Текст книги "Total Eclipse"

Автор книги: Rachel Caine

Соавторы: Rachel Caine
сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

He sounded so unhappy about that, and it broke my heart. Youve never failed me, I said. Never. And you never will, because this isnt a pass/fail kind of score, David. I love you. I want you to be safe. Thats all.

I meant it, though my knees had started trembling at the thought of leaving this place without his presence at my side. It wasnt even so much the power he could bring to bear on our behalfit was the sheer comfort of him. I needed him.

And I was going to have to do this without him, or lose everything. David on the opposite side of this was a death warrant for all of us. He was just too powerful.

I smiled. It actually felt warm, and real, and confident, even if I truly was scared to death deep down. Ill be fine, I said. Well be fine. Walk me to the car before you go, okay?

He took my hand, and for a moment we just stood together, drinking in each others warmth, the reality of our bodies standing in the same space, the same time.

He kissed me. It felt so warm, so sweet, so realthat I felt tears burning in my eyes. It was so perfect with him, and we never had time.

He kissed away my tears, put his hands on my shoulders, and leaned his forehead against mine for a long, lovely moment, and then, without a word, we walked together to the waiting Mustang. David handed me into the passenger seat. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it, and I felt his lips against my skin like the warmest summer sun.

Well be okay, I told him again. He nodded, shut the door, and as the Djinn behind the wheel gunned the motor and sent the car hurtling down the deserted, silent street, I turned to watch David.

He disappeared into a mist. Gone.

Wait, Kevin said, and twisted around to look. Where is he? Where did he go?

Hes not coming, I said.

But

Well be okay, I said again, firmly.

I was, I realized, a damn good liar. I could make everybody believe it, except me.

Chapter Seven

Leaving Seacasket was like living in a jump cut in a movie. One second, the world was still and hushed and silent and perfectly ordered, as if someone had pressed a giant pause button. . . . The next, we were in chaos.

By chaos, I mean it was worse than when wed arrived. Muchworse. The gray vanished, and suddenly the skies were crowded with black, bloated clouds that bloomed constantly with greenish lightning. Wind lashed the car hard and shoved it from one lane to the other, even with the Djinns uncanny reaction time. The sides of the road were littered with wrecks, shattered trees, downed power lines. I couldnt see any electric lights at all in the houses and buildings that blurred past us. I could see occasional smaller lightsflashlights and candlesmoving inside, and I wondered how terrified those people must be. All they could do was wait.

All we could do was keep moving.

Cherise reached over the seat to try the radio, but no matter where she dialed there was just pure static, or one of those emergency alert broadcasts telling people to stay in their homes and wait for more information.

I imagined Twitter had probably exploded from the strain, if the internet had survived thus far. Not to mention Facebook.

Where are we going? Cherise asked.

The radio hissed, and the slider took over on its own like a transistorized version of a Ouija board. I expected to hear Whitneys dulcet Southern tones.

I heard Davids.

Jo, he said. All right?

Yeah, were fine, I said, which was a brave interpretation, given the outside world. Where are you?

Jonathans house, with Whitney.

The station changed, lightning fast. We are notgoing to be good roomies, Whitney cooed. I already want to kick his pretty ass across the room. I wonder if I can.

David regained control of the radio. From here, well do what we can to lessen the dangers around you as you go. Whitneys going to continue to pilot the Djinn whos driving you.

None of which answers the vital question of where are we going!Cherise said, hanging half over the seat.

Youre heading for Sedona, he said. But be warnedthat entire area is under siege. Its not going to be easy.

It never was. Were going to need to stop, I said. We cant keep going like this. Rest and food, water and bathrooms. Very important.

Well find you shelter, David promised. Try to rest for now.

Easier said than done, as the thunder crashed and the lightning struck with the regularity of a strobe light to the eyes, as the Djinn driving swerved to avoid first one unseen obstacle, then another. It was like being back at sea again in a full-force gale.

But eventually, inevitably, even that couldnt keep me from sliding away into dark, dreamless sleep. Cars have that effect, even dodging, swerving ones, if you get used to it. Weirdly soothing. If the Djinn had been on its own, it could have blipped easily from one spot to another by taking a shortcut through the aetheric planes . . . but with humans it was tricky at best. Even the Djinn who had the most experience and ability at taking humans through the aetheric in physical form, not just spiritual, had a less-than-confidence-building success rate. Say, fifty percent.

So we traveled the old-fashioned way, miles passing under wheels. It was a lot of miles, because we were moving very fast despite the dangerous and unpredictable conditions. I woke up periodically, prodded by anxiety or bad dreams, hunger or thirst, or the more basic bodily functions. Food and drink turned out to be no challenge at all; shops were deserted, and many had already been looted. I didnt mind drinking store-brand cola if it was all that was left. I tried not to see what it all meant, what all this widespread smoking devastation and desperation meant for civilization as a whole.

Things were falling apart. There were people in small groups, and they ran when we roared by.

The internet on Chers mobile phone had gone down in a haze of 404 Not Found errors. Then her mobile had failed, too. And mine. And Kevins.

We all had different network providers. I assumed that, too, was not a good sign.

We were just heading into the St. Louis area, from the Missouri sidea long and exhausting ride, with as few stops as possible in places that were only marginally dangerous. Id hoped that maybe the calmer center of the country might still be holding its own.

I was wrong.

You could see the dull red-orange glow of flames coming from St. Louis a long way off against the cold night sky, and low-hanging, constantly rumbling clouds.

I hate this, Cherise said, fidgeting anxiously. Shed been fidgeting a long time, nervous with the crackle of power in her blood and the fear of actually letting it loose. Id managed to get thatthrough her head, finally, and wed done long hours of power exercises, with Kevin as her spotter, to teach her how to use the aetheric properly, how to center her power and ground it, how to use it in more delicate ways than sledge-hammering every problem into smithereens, along with everything that wasnta problem.

She was actually not sucking at it. I couldnt help but feel that maybe this was a little bit due to my excellence as a teacher, but it probably wasnt.

Over the radio, Davids voice said, I need to prepare you for whats coming. That was ominous, because hed never said that before, and wed already been through some rough patches on the way. He sounded very sober. Youre going to come up on some problems in the next ten miles. Ill direct you on the blockage in the road, but we may have to take detours as things get worse.

Thats it? Roadblocks? I felt a little surge of irritation. Not exactly news, David.

Its not cars, he said. Its people. Theyre desperate, and theyre terrified, and theyre angry. Theyll attack the car if it gets too close. They think they can run to safety, but there is none.

That was very different, and we all knew it. Cherise asked, in a small voice, How many people?

Right now, there are three main groups, he said. Two of them are fighting each other for food and transportation. All together, they number about fifty thousand.

Fifty Words failed me. I couldnt even echo the number. I glanced in the back and saw that Cherise was staring fiercely at the radio, tears welling in her eyes. Fifty thousand people. Refugees.

That would imply they have some kind of refuge to flee toward, David said bleakly. They dont. If they try to leave, theyll get picked off by the storms, the fires, the sinkholes. Animal attacks. And theres no safe harbor for them, not anymore.

The Wardens, Kevin began.

They already killed the Wardens who were trying to help them, David said flatly. Mob mentality. Just dont get close. If you dont share their beliefs, theyll kill you, too.

What beliefs?

Kevin didnt need to ask the question, because we topped the next hill and saw the first of the crowds that David was talking about. They were filthy, ragged, wild-eyed, and armed with rifles, axes, sharp sticksI didnt see a single person who didnt have some kind of weapon, even if it was just a stone to throw. A few were carrying badly painted signs that looked like they might have been written in dried blood.

REPENT OR DIE.

Oh man.

You want to know the biggest joke? Whitneys voice said, echoing through the silence in the car. These are the Episcopalians. You dont even want to run into the hard-shell Baptists right now, brothers and sisters.

Kevin crossed himself. He did it in a rush, like it came from someplace deep within him, and I wondered how hed been brought up, in his early days. Catholic, probably. Cherise and I had both been churchgoing girls, too, until recently; I wasnt what I could call committed, but I had always honored God. Wardens never doubted the presence of higher powers. Heck, we had a direct line to something, even if it wasnt the Head Bearded Guy.

But this . . . this was people clutching at straws, using religion as an excuse for murder and destruction. And it made me sad and angry.

We avoid them, I said. Some of the crowd had already caught sight of us and were streaming in our direction. If we cant stop them, we have to stay out of their way.

But theyre just people, Cherise said. The same people whod help you out if you had a flat tire. What happensto them? What happens to us?

Survival, I said softly. Its selfish, and its dark, and weve always been a species willing to do anything to satisfy our needs. Individuals have morals. Mobs have appetites.

The Djinn had taken a sharp left turn down a side road and rocketed along it at insane speed, dodging falling tree branches, a wrecked and still smoldering SUV, and some things in the road that it took me long-delayed seconds to realize were actually dead bodies. I started to ask, but then I realized that I didnt want to know how bad this was, how far it had gone. I just wanted to stop it.

And I didnt see any way to do that.

Misery crept up on me, and I swallowed hard against an ache in my throat and stomach. I wanted David. I wanted his arms around me, his strength beside me.

Jo, his voice said, and I closed my eyes and pretended he was here, physically here. It was easier than Id thought. Maybe I was going crazy. This has happened before. Its happened in other countries, to other people; its even happened here, in some areas. Riots, purges, wars, genocide. Theres never a moment on Earth when someone isnt suffering and dying at the hands of others. You know that. Human nature isnt your fault.

I know, I whispered. But it feels like it is.

Maybe he would have tried to offer me more therapy, I dont know, but right then, Cherise screamed and yelled, Stop the car!

David must have been the one in control, because there was no debate about it. The Djinn braked the Boss to a stop on the damp pavement in a noisy slide.

Uh, Cher, that mob is still heading this way, Kevin said, sensibly checking out the rearview mirror. Might take them a few minutes, but

Cherise wasnt listening. She bailed out of the car and darted out into the glow of the headlights, and I saw her scramble over debris toward the side of the road. Dammit, I said. Kevin. Go with her. Hurry.

He was already on his way, and shot me an irritated look. Like I wasnt going to anyway, he said. Thanks, Mom.

I was soglad he wasnt my kid. It felt like cowardice, but I stayed behind. I was nothing but a liability right now, and at least one of us needed to stay with the car. Kevin didnt seem to mind that decision in the least. In fact, he grinned fiercely as he passed through the headlights, plunging after Cherise to the side of the road.

It seemed to take forever. I watched anxiously through the back window. The mob was coming, and I could hear them screaming. It was a deep, animal roar, and I imagined this was how those soldiers throughout history had felt, holding their ground and waiting while the enemy charged.

It wasnt good.

I got so focused on the approach of the crowd that it surprised me (complete with yelp) when Cherise yanked open the back door and climbed in with something bundled in her arms in a dirty blanket. It squirmed. Kevin piled in after, looking grim, and yelled, Go go go!

Off we went, leaving the swiftest of the mob to clutch at a spray of gravel and dust.

The bundle in Cherises arms wailed. It wasnt the cry of a hungry or tired baby; this was moreaware. A toddler, maybe two or three years old. Cherise unwrapped the blanket, and I saw a small, round face capped by shiny, thick black hair. The child looked as miserable as I felt.

Cher, I said. We cant

Kevin leaned forward, cutting me off. There was a whole family back there, he said. Mom, dad, two other kids. This ones the only one still breathing. So shut up, okay?

I swallowed. What happened to them?

What do you thinkhappened? They had something. Somebody else wanted it. Probably a car; they didnt look like theyd been walking, and they didnt have any bags.

Kevin was right. I couldnt say no to helping this kid. Maybe I should have; maybe Lewis would have. Maybe he would have said something about the greater good and saving the most number of lives.

All I could say, looking at that little face, was, Okay.

Whatever David thought, he kept it to himself. The Djinn proxy driver guided us through a winding set of back roads, turning left, then right at intersections until we arrived back at a main highway again. I didnt know where we were, and I wasnt sure maps had much relevance anymore. Cherise and Kevin had something to do now; they had found some crackers and juice boxes in their stash of snacks, and were now arguing over whether a kid that age wore a diaper. I didnt add any insights. They both seemed very earnest about the whole thing, which was a little endearing.

The night passed quietly enough. Wed outrun the worst of the storms, for the moment; no wildfires chased us through the silent trees. It almost looked normal. I rolled down the window, and night air fluttered over my face like a damp veil. I breathed it in and felt, for a moment, a little calmed. This still exists. Theres still hope.

David said, We should have good travel for the next few hundred miles. This part of the countrys still relatively unaffected.

Yeah, why is that? Kevin asked.

I already knew the answer to that. Its rural, I said. And the trouble is focusing on centers of population first. That doesnt mean it wont spread fast, but for now, people out here are as safe as they can be.

Its more than that, David said. Theres a black corner near herea small one. Its been here for a thousand years or more. But it tends to keep the Djinn and the Wardens well away.

I blinked, because I hadnt known that.It made sense, thoughblack corners were places that canceled out supernatural forces, all kinds of supernatural forces. It was wasting energy to go near one.

Which made them perfectfor hiding people who didnt, and couldnt, tell the difference.

Pull over, I ordered.

Its better if we

David, pull the car over now!

He did. There was no use trying for Google Maps or GPS; I went at it old-school, rifling the glove compartment for maps. There was a road atlas, years out of date but good enough. I flipped through it until I found a map of the entire continental USA.

Show me on the map where the black corners are, I said. Small black areas painted themselves out. There werent many, but they were there . . . and they were scattered from coast to coast, north to south. Almost . . . deliberately. Okay, looking good. David, youre talking through the radio.

There was a long pause, and then David said, in the tone of someone who really didnt understand why I was stating the obvious, Yes . . . ?

Is that just to us, or can you do it anywhere?

Define anywhere.

All radios in specific areas.

Another pause, and then he said, slowly, Yes. Yes, I can.

Awesome. You are the new Djinn Emergency Broadcast System. I got out of the car and spread the atlas out on the hood of the idling car. Cherise and Kevin got out with me; Kevin was holding the toddler, who had fallen charmingly asleep in his arms. I need dimensions on these black corners. Specifically, how many people they can hold, whether theres any food and water, shelter, that kind of thing. Get me all the information you can.

Uhhow? Cherise asked blankly. She held out her phone. It still said NO SERVICE. Internet go boom.

The aetherics still there, I said. You and Kevin get up there, find me these two black corners; theyre the largest ones. Tell me whatever you can. Do it fast.

Kevin handed me the baby, which was a smart move. I wasnt sure he wouldnt drop the kid on his head at the best of times, but being out of his body wouldnt help him be Best Surrogate Dad Ever. The child was surprisingly heavy and warm, and settled against me with a sleepy murmur. I smoothed dark hair, balanced him (her?) on my hip, and stared down at the map as Cherise and Kevin stood, immobile and vacant next to me. Both of the areas Id indicated to them were remote; whatever had happened there to damage the planets awareness had been significant, but it had also probably happened a very long time ago. Maybe even before humans began building their first mud huts. Maybe theyd been even larger, and the Earth was slowly, steadily healing in those areas.

But what was important to me was that if I put people inside those borders, theyd be safe from supernatural forces. As safe as I could make them, anyway.

Cherise came back first, staggering as her spirit reunited with her body and catching herself with both hands against the cars fender. She snatched her palms off it immediately. Ow! she said. Damn. Hot. And Im not talking about myself, you know. I didnt need to put her back on track. She took in a deep breath and continued. Its pretty large, but its wild out there. Overgrown. No shelter or structures I could see. Theres a stream, though, so fresh water. Youd have to arrange for the food.

Roads?

Theres a kind of roaddamn, that maps too small. Guess you cant zoom in.

Its paper, Cher.

Kidding. Anyway, yeah, theres a way in, you could probably drive it. Not sure how tough it would be, though.

How many people could it hold?

Its about as big as half of Manhattan, so you figure it out. Of course, unless theyre living in trees, you can only put them on the ground floor.

It was better than nothing. Not a lot better, but still.

Kevin returned a few minutes later. He had better news, from the western black cornerwhich was large, empty, and easy to reach. Only problem was, it was barren. Reallybarren. No source of fresh water running through it, or even near it. It was also hotter than hell there, and even with tents and temporary shelters it might be fatal conditions for many.

But we didnt have a choice. I ordered everybody back into the car. Kevin took the kid back from me; the baby woke up and started fretting. Kevin bounced him in his arms, waking a surprisingly cheerful set of giggles, and the kid put its chubby arms around his neck.

Boy or girl? I asked. Kevin gave me a long– suffering, disgusted look.

Boy, obviously, he said. Wow. I thought you were all up on the birds and the bees.

I tried again. Whats his name?

How am I supposed to know? The kid was lying underneath his dead mom. He didnt come with papers. Kevins eyes glittered in the white backwash of the headlights, but not with Djinn power, not anymore. Those were real, human tears. They left him there to starve or get eaten. So maybe his name ought to be Lucky; what do you think?

Kevin, I said, gently. Deep breaths.

Fuck you, he snapped, and got in the car. I ached for him, because nobodynot even Kevinshould feel the kind of agony I could hear in his voice. He hated this as much as I did, as much as Cher did. I could feel that pain and panic burrowing inside me like a carnivorous small animal. Make it stop. I dont want to do this anymore. Make it all go away.

For a few seconds, it was so overwhelming that I wanted to scream. I forced myself to take deep, steady breaths, and stared at the map until my eyes blurred. I blinked, and tears slid cold down my cheeks, but I wiped them away impatiently. I have no time for this crap, I told myself. Sack up, Jo. Right now.

I wanted to be strong, but it seemed like the solid rock Id always felt to be inside me had turned to slippery, clinging mud, and I wasnt sure I had any emotional footing anymore.

Jo? That was Davids voice, coming from the car. I grabbed the atlas and got back inside. The second I slammed the door, we got moving again at Djinn speed, turning the night into a shadowy blur beyond the windows.

Except for the cold white moon, almost full, that floated up overhead like a balloon. Its glow almost eclipsed the stars. Out here in the dark, there were so many of those, thick as spilled sacks of gems in the heavens. Easy to feel small.

Easy to feel a sense of the ice-cold infinite out there, too, for whom the death struggles on this planet were of merely academic interest.

Perversely, that made me feel better.

David, I said, and was glad that my voice sounded steady now. I need you to send messages to all the Wardens you can reach. Tell them weve identified two main areas where they can send refugees, and give them coordinates and the details. Give them the coordinates of the other black corners, too. Even if some will only hold a few people, its something. We should use it.

Im on it, he said, and oddly enough, he laughed.

What?

Coordinating. Isnt that what Lewis tried to sentence us to from the start?

The radio turned itself off.

I leaned back in the seat, which no longer felt remotely comfy after the long, long hours, and glanced over at the Djinn driver. So, I said. How you doing?

I didnt really expect an answer, and I didnt get one.

It was a long drive to the next major town.

We never quite reached it.

The sun was just coming up, and we still had six hours or so to go to the next town big enough to merit the name, when I finally put my foot down and said that we needed beds, showers, food, and restrooms. That wasnt as tough as it sounded to achieve; two curves of the road later, we spotted a roadside motel, the no– name-brand kind made of bravely painted cinder blocks that doesnt have to go into double digits on room numbers. Technically, it was a motor court. I wasnt sure what the difference was, except that motor court sounded slightly more upscale than no-tell motel.

It wasnt.

The office was locked, but somebody had already done yeoman work breaking in the door, which swung wide open. The cash register was on the floor, cracked and empty. There was a TV missing from a stand in the corner, cable connections left dangling. Looters always take the TVs. And it always seems insane, but never more than now.

There were keys hanging on hooks behind the counters. I grabbed three and tossed one each to Kevin and Cherise. Be careful, I said. Could be anybody out there. Make sure you lock the doors once youre inside.

Kevin cast a significant look at the busted office door. Yeah, he said. Thatll help. What do they make these things out of, cardboard? An arthritic eighty-year-old on a walker could kick these things down.

Your body odor could knock it down faster, Cherise said crisply. I cannot waitfor a shower. They want to go all Psychoon me, fine. At least Ill die clean.

She held out her arms, and Kevin passed her the toddler, who was awake, alert, and watching me with shining black eyes. He was drooling on himself. I didnt take it as a compliment. Come on, Herbert.

You are notcalling him Herbert, Kevin said, as Cherise got the boy situated on her hip.

Okay, how about Ronald? Im trying to go with a dead president theme, here.

Hes too good looking. Go with Thomas.

Tommy, Cherise said immediately. Jefferson. Yeah, okay. Hows that, Tommy? You like that, big man? She made nonsense sounds to him, and Tommy laughed and clapped his hands. Tommy it is. Awesome. Tommy and I are going to get clean.

Enjoy, I said. I was going to be in hot pursuit of that shower, but first I wanted to go through the office. The looters had probably taken everything of value, but I wasnt looking for things to pawn or spend.

Kevin hesitated at the door. You going to be okay?

I flipped a hand at him without looking up from the contents of a drawer. He shrugged and went away.

The drawer seemed heavy, although there wasnt much in it. I frowned playing with it, and realized that it had a false bottom. I pressed on the back, and the front popped up.

Underneath that lay a big, black semiautomatic pistol, with two full clips and a box of bullets . . . and a sawed-off shotgun, and shells.

Sweet, I said, and stuffed it all into a recyclable shopping bag that was lying on the floor. Small-business owners. Like Boy Scouts, always prepared.

I also found a private stash of alcohol, which I left, except for one bottle I planned to use for first aid. Or morale emergencies, whichever came first. There was also a pretty significant first aid kit, well stocked, and some shelf-stable cookies, power bars, and chips that I put into another bag.

I was feeling pretty good by the time I locked the flimsy door on my motel room. The room was clean and empty, and as far as I could tell, nobody had bothered to loot it. The bathroom still had soap and shampoo. With the power off, it was dark as a cave, but Id brought a flashlight from the office, and set it up to shine on the shower area. I dumped my filthy clothes in the sink to soak. The water was lukewarm, but that was better than nothing.

The shower started out lukewarm, then turned cold, but I didnt care; feeling clean again was an intense relief. I could have hope again. Hope that if I had to die, at least I would do it with shiny, bouncy hair.

Something flashed across the glow from the flashlight. I gasped, got soap in my eyes, and rinsed as fast as I could. Its a moth, I told myself. A moth flying around in front of the light. Youd have heard somebody come in.

I listened. The falling water drowned out any sound of an intruder.

Its a moth, I breathed, willing myself to believe it. Okay, I was in a creepy deserted motel with no lights. Okay, I was in a horror movie cliché, naked in a shower in a creepy deserted motel with no lights.

But dammit, I wasnt going to be some horror movie damsel who got killednaked in a shower in a creepy deserted motel. With no lights.

I shut off the water with a firm twist of the knobs, grabbed the thin shower curtain, and rattled it back. Water trickled ice-cold down my back from my wet hair and brought up chill bumps all over my skin.

Nobody there.

I grabbed a towel, dried off, and wrapped it spa– style around my body, then used the second one to do the turban thing. This wasnt the kind of place that provided free plush robes, or even paper-thin ones. I stood on the cold tile, picked up the flashlight, and angled it around in every corner of the small room.

Nothing.

Moth, I said, triumphantly, and propped up the light to help me see what I was doing as I scrubbed my clothes with bath soap. I refilled the sink several times, finished by wringing it all out, and hanging it up on the side of the tub and the shower rod.

Then I walked out into the main room, which was flooded with light from the opened curtains, and saw the Djinn sitting on my bed waiting for me.

And not just any Djinn.

Rahel.

Rahel was back to her old selfbeautiful, sharp-edged, dressed in a neon yellow tailored pantsuit with a plunging neckline white shirt. Cornrowed hair, with amber and gold beads woven throughout. Her long pointed fingernails matched her outfit, and her eyes were a pure, luminous white.

I stopped in the doorway and braced myself with one hand. Rahel didnt move. She didnt speak. She didnt seem to even know I was there.

I licked my lips and said, Rahel?

For a moment, nothing happened, and then her head tilted, very slowly, to one side. Beads clicked together with a dry-bones rattle like the warning of a rattlesnake in slow motion.

I stood there waiting for it, but she didnt move again. I took a tentative step forward, then another one. No reaction. I made it to the rickety side chair that came with the office table and its cheap lamp, and sat down because I wasnt sure if my legs would hold me for too long. She didnt feel like Rahel. She lookedthe part, but Rahel would already have fired off some snarky, lazy insult or threat, clicked her fingernails, tried to kill me, laughed . . . something.

What was wearing Rahel right now was very far from the Djinn I knew.

Who are you? I whispered. Those white eyes stared at me, unblinking, but blind. I just happened to be the direction in which they stared; it didnt feel like focus.Is thisare you

I couldnt exactly come out with it, but I understood, on a very primal level, who was looking out through that blank gaze. An intelligence so vast that it couldnt possibly understand me. So huge that it was trying to make sense of something impossibly tiny to it. . . . As if by staring unaided at the surface of the table, I could see the molecules that made it up. She was tryingto understand. But I didnt think she did. Or could. And that was . . . alarming.

Can you let me talk to Rahel? I asked, in the softest, most respectful voice I could manage. I justshe can translate for you. Help you understand. Although how that was going to get across I couldnt imagine. It was like an ant trying to communicate with me by the pheromones and scents that made up its language. I couldnt detect it, much less understand it.