You’ve had me followed,” I said. “Why?”

The topaz eyes glittered. “Because of who you are. Because of what you are. You have so much untapped power, and you have no idea how to use it. But you’ll soon understand. I’ll teach you everything.”

“And if I refuse? Will you kill me the way you killed Tom Gerrity?”

“Do you think I killed him?” He sounded amused. “Why would I bother with someone so inconsequential?”

“To pin the murder on Devlin.”

“I have no interest in John Devlin. Unless he gets in my way again.”

“Again?”

“He once took something very valuable from me. And now at long last I’ve found a way to get it back.” His gaze moved past me, and I whirled to see Shani at the edge of the woods. She held her hand out to me, but when I started toward her, she vanished.

Darius bent and put his lips to my ear. “You can’t help her in a dream. You’ll have to cross over. And I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”