Page 34 (1/2)

Finally I stuarden in the courtyard outside the kitchen An hour ago, it had been a beautiful spot, with thick stands of flowers and plants and trees and bushes, all arranged around a gurgling stone fountain But part of the house had collapsed onto the fountain, s I saw A ht criainst the white, pulverized marble

I stopped and looked at the arh blood still dripped off the ends of the fingers And I realized that I’d caused this too That I’d used h that hadn’t been ht ht vomit But I sed down uilty later Right now, all thatBria

I slipped past the bloody arm and crushed fountain and headed for the far side of the courtyard, where a set of stairs climbed up to the second level of our house The stone stairs were actually hollow underneath, with a secret chaed a table, some chairs, and Bria’s favorite doll house into the chamber so we could be comfortable in there while we played It was alsohide-and-seek, because she never thought to look for ht

After I’d seen the Fire elemental murder Mother and Annabella, I’d snatched Bria out of bed, put her in the secret chaet her Nobody knew about the hollow stairs but our family, so no one would find Bria there At least, I hadn’t thought they would until I’d heard my baby sister scream

I rounded another wall of rocks, and the staircase ca to ht that had been dropped off a bridge

Because instead of the hollow staircase, all I saas a pile of rubble

"Bria?" I whispered

She didn’t answer me

"Bria!" My voice grew louder, sharper, as the panic set in

I hurried over and dropped toto claay through the stone to get to Bria, who surely had to be trapped underneath But the rocks were far too heavy forto do So I stood up, wiped ic, just like I had before when I’d been tied down to the chair

One by one, I blasted the rocks out ofwiththat I was dreading most Because instead of Bria, instead ofup at me out of the rocks, all I saas blood

So much blood

Too much blood for anyone to lose and still live

Bria was dead I’d brought her out here and hidden her so that she would be safe from the Fire elemental and her men She probably had been-until I’d used ic Until I’d lost control and lashed out with it without thinking I’d caused our whole house to cruht on top of ic

My knees buckled, and I crurief Bria was deaddeadand I’d killed her-

I woke up withdown ain, trapped in the rubble of er sister even while I’d been so desperately trying to save her It was as fresh and raw to me as if it had just happened

Then I remembered who I was Where I was And that I was safe now And so was Bria

I flopped back against the pillow and turned htstand beside ht that I’d lost Bria once back then, and I’d carried the guilt of her supposed death with o a second time, noit took

The phone rang three times before she picked it up

"Hello?" She sounded as wide awake as I was right now, despite the late hour

For afor words, the way I always did whenever I called her I drew in a breath and forced myself to speak

"It’s Gin," I finally said "Can we talk?"

Chapter 30

The next day was Christmas Eve The Pork Pit wasn’t officially open for business, so I’d given all of the waitstaff the day off with pay, but Sophia and I had a few last-minute orders to see to before we closed down for the holiday And I had so to do, because I still hadn’t decided on a present for Owen, and ti people their party orders, I kept one eye on the clock on the wall, counting down the hours until my visitor arrived Finally, three o’clock rolled around At onethe bell to chime, and she stepped into e My baby sister

She looked as cool and professional as ever in her long coat, sweater, jeans, and boots Her badge glinted a warun She stood in the doorway, as if she wasn’t quite sure what she was doing here That made two of us

Sophia and I both looked over at her Then the dwarf turned her flat, black eyes to runted in her broken voice, disappearing through the swinging doors to give us so, stepped around the counter, and approached ed, as though she didn’t trust herself to speak yet

I locked the front door behind her so ouldn’t be interrupted We settled ourselves at one of the booths next to the storefront s-the same booth that Jonah McAllister and Elektra LaFleur had sat in when they’d coh, the irony didn’t bother me Because LaFleur was dead, and I wasn’t

"Do you want anything to eat? So to drink?" I asked