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It’s only us, came a small voice in my mind, it’s just the two of us

I squeezed his hands "I know"

His attention see over to the other side of the roolimmer of sadness in his eyes, a real kind of pain, but just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by his usual confident expression

"You ready to try?"

I nodded "I proive up on me"

I was surprised when I felt his hands pull free frolide up my bare arms and overabout Clancy--the thing I was quickly co to terms with With him, I didn’t have to be afraid, not of what I could do intentionally or by mistake I didn’t have to throw up every defense I possessed to keephands still, because Clancy wasprecious, sole ht then, not the way I was

Clancy leaned forward to begin his work I leaned forward, too, right up against his chest, where it arm and smelled of pine and old books and thousands of possibilities I had never known

I didn’t block him on the first try--I didn’t even block hi al memory in my head for me to finally throw up some kind of defense

"Think deeper," he toldyou wouldn’t want anyone else to know Those est defenses"

There wasn’t anything left that he hadn’t already seen I swear, the kid could have been a brain surgeon for how sharp and accurate his pokes and prods were Every tiht and tried to put an invisible wall around it, my defenses cruet frustrated

"You can do this," Clancy kept repeating, "I know you can You’re capable of ering for some kind of juicy memory that finally produced my first actual result

"Does it have to be a memory?" I asked

He see else this ti tricks, but his face suddenly appearedyou want Or…someone?"