"Whatever it is, it can't be good," he says. "Anyone who would focus the Array on you and force you to do something like this has got to be pretty sick."

I put a hand over my eyes, to shield them from Numbria's remains.

"Wait till you meet her," I say. "She's cold as ice."

"I hope to God I never meet her," Shanti says.

I hear Seymour closing the door. Then it bursts open.

"Alisa?" I hear Teri's gentle voice. "Are you there? Matt and I didn't mean to pry, but we decided to follow . . ." Her words trail off, and she screams. "Oh, God! Alisa! The blood . . . What's that on the bed? Oh, no!"

I leap to my feet, see Teri and Matt standing in the doorway, frozen in shock, their faces pale as ghosts. Teri's eyes are the worst. The horror inside them, I don't know if I can bear it.

"Teri! Matt! It's not how it looks!" I say, even as my lips crack on the dried blood that covers my mouth. "I was attacked by a group. They're the same ones who are harassing Lisa and Shanti. It's a long story, but I swear to you I didn't do this. Tell them, Shanti. Tell them, Seymour."

"It's true, she didn't do this," Shanti says.

"Listen to her," Seymour says.

Matt stares at them. "You guys just got here. What do you know?"

"We know she's telling the truth," Shanti says.

"Matt! Damn it! Just listen to her!" Seymour snaps.

The setting is too sick. The gross mass on the bed wipes away any chance at reason, as do my blood-soaked face and clothes. I hold out my hands, trying to calm the air, and speak in a gentle tone.

"Matt, get Teri out of here. But please let me explain later. It will all make sense then. I promise you, this is not how it looks."

Matt steps in front of Teri, who's on the verge of fainting, and pushes her outside the door. Then he turns to me, and I can't help but notice how cool he remains in the face of such horror.

"It makes sense now," he says. "There's no need to explain." Taking Teri by the arm, he turns his back on me. "Stay away, Alisa. Stay far away."

They walk away. I hear a car start.

Red tears pour over my bloody cheeks.

Deep inside, I feel a pain in my heart I have never known.

But I cannot call on Krishna to fix it.

Lucifer was right about one thing.

I deserve this pain . . . for I have sinned.

SEVENTEEN.

A week later, Seymour and I sit on the deck of a massive ferry and gaze out at the blue-green beauty of the warm Mediterranean. To our left and right are a handful of rocky islands, but our boat's next destination is straight ahead-Santorini, one of the most lovely spots in the Aegean Sea.

The sun is bright and hot and has the effect of making me sleepy. But Seymour is charged with energy. Today is a dream come true for him. Years ago he wrote about a Hispanic woman, Paula Ramirez, who gave birth to a remarkable baby named John. Now Seymour's finally going to see the child. In describing John, Seymour and I went so far as to hint the child was divine, a possibility that is still very much open to debate. What I can say with a clear conscience is that John is special. He gives off the greatest vibe. Sitting with him is like bathing beneath a waterfall of peace.

"How old is the boy now?" Seymour asks.

I yawn. "He should be sixteen."

"You tired?"

"Just feeling lazy. The sun, you know."

"We can go inside."

"Not at all. You like it out here, and the water is beautiful."

"It's so clean and clear. I can't wait to go swimming."

"You mean you can't wait to visit the nude beach and check out the scenery."

He nods. "Nothing wrong with that. I can swim afterwards."

"I hope you don't expect me to go skinny-dipping."

"It's the main reason I came here. Since when are you shy?"

"I'm not shy at all. Except around you."

"Why?"

"It's a secret."

Seymour smiles. "When was the last time you saw the boy?"

"He was a toddler. They were living in Tahoe at the time."

"At least I got that part right."

"You got most of the story right."

"I don't suppose you used his blood to bring me back to life?"

"True, that was your version. It was me Kalika impaled with a sharp stick. It went through my heart. I should have died. But when my daughter left me for dead, I injected myself with a syringe of John's blood-directly in my chest-and I lived."

"That should be proof enough he's no ordinary child."

"I never said he was ordinary. But is he Christ? Is he Krishna? Those are much more serious questions."

"You always speak of them as the same."

"To me they're one and the same. They taught the same thing. They lived similar lives. They even died the same way. To skeptics like Teri, this means they're nothing but fables. I was lucky I had the advantage of meeting one of these fables."

"I thought Krishna died from an arrow to his heel, like Achilles."

"History has a habit of mixing fables and facts. There is a story in India that says Krishna was completely divine, except where his feet touched the earth. It was only there he was vulnerable-hence his death from an arrow to the heel. But if you travel in India today, you'll find a number of ancient paintings and murals that depict Krishna as being crucified between two criminals."

"I didn't know that."

"In the West, people have trouble with the idea there might have been more than one divine incarnation. Indians accept the concept easily. It's seems logical to them, and less dogmatic. They have a word for such beings. They call them avatars, or 'those who descend.'"

"Where do they descend from?"

"I was sitting near Krishna when he was asked that question. I actually spent more time with him than you described in your books. His answer was fascinating. He said between earth and his realm were fifty levels, with earth being the lowest and his being the highest. He said a few of the older races in the galaxy had evolved through these fifty levels. When I asked if there was a chance I could move on to these higher worlds, he said yes, but first I'd have to pay the price of my long life here on earth."

"What did he mean?"

"I don't know, I was afraid to ask." I lower my head, feeling a sudden powerful desire to be with Krishna. "Sometimes I feel I can't keep paying."

Seymour hugs me. "Teri will forgive you. She loves you."

"I think I terrify her. Besides, Matt won't let me near her."

"The Sita I know wouldn't let anyone stand in her way."

"The Sita you know doesn't exist. Besides, Matt's right, she's safer away from me."

"Hey, how come you don't worry about my safety?"

"You're just a writer. All you do is make up shit. That makes you expendable."

Seymour laughs. He doesn't disagree.

Soon after, we dock at Santorini. The ferry slides into the harbor like a hand into a glove. The entire lower level of cars exits in minutes. From the Athens airport, we've brought with us an Audi convertible. Even I, a creature of darkness, have to admit you should never visit the Greek islands and drive around with a roof on.

There's too much to see. Besides the sparkling ocean, which is seldom out of view, the stark countryside and the whitewashed brick buildings create a timeless aura. I visited Santorini a century ago, and it hasn't changed. I'm not surprised Paula Ramirez sought out such a peaceful environment to raise her son in.

Yet I'm disappointed she moved here without telling me her address. Paula's another person who thinks I'm dangerous. I had to use my CIA and Interpol contacts to locate her. I understand, though-I probably would have done the same in her position. I've saved her child a couple of times, but he's the one who's supposed to save the world.

If Suzama's prophecies are accurate when it comes to John.

That is a big if.

I let Seymour drive to Paula's house. He notes my reflective mood. "Does she know we're coming?" he asks.

"No."

"Will we be welcome?"

"The wolf at the door is never welcome."

"Would you stop that crap. John's alive because of you."

"He almost died because of me. Paula knows me as well as you do. She sees how violence stalks me. She hasn't gone out of her way to keep in touch."

"Why are we going to see her?"

"We're going to see John."

"Why?"

"I told you about that lead I found in Numbria's bag. The address in Arosa, Switzerland. I'm pretty sure Yaksha spent time there, with his wife. Now that's he's no longer there, I think the Telar have a base in Arosa." I pause, knowing I have yet to answer his question. "I have to check it out."

"Cool. I'll go with you."

"No."

"You can't stop me from coming."

"Can't I?"

"You took a vow in Central Park. You said you'd never leave me."

"Then you have to release me from that vow. Numbria said there are five thousand Telar on earth. How many do you think there will be in Arosa? There's no way I would be able to protect you."

"You talk like you're walking into a death trap."

"It's a possibility."

"Then don't go, Sita. Leave Europe, run and hide. You've spent most of your life in hiding and it's worked out pretty well. I'll go with you."

"The Telar are fixated on me. They won't leave me alone until I'm either captive or dead. Plus they're a danger to humanity. This has gone way beyond me and my personal safety. It's the same with Brutran and the IIC. They might be worse. Look at the way the Array twisted my mind, and Brutran and her cronies weren't even in the same country. Imagine if they aim their weapon at the president of the United States."

"Who says they haven't?"

"Ain't that the truth."

Seymour is thoughtful. "It puzzles me how Brutran was able to focus the Array on you even though Numbria was in the same room. Your mind was obviously more powerful than hers. Yet you lost all control, while she remained relatively sane."

"It puzzled me for a long time, ever since I was in Brutran's home in California. I think I've figured out the answer. When I first visited IIC, they didn't know I was coming that day, but they were probably worried I'd show up eventually. They had killed Jeff Stephens, Lisa's boyfriend. They had killed Randy Clifford too, Lisa's ex. Randy was the one who'd hacked into their files and discovered they were collecting info on me. It didn't sound like they knew what I was, but they suspected I was older than any normal person. Putting all these facts together, they must have assumed there was a strong chance I'd force my way into their Malibu office. So they set a trap."

"You told me about your first meeting with Brutran. You two hardly talked."

"You're right. On the surface it didn't seem like much happened. But then I began to examine my entire visit there. When I burst in and demanded to see Brutran, they didn't throw me out like you'd expect. They told me to sit and wait and the boss would be with me in a few minutes. They kept me waiting a long time. Eventually a woman came in with her daughter, and we talked in the waiting area. Then the woman did something odd. She asked if I'd watch her daughter while she went to the bathroom."