It opened its mouth, and he heard the whistling sound again, like wind hissing. In its neck the jugular vine pulsed with life; in the torso, obscenely green growth glistened and throbbed among the white net of tiny roots.
One long leg bent, and it placed its twig-and-stick foot on the limb next to Robin. An instant later, it pulled itself up.
To Rick's horror, Robin handed Cody to Big Jack.
“Save him, save him, icky Ricky!” Robin screeched before descending the tree, swinging down like a monkey.
Rick stepped forward, raising the sword. Big Jack hissed, sibilant, snakelike, and Cody cried, squirming in its grasp.
“Cody,” Rick called softly. “Cody, you can hurt it. It's just leaves, son. Pull the leaves, hard.”
The boy did nothing for a moment, then suddenly yanked on one vine, then another. With a cry, he plunged both hands into the heart of the thing and began yanking with all his might.
Rick sliced the sword through the air but hit nothing, but Big Jack was fending off Cody's attack and didn't appear to notice. Rick sent the blade whickering through the air again, and this time it struck the heavy branch that made the monster's thighbone.
It cracked. Big Jack wavered.
“Cody, grab the tree!” Rick ordered as he struck again.
“Piper!” Dimly he heard Dakota calling him from somewhere below. “Piper! Where the hell are you?”
The thigh snapped and Big Jack fell, taking Cody with him. The boy's thin scream cut through Rick like a knife.
They seemed to fall forever. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dakota, still in drag, and Audrey, running across the lawn.
Big Jack caught a limb halfway down and held on. Cody clung to its torso. “Climb down,” Rick called. “Climb down its leg and you can jump from there. Go to Dakota.”
“Piper! Cody!” Dakota called.
“Here!” Rick screamed as loud as he could. “The oak tree!”
Cody had slithered almost the entire length of Big Jack's body when Dakota appeared below. He reached up and snatched the child into his arms, then Audrey took Cody from him and retreated, moving toward the house.
Dakota remained where he was, staring upward. “Shit, Piper,” he cried. “That's the damned Big Jack, isn't it?”
“Yeah,” Rick called. “And it's pissed.” He paused. “Dakota, be careful.”
Dakota yanked on the remaining leg, once, twice, then the creature fell. Almost instantly it was upright, balancing on one foot. “Piper, its other leg's growing back!” Dakota backed away. “What the hell do I do now?”
“Run! Lock yourselves in the cottage! Now!”
“Piper!”
“Get my son and your sister in that cottage!
Now!”
Before Dakota could move, Big Jack lurched forward, its arms out. It grabbed at O'Keefe, snagging the hem of his chiffon skirt.
“You fucker!” Dakota cried. He brought his high-heeled foot up and kicked it, but Big Jack caught his ankle, and then Dakota was down on his ass, the Green Man all over him.
“Duane!” Audrey cried from the walk near the house. She stepped forward, Cody in her arms.
“No!” Rick yelled. “Get Cody inside!”
She looked up, her face stricken.
“Go! He'll be okay.”
Audrey didn't move, forward or backward, and directly below, he could see flashes of Dakota's white dress as he grappled with Big Jack. The thing was probably trying to strangle him.
I have to do something now!
Painfully he climbed back into the house, then hobbled down the hall to the back stairs. There had to be a way to stop the thing. The sword would do it, if he could get there in time.
By the time he made the bottom of the stairs, his leg felt numb. He limped out the kitchen door and moved toward the workshop, expecting every moment to run into Robin, every second to hear Cody scream.
Then he saw the garage. “Don't be locked,” he whispered as he went around to the big door to check. It wasn't even latched, thank God, and he quickly pulled the door up. Even before it thunked against its springs, he was inside the dark building, frantically trying to see where he was going.
In a glint of moonlight, he found it. Hector's riding lawn mower.
Its engine started on the second try, and he rode it out, past his car, toward the front lawn, the smell of fresh-cut grass clear in his nostrils.
As he rounded the bend, he saw Audrey and Cody still standing in the glow of the front porch light. Dakota was on his feet, but still struggling with Big Jack.
“O'Keefe,” Rick yelled, “get your ass out of there!” Revving the engine, he punched the gas, and the mower trundled forward. Audrey saw him and set Cody down by the steps, then ran to Dakota and grabbed at the white material floating around him. Suddenly Rick saw the cloth give, then Dakota was loose. Audrey yanked him toward the front steps, scooped up Cody, then pointed. Dakota looked, and Rick could see his grin even from here.
“Gotcha now, Jack,” he said as he aimed the machine at the creature. It turned and looked at him, then, with the combined roar of a dozen greenjacks, moved toward him.
“You're a stupid Big Jack, aren't you!”
The mower hit the monster in a shower of twigs and leaves, and the sound of a thousand snakes hissing rent the air as Rick watched the little jacks leaping from the mangled body. He backed up and ran over it again.
O'Keefe ran up as Rick took the engine down to an idling purr. “What the hell do you think you're doing out here by yourself?”
“Don't talk, O'Keefe. Get them in the cottage. Make sure it's empty, then lock yourselves in, and don't come out until I tell you.”
“What? And leave you out here?”
Audrey, carrying Cody, approached. “What's going on?” “All of you, get in that cottage now!”
“You're hurt,” she said.
“I'm fine. Get inside.”
“And just leave you out here?” she cried.
“I know what I'm doing.”
“Where's Robin?” Dakota asked.
“We're having a meeting just as soon as you three get out of here.”
“Piper, there's no way in hell that I'm going to leave you out here by yourself,” O'Keefe declared.
Rick stared at him. “Yes, you are. This doesn't concern you.”
Audrey kept her eyes on Rick as she handed Cody to her brother. “Duane, he has to do this by himself.”
“What? Audrey, don't tell me you're buying that macho shit.”
“Macho shit has nothing to do with it,” Rick said grimly.
“Noâ”
“Duane, do you think I want him out here by himself any more than you do?” Audrey demanded. “Do you?”
Dakota shrugged.
“I don't. But he has to!”
“Okay.” He punched Rick's arm. “Win one for the gipper,” he said, “whatever that is.”
“Thanks.” Quickly he kissed Cody, then Audrey, and watched as they disappeared around the corner of the house. A moment later, the pool lights came on, illuminating the blue water, highlighting Don Quixote as he sat on his horse, holding his lance.
Another figure sat just behind the knight.
“Robin,” Rick whispered, turning the machine and riding toward the pool.
Robin waved at him as he parked the mower across the pool from the statue.
“Icky Ricky, didja come out to play?” Robin called.
As Rick turned off the motor and dismounted, Robin climbed down the statue, calling, “Icky Ricky's an artist, too, whoop-de-do.”
He showed off, turning upside down and walking toward Rick in a handstand, his hands slap-slapping against the white pavement. Rick stood there, leaning on the sword, waiting. The church bells struck midnight.
Robin halted three feet from him. “A fight for possession of your body? Wasn't that your offer?”
“It doesn't count now. That was if you handed over my son. You didn't. Now I just get to kill you.”
“You don't have the guts.”
“Try me.”
Robin's face twisted into a malignant smile. “Remember the last time you tried to kill me? You didn't have the nerve then, either.” He put his callused hand out, palm upward, and slowly closed the fingers with a hard, twisting motion. “I'm surprised you could father children after I got through with you.”
“You murdered Delia.”
His grin was malicious. “You pissed me off, trying to strangle me like that. It's all your fault.”
Rick hesitated, caught by the words.
It's not your fault,
he told himself sternly.
Don't listen to him.
“Of course, I screwed her brains out before I killed her,” his twin taunted.
Don't take the bait.
Rick held his ground. “You killed Mom and Dad because they were going to send you away.”
Robin nodded. “All your fault, Ricky.”
“And you set the explosion at the carnival to stage your own death.”
“You catch on quick, icky Ricky.”
His leg throbbed, and a lead weight filled his stomach. “Do you even know how many people you killed that night?”
Robin laughed. “Nope. Who cares?”
Rick lifted the sword from the ground and stepped toward his twin. His leg almost twisted out from under him, but he managed to keep his balance. “This is for my parents and Delia and for all the carnival people you killed.” He aimed the saber. “This is for my children. And this is for
me.”
“You can't kill me,” Robin said, undaunted. “They'll put you in jail.”
“No. You're already dead. If you hadn't killed Jade, I'd just kill you for good and bury you out in the yard among your friends. But you committed murder and left mountains of evidence, so I'll just kill you in self-defense and tell the police all about it. No problem.”
For the first time, Robin showed concern. His gaze traveled toward the left side of the house. Rick knew what he was thinking. “They won't call the police until I tell them to. It's just you and me.”
On the grass at the edge of the cement, several jacks appeared to be watching. One, dimmer than the rest, waited unmoving.
“Robin,” Rick said softly.
“Robin?” his twin mimicked immediately. “I told you you couldn't kill me, you sentimental asshole.”
Ricky
. . . The voice strained with effort to be heard.
Help me.
Rick nodded at the quiet little jack, then turned his attention back to Robin. “My brother's here. He's here and he's watching. He's waiting for you to die so that he can go free.”
Robin had been resting on his hands, doing the spider as he spoke. Suddenly, before Rick could react, his twin bent his elbows into a crouch, swung his body back, and propelled himself at his legs. The sword flew out of Rick's hands and clattered to the cement and his leg exploded with pain as he fell backwards into the cold pool water, Robin attached. He tried to kick his way to the surface, but Robin held his legs together, a lead weight pulling him down, deeper and deeper.
Fresh blood seeped redly into the clean water.
The world moved in slow motion. His lungs burned.
He's going to hold me under until I pass out, then he'll drag me out and move in.
Robin would kill the old body and assume his identity.
What am I going to do?
Black spots filled Rick's vision. He was almost out of time.
Frantically he reached down and grabbed Robin's hair, yanking his head up. His twin glared at him, and started to climb up Rick's body.
No!
Rick pushed his free hand through the water and smashed it against Robin's nose, but the fluid resistance was too strong. His twin's hands dug into his thighs, crawling toward his groin, and Rick let go of his brother's hair and immediately shoved one thumb into each eye as deeply as he could.
One second. Two. Robin's hands let go of Rick's legs and flew to his wrists, trying to yank them free. Rick kicked frantically toward the surface.
His head broke water and he gulped fresh, cold air. It gave him the strength to hang on to Robin, to keep his thumbs pressed against his eyes. He winced as his twin bit into his wrist, once, then again, but he managed to keep his head above water, and Robin's below.
“Rick!”
Dimly he heard Dakota's cry. “Go!” he screamed. “Leave!” He had to concentrate on what he was doing or Robin's powerful arms would pull him free.
Long seconds passed, and finally his brother's hands loosened, then fell away. Rick grabbed one limp arm and swam to the edge of the pool. Wearily he climbed out. He turned and pulled Robin's body from the water and laid it on the cement near the grass.
The dim greenjack hovered next to it. Rick glanced around, saw Dakota watching from the front porch. Relieved, he said, “He's dead.”
Ricky!
“Trick or treat, little brother!” Robin sat up, the flesh around his eyes looking puffy and bruised. “Fooled you, didn't I?” He lunged.
Rick rolled backwards out of the way, felt the sword under his arm and grabbed its hilt. He brought it around and held it out as Robin flew at him.
Robin's eyes grew huge as he saw the sword, but it was too late. He couldn't stop, and the saber drove straight into his chest.
Screaming, he fell back on the grass, and the sword pinned him to the ground below. Rick knelt beside him and saw that it had run him through just below the heart.
Robin breathed rapidly, his eyes open and furious as the little greenjack approached. “I hate you,” he snarled.