The Heart's Ashes
Page 91

“Was there? I mean, did you see anyone?” The tears stopped as panic overtook.
“No.” Eric tilted his head, looking down at the small graze on my knee. “And he’s damn lucky, too.”
The blood pricked through my broken skin, bursting where the skin was tight around my bent limb. “Does this bother you?”
He smiled, the single light in the alley, struggling to exist, flickered above us, making this whole scene look like something from an old L. A. private-eye movie. “A little. But I won’t eat you. I promise. Besides—” he sat next to me, loosely letting his wrists fall over his knees, “—your friend, David, has made it pretty clear what’ll happen if I ever touch you again.”
Oh God, what did he do? “Did he hurt you?”
Eric scratched his chin and stared at the flickering streetlamp. “Weird thing is? He didn’t. He—” he chuckled, “—he spoke to me about it.”
“Spoke to you?”
“Yeah. I think you’re making him soft, Amara.”
Spoke to him?
“Come on.” Eric lifted me from the ground. “Let’s get you home.”
Sleep found me quickly, despite trying to stay awake to either greet the morning or be there to talk with David when, or if, he returned. I felt myself slip away, waking, surprised when my hands fell against grass, soft, like baby’s hair. I pushed my arms straight and angled my face to the sky, feeling the glow of moonlight radiate across my skin.
Jason’s world; the dreamland I go to meet him.
Memories flashed at me, like light through a fan blade, and I watched the images fade, one by one; a breath, a touch of skin, warmed by the orange glow of candlelight. It was like each memory of things we did the night I kissed Jason came back; a welcome gift from the sentry of this world.
I smiled, watching them happen—gaining so much of our past, all at once, though I was sure he’d not shared all of it. “Thanks, Jase,” I whispered quietly, standing up.
The silvery grass dipped under my snaking fingertips as I walked through the field. With the full moon lighting my way, I could see further than ever before—all the way to a tree-covered hill in the distance, giving this place a kind of life, or maybe truth to it I never wanted to admit.
Feeling more comfortable being here for the second time, that I remembered, anyway, I took more in, wanting to remember more—answer some of the questions I’d had in my head all week. I only took notice of such a small area last time, and wondered how far this world truly went—how much life it had of its own.
Somewhere in the distance, a sound like waves crashing on rocks, mixed with the subtle burn of seaweed in my nose, reminded me of my visit to Connecticut when I was a little girl.
But other than the noise, the smells and the feel of this place, I was the only other life form. A part of me wanted Jason to be here, wanted to talk with him about everything. I felt more alive here tonight, like I’d finally been given my wits back, or like I was awake with new eyes. Perhaps that drug was still in my system, or maybe I just felt so safe in this world that, for the first time, I felt total control over something.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
I turned to look at him, Jason, so ruggedly handsome in his white button-down shirt—almost looking younger than his brother. Maybe it was a kind of innocence behind his eyes that David had lost long ago, I wasn’t sure, but Jason, even on the night he kidnapped me, always held so much depth behind his eyes. It made me want to ask him what he was thinking. “Did you know I was coming?”
He shook his head at a half a turn. “I just hoped you would.”
Awkward tension rolled across my shoulders. I gripped the edges of my skirt, wishing I could fight the urge to apologise for freaking out last time.
“You don’t need to apologise, Ara. I shouldn’t have put that on you—you weren’t ready.”
I nodded. “It was a shock.”
He smiled sympathetically. “I know. It was for me, too.”
I took a breath, relaxing into the dream.
“Is David back yet?” he asked.
“Oh, you mean you haven’t been stalking me?” I said, laughing, then sat down by the tree, scooping my skirt under my legs as I landed in the grass.
“No, not today anyway.”
“Then how did you know he was out?”
“I can read your every thought.”
The only one that really played, though, was David kissing that girl. “No. He’s not back yet. I’m not sure he will come back.”
Jason landed beside me. “He will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
When he took my hand, I pulled it away abruptly. “Don’t do that. I can’t be with you like that, Jason, I still haven’t—”
“Okay. Let’s not have this talk.” He raised a palm between us. “Not now, okay. Can we just...” He looked up at the night and pushed his hands apart, making the daylight enter as if melting through a crack in a wall. “Let’s just enjoy today.”
My mouth sat open. “That was cool. What else can you do?”
He took my hand, helping me to stand. “Many things.”
“Can you fly?” I asked, hopeful.
“For you?” He raised my hand, bowing to kiss it. “I can do anything.”
We both looked up then, hearing a voice.
“Ara?” it said again.
Darkness surrounded me. I moved my hand, suddenly laying down, and tried to rub the night away from my eyes, unable to make the daylight return.
“Ara, you awake?” David said softly into my hair.
“I am now,” I said, groggy and tense from the sudden absence of my dream. “You’re back?”
“Was it ever a question I would be?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to be here?”
I sat up. “What kind of question is that?”
He leaned back against the bed, staring ahead. “I hurt you tonight.”
“No. You woke me up.”
“I’m sorry. I should let you sleep.” He went to stand; I grabbed his arm.
“I didn’t mean now. I meant...I meant that when I saw you tonight—kill that girl—you woke me up, David.”
He sat back down. “Why don’t I like the sound of this?”