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Jeremy opened his mouth to reply then apparently thought better of it.
“I want to get this over and done with,’ Margo said. “Talking is helping me figure out the parts I didn’t understand at the time.”
“Keep talking us through it,” Byron said, “but if it gets too much, taking a break is okay.”
Margo took a deep breath, a determined gleam in her eyes. She wouldn’t take a break. “I remember that I tried to fight him off, but I got pulled further into the dark, away from the streetlight. I thought I was going to die.”
“Oh, Margo,” her mother said, reaching out to embrace her this time.
Margo gave her a wobbly smile. “It’s okay because Tammie showed up and hit him really hard. She told me to run, and she stood there, ready to fight him off. He wanted to kill her. He was so angry.” She frowned. “It was the first time he was emotional.”
“He didn’t like getting hit by a girl,” Amelia said with a grin. “Or a human.”
“He started sending death Tammie’s way.”
“When you say that, was it instant?” Ryan asked.
Margo’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember the details. “Not exactly. More like it was creeping up on her. Alison ran at him. I held her back because I knew she would draw his attention and get hurt, too, but I think she felt something from me that freaked her out.” She glanced at me. “She was brave.”
“Tammie and Alison are both unharmed,” Byron said. “How did you stop Eli?”
“I’m not completely sure.” Margo blew out a shaky breath. “He was so strong, and I was scared, but I remembered something.” She shot Jorge a fearful glance. “I mean, I had an idea."
“You mean you remembered what happened with Pavel,” Jorge said. “It’s all right to tell them.”
“What does Pavel have to do with this?” Nathan asked.
“Pavel cornered Margo one day,” he said, looking ashamed. “He scared her, and in her panic, she instinctively lashed out.”
Jeremy was staring at Margo. "What do you mean by that?”
“That cold feeling around her is like a shield, and when she was startled and scared, it…” He looked helpless.
“I didn’t mean to,” Margo said in a quiet voice. “The cold hit Pavel. That’s why he was so scared of me.”
The room fell silent for a long moment.
“That’s good news,” Nathan said at last. “She’s not helpless.”
“But she can’t control it,” Jeremy said in a suspicious tone.
“That’s why Pavel attacked her,” Cecilia said. “That’s why he was sent away.” She sounded horrified.
“Pavel tried to intimidate a teenager,” Jorge barked, his cheeks flushing with colour. “He brought it all on himself.”
“Why have you never told me this before?” I asked, unable to hide the hurt in my voice.
She looked at me with guilty eyes. “I wanted to forget about it. I never wanted to hurt anyone, and I didn’t want anybody to feel scared of me. But Alison is scared of me now, so maybe I accidentally hurt her, too.”
I could see how much it had taken for her to admit what happened, especially in front of so many people who might react badly to the news. “Nathan’s right,” I said. “It’s good news.”
“We’re losing focus,” Byron said. “That man was creating death, or summoning it, and was prepared to use it as a weapon. Correct?”
“Yes, but…” Margo wrinkled her nose. “I saw something else that I can’t explain, so I don’t know if I even saw it.”
“Tell us anyway,” Amelia said. “It could have been your subconscious helping you.”
“It didn’t help.” Margo bit her lower lip, hesitating.
