My well of patience spat up sand, dry as a bone. I slammed my laptop closed and shot to my feet. "I will never agree with you about the other Arcana here. We should avoid discussing them."
I searched for another subject, realizing there were none. Every conversation led back to the murder of Aric and my friends.
As if I hadn't spoken, she said, "Weaker, weaker. Take the icons while you still can. Even Death's. Seduce him out of his armor, then strike. Use your poison kiss!"
I lost it. "I am not killing Aric. I will never hurt him!"
At last, she seemed to have heard me. Comprehension lit her eyes for the first time in forever. "Dear God . . . you . . . you . . . love that monster." Her face grew red and blotchy. "You don't deny it? You will rue it!" She went into a coughing fit. "I-I spent eight years in an institution, caged, trapped--for you! But you refuse to hear me. To see."
I backed away from her. Maybe she'd done even more than those eight years. My grandmother might be a murderer for the Arcana cause. And now her player was refusing to conform.
An angry vein pulsed in her temple. "You want Death so badly, he'll end your life. He will take your head; I swear it. And if you've truly fallen in love with him, then you deserve it!"
As I stared at her in disbelief, Paul strode into the room.
In a firm tone, he told me, "Evie, you need to take a break. Now. I will stay with her till morning."
I staggered on my feet. I needed Aric. I needed us to be the way we were. Hadn't I always been on this path to him? Our story had been building for two thousand years. I might as well try to hold back the waves of the ocean.
Jack wouldn't begrudge me this, not at the end of the world.
And this time, I wouldn't be going to Aric with nothing new to offer.
I told Gran, "I-I'll be back soon." In a daze, I headed toward Aric's study. Animals tromped past me in the halls--a black tomcat, a rabbit, and a goat. In the living room, a bear cub and a lion cub sparred, shredding the carpet.
Aric's well-ordered sanctuary had been overrun. He was going to be furious.
I opened up his study. Not there. But I felt a pang to see that he'd left the poppy growing in his desk. I gave it a little juice to perk it up, then headed to the training yard. No sign of him. Then to the stable.
Thanatos was gone.
I hurried down to the river. "Circe! Where'd Aric go?"
"Hmm."
"Not now with that shit, Priestess!"
"The last I saw of him," she answered in a snippy tone, "his eyes were alight with anguish."
I sprinted back up the steep drive. I found Lark in her room--which now had wall-to-wall fur, feathers, and scales. I stepped on something's paw and earned a hiss.
As usual, Lark's eyes glowed red as she searched.
"Where's Aric?"
She shook herself out of her trance. "Away."
My glyphs flared. "What?" He was out there alone? With the Emperor on the loose? What if Aric never returned? If Richter found him . . .
"Chill, unclean one. The boss has been leaving on and off for the last few weeks. You just never noticed."
Guilt twisted inside me. "Where did he go?"
"Dunno. He always passes outside of my animal network when I'm asleep."
Then he did it on purpose, because he didn't want to be tracked. Still . . . "Lark, I need Cyclops to scent his trail and lead me to him."
"No way, Evie!" She held up her palms, her claws curling. "He'd be freaking furious! That would seriously put me in his crosshairs."
I narrowed my eyes. "What makes you think I won't do worse than he ever could?"
She tilted her head. "Good point."
_______________
The Hunter
Somewhere east of the old Mississippi River
Closer still . . .
Another truck. Another highway.
But Matthew swore we were closing in on our destination.
Barely a week had passed since he'd broken my fever in the snow. Only yesterday I'd felt my first glimmer of hope that I would hang onto my foot and leg after all. I was using a crutch and a crude brace to walk, but I was fast on the mend.
My vision and lungs were clearing, yet my head and my heart still suffered, 'cause I knew I was running out of time to reach my girl. Urgency clawed at me, till I thought I'd go mad.
Did she remember that it'd always be Evie and Jack? That even death--or Death--couldn't keep us apart? Would she remember how perfect it'd been between us?
With her, I'd known true peace for the first time in my life. Hadn't she?
As coo-yon and I covered miles, I'd craved that cellphone--with its pictures of Evie--and her taped recording. When I'd been separated from her before, I'd used her voice like a drug. Now I was a junkie needing a fix, but my pack had been stolen early on. Gone forever.
Why was he here? Uncaring of the hail and lightning, I found a path leading up. As soon as I reached the plateau, he caught sight of me.
He leapt down from what must have been twenty feet, then stalked toward me. His muscles flexed with tension, and the tattooed runes on his torso seemed to come alive.
He'd told me those slashing marks were our story, to remind him never to trust me. I'd told him history didn't have to repeat itself.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" He seemed to grow larger with every step closer, his body thrumming with aggression. In the night, his eyes glittered with fury.
I refused to back down, meeting him halfway. "I came to find you!"