Page 65 (1/2)

I gasped as I felt soood settle over me like a full body cloak It drapedinto old Still, I kept my eyes closed because I’d learned recently how clear a lack of visual distractions kepta s from within, ancient and calm and watchful and as essential to the universe as any of those stars above me My head whipped back,

I opened , translucent, ethereal, ment Not a favorable one

I said si in me and Queen Aoibheal chose me to be her successor I did battle with the entity known as the Sinsar Dubh and won The True Race is in danger of extinction I will do everything in ust close then It entered h it was instinct to want to resist--especially after what the Book had done toThis sentience was nonthreatening It felt vast and wise, gentle and pure It gusted throughno corner untouched by its soft tendrils I felt as if it was probing into the funda every component of every belief I held and every action I’d reat evil

There was nothing left in me but honesty I couldn’t have lied if I’d wanted to I offered it rief "I did," I answered sadly

Why?

Another trick question An evil book made me do it displayed blame-displacement and weakness; I was possessed and not myself" displayed a lack of personal responsibility, and yet more weakness "Because I ely nuanced sorrow I’d never felt before There was a difference between being sad and feeling sorrow Sad was about yourself Sorroas big as the world and encoain?

I answered without hesitation "No I suspect I’ll make entirely new ones And carry the pain of those, too"

I felt as if the thing inside me smiled Then it is yours As are the Tuatha De Danann Guide the sensation and I felt the crate beneath my butt

I was back in the bookstore, head still inat the suddenness of the transition, pained by my abrupt eviction from the starry-skied paradise and loss of coateddeeply, I raised my head

Barrons Books & Baubles looked exactly like it had the day I’d first stepped inside it

Late afternoon sunshine slanted in the front s of the bookstore, spilling across the back of the Chesterfield, war my shoulders I nibbled on the tip of my pen and scanned my list

WORLD GOALS: (NOT IN ORDER)