He stood up abruptly, distracted anew. 'I'm sorry, but I've got to run. You're staying over for the dedication tomorrow night, aren't You?'
Wren nodded, rising with him. `yes, but I'd like to. .'
'Good', Simon teak his hand and gave it a firm shake. 'If the newspaper's paying, try Roy's, here at the hotel, for a good dinner. It's first–rate. I'll see you tomorrow.'
He was gone at once, striding across the lobby toward the front door, tall form scything through the crowd with catlike grace and determination. Andrew Wren stared after him, and it wasn't until he was out of sight that it occurred to the journalist that maybe, just maybe. Simon Lawrence had been talking about himself.
Nest Freemark found a phone booth across from the park and dialled the number for Fresh Start. It was after five now, the sun slipped below the horizon, the last colour fading fast in a darkening sky. Ariel was hovering invisibly against the building walls behind her, and the streets were filling with traffic from people on their way home from work. The park had emptied long ago, and the grassy rise was a shadowed hump against the skyline.
It was beginning to rain, a slow, chilly misting that clung to Nest's skim. On the sound, a bank of fog was beginning to build over the water.
Tie lady who answered the phone was not Della, and she did not know Nest. She said John Ross wasn't there and wasn't expected back that day and she couldn't give out his home number. Nest told her it was important she speak to him. The lady hesitated, then asked her to hold on a minute.
Nest stared off into the gathering darkness, itching with impatience.
'Nest Hi, It's Stefanie Winslow' The familiar voice sounded rushed and out of breath. `John's gone home, and I think he's shut off the phone, because I just tried to call him a little while ago and I couldn't reach him. Are you calling about dinner?'
Nest hesitated 'Yes. I don't think I can make it'
`Well, neither can I but I think maybe John was planning on it. Wi11 you be by tomorrow?'
'I think so.' Nest thought furiously. 'Can you give John a message for me"
'Of course. I have to go by the apartment for a few minutes. I could even have him call you, if you want'
`No, I'm at a pay phone'
All right. What should I tell him?'
For just an instant Nest thought about dropping the whole matter, just hanging up and leaving things the way they were. She could explain it all to Ross later. But she was uncomfortable with not letting him know there was new reason for him to be concerned about his safety, that something was about to happen that might change everything.
`Could you just tell him I'm meeting a friend of Pick's over in West Seattle who might know something about that trouble we were talking about at lunch? Tell him Pick's friend might have seen the one we were looking for'
She paused, waiting. Stefanie Winslow was silent. 'Have you got that, Stefanie?' she pressed. 'I know it's a tittle vague, but he'll know what I'm talking about. If I get back in time, I'll call him tonight. Otherwise, I'll see him tomorrow:
`Okay. Listen, are you all right? This sounds a little … mysterious, I guess. Do you need some help?'
Nest shook her head at the phone. 'No, everything's fine. I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for helping'
She hung up the phone and went looking far a taxi.
The demon walked into the lobby of the Westin through a side door, paused to look around, then moved sickly to the elevators across from the lobby bar‑It didn't have much time; it had to hurry. An empty elevator was waiting, doors open, and the demon rode alone to the sixth floor. It stepped off into a deserted hallway, checked the wall numbers far directions, and turned left.
Seconds later, it stood before Andrew Wren's room. It listened carefully for a moment to make certain the room was empty, then slipped a thin manila envelope under the door. When Wren returned, he would find all the evidence he needed to confront the Wiz with the threat of exposure and a demand for an explanation
that the latter would be unable to provide. The consequences of that would be inescapable. By tomorrow night, the Wiz would be history and John Ross would have taken his first step toward entering into the service of the Void.
There was only one additional matter to be settled. Nest Freemark was a threat to everything. The demon had sensed her magic when they had talked earlier that day at Fresh Start. It was raw and unrealised, but it was potent. She could prove dangerous. Moreover, she had a tatterdemalion with her, and the tatterdemalion, if given the right opportunity, could expose the demon. If that happened, everything would be ruined.
The demon was not about to allow that. It didn't know what the girl and the forest creature were doing here, if they had been sent by the Word or come on their own, but it was time to be rid of them.
The demon turned and walked to the exit sign above the stairs and descended the six flights to the lobby. No one saw it leave.
In the parking garage, it claimed its car and headed for West Seattle.
CHAPTER 16
The night was cool and dark. As Nest Freemark rode through the city, rain misted on the windshield of the taxi, smearing the glass, blurring the garish neon landscape beyond. The taxi passed back down First Avenue in front of the Alexis Hotel, then climbed a ramp to the viaduct. Suspended above the waterfront, with the piers and ferries and coloured lights spread out below and the orange cranes lifting skyward overhead, the taxi wheeled onto the lower tier of the expressway and sped south.
It had taken longer to find transportation than Nest had expected. She couldn't find anything in the market area, so she had walked down to a small hotel called the Inn at the Market situated just above the Pike Place Market sign, and had the doorman call for her. Ariel had disappeared again. How the tatterdemalion would reach their destination was anybody's guess, but since she had gotten there once already, Nest guessed she would manage this time, too.
The canopy of the northbound viaduct lowered and levelled to join with the southbound, and Nest was back out in the rain again. The taxi eased around slower cars, its tires making a soft, steady hiss on the damp pavement. Nest watched the cranes and loading docks appear and fade on her right, prehistoric creatures in the gloom. The driver was a motionless shape in front of her. Neither of them spoke. Brightly lit billboards whizzed by, advertisements for beer, restaurants, sports events, and clothing. She read them swiftly and forgot them even quicker, her thoughts tightly focused on what lay ahead.
The taxi took the off–ramp onto the West Seattle Bridge, and headed west. Nest settled back in the seat, thinking. Ariel had found a sylvan in one of the parks who had seen the demon a few months ago and gotten a good look at it. More important, at least from Ariel's point of view, was the story behind that sighting. She wouldn't elaborate when Nest asked for details. She wanted the sylvan to tell the story. She wanted Nest to hear for herself.
The freeway took a long, sweeping turn up a hill past a sign announcing their arrival in West Seattle. Residential lights shone through the rain. Fog cloaked the wooded landscape, clinging in thick patches to the heavy boughs of the conifers. Nest peered into the deepening gloom as the city dropped away behind her. They crested the hill and passed through a small section of shops and fast–food outlets. Then there were only residences and streetlights, and the city disappeared entirely.