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“It felt like freedom. Ultimate, supernatural freedom. I lived other people’s lives through their eyes, and I felt all their emotions. But you didn’t feel that, did you? What did you see?”
He didn’t answer. Just looked at me like he was afraid of me.
“Dune?”
“You changed.”
Dune
“You were three different people. At first, you just froze. Your face was expressionless.” Her irises had reflected the light pouring in through the windows, and she’d stopped blinking. I’d stepped back from her, and that’s when her feet left the ground. “Then the rip sucked you in. It was all around me, but I wasn’t part of it.”
Like I was the ghost, and the rip world was the reality.
“What else?” she prompted.
“Your facial features rearranged. When it happened outside Lafitte’s, it was one face. Today, it was three. A young girl with brown eyes. A blonde with a slightly crooked nose. An older woman with dark skin. You were three people in quick succession, and then, somehow, you were all three at once.”
She nodded and let out a shaky breath. “Sounds about right.”
“You pushed them back. The images from the room flowed into the hole in time, and the rips went in, too. And you were back.”
She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered.
“Hallie, look at me. You’re either cold or in shock. Let’s get you into something more comfortable.”
When she didn’t take advantage of the tease I’d set up, my stomach dropped. I grabbed her bag, unzipped it, and handed it over. She fished out a change of clothes, along with her brush and a makeup bag.
“Do you need help with anything?”
“No. Just … don’t move.” She disappeared into the bathroom. I heard running water and an electric toothbrush. A few moments later, she opened the door, wearing yoga pants and a tank top. Her face was clean, and she’d tied her hair in a knot on top of her head.
She picked up her sweater and slid her arms in. She sounded like she’d been screaming for hours. “You’re a good baby-sitter.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I was the Infinityglass, Dune.” She curled up on the couch, pulled the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands. “I made the rips go away. I sent them back. That has to be good, right?”
“I don’t know.” She’d floated and I’d watched the power pulsing through her. Nothing about it felt good. “It was a manifestation of the Infinityglass power. It overtook you, Hallie.”
“Then I’ll just figure out how to control it. Next time, I’ll know what to expect.” She dropped her head into her hands. “You’re looking at me like I scared you.”
“I’m scared for you. I know that letting me take care of you right now would be harder than taking care of yourself.” I touched her knee. “But …”
She looked up.
“Let me?” I asked.
I got my answer when she crawled into my arms.
Once she was asleep, I carried her to the bed and stepped out onto the gallery.
It was dark, and a mist hung just above the street. It was the quietest I’d ever heard New Orleans, but even the loudest couldn’t compete with the noise in my head. I used my phone to send an e-mail detailing what had happened in the ballroom. Then I sat down to wait, searching for the setting sun on the horizon.
Michael didn’t e-mail back. He called.
“When did you fall for her?” It was the first thing he said after I answered.
I couldn’t deny the relief. Out of everyone, I knew he’d understand.
