Page 15 (1/2)

Bria followed ave her a tour of the first floor and told her to make herself at home My sister didn’t sayeither She exa on the orn, comfortable furniture and all the odd knickknacks that Fletcher had collected Her face was blank, closed off, and I couldn’t tell what conclusions, if any, that she’d drawn

We wound up in the back of the house in the den, the rooht whenever I couldn’t sleep and there was soht and the bounty on my sister’s head

I plopped down on the old, plaid sofa and laidit from side to side to loosen the stiff, tension-filled muscles in my neck Bria didn’t sit down next to me Instead, she walked to the s that rested there Three of the drawings were for an art class that I’d taken at Ashland Conment had been to sketch a series of runes, all with a connected theme

I’d drawn the runes ofon the mantel was a snowflake, our mother, Eira’s, rune, the sy ivy vine representing elegance, and our older sister, Annabella Bria’s rune, the prih ant as the silverstone medallion that she wore around her neck

The fourth picture was a bit unusual It wasn’t a true rune, not like the others Instead, the draas of theoutside the entrance to the Pork Pit An exact rendering of it, right down to the full, heavy platter of food the pig was holding The barbecue restaurant and Fletcher were one and the same to me After the old man’s murder, I’d decided to honor him the sa

Briafro to stare at them all I couldn’t see her face, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to I didn’t know that I wanted to see the e, and aching regret The feelings already tightenedme from the inside out

"I alondered if you remembered me," Bria whispered "If you reht about theht If you ever missed them as much as I did If you ever missed me as much as I missed you"

She turned to look ather pretty face like ugly bruises Only these ounds that would never fade, because I carried the scars with ht on my torn, tattered heart

"You reht about them just as much as I did"

I tried to set?"

How could anyone forget what had happened that night? Watching my mother and Annabella disappear into balls of ele down at their ashy re not to vo I’d ever forget, but I didn’t tell Bria that She had her own horrible h As terrible as that night had been, as much as it had scarred me on the inside and out, as much as it had shapedthat I could do about it Meood, and weepy sentiment was for fools too weak to suck it up and do what needed to be done

Whatsoh to Mab to turn the Fire elemental into a pincushion withthe people that I loved That’s what I had to focus on right now

"Co day Let’s get you cleaned up, and then I’ll show you where your bedrooht in a room down the hall, I took a hot shower to wash Jenkins’s blood offand let out another sigh, resigned to as going to happen now

Ever since Fletcher’sdreaht The ies weren’t so ht, I couldn’t stop the drea up to the surface of ht was no exception Even as I feltunder into sluan to flash in front of my eyes

The sound woke ainst my temple like a cold washcloth I concentrated on the sound, staring into the blackness that cloaked my bed After a moment, I realized that it was the stone of ourhad upset it The stones whispered all aroundlouder, sharper, and er danger

I frowned Danger? Here?

I slid out of my soft, warm bed, threw on a fleece robe, and stuffed my bare feet into my favorite blue slippers Then I eased open the door and peeked outside S see But I couldn’t shake the dread that the element had stirred in me

My nose twitched, and I realized that the faintest scent of s in the air I drew in another breath, and the scent intensified, taking on a harsher, bitter stench Was the house on fire? That would certainly be enough to upset the stones

A bit of white fluttered at the end of the hallway, and I stuck my head farther outside my door Annabella, , iron banister that overlooked therooers hung off the railing like jagged, misshapen teeth, and my sister’s cold breath frosted in the air, then fluttered to the floor in a shower of snowflakes Even at eighteen, Annabella’swhenever she was angry or emotional I wondered what had bothered her so

"Annabella?" I whispered

Her head snapped around to me "Get back in your room, Genevieve!"

Her sharp, hissed tone h I’d so stones But instead of doing as she asked, I hurried toward her A sudden crack unshot?

My legs wobbled, and I fell to my knees beside Annabella She had the same beautiful blond hair and blue eyes as our , white nightgown

"What’s wrong?" I whispered