picture for good.”
I smiled. I would love it if he were gone – from Infection, a fall off a cliff, a tumble down the mountain...
“You rub me the wrong way, Saul. What can I say?”
“You think you don’t do the same to me? I hate seeing her with you. You were always getting in the way, even from the beginning. The blood bond, holding her hand, telling her she could get through the transition, telling her that this entire thing was a blessing and not a curse. You’ve been waiting for this since you saw her!”
“I have. And you know what? You’re not angry because I’ve wanted her all along. You’re angry because you threw it all away. You had her and in one moment, lost everything.”
He strode down the mountain in brooding silence. Poor guy. Had he even seen it before now? Did he know how much he hurt her?
“Scent is one of the most intense senses for a human being, but for a night-walker it’s even more overwhelming. Do you know what she smells when she looks at you?” Saul stopped just inside the gate, waiting for the humans to lift it for us. Once outside, as we stepped into the forest he turned to me.
“What do you mean what she smells when she looks at me?”
Let me inform you, asshole. “ A vampire can detect the slightest of scents even a mile away if we choose to focus intently enough.”
“So?”
“So, the night you decided to singlehandedly burn the city down, the first thing she smelled was the burning bodies.”
Saul inhaled sharply.
“Even more specifically, she knew her mother’s scent and could smell when it...when she began to burn. She smelled the flesh of her mother being overtaken by smoke and flame.”
I watched as the realization hit him in the gut. “She smelled her burn?” His voice was quiet and pensive.
“Yes.”
He exhaled sharply. “No wonder she hates me.”
“And yet you think you did nothing wrong,” I said, looking out into the forest. “Let’s go east.”
“I didn’t realize,” he stammered. “I was trying to do the right thing, especially after Pierce had his way with most of them,” he said quietly.
“You thought wrong—about her mother, at least. The others, Porschia could have forgiven you for.” It was cold, but true. He needed to stop sniffing around Mercedes to get to Porschia. He needed to stop looking at her like he could still have a chance if only he bided his time. Saul needed to man up and accept what he did like a man—a man with no chance in hell of getting Porschia Grant to love him again.
I knelt next to Roman. The cloth on his head was damp and warm, having absorbed the warmth from his body, but it wasn’t doing enough because the skin of his forehead was still hot to the touch. I remembered a time that Ford had a fever when he was small that was worse than all the other occasional ones he picked up here and there. He and Mercedes were always the social butterflies of our family, whereas I stayed home, had few friends other than Meg, and even then, she did most of the work in keeping our friendship going. I didn’t want to hear the whispers about Mother and was too embarrassed to leave the house and yard except for when it was required.
But I left home for help when Ford got sick and Mother decided to lock herself in her bedroom. Father told me to ask Mrs. Bracker, who lived three streets over, if she had anything that would help him. And though I didn’t know her well then, he also sent me to Mrs. Maggie Dillinger’s. Both of the women arrived at our home minutes later and rushed to Ford’s side. At their instruction, Father and I brought buckets of water in and Father laid my brother in the cool water. It was the only thing that saved him.
There must be a water source somewhere...
Roman groaned, his eyes blinking open. “Are you here to kill me?”
I shook my head, making sure he could see my face. “No.”
“You will,” he said. His voice was weak but his tone was adamant.
“I won’t.
I smiled. I would love it if he were gone – from Infection, a fall off a cliff, a tumble down the mountain...
“You rub me the wrong way, Saul. What can I say?”
“You think you don’t do the same to me? I hate seeing her with you. You were always getting in the way, even from the beginning. The blood bond, holding her hand, telling her she could get through the transition, telling her that this entire thing was a blessing and not a curse. You’ve been waiting for this since you saw her!”
“I have. And you know what? You’re not angry because I’ve wanted her all along. You’re angry because you threw it all away. You had her and in one moment, lost everything.”
He strode down the mountain in brooding silence. Poor guy. Had he even seen it before now? Did he know how much he hurt her?
“Scent is one of the most intense senses for a human being, but for a night-walker it’s even more overwhelming. Do you know what she smells when she looks at you?” Saul stopped just inside the gate, waiting for the humans to lift it for us. Once outside, as we stepped into the forest he turned to me.
“What do you mean what she smells when she looks at me?”
Let me inform you, asshole. “ A vampire can detect the slightest of scents even a mile away if we choose to focus intently enough.”
“So?”
“So, the night you decided to singlehandedly burn the city down, the first thing she smelled was the burning bodies.”
Saul inhaled sharply.
“Even more specifically, she knew her mother’s scent and could smell when it...when she began to burn. She smelled the flesh of her mother being overtaken by smoke and flame.”
I watched as the realization hit him in the gut. “She smelled her burn?” His voice was quiet and pensive.
“Yes.”
He exhaled sharply. “No wonder she hates me.”
“And yet you think you did nothing wrong,” I said, looking out into the forest. “Let’s go east.”
“I didn’t realize,” he stammered. “I was trying to do the right thing, especially after Pierce had his way with most of them,” he said quietly.
“You thought wrong—about her mother, at least. The others, Porschia could have forgiven you for.” It was cold, but true. He needed to stop sniffing around Mercedes to get to Porschia. He needed to stop looking at her like he could still have a chance if only he bided his time. Saul needed to man up and accept what he did like a man—a man with no chance in hell of getting Porschia Grant to love him again.
I knelt next to Roman. The cloth on his head was damp and warm, having absorbed the warmth from his body, but it wasn’t doing enough because the skin of his forehead was still hot to the touch. I remembered a time that Ford had a fever when he was small that was worse than all the other occasional ones he picked up here and there. He and Mercedes were always the social butterflies of our family, whereas I stayed home, had few friends other than Meg, and even then, she did most of the work in keeping our friendship going. I didn’t want to hear the whispers about Mother and was too embarrassed to leave the house and yard except for when it was required.
But I left home for help when Ford got sick and Mother decided to lock herself in her bedroom. Father told me to ask Mrs. Bracker, who lived three streets over, if she had anything that would help him. And though I didn’t know her well then, he also sent me to Mrs. Maggie Dillinger’s. Both of the women arrived at our home minutes later and rushed to Ford’s side. At their instruction, Father and I brought buckets of water in and Father laid my brother in the cool water. It was the only thing that saved him.
There must be a water source somewhere...
Roman groaned, his eyes blinking open. “Are you here to kill me?”
I shook my head, making sure he could see my face. “No.”
“You will,” he said. His voice was weak but his tone was adamant.
“I won’t.
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