Chapter Thirty-Four
Thijmen and Willem had only taken a few steps toward the staircase when the first two of Pieter’s party emerged in full run from the hallway above them, turning the corner and bounding down the stairs as if they were being chased by certain death. Not that Thijmen could actually imagine it that way: there was nothing on the island that had ever chased anyone in any manner that would have caused the panic-stricken looks on the faces of his two friends. But the two men paid Thijmen and his group no heed, slowed not a step as they reached the bottom stairs and fled through the open main door into the night beyond the mansion’s threshold. Willem gave Thijmen a look that lasted only an instant before two more from Pieter’s group skidded from the hallway above them and took the steps two-at-a-time, following their counterparts out of the mansion.
“What do you think is going on?” Willem asked.
Thijmen looked at his friend, then at the rest of his raiding party. Whatever courage and confidence they had just had moments ago was gone, and all eyes were on the open doorway and the manicured lawn beyond it, the safety of the jungle on the other side of it.
“Electricus!” said a weak voice from off to the side, and Willem was suddenly shaking violently, a strange red ribbon of light leading from his body across the room to another hallway in which stood Nereika, her blood-drenched hands outstretched before her. Thijmen watched in curious disbelief as the red light pulsed from the palms of her hands, small drops of blood falling to the floor. She wore a robe with a large soak spot of blood near her abdomen, a stain working its way down her left leg. She was pale.
And then Willem stopped convulsing and the red light from Nereika’s hands vanished. Willem stumbled backward clumsily. Thijmen stared dumbfounded at Nereika, who dropped her hands to her side and breathed deeply, concentrating on something. Thijmen glanced at the rest of his party; all eyes were on Nereika. Tamerika rushed down the hallway past the rest of the party and came to a stop.
“Thijmen, we must go, now,” she said, grasping his forearm.
Thijmen looked up at the top of the stairs, movement catching his attention in his peripheral vision. He saw Pieter back out of the hallway, Pieter’s attention focused on whatever it was he was retreating from. And then a rainbow engulfed his friend and Pieter was shredded into bits of light, his body effervescing from substance into memory. For a moment, there had been a spot on the planet where his best friend had stood, and then there was emptiness. Thijmen’s jaw dropped open and his arms grew slack. He felt Tamerika’s grip on his arm tighten, then release. There was a collective gasp from the rest of his group, and then the white-haired man stepped from the hallway and walked to the railing and stared down at them.