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He left me naked on top of the bed. I realized how easy it would be for him to walk away and leave me alone and vulnerable, despite his protests that he had nowhere else to go. Anywhere he went would be safer and saner than staying with me.
When he returned moments later, I was curled in a ball on the bed, sobbing.
He pulled me into his arms. “God, Ellie. I’m so sorry.” His voice broke. “I just treated you like—”
I shook my head, my mouth finding his, but I continued to cry and had to pull away to catch my breath. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.”
He pulled me against him, holding on tight. “I’m not going anywhere, love. I’m here.”
Chapter14
Icried for several minutes and was finally starting to calm down when the image of Allison’s abused body pushed to the front of my head. “Oh, God, David. It was so horrible. What they did to her.” I released a fresh sob. “All I can see is her blood. I keep hearing her scream.”
He sucked in a breath as he realized whom I was talking about.
“That last Raven Mocker was different than the others; I knew she would be harder to destroy. And then she lunged for you.” I tried to catch my breath. “I was sure she was going to kill you, but she took Allison’s heart instead.” I took a shuddering breath. “It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen. Until I saw what she did next.”
“What?” he whispered.
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know.”
“Enough secrets, Ellie.” His voice was harsh. “Enough.”
“The Raven Mocker held Allison’s heart in her hand and ate it. Like it was an apple.”
His body stiffened.
I jerked out of his arms. “I’m hurting you. I just keep hurting you.”
“Not you, Ellie. You’re not doing this. Ahone. Okeus. The Raven Mockers. They’re the ones who are responsible.”
“But they would leave you alone if it weren’t for me.”
“You don’t know that.” He sounded weary. “Countless people have died who have no ties to you at all.”
I jumped off the bed, still naked, and began to pace. “Oh, God. You’re right. All those people and animals—they’re all depending on me to save them and I’m failing.” I started to cry again.
“Ellie, that’s not what I meant.”
I shook my head. “Maybe not, but it’s true.”
He was silent for a moment, and then he slid off the mattress and opened one of his drawers, pulling out a T-shirt. Grabbing my arm, he tugged the shirt over my head and helped me put my arms through the sleeves. He leaned down to kiss me before pulling me into a hug.
“You’re doing everything you can. You can’t do any more than that.”
I took a deep breath and tried to pull away, but he led me back to the bed. He pulled back the covers and sat with his back against the headboard, my body pressed to his side.
“Now tell me about Tsagasi.”
I told him about finding him in the backyard. “He said he’s my guardian.”
“And you trust him?”
“I don’t know. He helped me, so I suppose that I have no reason not to trust him other than the fact Ahone was supposed to be helping me too. Have you heard of Tsagasi?”
“He’s part of Cherokee legend. He and Tsawasi. They are both mischievous, but they’re not supposed to be evil…not as far as I know, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were brothers.”
“If he hadn’t helped, we’d all be dead.”
