Page 155 of Harnessed in Gold
There’s a sea of torment in his eyes. “I’m sorry, little psychic.”
Unable to contain the tears, I sniffle as I shake my head. “Don’t be. You saved my life.”
His only answer is a grimace of a smile. He turns and walks off, his strides purposeful and swift. Leo grabs my hand, holding me back until Rime and the bracelet are a safe distance away, then we follow his path into the woods.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
On the walkback to Avery’s, I keep my eyes on the ground and my hand in Leo’s. I’m safe from the bracelet, at least for the time being. Rime is so far ahead of us, he’s no longer visible. But that means he’s also no longer available. It’s up to Leo and me to defend ourselves should we have to.
Downtown, I cower under my hood and grind my teeth, waiting to be accosted by Burdock and Juniper. Would they mercilessly take out innocent Subworlders to get to us? Can Leo fight with so few tall trees around? Will I have to help him push roots up through the asphalt and concrete?
Neither Leo nor I breathe until we cross the threshold of Avery’s front door. Rime is there, still working his feet out of his muddy boots, while Avery, Aaron, and Liv hover on the edge of the living room, talking and watching. One look at me and Liv goes sheet-white. I don’t need a mirror to see what a horrific sight I am, it’s written all over her face. I expect her to recoil, but instead she rushes to me, chin and lips moving, but no words coming out of her mouth.
“I’m okay,” I assure her, resisting her hug but letting her take my hands.
“You’re freezing,” she says, tears collecting on her lashes. She snatches Leo’s hands next, silently thanking him with her eyes.
Normally stoic Aaron flinches in sympathy when I push back my hood and reveal the blood crusted in my hair. “Rime told us what happened,” he says.
Leo scans the room. “No sign of Topaz?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“Where’s the bracelet?” I ask, already feeling the claws of Ember’s energy.
Avery jerks her head toward the kitchen. “In the freezer.”
A laugh burbles out of me. I’m pretty sure I’m coming unglued.
“Hey, it’s worth a try,” she says with a shrug. “I use the freezer all the time for spells. It slows down or stops unwanted energies.”
Not a half-bad idea. I just hope freezing it will keep it from corrupting her food.
Leo takes my hand. “Can you feel it?”
“Yeah, but I can harness.” He needs to conserve his energy, because in the warm light of Avery’s living-room lamps, I have a full view of what I couldn’t see in the dark: Rime is covered in bruises, scratches, and bites. I point to him, delaying Leo from healing my torn-up hands. “Heal Rime.”
Neither man argues with me. Rime takes a seat right there on the floor by the coatrack and lets Leo do his work, his pale lashes fluttering in relief as his scratches and bruises vanish and his teeth-torn skin knits together. Interestingly, Leo avoids the dagger cut on Rime’s middle finger. Nor does Rime ask him to heal it. It’s his penance, I realize. A tribute to the dead and a restoration of nature’s balance. Topaz must’ve done the same ritual over the bodies of the coyotes she killed, and now she wears the Hello Kitty bandaids as her atonement.
When Leo finishes, Avery orders him and me to the shower. “I’ll make you some tea.”
Rime stands and boldly declares, “As soon as Topaz gets back, we’re leaving.”
Leo whirls on him. “What? No. We can’t just go running off without a plan.”
“Nowis the plan,” Rime snaps. “Burdock and Juniper don’t even know we have the damn thing. It’s time to take it and run.”
My stomach sinks. Now’s the time togo on the lam.
Without me.
“Run where?” Leo demands.
“Anywhere!” Rime growls. “Anywhere away from here. We get in the car and drive—north, south, east, west.” He points in random directions that I’m pretty sure are way off target. “What the fuck does it matter?”
“It matters a hell of a lot if we’re not driving toward a ley line! It matters if we have no place to sleep or?—”
“We don’t have time to sleep!”
