The Fury and the Terror Read Online Free

the counterpane of her unmade bed. "Anything new in the dreambook?" she asked.
    "Same old same-old," Eden hedged, fussing with her hair, giving quick tugs with her fingertips and letting it flop while she studied the results in her dressing-table mirror.
    "Hot and sexy?"
    "Mommmm."
    Betts picked up the dreambook, then turned her head to listen as Winky, their elderly golden retriever, began barking outside.
    "Speaking of hot and sexy, that may be he who just turned into our driveway."
    "Oh, God! I need to get dressed! Keep Geoff in the kitchen, please ."
    "I'll stuff him full of bacon-crumble waffles. But you better not leave me alone with him for too long. I may decide to cast Riley aside after all these years and take up with Geoff McTyer."
    "Oh, Mom. And leave the dreambook here? I don't want—you know—Geoff to know too much about—"
    "Hey, the dreambook is just between us. Always has been." Betts tossed the dreambook casually on top of Eden's study table, looked at it for a few moments.
    "Was the Good Lady with you last night?"
    "Can we talk about her later?" Eden put a hand to her brow, requesting a private moment. They both heard Geoff McTyer outside, whistling on his way to the kitchen door.
    "Sure," Betts said cheerfully, and started out of Eden's bedroom. "Mom?"
    "Yes?"
    "It's going to happen again. Like Portland, but worse this time." Betts turned in the doorway. Her eyes gray, direct, astute. Eden was breathing too fast. Onset of an episode? Couldn't be a worse day for it.
    "Why don't we wait?"
    "It's in the dream—the city. I didn't recognize it. I wrote down everything I saw." She pressed hard against her forehead, biting her lower lip. "Sailboats," Eden said, distantly. Betts waited, on edge. Nothing more.
    "We'll talk later. At my office, after graduation."
    Eden dropped her hand from her face. Her head was down. "I have such a bad taste. That bitter, bad taste at the back of my mouth. That's how I've always known—you didn't believe me, last time."
    "No, I—You know how terrible I've felt—Eden, do you want some Depakote?"
    "It's passing. I'll be all right." Her breathing slowed. She looked up. "But what are we going to do ?"
    "Not now. There's time."
    "I suppose. It wasn't complete. The dream. They always come back to me, two or three times before—"
    "Geoff's waiting for you," Betts said, smiling a little desperately, but Eden wasn't looking at anything, only a corner of the room. "It's a happy day, Eden. Just think about that. And the proudest day of our lives, Riley and me. We are so proud, and we love you so much."
    "I know. Whoever my real parents were, they could never have meant as much to me. Thank you. I'm sorry."
    "About things beyond your control? Don't be. It's in the dreambook where it belongs. You don't have to think about it now."
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    I n spite of her banter with Eden, Betts wasn't sure how much she liked Geoff McTyer, even as she greeted him at the door to the kitchen with a kiss on his cheek.
    Geoff had come to Innisfall three years ago. He was an easterner, with a degree in math from Boston U., where he also had played some basketball as a walk-on. After graduation he had knocked around the country for a couple of years before driving into town in his '66 Mustang with one hundred seventy thousand miles on it. Geoff liked what he saw, and within a few days he had applied for a position with the Innisfall police department. The life of a cop in a university town of sixty thousand people wasn't too demanding. He admitted that he was overqualified, but the job paid his bills and he had plenty of free time to enjoy the recreational advantages of northern California. Skiing, water sports, wilderness hiking. The college girls had been another recreational advantage for Geoff. He had bright blue eyes, a ready smile, and, apparently, an untroubled psyche.
    With her hectic schedule Eden hadn't devoted much time to guys in either high school or college. No lack of