Der Schädelring: Thriller (German Edition)

she didn't feel any pain.
    The smoke from the crucibles hung in the air like wool as the bad man held the bloody knife to the sky. Then he raised his other fist, and the skull ring shone pale in the night. The bad man touched the knife to the ring, as if allowing the skull to drink, and the red ruby eyes glowed, pulsed in rhythm to little Julia's frantic heartbeat.
    And, beneath the hood, the bad man's eyes glowed with that same red intensity.
    He reached into his robe and leaned over her, his breath like old goat cheese, and whispered, "Oh Satan, Master of the World, take as thy bride this whore Judas Stone."
    This whore Judas Stone.
    She was Judas Stone, too.
    The words rang in her ears, ripped through her like a death knell, ripped the fabric of her soul, even as that dream-image bad man raised her limp hand and slipped the ring home.
    The ring was hers.
    Oh, Christ almighty, the ring was hers .
    But that made no sense. A ring sized for a four-year-old wouldn't fit now. Had it expanded as she touched it, had it widened itself to accommodate her finger?
    The ring is yours, the ring is yours, INHALE . . . .
    Rings didn't shrink and grow. Satan was not real, and had no power. The only thing that held power over her was panic. She tried to relax the way Dr. Forrest had taught her.
    But Dr. Forrest was miles and miles away, and Julia was alone with the ring.
    Inhale. INHALE—
    She crawled across the floor, and the dark cloak of panic became a noose, clamping tightly around her neck. Tears trailed down her cheeks.
    Julia reached the bedside table, her lungs on fire from the lack of air. Her heartbeat was thin and rapid. She found the phone, pulled it to her lap, punched the numbers.
    She managed a shallow gasp as the connection was made and the earpiece gave its electronic purr. By the third ring, she had exhaled.
    Please be there .
    The phone clicked, and the voice spoke on the other end of the line. "Hello?"
    Julia could breathe now. The air was sweet again, air-conditioned and cool and relaxing. "Dr. Forrest, it's me."
    "Julia?"
    "Yeah."
    "What's wrong?"
    "I—I'm having an episode."
    "Where are you?" Dr. Forrest sounded almost angry.
    "Memphis. I flew in yesterday."
    " Memphis ? Without my approval?" No denying the anger now. "Something like this could set us back months."
    "I had to find out—"
    "What could you possibly find out?"
    "I went to the old house," Julia said.
    Dr. Forrest said nothing. Julia looked around for the ring as she continued. "I saw the barn behind my house. That's where it happened. I know that's where it happened. And my father . . . "
    "Say it, Julia. Say it so that you can make yourself believe it."
    "My father was one of them."
    "One of the bad people. One of the Creeps. You finally believe."
    Julia thought about telling Dr. Forrest about the ring, but she was afraid. If Dr. Forrest was this angry over Julia going to Memphis without permission, the therapist might have a panic attack of her own. Julia needed to make sense of the discovery before she shared it.
    "Yes," Julia said. "I remember it now. He was there at the ceremony. My father wed me to Satan."
    "Just as you dreamed. Just the way you shared while under hypnosis." Dr. Forrest was slightly calmer.
    "It's all true."
    "I wouldn't let you lie to yourself, would I, Julia?"
    "No, Dr. Forrest."
    "When are you coming back?"
    "Tomorrow."
    "Good. I'll schedule you for a Tuesday session."
    "That . . . that would be good."
    "So, what set off your panic attack?"
    Anything besides the ring and the electric power that surged through my skin at its contact . "I was just thinking about it all. How terrible it was. What a monster my father was."
    "I understand, Julia." She sounded excited now. "You know what this means, don't you?"
    Julia now saw the ring, lying on the floor where the edge of the bedspread brushed the carpet.
    "This means that we're approaching healing," Dr. Forrest said. "We've assessed the damage and we've pictured the effects of the ritual abuse. Now it's time for the final step."
    "The final step?" Julia watched the ring as if expecting it to turn molten and slither across the floor toward her.
    "Preparing for change. Now you're ready to embrace the past, to become whole. To become the whore Judas Stone."
    Julia's breath leaped away. " WHAT? "
    "I said it's time for you to become the whole Julia Stone."
    Julia shook her head. If she were going to start twisting the words of her therapist, she would lose herself to the oily