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"No," he said, with a voice that was both his and wasn't.
Theo's hand fell away as I took a step toward Luca, and another. Theo and Julian seemed to fade, growing as indistinct and shadowed as the tree line. That cord of fire in my belly pulled and tugged, drawing me closer.
I reached for him. Felt his body under my hands, as familiar as my own.
"Open your eyes," I whispered.
His eyelids twitched, but his eyes stayed closed.
I took another step, until his body was flush with mine, and the coil of flame within me roared into an inferno.
"Open your eyes," I murmured again, tilting my face up toward his. I already knew what I would find.
He opened his eyes. Not green now, no, but blazing red coals to mirror mine. I gazed into their fiery depths, feeling the name rise out of me like a resurrection.
"Abigor."
26
"No!"
I heard a voice—a familiar voice, Theo's voice—and then I was flying. All the air whooshed out of my lungs as Theo's arms wrapped around my waist and he dragged me backwards, lurching away from—who was he? Who was he?
There was a roar and I shut my eyes, curling defensively into Theo's body as he fell backwards, taking me with him—but no blow came, no blast of fire. When I dared to look, I saw only Luca: Luca, with eyes like emeralds, sagging against Julian's bracing arm.
I sat up slowly, wincing as a rock dug into my hip. There was no more heat within me, no more foreign emotions and half-formed thoughts swirling in my head. It was just me. "What…the fuck…was that?"
With what appeared to be a monumental effort, Luca raised his head and looked at Julian. He seemed to be making some silent request.
But Julian was shaking his head. "I'm sorry, old friend," he said regretfully. "Truly. But the answer will always be no."
He let go of Luca, turned his back, and started toward his cabin, but I barely noticed him go. I couldn't look away from Luca.
My heart was pounding. "It was you. The whole time. The demon from the story was you." I couldn't seem to catch my breath. "And you knew.”
I pushed away from Theo and stood, ignoring the pain that shot through my hip at the movement. I stared at Luca, trying to get him to meet my gaze, but he kept his eyes steadfastly downturned. "You knew," I repeated, taking a step toward him. "I've had this—this thing in me—and the second you saw that book—oh my God."
I stopped. My chest felt tight, as though someone had wrapped a band of iron around my lungs. "The radar," I choked. My eyes began to burn, and I willed the tears back. "The fucking radar. You saw it and you knew then and you—you led me right to it."
He looked up at me then, his expression despairing. "No," he said. "I didn't know—I—"
"I trusted you," I gasped, my throat choked with rage. "I trusted you, and I came to you for help, and—"
"River." Theo was at my side, but I shook him off.
"Stay away from me," I said. My whole body was trembling. "All of you, just stay the fuck away from me."
"River, what are you—" Theo said, but I was already running into the night.
Something carried me, some force I didn't know I possessed.
I ran. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. The dense undergrowth seemed to part before me. I ran for minutes or hours, feeling the press of my feet into the damp, spongy earth, smelling the sweet dark aroma of decay, of growth. Tree branches seemed to reach out as I passed, their long fingers caressing my skin, stroking my hair.
There had been a voice.
It wasn't a woman's voice, but it also wasn't not a woman's voice. She was there, and she wasn't.
Abigor, she whispered.
