Russell?” I say, not looking at him.
“We will have to tell them about Russell now,” he says. “He should be here soon so there will be no hiding him. But, that is not the reason you won’t talk about the Gancanagh to me.”
When I won’t look his way, he puts his fingers under my chin, turning my face towards him. He looks grave, like I’m hurting him by not talking to him about this. Pulling my chin from his hand I blurt out, “Because it’s disloyal.”
“Disloyal?” Reed repeats the word like he doesn’t know what it means.
“An act of betrayal,” I admit, biting my lip as I see confusion in his eyes.
“Whom will you be betraying?” he asks in a low tone.
I twist my hands. “The family…”
“They are not your family,” he counters.
“I know,” I reply lamely. “He thinks they are my family.”
“What do you think?” Reed asks, cocking his head to the side and reading every detail of my body language.
“I think I’m going to pay for my sedition when he gets me back,” I say the words like I can’t help myself, like I can’t keep them in even if I wanted to.
“Sedition?” he asks, “that means to rebel against a government…”
“Or a king,” I reply with a sad tone. “Brennus is the king.”
“Their king, but not yours,” Reed replies, “and he is not getting you back.”
“You’re right, he’s not getting me back,” I agree, swallowing my tears and squaring my shoulders, but my throat feels raw anyway, like I’ve been crying for hours.
I can see that Reed wants to interrogate me regarding all the secrets I’m still holding back from him. I want to tell him—need to—but I can’t. Guilt and shame won’t let me. He doesn’t know that a part of me, a very small part, loves Brennus and is grateful to him. Brennus destroyed Alfred for me. He had Alfred viciously torn apart like an animal on the floor of my prison. He made Alfred suffer—scream in agony, just like Alfred made my Uncle Jim scream in agony. I can still feel within me some of the darkness I felt after Brennus bit me, but I can’t tell Reed that either—too much honesty can be unkind.
“When you are ready to tell me everything that happened, I am ready to listen,” Reed says. “I know that he has gotten inside your head. He made you suffer, and then he gave you something very powerful. He avenged your Uncle Jim. That doesn’t excuse him for what he did to you—for torturing you.”
When I don’t speak Reed sighs and says, “We need to speak to Preben now. Are you up for it?”
I nod and take his hand, following him quietly into the central pagoda. We walk down a narrow hallway to a dining room that is equipped with several low, black wooden tables. Large mat-like cushions are arranged around the tables and several of the maps that Reed and Zephyr have been studying are draped over them, covering much of their long expanses. Zephyr is listening to Preben describe a few of the holdings in Houghton and Marquette owned by the Gancanagh. Preben has brought with him a few of his lieutenants, but the majority of the angels are not present.
Joining them at a table, I listen, discovering that Dominion uncovered some small apartments owned by several Gancanagh. The apartments are fronts so that the fellas could appear to be normal students attending the technical school. Their apartments didn’t lead to much. Dominion did manage to locate a cargo ship used to import the women that the Gancanagh fed upon.
Hearing this makes my stomach ache. They have to be stopped, no matter what , I tell myself, thinking of all the women they have harmed. Molly’s face enters my mind. She’s one of them now. Will they kill her, too, along with the others?
“Can a Gancanagh be saved?” I ask abruptly, interrupting Preben’s intel.
Preben doesn’t look irritated by my interruption. He has been watching me since I entered the room, as if he is speaking to me instead of to Zephyr and Reed. He pauses, his
“We will have to tell them about Russell now,” he says. “He should be here soon so there will be no hiding him. But, that is not the reason you won’t talk about the Gancanagh to me.”
When I won’t look his way, he puts his fingers under my chin, turning my face towards him. He looks grave, like I’m hurting him by not talking to him about this. Pulling my chin from his hand I blurt out, “Because it’s disloyal.”
“Disloyal?” Reed repeats the word like he doesn’t know what it means.
“An act of betrayal,” I admit, biting my lip as I see confusion in his eyes.
“Whom will you be betraying?” he asks in a low tone.
I twist my hands. “The family…”
“They are not your family,” he counters.
“I know,” I reply lamely. “He thinks they are my family.”
“What do you think?” Reed asks, cocking his head to the side and reading every detail of my body language.
“I think I’m going to pay for my sedition when he gets me back,” I say the words like I can’t help myself, like I can’t keep them in even if I wanted to.
“Sedition?” he asks, “that means to rebel against a government…”
“Or a king,” I reply with a sad tone. “Brennus is the king.”
“Their king, but not yours,” Reed replies, “and he is not getting you back.”
“You’re right, he’s not getting me back,” I agree, swallowing my tears and squaring my shoulders, but my throat feels raw anyway, like I’ve been crying for hours.
I can see that Reed wants to interrogate me regarding all the secrets I’m still holding back from him. I want to tell him—need to—but I can’t. Guilt and shame won’t let me. He doesn’t know that a part of me, a very small part, loves Brennus and is grateful to him. Brennus destroyed Alfred for me. He had Alfred viciously torn apart like an animal on the floor of my prison. He made Alfred suffer—scream in agony, just like Alfred made my Uncle Jim scream in agony. I can still feel within me some of the darkness I felt after Brennus bit me, but I can’t tell Reed that either—too much honesty can be unkind.
“When you are ready to tell me everything that happened, I am ready to listen,” Reed says. “I know that he has gotten inside your head. He made you suffer, and then he gave you something very powerful. He avenged your Uncle Jim. That doesn’t excuse him for what he did to you—for torturing you.”
When I don’t speak Reed sighs and says, “We need to speak to Preben now. Are you up for it?”
I nod and take his hand, following him quietly into the central pagoda. We walk down a narrow hallway to a dining room that is equipped with several low, black wooden tables. Large mat-like cushions are arranged around the tables and several of the maps that Reed and Zephyr have been studying are draped over them, covering much of their long expanses. Zephyr is listening to Preben describe a few of the holdings in Houghton and Marquette owned by the Gancanagh. Preben has brought with him a few of his lieutenants, but the majority of the angels are not present.
Joining them at a table, I listen, discovering that Dominion uncovered some small apartments owned by several Gancanagh. The apartments are fronts so that the fellas could appear to be normal students attending the technical school. Their apartments didn’t lead to much. Dominion did manage to locate a cargo ship used to import the women that the Gancanagh fed upon.
Hearing this makes my stomach ache. They have to be stopped, no matter what , I tell myself, thinking of all the women they have harmed. Molly’s face enters my mind. She’s one of them now. Will they kill her, too, along with the others?
“Can a Gancanagh be saved?” I ask abruptly, interrupting Preben’s intel.
Preben doesn’t look irritated by my interruption. He has been watching me since I entered the room, as if he is speaking to me instead of to Zephyr and Reed. He pauses, his
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