She looked at the other woman, then at the door in front of her, and made up her mind. She had little choice. They had to either go forward or turn around and go back; all the other entrances had long since collapsed or been sealed.
Although the situation was different from the one she had faced after Johnny was killed, it felt the same. She knew what she had to do.
“Wait here,” she said to Helen. “This door will be open, but don’t go through it until you hear me call for you. Then bring everyone at once, as quickly as you can. Don’t stop for anything. Especially not for me. Get up the stairs and out of the building; run down the street and out of the city. Go up into the hills and hide. I will find you.” She paused. “If I don’t come within the next few hours, head north toward San Francisco. You might find those from the other compounds on your way and you can join forces.”
Helen started to speak, but Angel stopped her by taking hold of her arms and drawing her close. “Listen to me. There is something very bad at the top of the stairs. I don’t think it cares about you or the children. I think it is looking for me. It won’t let itself be distracted once it has me. Don’t give it a reason to change its mind. Do you understand me?”
The other woman nodded, then shook her head quickly. “I can’t just run away and leave you! I want to help. You’ve done so much for us. There must be something!”
She took a deep breath. “This isn’t something you can help me with, Helen.
What waits up there is very dangerous and very powerful. It isn’t anything human; it is something else. Only I can deal with it.”
She released the other’s arms and stepped away. “Remember what I said. Do what I told you to do.”
Then she moved over to the heavy door, used the magic of her staff a second time to release its locks, pulled it wide open, and stepped through into the gloom of the narrow corridor beyond.
Chapter ELEVEN
SHE SWITCHED ON the flashlight and began to climb.
She went slowly and soundlessly, placing her feet carefully.
She had been able to sense the presence of the demon, but that was a gift peculiar to her. It was entirely possible that the demon had not yet sensed her.
Still, she had to be ready.
When she reached the door that opened on to the lobby of the old hotel, she stopped. Her five senses told her nothing of what waited beyond, but her sixth sense reaffirmed what she already knew. The demon was out there. It had discovered her plan to rescue the children, surmised that she had gone into the tunnels, and was awaiting her return.
Oddly enough, it appeared to be alone.
She took a long time to make sure she wasn’t mistaken about this, thinking that her instincts must be misleading her. But they weren’t; the demon was alone. This worried her more than she cared to think about. A demon hunting for a Knight of the Word would normally have brought dozens of once-men to help with the effort. This one was apparently confident enough to believe that it could handle the job alone. Which, in turn, meant that it possessed either great strength or extraordinary skill.
Or, she added with a shiver, it was totally mad.
I’m not going to survive this.
It was a terrible thing to tell herself, but the words were out and swimming about inside her head before she could stop them. She fought them down and locked them away again, but their whisper lingered.
She took a deep steadying breath and closed her eyes, trying to read what lay beyond. She pictured the lobby, its walls and ceiling, the curved stairway, the debris, the broken-out windows and doors, the check-in desk against the back wall, all of it. She formed the picture and studied it and tried to see where the demon would be. It would choose a place where she wouldn’t see it right away, but where it could get to her quickly. It would try to kill her before she even knew it was there, thinking to catch her unawares.
Where would it wait? She tried to imagine it, seeing it in her mind, searching it out.
Then, all at once, she knew.
It would be waiting on the stairs above the doorway where it could vault the railing and fall upon her as she came through. If it was quick enough, it could break her neck before she even knew what had happened.
She could see it now in her mind, could see it clearly, could see the demon, faceless and formless, crouched and ready. Big.
But she would be bigger. Strong.
But she would be stronger.
She tightened her grip on the staff and faced the door. She had left it unlocked. The demon would know that, would have tested it to discover if the locks were back in place. Had they been resealed, it could have relied on the sound of their release as a warning of her approach. Unsealed, they would give no warning. So it would be listening for the sounds of her approach or, failing that, the shadow of the door opening into the room.