Total Eclipse

And I fired.

It was the worst thing I had ever done.

Chapter Ten

The aetheric blindness was gone immediately, and Davids powers came flooding back, restoring him. Everybody was happy.

Everybody but me. I kept reliving the kick of the gun in my hand, and the sight of the avatars head

Jo. That was David, sitting down next to me on the couch. I had been silent for a long while, and theyd been sensible enough to let me be, but David clearly thought Id brooded enough.

Leave me alone, I said.

You did the right thing.

I know that. Just leave me alone.

He sighed and kissed my temple, very gently. I would have done it for you.

You think Id have felt better watching you kill one of your own? I swallowed a bitter mouthful of stomach acid and wondered vaguely where Id left the M&M candies. I thought I could have used one right now to get the terrible, bloody taste out of my mouth. No thanks. Ill handle my guilt like a big girl.

David hesitated, then put his arm around me. I opened my eyes and saw that Luis Rocha was slumped in a chair, snoring (somehow, adorably), and Cassiel was pacing, looking like a caged beast with claustrophobia. I didnt think she would have hesitated to pop a cap in an avatar, but then again, I didnt really want to be her, either.

She bugged me.

I should tell you who he was, once, David said, and that made me turn and look at him in surprise. His brows went up. You thought hed always been an empty shell?

Wellyeah. Kind of.

He was Old Dji

Oh Jesus, David! I found myself covering my mouth with both hands, appalled. Jonathan had demonstrated a turn for prophecy, more than once. Why didnt you stop me?

Because I think what Jonathan saw was how much you were going to need him. I think he did what he wasdesigned to do. He shook his head. That sounds wrong. Thats not what I meant. But I feel that his destiny was already over.

Again, that didnt make me feel better. I wasnt sure anything right now could make me feel better because Jesus Christ Id just pulled the trigger and killed someone, even if it hadnt been a person, a real person, or even a real Dji

My body still replayed it, over and over. And it hurt.

You need to rest, David told me, in that tone that husbands get sometimes. He meant it, and when I opened my mouth to protest, he covered it with one hand. Stretch out. Come on. All the way. Legs up. There you go.

I still felt miserable, but I had to admit that being down felt a whole lot better than sitting up. Cassiel had gotten adventurous and raided a linen closet, and found bags of clean sheets, towels, and blankets. They werent the kind of high-thread-count stuff youd get at the tonier hotels, but they felt good on my skin.

Like the clothes Ashan had gifted me with. Bastard. Well, at least he hadnt dressed me in knockoffs. Could have been worse.

I flinched again as the sound of the shot rang in my ears, and Davids warmth settled in behind me, holding me close. His hand stroked my forehead, then glided down my neck, over my shoulder, down my arm. . . . It wasnt erotic, but damn, it really was. Just being touched relaxed something in my body that seemed to have been permanently knotted up, fused into a hard mass.

I let out a slow breath, and with it went some of my grief, my anger, my disappointment. I remembered the first night that Id insanely decided to sleep with David; I hadnt known his name then, or that he was a Dji

It occurred to me now that I should have valued that more. I should have realized right then that he was something . . . special.

But at least Id been smart enough to hang on to him once I did realize what I had.

Why are we waiting? I asked. The avatars gone. We can go now.

We will, David said, and his mouth was so close to my ear that his lips brushed teasingly over its curves. You need to rest. You picked up a big dose of radiation outside of Amarillo, and I cant heal you properly if youre awake. So sleep. Once morning comes, well move on.

Cassiel paused in her pacing to look at us in a guilty sort of way, as if she just realized she was probably being a

I dont think I intended to fall asleep, but between the seductive warmth of Davids hands and the exhaustion buried deep in my bones, I really didnt have a choice.

I woke up to Davids hands, again, but this time they were shaking me, and when I started to speak he put a finger to my mouth. Unmistakable warning. I went still, fighting my way back toward some kind of alertness, and saw that Luis Rocha and Cassiel were already up and on their feet, hands clasped. Rahel was closing the door with calm, competent motions, locking it, and waiting with her entire body radiating tense expectancy.

We were all very, very quiet. I dont know why, but I felt that primitive kind of terror, the kind our ancestors probably felt hiding in caves and hoping the lions and tigers passed them by.

Something slammed into the locked door with a shocking roar, and the wood jumped and bowed inward.

The being quiet strategy hadnt done much, clearly. I got up, and David unfolded himself from the couch as well, both of us laser focused on the door, which wasnt going to hold. I threw Earth power into it, along with Rocha and Cassiel, and that helped, but whatever was on the other side of it had Earth power as well, and man, was it pissed.

Rahel, with a negligent wave of her hand, ripped the heavy serving bar loose from the left-hand wall and slammed it against the failing door like the worlds largest burglar bar. I think its time to go, she said. Back door?

Oh yeah, Id sealed it. Good pla

Not that way, I said. What the hell is out there?

I dont think you want to know, Rahel said, as if it was amusing to herand it probably was. Go up, not out. Nothing out there strikes me as good at climbing.

David nodded, looked up, and ripped open a significant hole in the roof, which spilled in predawn light of an uncertain gray color. He flexed his knees and fired his body up, landed easily fifteen feet above us outside the hole, and did a little scouting before nodding down at us.

Damn, Luis said. Forgot my jet pack. Knew I should have packed that.

Cassiel let out a sound that was too frustrated to be a sigh, and offered him a cradle of her linked fingers for his foot. He raised both eyebrows. Are you kidding, chica?

Do I seem to be? she snapped. Hurry.

He put his booted foot in her hands, and she tossed him straight up, letting out a yell of fury that sounded like it was ripped out of her spine. It was an impressive demonstration of how strong she was when using her Earth powers, and even as solidly built as Rocha was, she got him up high enough that he grabbed the hand David reached down to him. David pulled him up without any effort at all.