2 Forever Odd by Dean R. Koontz

Author:Dean R. Koontz [Koontz, Dean R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense fiction, Horror, Suspense, Mystery & Detective, Psychological, Mediums, Missing persons
ISBN: 9780553588262
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 2006-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

Odd Thomas 2 - Forever Odd

THIRTY-ONE

MOST OF THE FURNITURE HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM Room 1203. Only a pair of nightstands, a round wood table, and four captain’s chairs remained.

Some cleaning had occurred. Although the space was far from immaculate, it looked more accommodating than any place I’d seen previously in the ruined hotel.

The pending storm had dimmed the day, but fat candles in red and amber glass containers provided light. Six were arranged precisely on the floor in each corner of the room. Six more stood on the table.

The pulse and flicker of candlelight might have been cheerful in other circumstances. Here it seemed cheerless. Menacing. Occult.

Scented, the candles produced a fragrance that masked the bitter malodor of long-settled smoke. The air smelled sweet rather than flowery. I had never breathed anything quite like it before.

White sheets had been tucked and pinned to the upholstery of the captain’s chairs, to provide clean seating.

The nightstands flanked the big view window. On each stood a large black vase, and in each vase were two or three dozen red roses that either had no scent or could not compete with the candles.

She enjoyed drama and glamour, and she carried her creature comforts with her even into the wilds. Like a European princess visiting Africa in the century of colonialism, having a picnic on a Persian carpet unrolled on the veldt.

Gazing out the window, her back to me as I entered the room, stood a woman in tight black toreador pants and a black blouse. Five feet five. Thick, glossy blond hair so pale it looked almost white, cut short but not in a manly style.

I said, I’m almost three hours ahead of sundown.

She neither twitched with surprise nor turned to me. Continuing to stare at the gathering storm, she said, So you’re not a complete disappointment after all.

In person, her voice was no less bewitching, no less erotic than it had been on the phone.

Odd Thomas, do you know who was the greatest conjurer in history, who summoned spirits and used them better than anyone ever?

I took a guess: You?

Moses, she said. He knew the secret names of God, with which he could conquer Pharaoh and divide the sea.

Moses the conjurer. That must have been a freaky Sunday school you went to.

Red candles in red glasses, she said.

You camp out in style, I acknowledged.

What do they achieve—red candles in red glasses?

I said, Light?

Victory, she corrected. Yellow candles in yellow glasses— what do they achieve?

It’s got to be the right answer this time. Light?

Money.

By keeping her back to me, she meant to draw me to the window by the power of her mystery and will.

Determined not to play her game, I said, Victory and money. Well, there’s my problem. I always burn white candles.

She said, White candles in clear glasses achieve peace. I never use them.

Although I had no intention of bending to her will and joining her at the window, I did move toward the table, which stood between us. In addition to the candles, several objects lay there, one of which appeared to be a remote control.

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