Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

last evening, and I didn’t finish up until the wee hours of the morning. By then, it was too late to call or come over .”
    “I’m sorry, Ernie. I went to the Sunrise Mission yesterday, and while I was there Silas Compton came in . He asked if I had time to do his reading. After that everything happened so fast.”
    “Jesus, Diana, what the hell’s wrong with you? Do you always have to tempt fate?”
    “I didn’t think it would turn into a whole day and evening. And please don’t yell at me. I feel like I’ve been in a train wreck.”
    “I’m sorry, but you’ve received two warning notes, and no matter what you think, th at mission connects to four people we’re investigating, including Silas Compton, who might very well be the head of a satanic cult. Doesn’t any of that make an impression on you? And don’t even mention Brother Osiris, a man you seem to trust because he fed you some bullshit about his tragic past that you’re determined not to tell me about.”
    Her cheeks burned a t Slater ’s name . She didn’t know why unless than she had a fever. “Stop . I can’t have this conversation right now.”
    Lucier got up and paced the floor in a short circle. “Well, that’s tough. I need to know what happened. This is serious.”
    She’d never seen Lucier so mad or speak with such force, even when she took off after a serial killer on her own. He’d always been steady and calm.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time. And yes, I do trust Edward. I’m convinced he’s incapable of anything evil. He’s only trying to make his life count.”
    Lucier bristled, his topaz eyes flashed in anger. “So now it’s Edward. Getting chummy, aren’t you?”
    “Stop this, Ernie. You sound like a jealous schoolboy.”
    He looked as if he’d been hit with a foul ball. “Jealous ? I’m not jealous. I was worried, and now I’m pissed.” He got up from the sofa. “I’m going back to the station. I don’t like where this is going. I’ll hear all about Compton after we’ve both calmed down.”
    “Fine. Go. I’m tired anyway. You woke me up.”
    “Sorry. That’s what happens when you stay out all night with the big do gs of society. Go back to bed.”
    The sound of the door slamming left Diana wondering what just happened. She really wanted to tell him about Compton’s reading. She wanted to, but she couldn’t remember anything after getting into his limo. Not even how she got home or into bed, which is exactly where she was going now to ease the pounding in her head and soothe a stomach that churned like she’d eaten road kill.
    * * * * *
    T he room, bathed in red light, spun around as dozens of dark eyes stared at her naked body. Murky faces, featureless and unrecognizable in the shadows, chanted strange, unintelligible words in an a cappella staccato drumbeat, worshipping as if some divine creature lay supine before them. She understood only one word in a repetitive drone: Diana … Diana … Diana .
    She tried raising her head to protest, but her voice locked in her throat, her numb body the immobilized object of voyeuristic concentration. T he slightest sensation tickled her desensitized skin as hands groped from out of the darkness and took turns caressing her breasts and abdomen and hips . S he knew their final destination , felt it.
    A naked figure hovered above her on all fours, straddling her body. His face, transformed by either makeup or a mask, darted back and forth, eyes squeezed shut in rapturous ecstasy. The chanting increased, monotonous sounds with no melody.
    Gibberish words.
    Louder and louder.
    She uttered something unrecognizable, then a hand cradled her head and another placed a glass of liquid to her lips. She drank greedily to moisten her dry mouth, then she fell back. Her body disappeared into oblivion. She couldn’t move. Not even her little finger.
    * * * * *
    D iana jerked awake, feverish, sweat oozing from every pore , plastering her clothes to her body . Tendrils of hair clung to her damp face and neck and back. Gasping for air, she struggled to breathe. What was happening to her? She looked around, panic subsiding as she recognized the familiar room and the comfort of her own bed.
    Where was Ernie? Why did she drive him away? Her first impulse was to call him, to apologize and tell him what happened. But what had happened? A bad dream. T hat’s all it was.
    Her body tingled, nerve endings retaining the memory of unwanted touches