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you, he thought, the gun never wavering. Come on. Be easy,
sweetheart. I ve found you, it s all right. What were you thinking,
hmmm?
She stiffened, staring up at him, her blue eyes ringed with
138 Lilith Saintcrow
white. The perfume of her fear, Power trembling, ready to escape
her control, folded around him. His nerves tingled, bathing in
it, drinking in the smell of his witch. In that moment he
understood far more about the Dark than he ever wanted to. He
was hungry for her, hungry for her light. What would he do if
she denied him?
A thick, burping chuckle echoed from the tomb s darkness.
Mari shrieked and tried to leap away, struggling wildly. Hanson
barely moved, feet planted and ready to kill whatever came out
of the dark. Be still, Mari! he barked, knowing he shouldn t
presume to order her around. She was a Lightbringer. But oddly
enough, she quit fighting him and went limp against his arm,
her chest heaving with deep, harsh breaths. A spike of painful
pleasure went though him, harp string-taut nerves relaxing. Here.
She was here, and alive. He hadn t failed. Not completely. Not
yet.
The thing inside the crypt retreated. There was a sound like
soft, wet, running footsteps, the slamming of a heavy door.
Power snapped, chill and rank in the foggy air. The smell faded
into nothingness. Whatever it was, it was gone now.
He eased the hammer on the gun back down. It s gone,
he said, and shoved the gun back in its holster. What were you
thinking, you stubborn little Calm down. She s frightened.
If she hadn t bolted, he reminded himself, she wouldn t be
frightened. I could have talked her out of going on this
rampage, wherever she went, and kept her safe. Instead of
spending the entire day looking for her and fretting myself
into a rage.
The chill voice of Watcher logic had a quick answer for
that one. If you hadn t scared her, she wouldn t have wasted
her energy by running off covered with one hell of a spell, a
spell that could hide her even from her Watcher. It s your fault,
Watcher. Yours alone.
Hanson? A mere breath of sound. She leaned against him,
blinking and deathly pale, her eyes glazed. He felt the fine
tremors going through her. If she slid further into shock, he
would have to bring her out the old way, skin to skin. However
much he wanted that, he didn t think she d understand.
Who put you in there, Mari? Was it the gargoyle? Who
did this to you?
She blinked up at him. Hanson?
Of course it s me, he replied, tightly. The iron band
Storm Watcher 139
squeezing his chest all day suddenly loosened. Heat pricked at
his eyes, and his shoulders slumped. Gods above and below,
woman, I told you I will come for you. I promised you.
I c-c-can t. Her teeth chattered.
Who did this to you, Mari? Hmm? Who? The frustration
and rage suddenly snapped, turned to ice. He would make
whoever it was pay. Pay in blood if necessary, for making her
afraid.
Nobody, she said, and laughed. It was a high, panicked
giggle, echoing among the gravestones, and Hanson scanned
the perimeter. Nothing but fog and the nose-stinging smell of
Watcher power. He d been a little less than discreet. He d painted
the night with ten-foot tall neon signs. Watcher here! Come
and see what the ruckus is!
We should get you out of here. he said
She finished laughing and burst into tears, clinging to him,
sobbing so hard he could barely understand what she was trying
to tell him. When he did finally understand, it all made sense.
He moved her through the graveyard, almost unobtrusively, half-
carrying her as she stumbled. She was in shock. Whatever had
happened to her hadn t physically harmed her, however.
At least he had that to comfort him.
You saw me kill Theo? he asked, for the third time. You
actually saw it?
Sh-sh-she was w-w-with me and you were Dark. You had
red eyes and you
I don t have red eyes, Mari. Last I checked they were blue.
Here, step up. The gate s just a few feet away.
I h-h-have to g-g-get away from y-y-you, she stammered
through the sobs. Or you ll kill Theo.
Why didn t you tell me? He dragged her to the gate, curled
his fingers around the wrought iron, and pulled. Metal squealed
and snapped. Mari stared, her eyes wide and agonized.
You wouldn t b-b-believe me. She stumbled, her purse
banging against her hip. And the L-L-Librarian
Take a breath, sweetheart. I promise you, there s no way
on this green earth I d kill Theo. She s a Lightbringer, for God s
sake. Hanson half-carried her away from the church. I ll come
back and kill that gargoyle later, he decided, and felt the
symbiote retreat into enraged watchfulness at the very bottom
of his mind. You know I d never hurt any one of you, he
continued, casting around for some method of transportation.
140 Lilith Saintcrow
Carrying her back to the hotel would be too slow, but there
weren t any cabs around. I can cut over to Seventh Street, that s
shorter.
She began stammering out another tale, this one about the
Library under the church. While most of him was worried about
getting her to safety, scanning for potential predators and making
sure she didn t trip, the rest of him listened closely to her as she
tried, without much success, to make some sense out of what
had happened to her.
So there s a Nexus under that church, and someone built
a library. He scanned the perimeter again. If they reached the
hotel without a fight it would be a miracle. And a fault line
under the city. A fault line that s had how long to store up the
mother of all earthquakes? Great. Just what we need. If that
happens it could destroy the whole damn city, and what will
Dante and I be able to do? Not much. Not very bloody much
at all. A Nexus? he asked, crossing Fifth Street and turning
down the hill. Let there be a cab on Seventh Street, huh? What
do you say, gods? How about you let me be lucky this once?
What do you know about Nexuses?
Nothing, she replied, her voice breaking. But I s-saw
you!
Forget what you think you saw. I d never hurt Theo. Dante
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