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The house’s front door flung itself open "Martell," Jilo’s voice thundered
The young man deflated at the sound of her voice "Ah, I was justwith her a bit, Gra that this was the great-grandson Jilo had helped escape fro ht around hi enough power to unbend the light She had confessed to iven her was to iven hiht "Nice to finally see you Now back off and let me talk to Jilo"
He hesitated, but Jilo called out "Let ’er in She a Taylor, and Taylors don’t understand the word ‘no’?" My eyes locked with Martell’s One last challenge, a warning that told randmother, and then he stepped aside
I opened the screen door and stepped into the darkened roohts were off The way Jilo had banished light see heat, and"Nohat the hell you want?" The question came to me from the room’s darkest corner The huers slid out of the shadow and switched it off
"I want to see you Make sure you are all right" I took a couple of steps toward her, but stopped, shocked at the sight She seemed to have shrunk somewhat, crumpled in on herself Her hair had turned a confrontation of steel and snoithout even a memory of the jet it had been only a few days before It appeared that the years she had ht
"You ain’t got to worry none about Jilo She just tired She tired of silly people and they silly desires The way they so lazy that they coic, rather than tryin’ honesty and hard work to get what they want She tired of the diggin’ and she tired of the Hoodoo She don’t want the power no h tired of the Taylors," Jilo said, and then stopped herself "Jilo don’t et tired of her Mercy"
A lu cross-legged at her feet Her hand, cold and nearly leathery, reached forward and began to stroke my hair
"Tell me what happened, Jilo What really happened," I said
Silence settled between us for what seemed like several minutes "That damned uncle of yours" was all she said
"Oliver?" I asked, confused
"You got any others?" she asked, causing one, the list had indeed been whittled down to one
"What did he do to you?"
"Nothing," she said, "and then again, everything" She began hu my hair "Jilo saw it," she said finally "She saw the whole da"
"I don’t understand"
"Oh," she said shifting stiffly in her chair, "he ain’t meant to do nothin’ to Jilo, but he had Jilo stand there next to you in that tree of his Jilo didn’t see anything at first She just did what yo’ uncle told her to She sprayed the perfume She put the dirt in yo’ hand and poured the whiskey over it But she didn’t see nothing Not until she look in yo’ eyes And then she saw the whole thing Jilo’s entire life, it done flashed before her, just like she was dyin’ And Jilo saw She saw every single choice she le action Every single wrong Every single harm Jilo done saw herself fro Jilo saw the beast there waitin’ for her Just waitin’ there with it sharp teeth to gobble up her sinful heart It too late for Jilo, onna have to face up to that But she ain’t diggin’ herself no deeper Jilo’s done withto check in on Jilo, but I’d always thought of the old woranite and dipped in steel It hadn’t occurred toher more clearly now that ile, if not already broken I had to choose between coddling and tough love I decided on a delicate balance of both, starting with the latter "So you are planning to hole up here between now and death?"
She gave a sad cackle "That coirl"