ear, the heat from his breath in my ear causes my pelvis to launch in his direction as if she were saying, " Hey stupid, you're going the wrong way, turn this ship around ." I didn’t even realize I was crying and really didn’t know why. I hate this. I hate how warped my mind is right now.
"Elijah, I'm so sorry this happened to us. I've ruined your life. I'm going to get you out of this. I promise." He presses a finger over my lips and shakes his head.
"No Brennen, this is not your fault. I chose this, and I accept my punishment. I deserve this and worse for renouncing my creator, for letting you ever get taken in the first place and for not getting rid of Nehemiah sooner."
"No Elijah, I did this. If we would have just listened to Nehemiah in the first place none of this would have happened. You kissed me , and my whole world took a different path. My mother says now I am back on that path. She's going to read the Oracle from now on."
"There is something she needs to know. Something that Nehemiah showed me just before I captured him."
"What Elijah?"
"I don't know if it's changed now or not. But she'll know it when she sees it."
He offers a warm smile and I can see how easily I must have fallen for him. He begins to fade away with the steam, his sapphire eyes dissipating lastly, as if the moist air had swallowed him up whole.
"Good bye Elijah." I glance down and finally remember what little clothing I'm wearing. Heat singes my body from the embarrassment. I eye the old looking book on the counter and wonder what is inside but I’m too afraid to open it. I’ve already exceeded the amount of knowledge one person can render in one day.
I slip into the shower without rousing a single suspicion. Part of me wonders how competent my two guardians are. What if I’d been in danger? How did Elijah pop into the room without alerting them at all? What’s in this book he left me? Part of me is afraid to open it. The naive teen in me can’t wait to get her greedy hands on it. I ease back into the room and notice Elena right where I left her, perched atop my dresser.
“So did your talk go as you had hoped?” She slithers out. I freeze mid-stride turning all shades of beet.
“Um I guess so. So you knew he was in there with me?”
“What kind of fool do you take me for Brennen? I told him he could have five minutes alone with you and if anything happened, a lead spirit-trap had his name on it. What, did you think, you’d snuck one past us?” She gleams out a dark smile. I’m left standing there stunned for a moment. Something tells me I’d better never get on Elena’s bad side.
"Easy Elena, you must realize how difficult this is for her?" Inara coaxes , attempting to simmer the boiling pot. Now I see why my mother put Inara here, not for added protection from Elijah or demons, no I believe she's here to prevent Elena from ripping my throat out.
My entourage and I find our way back to Sam's room. I knock quietly on his door at midnight, and slip inside when he eases the door open. Sam pulls me into his arms like he hasn't seen me in years. "I missed you."
He lays a kiss over me that should be reserved for soldiers coming home from war, and I leave his lips feeling breathless and intoxicated by him. He's changed into nothing but a pair of cotton pants and I slip off my robe and toss it over the big guys face by mistake. Shoot, sorry I wince. He booms out a laugh, and herds my two Keepers into the bathroom. Ah that’s better I sigh a long breath of relief.
"I missed you too. I don't want to think about how bad I'm going to miss you when you're gone."
"We still have the summer. By the end, you’ll be ready to ship me off to Texas in a freight box."
"Never, I m ay just have to move to Houston. What good is an Ivy League education when I won't be able to concentrate on anything but how many days until the next break?" He sinks down onto the bed and runs his hands along my waist. He looks as if he's giving