Shadowfever
Page 100

I shrugged. I couldnt think of anything to say.
How do you know shes the concubine? he demanded.
The memory residue of the king and the concubine walks these halls. Its hard not to get lost in them. But I imagine you wont have quite as hard a time as I had, seeing how you arent quite so personally involved, I said bitterly. I have no doubt youll see her while Im gone. I still wouldnt look at her. It was too disconcerting. She was frighteningly light, delicate, and very, very cold. Ill be back as soon as I can.
We stared at each other.
I wont believe it, he said finally.
It makes too much sense not to be true. Theres no record of me being born, Christian. The Book it hunts me. I hear it always has.
Not buying it.
Give me another explanation.
Maybe the legends are wrong. Maybe a lot of people can step through the Silver. Maybe its all bluff, to keep people from trying.
My heart lurched when he took a step forward. No, dont! Christian, listen to me. I cant tell you who, but I know you can hear the truth in what Im saying. I watched the Silver kill someone already.
He cocked his head, then nodded. Aye, lass. I hear truth in that, but why cant you tell me who?
Its not my secret to tell.
Youll tell me one day.
I didnt reply.
Im still not buying it.
Find me an alternative. Any alternative. Ill happily believe it.
Maybe youre I dont know Maybe youre their child somehow, he offered.
Seven-hundred-thousand-plus years later? Id already considered and discarded that thought. Not only didnt it resonate with my gut feelings, but It doesnt begin to explain all the things I know and feel and remember, or why the Book plays with me, I said. I couldnt explain how I knew it, but I wasnt the progeny of the Unseelie King and his concubine. My feelings were far too personal. Far too sexual and possessive. Not a childs feelings at all. But a lovers.
He shrugged. Ill remain here. But hurry back.
Promise me you wont try to come through, Christian.
I promise, Mac. But hurry. The longer Im in here, the more I feel myself changing.
I nodded. As I turned away with the queen/concubine/woman Id apparently destroyed worlds for, I couldnt help but wonder where my other parts were.
31
I stared through the front door of Barrons Books and Baubles, uncertain what surprised me more: that the front seating cozy was intact or that Barrons was sitting there, boots propped on a table, surrounded by piles of books,hand-drawn maps tacked to the walls.
I couldnt count how many nights Id sat in exactly the same place and position, digging through books for answers, occasionally staring out the windows at the Dublin night, and waiting for him to appear. I liked to think he was waiting for me to show.
I leaned closer, staring in through the glass.
Hed refurnished the bookstore. How long had I been gone?
There was my magazine rack, my cashiers counter, a new old-fashioned cash register, a small flat-screen TV/DVD player that was actually from this decade, and a sound dock for my iPod. There was a new sleek black iPod Nano in the dock. Hed done more than refurnish the place. He might as well have put a mat out that said WELCOME HOME, MAC.
A bell tinkled as I stepped inside.
His head whipped around and he half-stood, books sliding to the floor.
The last time Id seen him, he was dead. I stood in the doorway, forgetting to breathe, watching him unfold from the couch in a ripple of animal grace. He crammed the four-story room full, dwarfed it with his presence. For a moment neither of us spoke.
Leave it to Barronsthe world melts down and hes still dressed like a wealthy business tycoon. His suit was exquisite, his shirt crisp, tie intricately patterned and tastefully muted. Silver glinted at his wrist, that familiar wide cuff decorated with ancient Celtic designs he and Ryodan both wore.
Even with all my problems, my knees still went weak. I was suddenly back in that basement. My hands were tied to the bed. He was between my legs but wouldnt give me what I wanted. He used his mouth, then rubbed himself against my clitoris and barely pushed inside me before pulling out, then his mouth, then him, over and over, watching my eyes the whole time, staring down at me.
What am I, Mac? hed say.
My world, Id purr, and mean it. And I was afraid that, even now that I wasnt Pri-ya, Id be just as out of control in bed with him as I was then. Id melt, Id purr, Id hand him my heart. And I would have no excuse, nothing to blame it on. And if he got up and walked away from me and never came back to my bed, I would never recover. Id keep waiting for a man like him, and there were no other men like him. Id have to die old and alone, with the greatest sex of my life a painful memory.
So, youre alive, his dark eyes said. Pisses me off, the wondering. Do something about that.
Like what? Cant all be like you, Barrons.
His eyes suddenly rushed with shadows and I couldnt make out a single word. Impatience, anger, something ancient and ruthless. Cold eyes regarded me with calculation, as if weighing things against each other, meditatinga word Daddy used to point out was the larger part of premeditation. Hed say, Baby, once you start thinking about it, youre working your way toward doing it. Was there something Barrons was working his way toward doing?