Escort For The Witch - стр. 15

Unable to think of anything smarter to do, I followed her. Then Claire dashed past me like a little tornado. Oh, this omnipresent Claire!

“Hey, Jack!” she squealed and rushed on.

I put on my coat, wrapped the scarf around my neck, and headed towards the exit, stopping by the girls and, pretending to be searching my pockets for a lighter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sabrina staring at me. After a moment’s thought, I concluded that if she wanted to talk to me, she’d find a way to swallow her pride and descend to the level of mere mortals. And until then, there was no need to worry. As I stepped outside, I overheard her telling Claire that she would be going home alone by tram today. “Since when does Sabrina take the tram home?” I wondered, heading towards my car. Well, it’s time to visit an old friend before he forgets my name altogether.

I looked at the dark, overcast sky, and felt tiny drops of cold rain hitting my face.

It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago New Orleans was a lush, sun-drenched oasis of endless celebration. Now, everything looked completely different. With the onset of fall, the city seemed deserted, turning into a gloomy and unfriendly place for the occasional curious onlooker; perfect setting for horror fans. And there was plenty of that kind of thing among the locals. For a dollar or two, everyone would tell you this or that house was haunted by previous owners who had died or vanished mysteriously. Everyone seemed to know where to find practicing Voodoo masters; everyone wanted to give you the Mardi Gras beads that were supposed to protect you from curses, hexes, and other nonsense that tourists are so eager to believe in.

The rain picked up, and I quickly settled behind the wheel, brushing raindrops off my coat, starting the car, and once again glancing towards Sabrina. The girl

stood aside, shifting from foot to foot, staring at me intently. Slowly, hesitantly, she approached the car and, without saying a word, got in beside me.

Interrogation

Through her passenger window Sabrina quietly watched the rain turn into a downpour. She sat motionless, occasionally and stealthily glancing in my direction, which was beginning to get on my nerves. I knew I was to have a conversation with Eric, and I wasn’t particularly fond of the mind games.

“What mischief has he gotten into this time?” I asked.

“What?” She gave me a distracted look and shivered.

“What did he do this time – blew up a house? Forgot to turn on the lights coming back from another binge drinking session? And stop daydreaming, it annoys me.”

Sabrina looked at me strangely but left my last remark uncommented.

“No,” she began quietly. “You won’t believe it, but he was almost sober.”

Was I hallucinating? Sober? Eric was almost sober?! So, that was the reason for the sudden change in the weather. It was Eric’s almost sober state, not a fiery greeting from my father.

“Probably ran out of money,” I guessed. “Let me guess, you took advantage of the situation and decided to have a little chat?”

“You know perfectly well I’m a lousy mentor,” Sabrina parried my question and stared out the window again.

“Well, what’s the matter then?” I persisted. I was genuinely curious about what might have happened to bring about such colossal changes in Eric and his sister.