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.I wanted to make youinto a better woman than she was, that s all. So that s the lie he told himself so he could sleep at night, I thought.Oneof them, anyway. You made me, I said evenly, as Joanna, as myself, into a shadow of what Icould have been. Xavier didn t even blink. I ve given you a place in this world.Is thatreally so bad? If your mother had been more like you she wouldn t have left you, I finished for him, amazed it had taken me thislong to see it.That was it.He d smothered Olivia with money and baubles andcoddling because he didn t want to lose her.In some corner of that uselessheart, he might even love her.It was nice to know& but for the fact that hisinvolvement with the Tulpa made him indirectly responsible for her death. Shecouldn t have left you. He didn t deny it. I just want to keep you close. Inhaling deeply, I pretended to consider that.Though anger had me shakinginside, I was used to holding my tongue around Xavier, and as I angled aroundthe desk to take his hands in mine careful not to let him feel the unnaturalsmoothness of my printless fingertips, or the tensile strength in my palm Ismiled. And I want to be close to you as well. Because you re going to lead me tothe Tulpa.And someday I m going to see you pay for all your countless sins. So where better to begin my career than at Valhalla? Surely your premierproperty isn t below me? Plus you can keep an eye on me while I learn a skill.Surely there s a way, Daddy, for us to both get what we want? He was silent for so long, even the house seemed to hold its breath around us.There was almost an audible exhalation when he finally said, Tell me againwhy you want this? Because I want to be like the parent who raised me.The one who stayed andstuck.I want to be like you. He rubbed a hand as large as a ball mitt over his face, and I knew I d won. I ll think about it. Thank you, Daddy, I said, and exited his office before my eyelids caught ina permanent flutter.I had finally gotten him thinking, and that was the bestI could hope for right now.Or so I thought.Chandra was back in the drawing room, seated awkwardly on the window seat, butshe stood to fall wordlessly into stride with me as we exited.We skipped downthe palatial white steps, hopped into my car, and I rolled the engine over,still silent.I glanced up to find Helen s pinched face peering at us from theliving room windows, though she drew back when I waved, retreating into thehouse that so completely defined her existence.The gates were already openingas I gunned down the drive, though I waited until we d left the compound andhad reached the first stoplight before turning to Chandra. You look smug. It s all that goop you made me put on my face. And? Because there was more.And she lifted the handbag I d made her carry, opening it wide enough toreveal a blackened face stretched in a long, silent scream.The light changed.A car honked behind me.I looked from the mask in her purse back up into herface.And for the first time since we d known each other, Chandra and Iexchanged real smiles.9The derring-do of both sides of the Zodiac was recorded in comic book form.While that might seem imprudent, there were fail-safes in place to keepinformation from one side leaking to the other.For instance, the Shadowagents couldn t read the manuals of Light, and vice versa, thereby eliminatingPage 48 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe possibility of one side gaining dominance over the other that way.Thisprohibition didn t apply to me since I was both Shadow and Light, but I drecently taken the opportunity to compare the manuals written after my arrivalwith those written before, and noted a lot more detail being left out thesedays, or delivered in more obscure terms than in the time prior to my arrivalon the paranormal scene.Of course, agents on both sides of the Zodiac had attempted to glean knowledgefrom people known to follow one series of comics or the other, but all hadfound that those mortals inevitably gave out misinformation, enthusiasticallyrelating the wider worldview of the Zodiac to a competing agent informationthey already knew while blithely forgetting the specifics of the latestmanual.It was our micro-universe s way of keeping the battle between Lightand Shadow squared and properly balanced.The kids who frequented Master Comics, however, weren t just any mortals.Theyknew the stories and characters they were following were real, and werewilling partners in our paranormal battle.They thought and spoke and dreamedof us, picked sides, and taught the other younger children the mythology ofthe Zodiac.As they grew up, leaving the energy and belief of their youthbehind, our legacy then continued in the minds of the next generation.However, if they failed to pass this knowledge on before maturation, wewouldn t merely be in jeopardy of losing the battle against our enemies, we dactually cease to exist.All the mortal children who knew of our world gathered at a comic book shopcalled Master Comics.Therefore it wasn t only a natural place to look forback issues containing clues that might lead to the Tulpa s demise, it wasalso a hotbed of exuberant fandom.Chandra and I swung into the store preparedfor a preadolescent pop quiz.Instead we were met with dead silence. Smells like geek central, Chandra said, glancing around. Looks like geekcentral.But where are all the geeks? The comic and manga titles were ordered obsessively on floor-to-ceilingshelves, with a DVD section on the back left wall, a gamers paradise on theright.But the store was otherwise eerily empty. I m getting ghost-townvibes. Chandra was still standing just inside the door, looking ready to bolt if shehad to.But Master Comics was a safe zone for all agents, neutral territory,so I moved farther into the shop, albeit warily. Maybe they re out buyingHalloween costumes, she said.Except every day was Halloween in Master Comics.I shook my head. I don tthink so.Carl s already had his costume for six months. She glanced over at me. What s he dressing as? All he d say was it would be totally unexpected and out of character for him.My guess is he s going as a normal kid. Chandra snorted. Well, maybe they re all at school. Shut your mouth, I scoffed, picking up an independent comic. Besides, whatabout Zane? Zane was the owner of Master Comics, a loner in his late twenties who stillhung with kids, but who was the creator of the Zodiac s manuals as well
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