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off.
    The woman shrugged. “Thanks for dropping by,” she muttered, “whoever you were.”
    “Whoever it was has left,” Rayford said.
    She jumped. “And how long have you been here?”
    “Long enough to know about Uncle Gregory.”
    “I’m so stupid! I don’t know you, do I?”
    “No.”
    “You’re not senior staff.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Is anyone with you?”
    “No, Krystall.”
    “How do you know my name?”
    “I can help your uncle.”
    “Tell a soul, I’ll deny every word.”
    “Don’t you want him helped?”
    “You’re trying to trap me.”
    “I’m not. If I was GC, I would not be able to see, would l?”
    “You can’t see.”
    “I can. And I can prove it. Your colors don’t match.”
    “You couldn’t prove that by me, idiot. I can’t see them either. I dress by sense of touch these days, like every-body else.”
    “My mistake. Hold up some fingers; I’ll tell you how many…. Three, and your right hand is facing me, and the three fingers are your pinkie, ring, and middle.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “You mean how can I see?”
    “You can’t see.”
    “Then how do I know you’re showing me six fingers now, all five on your left and the index on your right, the backs of your hands toward me? I can see by your face you’re starting to be convinced. You’re hiding your hands under the desk now.”
    Krystall pressed her lips together and looked as if she was about to
cry.
Rayford stood.
    “Stay where you are,” she said, voice quavery, hands in her lap.
    Rayford slipped around behind her. “That would be no fun,” he said, and she jumped and spun in her chair. “Now I can see your hands again,” he said. “They’re balled in your lap, thumbs pointing.”
    “Okay, so you can see me. How?”
    “Because this darkness is a curse from God, and I am one of his.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “I can help your uncle, Krystall.”
    “How?”
    “Were you implying he has not yet taken the mark?”
    “What if I was?”
    “Then it’s not too late for him. Is he a believer in Christ?”
    “I don’t think so. I think he’s just a rebel.”
    “A lucky one, if he acts quickly.”
    “If you think you’re going to trick me into telling you where he’s hiding, you’re-”
    “I don’t need to know that. You’d be foolish to risk telling me, and anyway, didn’t you tell your mother not to even tell you where he was?”
    She didn’t respond.
    “If you really want to help him, tell him to log on to the Web site of Dr. Tsion Ben-Judah. Can you remember it if I spell it for you?”
    “You think I don’t know that name and how to spell it?”
    “Sorry.”
    “It’s from his Web site that I know it’s too late for me and my parents, my whole family … who were so proud of me.”
    “I’m sorry, Krystall.”
    “You’re sorry? How do you think I feel?”
    “Ma’am, you’re not going to tell anyone I was here, are you?”
    “Why would I? They couldn’t see you anyway, and what would they do? Feel around for you?”
    “Good point.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    “Business. The prospect of helping your uncle was just a bonus.”
    “Well, thanks for that. You’re a Judah-ite, eh?”
    “A believer in Christ, to be more precise.”
    “Tell me something then: what’s the deal with it being too late for people who already took Carpathia’s mark? We don’t still have our own free will?”
    Rayford felt his throat tighten. “Apparently not,” he managed. “I don’t quite understand it myself, but you have to admit, you had plenty of reasons to choose the other way.”
    “For years.”
    “You said it, Krystall.”
    “So the statute of limitations ran out on me when I made the big choice.”
    “Well, then for sure. Maybe even before that. Who knows the mind of God?”
    “I’m starting to, sir.”
    “How’s that?”
    “This hurts. It hurts worse than the pain from the darkness. Just learned it too late, I guess, that you don’t mess with