Lucifer's Daughter by V. J. Banis

Author:V. J. Banis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror, stephen king, dean koontz, ray garton, dan simmons
ISBN: 9781434447715
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2012-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

He was distressed to hear of all her unhappy years at the orphanage. But Julia did not dwell very long on those unhappy times. She wanted to forget the orphanage, the miseries she had suffered at the hands of Miss Marshall and the other matrons. She coaxed her father to tell her of his work, his travels, and he in turn asked her about her studies and ambitions.

“I have had only one major ambition in my lifetime,” she told him. “That was to find you.”

He gave her a kindly smile. “Then you must set a new ambition for yourself, Daughter. You have found me and we will never be separated again.”

“What ambition would you suggest I set?” she asked.

“To marry, of course. I must have grandchildren. You must continue the Cagliostro name.”

“But they will have my husband’s name when they are born.”

Her father waved his hand as though she had placed a rather unimportant obstacle in his path. “That is merely a technicality which can be easily remedied. As long as the children have my blood, they will be Cagliostros.”

It was the first time Julia had ever afforded herself the luxury of speaking of marriage and children. She remembered all the parentless waifs who were filtered through the orphanage, and made a silent vow that her children would never be one of their number. Perhaps one day it might be possible to adopt little Meg. But glancing at her father, she doubted if he would take too kindly to having other family blood mixed with their own.

The evening passed too quickly. The large clock in the foyer struck ten and her father pushed himself up out of his easy chair. “I, for one, have had a very busy and delightful day. I’m off to bed. You should think about retiring also, Julia. You must be completely exhausted.”

Julia hugged herself. “I’m too happy and contented to sleep. Perhaps I’ll read about our family for a while before turning in.”

He kissed the top of her head. “The library is just across the hall. But don’t strain your lovely eyes on Cagliostro history. There is plenty of time for you to learn about your ancestors.”

He left her and she sat for a long time dreaming of how fortunate she was. She even smiled at thoughts of Madam Esperelda and her overly dramatic demonstration. A worried little frown suddenly tugged at her brow as she remembered the medium’s pointing finger.

“Daughter of evil.”

Julia shook herself and got up from her chair. She crossed the foyer, refusing to think about the séance and the medium. The library was dark when she entered. Moonlight was pouring in through one of the casement windows. She had the strangest feeling that there was another presence in the room besides her own.

“Father? Matilda?” she called softly into the darkness.

No one answered. Yet Julia sensed the presence of someone. She could almost hear their breathing. Everything was so still, so dark. Someone was there; she was sure of it.

She fumbled for the light switch and clicked it on.

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