AllFreeNovel
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The demons evaporated in a cloud of black dust that smelled of ash and death. I hurried to kneel beside Ambri, keeping the poker in hand.
“She’s always had a flair for the dramatic,” Ambri said. He peered up at me. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I don’tneedto think about it,” I said. “I’m not handing you over to them. Now, come on. We have to get you off the floor.”
“Must we? It’s quite cozy down here. Need to dust under the bureau, however…”
“You’re shivering,” I said. “Let’s get you on the bed and I’ll start a fire.”
Very carefully, I slid my arm under Ambri’s chest.He grit his teeth as I pulled him off the floor. His breath came in heaving gasps, but he got to his knees, and then I helped him to his feet. At the bed, he gave another strangled cry as I helped him lie face down on the pillow, arms by his sides. I covered his lower half with the curtain, just below the ghastly wounds on his back where a few stray feathers were stuck to his skin.
Keeping the poker in hand, I turned on the gas to the fireplace and lit a fire, then stood helplessly. “What I need is in the bathroom, but I can’t leave you.”
“You can,” Ambri said. “Eisheth is giving you time to think about her little proposal. My fate is unavoidable; they can take me any time they want. But if they could bring you Over, it would be a great victory.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because that was my plan all along.”
I stared, the poker nearly falling out of my hand. “What…? Wait. Hold on. I have todosomething, or my brain is going to explode.”
I raced to the bathroom to grab a towel, ran some water over it, and hurried back. Carefully, I climbed into bed next to Ambri and smoothed the damp cloth over his face, wiping away filth and tears. I looked to the ruin of his back but Jesus, where to begin?
Ambri’s brows furrowed. “Leave it. I told you, you can’t help me and why are you trying? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“I heard you,” I said. “From the beginning I had a feeling there was more to your interest in me than a portrait.”
“Perhaps, but the others were never part of my plan.”
“Who are they?”
“My former lovers and/or associates,” Ambri said. “Except for Eisheth, they go by different names, but they are Armand, Jeanne and Rohan.”
My eyes widened. “From your lifetime?”
“Eisheth has a sick sense of humor.”
“I don’t understand. If they weren’t part of the plan, why are they here?”
“To ensure I fulfilled it.” Ambri inhaled, his eyes closing. “I’ll tell you everything but sit closer. I’m going hoarse with all this shouting.”
Not shouting.Screaming. He was still trembling, still wracked with pain.
“I don’t know what to do for you,” I said.
“Don’t do anything. Just sit here and be with me.”
I lay curled on my side facing him, our heads close together, the poker still clutched in my hand.
“I was commanded to drive a human to despair,” Ambri said. “I didn’t want to; it’s not my forté. But I had no choice but to obey, so I chose you. I thought it would be easy—you were so close already.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you opened your mouth andspoke, Cole Matheson. You showed yourself for who you are, and I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. But I didn’t know how to stop what I’d started, so I bought time. I told them I was going to build you up before crashing you down. The pinnacle of success and all that rubbish. And it worked.”
“So all of it…the millions of dollars and the fame and the interviews…it was all you?”
“It was allyou. Your astonishing talent. I didn’t have to do a thing. But it didn’t matter anyway. I could never hurt you, Cole.” Ambri smiled ruefully. “I was supposed to ruin you, but I fell in love with you instead.”
