don’t.”
“Then who does?” His figure had started to dissolve in front of me. Not because he’d gone anywhere but because of the tears that threatened to spill over from my eyes. I wiped at them furiously.
“I don’t know,” he said. Now he just sounded tired. “All right? Do you think I like this any more than you do? Don’t you think I’d like to leave here to go see
my
mother? But I can’t either.”
Hearing he longed to see his own mother wasn’t exactly helping the situation with my tears. I’d never even considered someone like him might have a mother. But of course he did. Didn’t everyone? “Why not?”
“Because of the Furies,” he said flatly, as if that explained everything. “Trust me, they make sure that the consequences for breaking the rules around here are much worse than anything you could imagine. And not just for breaking the rules. Foranything they feel like —” He broke off and looked at me, then glanced down and shook his head. “Well, just trust me. That’s why I gave you the necklace. It will warn you if any Furies are around. That way you’ll know if you’re doing anything that might put yourself in danger from them, even inadvertently.”
When he glanced back up again, his own eyes were bright. Brighter even than Dad’s throwing stars. But his voice was gentle. “I promise you, Pierce, in a little while, you’ll see, it’s not so bad here. You have everything you could possibly want. All the comforts of home…”
It was the worst thing he could possibly have said. All the comforts of home…except everything —
everything
— I loved.
Now I wasn’t frozen anymore. I was melting. The tears started pouring out so thick and fast, everything, including him, disappeared before my eyes.
“I’m sorry.” I hid my face in my hands. This was terrible. I was dead, and now I was being tortured as well? “I can’t stay here. I
can’t.”
“Don’t,” he said. Now the thunder sounded as if it was right over our heads.
“Don’t cry.”
He’d reached out as he said it to lay a hand on my shoulder — to comfort me, I suppose — but I sprang away at his touch, recoiling as if he’d scalded me, and retreated to the hearth, where I collapsed.
Forever?
I was going to be trapped here with him forever?
And why? Because of some arbitrary
rule?
Something called a Fury? He had to be joking. I could only imagine what my dad would say if he were here.
Don’t you know who I am?
he’d bellow.
Though I felt completely numb inside, I could still sense the heat from the flames against my back. How could I be dead if I could still feel?
How?
A second later, John was beside me, saying, “Here. Drink this. It will help.”
He put a cup of something hot in my hands.
But I couldn’t drink.
Then he sat down beside me on the hearth. After a while, I noticed he was speaking again.
“I know it seems bad now, but it gets better, I promise. Soon — not right away, but eventually — you won’t even mind. Or at least, you won’t mind as much. It’s not the same as not minding at all, I know. But at least you won’t be alone. That’s the important thing. That was the worst part. Being alone for so long.”
What was he even
talking
about? I lifted my bruised gaze and let it wander around the room, until it finally came to rest on the bed. It was only then that I noticed how huge it was. Built for two, really.
Oh, God.
Stay away from the pool in the wintertime, Pierce. Even with the cover, it isn’t safe.
This was the price I was paying for not listening to my mother.
I never thought it would be
this
high.
It couldn’t have been a coincidence that at that very moment, I noticed an open doorway through an arch across the room, just beyond the bed. Through it I could see a long hallway lit byelegant wall sconces. Two stone staircases curled from it. One led up.
The other led down.
I hadn’t noticed it before, I was certain, because I hadn’t been wearing the
“Then who does?” His figure had started to dissolve in front of me. Not because he’d gone anywhere but because of the tears that threatened to spill over from my eyes. I wiped at them furiously.
“I don’t know,” he said. Now he just sounded tired. “All right? Do you think I like this any more than you do? Don’t you think I’d like to leave here to go see
my
mother? But I can’t either.”
Hearing he longed to see his own mother wasn’t exactly helping the situation with my tears. I’d never even considered someone like him might have a mother. But of course he did. Didn’t everyone? “Why not?”
“Because of the Furies,” he said flatly, as if that explained everything. “Trust me, they make sure that the consequences for breaking the rules around here are much worse than anything you could imagine. And not just for breaking the rules. Foranything they feel like —” He broke off and looked at me, then glanced down and shook his head. “Well, just trust me. That’s why I gave you the necklace. It will warn you if any Furies are around. That way you’ll know if you’re doing anything that might put yourself in danger from them, even inadvertently.”
When he glanced back up again, his own eyes were bright. Brighter even than Dad’s throwing stars. But his voice was gentle. “I promise you, Pierce, in a little while, you’ll see, it’s not so bad here. You have everything you could possibly want. All the comforts of home…”
It was the worst thing he could possibly have said. All the comforts of home…except everything —
everything
— I loved.
Now I wasn’t frozen anymore. I was melting. The tears started pouring out so thick and fast, everything, including him, disappeared before my eyes.
“I’m sorry.” I hid my face in my hands. This was terrible. I was dead, and now I was being tortured as well? “I can’t stay here. I
can’t.”
“Don’t,” he said. Now the thunder sounded as if it was right over our heads.
“Don’t cry.”
He’d reached out as he said it to lay a hand on my shoulder — to comfort me, I suppose — but I sprang away at his touch, recoiling as if he’d scalded me, and retreated to the hearth, where I collapsed.
Forever?
I was going to be trapped here with him forever?
And why? Because of some arbitrary
rule?
Something called a Fury? He had to be joking. I could only imagine what my dad would say if he were here.
Don’t you know who I am?
he’d bellow.
Though I felt completely numb inside, I could still sense the heat from the flames against my back. How could I be dead if I could still feel?
How?
A second later, John was beside me, saying, “Here. Drink this. It will help.”
He put a cup of something hot in my hands.
But I couldn’t drink.
Then he sat down beside me on the hearth. After a while, I noticed he was speaking again.
“I know it seems bad now, but it gets better, I promise. Soon — not right away, but eventually — you won’t even mind. Or at least, you won’t mind as much. It’s not the same as not minding at all, I know. But at least you won’t be alone. That’s the important thing. That was the worst part. Being alone for so long.”
What was he even
talking
about? I lifted my bruised gaze and let it wander around the room, until it finally came to rest on the bed. It was only then that I noticed how huge it was. Built for two, really.
Oh, God.
Stay away from the pool in the wintertime, Pierce. Even with the cover, it isn’t safe.
This was the price I was paying for not listening to my mother.
I never thought it would be
this
high.
It couldn’t have been a coincidence that at that very moment, I noticed an open doorway through an arch across the room, just beyond the bed. Through it I could see a long hallway lit byelegant wall sconces. Two stone staircases curled from it. One led up.
The other led down.
I hadn’t noticed it before, I was certain, because I hadn’t been wearing the
Similar Books
