Subj: Petofi's Maze Chapter 9
Date: 2/20/99 1:49:01 PM Central Standard Time
From: miranda

Chapter 9

Barnabas and Julia walked on the beach in the chilly early morning hours before sunrise. The crashing of the waves made it difficult to speak in whispers, but both were well protected should the vampire make the mistake of picking one of them as a victim. Both wore large crosses and brandished stakes. Their hope was to find the vampire's resting place and dispose of him when the sun rose. Time was dwindling for Quentin and they could not waste more energy than necessary to deal with this new threat.

"Three deaths in one night," Julia commented, "and no effort to even hide the fang marks."

"This vampire is obviously reckless and has little self-control," Barnabas added. "He or she should be easy to locate."

"I certainly hope so," Julia said. "With Quentin's time drawing to a close I've been realizing just how many lives are hanging in the balance."

"What do you mean?" Barnabas asked. "Quentin is the one truly in danger."

"Petofi will never allow anyone to live who knows his secret. There would be too much of a threat. Everyone who knows about him will surely die if we can't kill him first. You, me, Beth, and maybe even Chris are at risk."

Barnabas nodded slowly with the sudden realization. "I should have considered that before Quentin and I explained the whole truth to Chris. Now he's in danger from Petofi just as we."

Julia's reply stuck in her throat. She pointed and barely whispered, "Barnabas, look."

He followed her finger to a rocky crag. A figure had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He seemed so familiar. Could it be? Tom Jennings back from the dead and once again a vampire?

"But I killed him myself," Barnabas said faintly as he and Julia hid behind the dunes.

Julia swallowed hard as she remembered Tom's bite. Memories of the seduction and the pain were like two opposing forces in a tug of war in her soul. She managed to get out, "Why is he here? The sun is about to rise."

They intently watched Tom's every movement. He stood looking out at the ocean. Blood was drying on the front of his shirt. He raised his arms and curled his lips into an evil sneer. Before the bewildered eyes of Barnabas and Julia, Tom suddenly transformed into a translucent liquid and almost seemed to slowly melt into the sand. Julia and Barnabas rose from their hiding place, both speechless. They began to comprehend how grave the situation truly was as they stood staring at the sun cast its first rays into the morning sky.