"No," she muttered aloud to the voice. "Go away and leave us alone." She shook her head hard; and like a camera coming back into focus, her vision suddenly cleared and everything seemed to snap back into place.

And then, from somewhere nearby came the soft chime of a doorway electric eye, and she realized that Melantha's arm had somehow escaped from her grip. Spinning around, she saw that the girl had made it two steps outside the store. "Come back here," she snapped, taking a pair of quick steps and grabbing the girl's arm again. "You're not going anywhere."

Bring her to me. The voice was still there, still as insistent as before. But there was no power in it anymore.

At least, not for Caroline. But apparently Melantha wasn't as free from its influence. She was straining at Caroline's grip like a dog on a leash, trying to pull them both back toward the corner.

"Come on, Melantha," Caroline said soothingly, digging her feet into the pavement as best she could, trying not to make a scene of this. The last thing she needed was for someone to call the cops with a child-abuse complaint. She sent a quick glance around the sidewalk, but no one seemed particularly interested in the two of them.

And then, for no particular reason, she lifted her eyes to their building half a block away.

Someone was on their balcony. Two men, standing beside her orange trees.

Caroline felt her arms starting to tremble. "Come on," she told Melantha, trying to pull the girl back out of sight. It was like tugging on a bag of cement. "We have to get out of here."

"No," Melantha said, her voice as blank as her face. "I have to go back."

"Melantha, snap out of it," Caroline ordered, managing to pull her at least into the partial protection of the store's small awning. Swiveling her around, she got a grip on both of the girl's upper arms.

"You hear me? You don't have to go back. Look at me, Melantha."

Melantha blinked... and then, slowly, her face seemed to sag. "Caroline?" she whispered.

"Yes," Caroline said firmly. "You don't have to listen to him, Melantha."

"But they'll all die if I don't go back," Melantha said, her voice pleading. Her eyelids were still halfclosed, but at least the pupils were back to normal again. "They'll die."

"Who will die?" Caroline asked, an eerie feeling seeping through her.

"He said I shouldn't have run away," Melantha said. "But I didn't. Not really."

"I know that, sweetheart," Caroline assured her. "Who's going to die if you don't go back?"

"The Greens," Melantha said, tears welling up in her eyes. "The Grays." She squeezed her eyes shut, sending the tears trickling out onto her cheeks. "Everyone."

Caroline felt a shiver run up her back. Gray. Wasn't that the name Roger had mentioned? "You mean Torvald and his family?" she asked.

"All of them," Melantha repeated. "And it'll be my fault."

Caroline took a deep breath. "No, it won't," she said as firmly as she could. "Because Roger and I won't let it happen."

"But—"

"No buts," Caroline cut off her protest, trying to ignore the voice still prodding at the edge of her mind. "It won't happen. Understand?"

Melantha swallowed hard. "But if it's the only way?"

"We'll find another way," Caroline promised, squeezing her arms reassuringly. "But right now, we have to get out of here."

"Mrs. Whittier?"

She turned around, tensing. But it was only Lee, holding her suitcase. "Here, you forgot this," he said.

"Thank you," Caroline said, not sure she dared let Melantha out of her two-handed grip yet. "Just set it down, would you?"

Lee's forehead wrinkled. "You okay?" he asked, setting the suitcase beside the door.

Caroline hesitated. What could she say? "We're just having a little discussion," she said.

"Oh?" Lee peered at Melantha. "You okay, miss? You don't look so good."

Melantha looked questioningly at Caroline, then back at Lee. "I'm all right," she said, her voice quavering only a little.

"You sure?" he asked, clearly not convinced. "Anything I can do?"

"Actually, yes, there is," Caroline said suddenly. "You could call 911 and tell them someone's burgling our apartment."

Lee's eyes widened. "How do you know?"

"They're on our balcony," Caroline said. Carefully, she eased her head out from under the awning to look.

The balcony was empty. "Well, they were," she amended, moving back under cover again. "They must have gone inside. Please?"

Lee pursed his lips, but nodded. "Okay. What's the address?" She gave it to him, and he nodded again. "Okay. Wait here." Turning, he hurried back into the store.

Caroline sneaked another peek out from under the awning. The balcony was still clear; but if the men up there had seen her, they would already be on their way down. "We've got to go, Melantha," she murmured to the girl, letting go with one hand and snagging the suitcase.

"No, wait," Melantha said suddenly, grabbing at her arm. "They're still there."

Caroline frowned up at the empty balcony. "Where?"

"On the wall to the left of the balcony," Melantha said, pointing. "Two Grays."

Caroline frowned a little harder. On the wall to the left...?

Abruptly, she caught her breath. On the side of their building, right where Melantha had said, she saw something. Not people, but a pair of what looked like ripples or perhaps giant drops of water.

Only they were moving up the side of the building, not down. "What is that?" she breathed.

"They're Grays," Melantha hissed. "They're coming for me."

"Grays?" Caroline echoed, Roger's nighttime story racing through her mind.

But his human fly had been just that: human. This was something else entirely. "Are they wearing camouflage?" she asked, knowing full well that couldn't possibly be it.

"They're masked," Melantha said, her breath starting to come in ragged gasps. "We have to get out of here." The ripples stopped moving, and even knowing where to look Caroline couldn't see anything.

And then something caught her eye, and she felt her throat tighten. There was indeed nothing to be seen of the two figures themselves... but just beneath where the two ripples had stopped moving she could see small dark crescents against the lighter color of the wall.

The two men had vanished. But their shadows were still there.

"We have to go," Melantha said again.

"I know, honey," Caroline said, looking back into the store. Invisible men climbing walls, someone calling into her mind...

Her eye caught a small rack of scarves beside the checkout counter. "Here," she said, pulling Melantha back into the store. "Tuck your hair into the back of your collar," she ordered, pulling the most conservatively patterned scarf free and digging into her purse. She found a ten-dollar bill and dropped it onto the counter, then turned back to Melantha and flipped the scarf over her head, tying it under her chin the way she'd seen elderly women wearing them. "How does that feel?"

"Like I'm an old woman," Melantha said distastefully, her fear receding momentarily into the background as preteen fashion dignity asserted itself.

"Let's hope everyone else sees you that way, too," Caroline said. "Walk a little stooped over, and we'll pretend I'm taking my mother for a walk."

Melantha's face screwed up, but she nodded. "I'll try."

"Okay." Putting the girl's hand on her crooked elbow the way she'd seen other women walking, Caroline reached down and picked up the suitcase. "Let's go."

They left the store and headed east, away from the apartment. Caroline could feel Melantha's hand trembling, and found herself fighting against the impulse to abandon their mother-daughter act and take off running. Setting her teeth, she split her attention between walking slowly and keeping an eye over her shoulder for an available cab.