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his way, and I decided I had to let him find it himself. When he figured it out, I'd be there for him. Only I
wasn't, was I? Now he's left wondering how I would have reacted, and I can't help him, can't support
him. Just like I can't tell Bryce that I never wanted him to follow in my footsteps. That life made me
miserable, cost me the only woman I loved, and I thanked God every day that Bryce had the guts I didn't
have."
I tried to say something, but my voice dried up in my throat.
He continued, "Even with Savannah, I made mistakes. I was so afraid of facing her, of seeing you in her,
so afraid that she'd hate me, that I let Gabriel Sandford go to Boston in my place. His mistakes were my
mistakes, and all the hell Savannah suffered because of him is my fault."
"It wasn't "
"Do you know what I don't regret, though? Going into that basement after her. Even if I couldn't protect
her, even if she accidentally killed me, I have not one regret about that. Do you know why? Because it
brought me here. To you."
"Kris "
"So maybe I screwed up in my life. Maybe I can't undo any of that. But coming here gave me the chance
to fix the biggest mistake I ever made: letting go of you."
I opened my mouth but, again, nothing came out.
"This is our chance to start over, Eve. Yours and mine. Forget everything we did before and start over.
Not just with each other that's only part of it. Maybe you didn't need a new life the way I did, but you
got one, and there's no going back now, no matter how hard you try."
"You want me to choose," I whispered. "You or Savannah."
He turned so fast he startled me. "Goddamn it, are you even listening? I'm not saying forget Savannah,
and I'm not saying start up again with me. I'm saying start living a life. Any life. I thought " He
swallowed. "I thought with this Nix thing, maybe you were finally moving on, finding a place for yourself
here, but then I see you in there, talking about Savannah and poltergeist lessons and that amulet, and I
can see in your face that you haven't moved on at all. When you're done, you'll go right back to where
you were, living in your own limbo, no better than one of those damned earth-spooks." He paused, voice
lowering. "And I'm not sure how much longer I can stand to watch you do it."
His eyes met mine. For a minute, we just looked at each other. Then his lips moved in a few silent words,
and he disappeared.
I stood there, feet rooted to the ground, my brain whirring, refusing to think, afraid that if I started
thinking about it, I wouldn't be able to stop. Was I really losing him? My gut went cold at the thought. I'd
fix this. I would& soon.
For now, I headed back inside to ask Ross about the amulet.
It was only when I returned to Ross, and saw his smug smile of triumph, that I realized my mistake. I
know; it should have been obvious to me long before that. One second I'm worrying about losing
Kristof's friendship, the next I'm plowing forward with the very action that brought things to a head in the
first place. Typical barreling toward my own destruction even as the warning signs flew up around me.
As long as I was there, though, it wouldn't hurt to know about the amulet. If Kristof was right, and it was
only a myth, then it didn't matter. I knew his objection was not to me hearing about the amulet, but to the
relentless obsession it symbolized. But& well, I could think about that later.
I told myself I'd only stay long enough to hear what this amulet did, but as soon as I heard that, I needed
to know everything Ross could tell me about it. This amulet, if it existed, could solve my quest to help
Savannah& with none of those pesky angelic responsibilities. According to Ross, the necklace, known
as Dantalian's Amulet, together with the incantation inscribed on it, would grant the wearer the ability to
possess a living person. The only catch? The wearer had to have demon blood. It was almost too good
to be true.
Problem was, the amulet's function was all Ross knew. He didn't even realize "Dantalian" was the name
of a demon. I didn't enlighten him now as a half-demon, he'd be able to use such an amulet just as
easily as I would, so I wasn't giving him any help finding it. Not that I thought it could be found, but&
Well, it bore thought, and maybe a little investigation, when I was done with this Nix quest.
When I was almost done picking Ross's brain, I heard a noise in the hall, the creak of a floorboard. I
slipped out, but no one was there. If it had been Kristof, he'd probably heard all he needed to hear. That
thought spurred me to bring my talk with Ross to a quick conclusion. I gave him a transportation code
more to his liking, then was saying good-bye when I heard the floorboards creak again. This time, I cast
a blur spell and rushed out, hoping to catch Kris eavesdropping. Instead, I ran smack into Trsiel.
"Er, hello," I said. "Fancy meeting you here."
He glowered at me. "A long way from Massachusetts, isn't it, Eve?"
Before I could answer, he took my arm and teleported us out.
Chapter 30
I'D HOPED TRSIEL'S ARRIVAL MEANT HE HAD A NEW A NEW LEAD for us to follow, but he
was only checking up on me. After escorting me back to the Borden residence, he returned to Amanda
Sullivan's cell. I spent the next ten hours at the Bordens', rehashing what I knew and trying to find a fresh
direction. I kept hoping Kristof would pop by, but he didn't.
In the eleventh hour, an angel appeared.
It was just Trsiel, but by that point, it seemed like divine intervention nonetheless. A sparkling
conversationalist Lizzie Borden was not.
"Got a lead," he said.
"Oh, thank God," I said, leaping to my feet. "When can we go? Now? Please?"
He laughed, took hold of my hand, and teleported me away.
Seems Sullivan finally had a vision of the Nix. She was still in spirit form, but on the move. Through
Sullivan's dreams, Trsiel had pinpointed her last stopover: here. Wherever "here" was.
We were tramping across a dark meadow. A wispy fog had settled, a wet lace that smelled of heather
and something not nearly so pleasant.
I wrinkled my nose. "Wet dog?"
As I said the words, a hairy red-brown lump appeared in my path. I stumbled back with an oath. The
lump turned and fixed me with big bovine eyes. Then it shook its head, long curved horns flashing.
"What the hell is that?" I said. "A yak?"
"Highland cattle, I believe."
"Highland& We're in Scotland?"
"Near Dundee."
"And the Nix was here? Doing what? Cattle-herding?"
"No, visiting that."
He pointed to a forest. Seemed a strange place to visit, but before I made a fool of myself by asking, I
narrowed my eyes and concentrated on sharpening my night vision. After a moment, I could see a
building soaring above the treetops. Spires ringed the huge, flat roof.
"Looks like a castle," I said.
"Glamis Castle."
"Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full
o' the milk of human kindness."
One of the cows mooed appreciatively. Trsiel arched his brows.
"What?" I said. "You recognize Bogart and Bacall but not the Immortal Bard?"
A shrug and a half-smile. "I've always been more of a cinematic angel. Shakespeare told some great [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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