tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83151384143935385032024-03-04T20:40:12.342-08:00Things That Are Not And Should BeKristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-66713284315448714962018-04-30T12:15:00.000-07:002016-02-18T20:06:00.068-08:00Welcome to my fanfiction chamber :)<div style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span">Come on in, sit down, light a candle (but be careful of the books---we don't want a fire.)<br /><br />Here you will find my fanfiction from the 1987-1989 TV series "Beauty and the Beast" as well as fanfiction in other universes (once I get around to getting those posted.) Have some tea, relax and enjoy. And if I've written something that moves you---or even something that makes you scratch your head---let me know.<br /><br />I've written under a couple of pen names in my fanfic career--if you read anything by Roisin Fraser in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" fandom, that was me. In the "Beauty and the Beast," I write under the pen name of Aliset. The bottom line is, I enjoy writing about these characters and consider them the very best of comfortable friends. I hope you enjoy reading my stories about them too.<br /><br />Regarding the time-line of my "Beauty and the Beast" stories: the stories I write are Continuing Classic, which means the third season, 3S, The Season Which Shall Not Be Named, or however you wish to describe it, never happened.</span></div>
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<b>2/18/16: AACK. I can't believe it's been almost six months since I posted. :-O First of all, in reassurance to everyone who is still reading, "Inheritance" will be finished. It is not going on hiatus, nor is it going to be an abandoned WIP. I've had rather a lot of Real Life gunking up my fantasy life, but I'm doing my best to get back on a regular posting schedule. </b><br />
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<b>While you're waiting for my next chapter, please enjoy <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2016/02/heliotrope.html">this</a> story, which I wrote for last year's conzine. :-)</b></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">For Chan. May we all live as well and as fully.</span></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-61845546525294408322016-02-18T20:04:00.000-08:002016-02-18T20:04:26.403-08:00Heliotrope<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Heliotrope<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">by Aliset<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Summary: Heliotrope, from the
Greek for <i>sun-following. </i>Throughout the year, Vincent and Catherine
follow the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This story first appeared in the 2015 conzine <i>Somewhere I Have Never Travelled.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">–//--<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Winter<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine came down the stairs, avoiding the creak in the
ninth and fourth step that was louder in the winter. “Laurel's asleep?” Vincent
asked without opening his eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As always, her heart leapt at the sight of him stretched out
on the thick carpet, enjoying the rays of winter sunlight. It was brisk
outside; Catherine had felt the crunch of snow under her boots and been
grateful that he’d salted the sidewalk and front step the night before. Coming
into their home, reminded her---as Vincent himself did—that all winters ended.
His hair fanned out, gold against the crimson rug, like a living flame. “Yes,”
she replied. “And full too. She'll be down for a long while, I'd think. At
least a few hours.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Good,” Vincent murmured. “I tried to get her to nap but...”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine laughed. “Vincent, she was hungry. Not much you can
do there, when she won’t take a bottle.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“True,” he said. He rolled to one side. “Come here.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The central heat was on (not high, a concession to Vincent,
who found the constant heat oppressive,) and the sun-warmed carpet was soft
under her feet. She curled up next to him and wondered again what it must have
been like for him for so many years to have never felt the sun in his hair.
“You do realize you're bare-chested and it's winter outside and the curtains
are open,” she teased. “It's perfectly scandalous.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“To Father, perhaps,” Vincent agreed. “But I am precisely
where I wish to be.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Mmmmm,” she said, his breath warm at her neck. “You have
work on the maintenance crew tomorrow?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Yes. And probably for the next few days. The snows are
playing havoc with the water table and I expect far worse conditions than have
been reported.” There was the gentle scrape of his teeth along her shoulder.
“For now, though...”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine spared a brief thought for her back, for his, for
the window with its pulled-back curtains, even though their neighbors were dead
and not likely to complain...but the ghosting touch of his hands stilled all
thought. “Oh, yes,” she said, melting into his embrace. It had been so long...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“What does Peter say?” Vincent breathed into her ear. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She raked her nails along his thighs, felt him shiver. “He
says...everything is fine.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“How fine?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine sat up and pulled off her sweater, then the
turtleneck. But it was Vincent's hands that unhooked her bra. “<i>Very</i>
fine,” she replied dryly, exhaling in relief as her breasts slipped free. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Her hands went to the fraying button fly of his jeans. The
first button was altogether missing; the second too tight, strained by his
urgency. “Let me,” he murmured against the curve of her neck, her shoulder. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It felt new to Catherine, this dance between them, though of
course it wasn’t. And yet, were they not different people? She bore the marks
of changes---stretch marks along her belly, the burning tiredness that was a
constant companion now. Her body still felt alien to her, in ways she struggled
to define.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What must he think? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“You think too much,” Vincent said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> usual
complaint, and Catherine chuckled. “Maybe, but---” She glanced down at herself,
saw her breasts, which had grown heavier and fuller (and hadn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> been a total shock, after years of
barely needing to wear a bra?) “Do you mind?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent didn’t misunderstand, but then, he rarely
misunderstood anything. One clawed finger traced the edge of a stretch mark.
“You are beautiful,” he told her. “You could not ever be less so to me.” His
voice went raspier, as it did with strong emotion. “You have given life to our
child. You are a miracle, as she is.” He kissed the jagged edge of a stretch
mark on her left breast---one she’d seen and tried to ignore---and she felt the
curve of his lips as he smiled. “Against that, what are a few marks?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“How do you do that?” Catherine whispered against the broad
strength of his shoulder. “How do you…make me whole, time and again?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“You were never…broken, Catherine,” he told her. “Never.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She could have argued with him, reminded him (as if he needed
reminding) that there had been many, many times she would have shattered
without him, that he had healed her and renewed her and loved her in ways which
still seemed improbable compared to everything and everyone that had gone
before. But the current opening between them was too strong for words and her
world narrowed to just him, just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">them. </i>In
the moment before she willingly subsided into the current, she thought of the baby
sleeping upstairs. If she should wake and need her---<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Laurel’s fine,” Vincent said, answering her unspoken
thought. “Come to me, now. Let me love you in the sunshine.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Spring<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Renata looked up from the diagram, laid out flat on one of
her nursery’s tables. “Do you think it can be done?” Catherine asked. “I know
there’s not a lot of time to get things planted but---” she smiled “---you know
why it’s necessary.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I do,” Renata replied with a smile of her own. “After all,
you can’t really wait for a long growing season; you’ll need that extra measure
of security sooner rather than later.” She glanced out at the sketch Catherine
had drawn, a layout of their back garden. “Buying full-size trees
though…Catherine, that’s not going to be cheap.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine bit her lip. “Vincent…wants Laurel to see sunshine.
Whatever I can do to give that to them…” She didn’t mention---because there was
no need---that their brownstone, though largely safe and secure, was still in
the flight path of countless aircraft every day. She shuddered, remembering an
old woman with a telescope, and what could happen now that there was so much
more to lose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Renata’s worn, gnarled hands (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and did the woman have literal green thumbs?</i> Catherine wondered)
clasped her own. “I know. There’s not a person below who doesn’t want that for
them. Let me see what I can come up with, okay? I have some contacts with
landscapers…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Long years of acquaintance with Devin had given Vincent a
certain sixth sense when it came to sensing when people were plotting.
Catherine certainly was; she had taken to spending at least part of every
evening in the community’s library, raiding it for books she would not allow
him to see. He also didn’t mention the scent of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">green-earth-tea-plants </i>which clung to her now, no matter how
carefully she thought she washed her hands. And then there was Father, who kept
suggesting maintenance checks which would keep him away from the tunnels---and
from his home Above---for the last days of May. Never mind that his absence
would have forced the older man to step back into the leadership role he’d
retired from only the year previously---Father was most insistent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I wonder what’s going on,” Vincent asked Cullen during
routine patrols one night. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Seriously?” Cullen asked. “Your wife is up to something. And
she’s gotten Father’s help.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I’d figured that out myself,” Vincent replied dryly. “But I
do wonder what she’s up to.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cullen clapped him on the shoulder. “Hell, man, if you don’t
know, the rest of us sure wouldn’t. Take that trip Father wants you on, and I
bet you’ll know soon enough.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was sound advice, and Vincent would have listened, but
Laurel was just a baby and he was loathe to leave her. Still, if Catherine had
a hand in this planning…they would be fine. And it could do no harm to let
things play out for a few days. He had a sudden vivid memory of Devin, stomping
around in their chamber, a broken pipe clamped between his lips and a ragged,
too-large cap pulled over his hair, muttering, “The game is afoot, Watson!” And
heard his own laughter, playing Watson to Devin’s Holmes as they hunted for the
picture of Irene Adler…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“So what are you going to do?” Cullen asked, breaking into
his thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The ghost of that long-ago child was still somewhere inside
him, fairly bouncing with anticipation. “As you say,” Vincent replied with a
smile, “I’m going to be taking a trip at the end of May.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine stood, automatically bracing a hand to Laurel’s
back in her carrier, and brushed the dirt off her jeans. Her straw
hat—something Vincent had found God knew where---flopped back onto her
shoulders. “Well,” she asked Renata, “what do you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Renata touched the leafy green sprawl of a tomato plant.
“You’ve done wonders with the garden, Catherine.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She laughed. “Not without a lot of your help. Until you
showed me how to do this, I hadn’t ever grown anything larger than our
rosebush.” A sudden jolt went through her at the thought of that rosebush, the
night on her balcony when Vincent had finally---if entirely
unintentionally---let his desire show. The thought led to others…the wooded
grove in Connecticut…With a start, Catherine realized Renata was observing her,
and felt the heat rise on her neck.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Renata chuckled, a slightly wicked sound. “I…see. Well, you
know, some things…thrive very well in shade too. In fact, the more shade, the
better.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“No doubt,” Catherine replied, matching the older woman’s dry
tone. “Have you heard from any of the landscapers yet?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Just the one so far---DCW Landscaping,” Renata told her. “Some
of the others said it was ‘too small a job.’ They were probably thinking of the
usual brownstone postage stamp garden, not what you have here.” She shrugged. “Their
loss. There’s so much potential here, Catherine. Even though it’s mostly empty
now, you can see where beauty will grow again, given some time and care.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Like the tunnels,” Catherine observed, thinking of ten days
in April.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Just so,” Renata agreed with a pleased smile. She pulled out
a business card. “This is their business card. They’ll be calling to set up a
meeting to go over their proposal. If you’d like me to be there, I can be,
because---” and she made air quotes with her fingers “---your husband is ‘away
on business’ so often.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Thank you, I would appreciate that,” Catherine replied. “I
just hope they can get everything in and planted while Vincent is gone.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine eyed the clock uncertainly as she fed the baby.
Vincent had left just after dawn, and Angus, working sentry duty, had promised
to alert her the moment he and the others went beyond the perimeter. Cullen had
promised to keep him busy with the small, but ultimately harmless, leaks Mouse
had created. And Marisol would be at the brownstone in a few moments to keep an
eye on Laurel as the first of the trees and flowers arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a thump on the basement door, and she tensed.
Marisol might come that way, but with young Benjamin in tow, she had announced
she much preferred to walk in the sunshine of a New York spring, and would be
arriving via the front door. Renata would come the same way, so who could it
be? She settled Laurel on her hip and walked down the short staircase leading
into their basement. She rapped out a short code on the wooden door—the
standard tunnel greeting---and received a hesitant reply in response? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hesitant? Surely no one who would come to
this door would sound so uncertain…</i>Catherine swallowed hard. Her gun was
upstairs in the nightstand, the ammunition stowed in a hidden compartment in
the downstairs closet. Laurel clutched her shirt---picking up her fear,
Catherine thought. She rubbed the baby’s back soothingly. “Who is it?” she
called out and slowly unlatched the speakeasy window in the door.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Well, hello, sis!” Devin announced, the scars on his cheek
standing out in stark relief in the basement light. “Did you miss me?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Devin?” Catherine asked in shock, opening the door. “What…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i>…what are you doing here?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He grinned, and she abruptly noticed the cap on his head.
“DCW Landscaping. Devin…Charles…Wells?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“One and the same, Chandler,” Devin replied. “Didn’t Renata
tell you?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She shook her head. “Will wonders never cease. I thought you
were driving book bus at the library?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I was,” Devin told her, “but try doing that job when you’re
supporting a family. So I got on with a landscaping place in town and when the
owner wanted to retire, I took it over. I think I was the first one Renata
called for an estimate.” He shrugged. “Can I come in at least?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Oh, yes, sorry!” Catherine said. “Come on in, please. Did
you want anything to drink?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Coffee, if you have it,” Devin replied. “It was a long drive
this morning.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He studied the baby in
her arms. “So this is Vincent’s daughter?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Charles had been sick at Laurel’s naming ceremony in January,
Catherine remembered. She handed the baby to him and Laurel grinned a
gap-toothed drooling smile. “Come on, Uncle Devin, meet your niece.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“She’s lovely,” Devin said. “A bit cuter than Fuzz was at
that same age and that’s saying something. You’ll be beating them off with
sticks when she’s older.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine smiled, suddenly and absurdly grateful for Devin’s
ease with her daughter. He regarded her just as he would any other child, as he
had always seen Vincent as his brother. “I think anyone who’s brave enough to
make it past Vincent will be good enough for her.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Devin chuckled. “He is…imposing at the best of times, true.”
He glanced outside the window leading into their back yard. “So, if I remember
the manifest right, the trees should be here in an hour. You’ve got some
Quaking Aspen, a few Red Maple Trees, and some Norway Maple. Good
choices---fast growing trees for a lot of privacy.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She handed him a cup of coffee, black like he liked it. “And
we’ve got all the necessary permits.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“And you’ve alerted the neighbors?” Devin asked. “It’s going
to be noisy, getting the trees in.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine laughed. Of course, he wouldn’t have noticed…
“Devin, on the other side of that wall is a cemetery. If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> complain, we’ll stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent trudged up the last few steps to their basement
entrance. He was tired, splattered with mud and just the tiniest bit uneasy.
The leaks had sprung from nowhere, even in places where leaks shouldn’t have
been (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and why was I the only person
surprised by that?</i> he wondered. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cullen
and Mouse hadn’t seemed at all concerned…</i>) It was mid-afternoon and he had
no further thoughts than a hot shower and lunch with his wife and baby. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He paused, drawing in a breath. Devin had been here. Here, on
these steps. At one time his scent of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">books-mischief-coffee-brother
</i>had infused everything in Vincent’s chamber. Before he could open the door,
Catherine opened it for him. “Come on in, love,” she said. He opened his mouth
and then closed it. She was wearing the white gown she’d worn at Winterfest, a
dress she saved only for the most special of occasions. What on earth was going
on?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He entered his home to find Marisol, Father and Devin in his
living room. Benjamin was rolling a ball back and forth to Laurel and cackling
with glee when she rolled it back to him. “Hello, everyone,” Vincent said,
mystified, “what seems to be the occasion?” The room was darker, he noticed;
Catherine had drawn the curtains over the window leading to their back yard. Which
was odd enough in itself; she almost never drew them closed, loving the natural
light <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine took his hand. “Go upstairs and change, but don’t
look outside. Promise?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would promise you the moon and the stars</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, he thought fondly, and saw her
answering smile. “Very well. I’ll be down shortly, then.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He returned downstairs to find all of them smiling at him,
and the current of happiness and joy was almost strong enough to touch. Catherine
held out her hand and let him to the entrance to their back yard. “Go outside,”
she urged softly, placing their baby in his arms. “Go, and take Laurel with
you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“It’s daylight,” he said, old fears rising anew. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You must not be seen</i> warring with the
intense desire to do precisely as she said; Catherine was his wife, his life
and she would not risk either of them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Father’s mouth worked for a bit. “It’s…safe, Vincent. You can
go outside.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Devin’s voice was suspiciously raspy. “Yeah, you can. Go on,
Fuzz.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Laurel cooed happily as he turned the brass knob on the old
door. It creaked obligingly, and he stepped out into sunshine. Sunshine…and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shade.</i> There were trees everywhere, all
along the borders of their yard, overarching, casting enough shadow that he…and
Laurel…would never be seen. The colors---brilliant yellow, crimson, and green
against a cloudless blue sky---almost blinded him in their brightness.
“Catherine,” he managed, once words came back to him, “what did you do?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She was beside him, of course, his partner, his mate. “It
wasn’t just me. I had… a lot of help.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Her garden, the one she’d started with Renata, rested against
the far wall. Laurel would help her there one day, Vincent knew, would dig in
the mud and make a glorious mess, all because Catherine had arranged it so she
might experience life as other children did. “What do you think?” his wife
asked. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“There are no words,” he said, and drew her close, breathing
in the sunshine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Summer<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Summer in NYC was a hot mess, as Edie had said on one of her
rare visits back, and Catherine couldn’t disagree with her. It was humid and
hot and everyone’s tempers were frayed and short, making an already-surly
citizenry much more likely to solve its problems with fists or knives or guns,
and her caseload had increased dramatically as a result. Four arraignments this
afternoon, another three the next day…Capping it all off, the air conditioner
for the Criminal Courts building had suddenly quit, leaving everyone in
court—even the usually unflappable judges—damp and wilted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
silk of her blouse stuck fast to her back; sweat slowly dampened the fine hairs
at her hairline. Catherine dug in the folds of her purse, hunting for her keys;
she knew Vincent would be Below where it was much cooler, and it would take
very little time before she could join him. As her key turned in the lock, she
heard a muted <i>snick</i> from the other side of the door, and felt again the <i>warmth-safety-home</i>
feeling that was her sense of Vincent when he was in the brownstone. He was
above then, at home—but why, in this heat? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine
opened the door and closed it quickly behind her. “I’m here,” Vincent murmured
from out of the shadows, embracing her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
wore no shirt, she noticed, the soft strands of his hair a roughened silk under
her hands. “So I see, love,” Catherine replied, placing her briefcase and purse
nearest the door. “But…why are you above? It must be 80 degrees in here.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent
nodded. “83 by the thermostat. Matthew called, said he’d made contact with an
HVAC repairman who will be here tomorrow. And Laurel is below with the other
children.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sweat
coated the back of Catherine’s neck. “Good news, then. She’d be miserable up
here. But why are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> here? Wouldn’t
you be more…comfortable Below?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
shrugged, and she could see the small beads of sweat as they traveled down the
strong column of his neck. Catherine looked away briefly, overcome by a sudden
urge to taste that moisture. Vincent’s eyes widened slightly, but his voice was
even as ever as he continued, “The heat has made people…cranky below.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I
didn’t think the temperature would ever change much,” she observed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“No,”
Vincent replied, “but there are times…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The lines around his eyes were tight and strained, a sure
sign of a headache and suddenly she understood—he had come above, despite the
heat, because this place…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their home</i>…was
far calmer. “Oh, all right,” she said. “Look, I’m going to open the back door
to let some air in here. And I think we have a fan or two in the basement.” She
tilted her head, wondering if she should retrieve Laurel after all. “Is it hot
at all in the tunnels?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“A few degrees warmer,” Vincent said, as he lifted the heavy
mass of his hair off his neck, “but not as bad as this.” He smiled, easily
reading her concern. “I talked to Mary before I came up here and she said
Laurel’s fine---she’s with the other children down by the Mirror Pool.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine could picture them in her mind’s eye, splishing and
splashing in the cool waters. “Smart of her. We’ll let Laurel stay there for a
bit, at least until it cools off this evening.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She glanced outside where the interlaced arching branches of the
trees in their back yard formed a shady path. “Have you eaten yet?” she asked.
She almost knew the answer before she asked; Vincent, when mentally stressed
and headachy, tended not to eat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He shook his head. “No, I---” He gazed at her, an assessing
look. “Catherine, what are you thinking?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine began unbuttoning the buttons of her blouse. “Can
you get some sandwiches made up while I change out of these clothes?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent blinked, looking like nothing so much as a bemused
blue-eyed lion. “I suppose, but---”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She stood on tiptoe to kiss him and it didn’t escape her
attention that his breath stuttered the moment her bra brushed his bare chest.
“Good. I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent dug through the refrigerator, an ear attuned to both
the radiator’s rattling pipecode and the sounds of movement upstairs. He
reached out mentally along the connection he had with Laurel and sensed nothing
but the drowsy contentment of a full belly and a dry diaper. She, at least, was
not being affected by this heat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He sliced the bread, meat and the cheese for their sandwiches
almost automatically, and found a pitcher of lemonade. He turned his head at the
sound of Catherine’s even steps, the creak in the stairs, and his breath
completely left him at what he saw. She held an old folded blanket in her arms
and nothing else. “I was thinking we could have a picnic outside,” Catherine
announced, as easily as if she walked naked in their living room every day of
the week. “There’s a breeze now, but it’ll be a while before it cools off in
here. What do you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The low thunder of a headache that had plagued him all day
(along with 1001 annoyances) began to dissipate. He was hungry, yes, but not
only for food. “I think…that sounds just fine,” he managed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Good,” she said, smiling brightly. “Shall we go outside?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When Vincent thought about that afternoon later on, he
couldn’t remember the taste of the sandwiches or the chilling bite of the
lemonade. What he did recall, though, was the sunlight shining through the
leaves, casting dappled shadows on Catherine’s bare skin as she breathed. She
kept up a light patter of conversation about her day, her cases, and what
happened when the air conditioning shut off (“Joe threatened to come to work
tomorrow in a hula skirt, can you imagine?”) and while one part of his brain
tracked everything she was saying, another---and far more primitive part---wondered
what sunlight would taste like on her skin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Vincent,” Catherine said gently, “you seem a bit…distracted,
love. Are you all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was said in all innocence, but the undercurrent of
mischief flowing through their bond told an entirely different story. “I’m
feeling a bit warm,” he managed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“You’re clearly overdressed for this heat,” Catherine
replied. “Did you…want some help?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In one of their early days as lovers, she had been thwarted by
the knots and ties and fastenings of tunnel clothing and during a heated
moment, she had growled slightly in frustration. The thought of her---<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his Catherine</i>---doing something so
primitive had proved unexpectedly arousing. “I’m already shirtless,” he said
dryly. “What else do you think I need help with?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It never failed to astonish him the ease with which she
approached him, as if he was not eternally something…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other. </i>Her hands went to the worn fabric of his jeans and tugged at
the button fly. “Well, this is…harder than I thought,” she fairly purred and he
chuckled.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent wound a clawed hand through the softness of her hair,
drawing her closer. “What did you expect, my temptress?” Her breasts rose
against his chest again and he saw the faint rose tinge begin to spread across
her skin. With a last determined tug, the button fly opened and they separated
so Vincent could kick his jeans off. He drew her down onto the blanket beside
him, grateful again for the high walls that surrounded the back yard, the trees
that guarded and protected them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A thirsty, greedy moan emerged from Catherine as their lips
touched; Vincent felt its echo in his answering rumble. Her skin…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ah, her skin...</i>so very soft under his
calloused hand, so familiar and yet, so new. There was a patch of sunlight on the
round satin globe of her breasts…and it tasted of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her (wife-woman-mate-mother</i>,) of salt and the tang of her arousal,
made stronger by the heat of the day. Her hands wound in his hair, clasped his
shoulders---a none-too-subtle signal. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now.
I need. Now.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Something wild and ancient in his own soul rose to answer her
call and their bond enveloped them as she rose against him, claiming him as he
claimed her.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">***</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fall<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent stared out the back window at the carpet of leaves
covering their lawn---red, green, gold---and the fainter brown hues of the
dying leaves. Winter would be here soon, he mused, but until then, the leaves
really should be swept up for the compost heap….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He started when he heard the phone ring. Catherine didn’t
receive many phone calls during her working hours and there were virtually none
that he would answer anyway, in keeping with his cover of “being away on
business.” But he turned from the window and walked into the kitchen
regardless. If it was an emergency, he’d need to call her at work. To his
surprise, it was Peter’s voice on the answering machine. “Vincent, if you’re
there, please pick up the phone.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There was no mistaking the alarm in the older man’s voice.
“Peter,” Vincent said into the receiver. “What’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peter breathed out. “Catherine collapsed at work. I only just
managed to convince her boss not to call the ambulance by agreeing to take her
home and make sure she rested.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Is she---?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“She’s going to be fine,” Peter assured him. “Stay there,
I’ll be over in a few minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Thank you,” Vincent replied, and hung up the phone. He felt
suddenly adrift. His wife had been ill and he had sensed nothing at all. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a cry from the upstairs bedroom---Laurel, waking
from her nap. He walked upstairs and saw their daughter, hair mussed in a
thousand directions, face crumpling into a full-blown wail. He picked her up
and felt her relax against him, the gentle wave of her emotions flowing through
their own unique bond. “I know, little one,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m
worried too.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine was wan and tired as Peter guided her into the
house. “I’ll be fine,” she said as she sat at the couch. “Really, it was
nothing---”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peter shook his head. “Don’t kid a kidder, Cathy.” He handed
her a bottle of water and took the plate of sandwiches Vincent had placed on
the coffee table. “Now eat all that. You’ve been working too hard and not
taking care of yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent couldn’t argue with the assessment. Catherine had
just finished a major trial, only to be plunged into another one when one of
her co-workers had gone out for emergency surgery and the judge and defense
counsel refused to agree to a continuance. The result had been many, many late
nights and times when she had arrived home in time to put Laurel to bed and eat
dinner, then stay up another few hours (or all night; Vincent was a night owl
himself and knew the signs) and return to work early to start it all over
again. It was Catherine’s usual pattern during trials and he had long ago accepted
that he couldn’t force her to rest or eat, but the duration of this was
something foreign to his experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Laurel, sitting between them, crawled into her mother’s lap
and patted her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was, somehow, an
anxious gesture. “Mama.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine drew her close. “Hi, baby. I’m here.” Laurel kept patting
her face, her hair, as if needing the reassurance and Catherine just held her
tighter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peter stood. “I’m taking you off work until Monday.”
Catherine opened her mouth to say something, but Peter held up a forestalling
hand. “I’m your doctor, Cathy. Don’t argue, or it’ll be a three days in the
hospital.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She glared at him over Laurel’s bent head. “You wouldn’t.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peter returned her look with one of his own. “I’m your friend
too. Don’t think I wouldn’t. It’s Friday now; I’ll come check on you on Sunday.
If you’re not doing better…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For a time, Vincent was silent, aside from the sounds of his
puttering in the kitchen. Catherine leaned against the couch cushions and
watched as Laurel babbled contentedly in the evening light. “I should get her
ready for bed---” she began, but Vincent’s forceful voice stopped her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“No. Sit there. Rest. I’ll take care of Laurel,” he insisted.
There was a tremor in his voice; Catherine was sure no one else but her would
have heard it. Their bond, normally a living, vibrant current between them, was
thin and somehow…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halted. </i>He was
worried, and afraid, and trying desperately to keep those untamed feelings from
touching her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“All right,” she replied, subsiding. “Vincent, I---”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">His eyes were a darker blue in the low light. “I know,” he
said softly. “We’ll talk when she’s in bed.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine nodded. She kissed Laurel goodnight and then leaned
against the softness of the couch, finding herself drowsy for the first time in
weeks. If she closed her eyes for just a moment….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Catherine?” Vincent said softly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She opened her eyes. “What? I…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “I didn’t want to wake
you, but…maybe you’d be more comfortable upstairs?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Catherine stretched and yawned, feeling the start of a kink
in her neck. “I can’t argue with you there.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Once inside, Vincent guided her to the edge of their bed and
sat down next to her. The bed creaked a bit with his added weight. He stared
down at their joined hands and then gazed at her steadily. “Tell me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was an old, old phrase from the very beginnings of their
relationship and Catherine felt her eyes tear up at all the
undercurrents---fear, worry, heartache---she heard in his voice. “I---”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I know something is wrong,” Vincent went on and his voice,
though soft, was insistent. He would not be delayed or denied. “Tell me,
please.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All the words she wanted to say were a jumbled mess, photos
and crime scene reports and terrified phone calls tumbling over each other in
her mind. “I…I don’t think I can do this anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent tilted his head. “Your work?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She was glad he hadn’t misinterpreted what she’d said. “I go
to work and I see things, things I just can’t forget when I come home. And I’ve
seen…too much lately.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent bent his head to hers and she knew he was thinking of
her last few trials---domestic abuse, murder, sexual assault. “It takes a heavy
toll,” he said, and who knew better? His voice was nearly as soft as her
heartbeat. “You didn’t tell me. You shut our bond down---I didn’t even feel it
when you collapsed, Catherine. Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“You’ve seen enough,” Catherine said. “You didn’t need to see
this.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He shook his head and the heavy hair fell around his face,
veiling his expression. “I’ve seen it, yes, but that doesn’t mean I want to
be…shut out from your pain.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She nodded. “It was stupid, I know, but…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“No.” He laughed, a short dry chuff. “Isn’t this a different
turn of events? You trying to protect me?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">From somewhere, Catherine found an answering spark of humor.
“I just thought it was my turn.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The next morning, Vincent roused at dawn. Catherine’s side of
the bed was empty and just as panic began to rise, he saw her standing by the
stained glass window, wearing nothing but a smile and sunshine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hair flowed, loose and gold, down her
back and he tried---and failed---to still the instinctive urge to bury his face
in the strands. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“And good morning to you too,” Catherine murmured, leaning
against him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She was all softness and steel, deceptively fragile---a
strong woman who would bend, but never break. “Have you…thought about what
you’re going to do?” he asked, breathing in her scent. It was…different,
somehow. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Changed.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“My last trial goes to the jury on Monday. After that…” she
shrugged and drew his hand to the plane of her still-flat belly. “Life has a
way of deciding for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For a moment, he stopped breathing. “Are you…sure?” he asked,
but of course she was. Her beaming smile, reflected in the glass, told him as
much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“That was the other thing,” Catherine replied, turning to
face him. “How could I be…creating life when I was surrounded by so much death
and heartache? I think…this is a sign, that it’s time for me to get out and do
something else before I burn out completely. There are other units I can work
in---Benitez is going to be heading up the fraud unit and he’s as much said he
needs me.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Besides, my love, you and I
are going to be…very busy in a few months.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vincent nodded. Laurel had been their miracle and this
child---unplanned, unexpected---was a gift beyond words. “When I go back to
work on Monday,” Catherine went on, “I’m going to put in for a transfer. Joe
will grumble but…he’ll find someone else. There’s always someone who wants to
take on these cases, but it can’t be me, anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. She
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wanted</i> this, truly. “I love you,” he
said against the sweetness of her mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I love you too,” she replied. An impish smile---one that had
been too long absent---crossed her face. “Later on today, what do you say we go
outside and enjoy the sunshine while there’s still leaves on the trees?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The new sun rose, casting colored shadows on her fair skin. He
gathered her close. “I’d like that. But for now, let’s watch the sunrise.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">THE END<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-317440206988024192015-09-08T17:56:00.000-07:002015-09-08T17:56:34.828-07:00Inheritance- Chapter 14: Deeds of Green Thrilling Light<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter
14: Deeds of Green Thrilling Light<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">They
left just before dawn on Monday. The plan was both simple and devious;
Catherine would ride in one car with Greg Hughs and Rita would ride in another
identical sedan with an investigator Greg would not name. “I trust her,” Greg
had said simply, and Joe had nodded once, taking his words on faith and trust.
They were, Catherine surmised with a kind of tired detachment, taking no
chances that there would be a repeat of the car accident in New Jersey. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She
and Vincent had awakened hours earlier; they had not discussed the details of
her trip to Albany overly much, but had instead spent the few hours before dawn
much as they once had on her balcony, reading poetry and grasping the last few
calm hours before the chaos. During the planning the day before, Greg had offered
to pick her up at an abandoned warehouse (for a brief wild moment, Catherine
had feared Greg would suggest the Beaumont, now slated for demolition, but he
had instead suggested a deserted tenement to the east of Isaac’s gym) and
Vincent, with his unerring map of tunnel entrances, had known there was a safer
route via the tunnels. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
had said little as they’d walked, and Catherine understood. His own fears were
a low, choked hum on the periphery of her senses and she didn’t attempt to
reassure him that nothing would happen. Something <i>could</i> happen, and
those somethings had been the warp and weft of their lives for years now, but what
words of reassurance she could give him, she did. She had embraced him in the
last of the morning’s shadows, and murmured, “I love you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">His
grasp on her had tightened momentarily; a slight puncture through the
lightweight sweater she wore. She ached for him, but he knew—as she did—that
there was no help for it, that if Max Avery was finally to be taken off the
streets, she’d have to go Albany. “You know, you can call me this time,”
Catherine said, keeping her tone deliberately light. “You really couldn’t…before.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">At
times there was a dissonance when she thought of Vincent; as Kristopher Gentian
had once said, “What storybook did he walk out of, Catherine? What legend?” It
made her smile somewhat, thinking of him using the phone, but he was as firmly
rooted in his time as she was and so… Vincent nodded. “You’re right,” his voice
rumbled under her ear, “but when should I call? I don’t want to disturb you.”
He glanced down at her and this time, the warmth reached the blue of his eyes.
“You don’t get nearly enough rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Catherine
chuckled. “And whose fault was that, I should like to know?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“You
could have said something,” Vincent said mildly, but there was an amused
undertone Catherine knew very well by now. “You don’t get enough rest. You
never did.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“I
barely got you to stay on my balcony the first time,” Catherine said lightly.
“I wasn’t about to send you home just because it was nearly midnight. Besides,
that’s what coffee was invented for.” The thought led to others and she looked
up at him. “You need to make sure you get some rest while I’m gone, Vincent.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
looked away briefly. “I’ll…try. It’s not always easy, without you there.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">It
was a bald truth, not uttered to make her feel guilty, but simply a statement
of fact. Father had been even more blunt; Vincent had kept up an exhausting
pace of work when she had been at a conference early in the year, and even that
had led to a only few snatched hours of sleep a week. “I’ll call you every
night and I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble—” Catherine ignored his amused
rumble at this “—but that goes for you too. Deal?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">A
car backfired far down the street. The light of the rising sun struck the
pavement and Vincent drew the hood of his cloak up further to shadow his face. Greg
will be here soon,” he murmured as he ducked into the remaining shadows of the
alley. “I’ll stay here until you are safe.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She
grasped his hand and he stopped. “Vincent. Promise?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">There
was a glint of white—Vincent, smiling in the shadows of his hood. “I promise.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">After
Catherine left, Vincent returned to the brownstone. The long walk back through
the tunnels should have cleared his head, but this morning it just made him
feel heavier, as if in Catherine’s absence, all his cares and worries had
settled on his shoulders. He banged out a quick message on the downstairs
radiator: <i>Pascal— any trouble?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
could almost see the other man, rising from his network of pipes to answer the
message. Doubtless he had some coffee in his hands, and perhaps an early
breakfast from the kitchen. <i>All quiet on the western front</i>, Pascal
responded dryly. <i>Are you…expecting trouble?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
noted with no real surprise that Pascal had answered using one of the softest
pipes; it was doubtful anyone save he and Pascal would be able to hear their
conversation. <i>Not really, </i>Vincent replied. <i>Have you seen Angela yet?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">There
was a pause, then: <i>No. Should I be looking for her?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
shook his head, though of course Pascal couldn’t see him. <i>No. I’ll be below
in a few hours; we’ll talk then. But if you see her leaving the tunnels…<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll alert you, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pascal
confirmed. <i>Get some rest—everyone here is still asleep so far as I can tell.
Except for Mary and Santos.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
blinked. <i>Mary </i>and<i> Santos?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Pascal’s
wry smile was in the tones of his message. <i>Yes. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
had long suspected that had Pascal been a touch less discreet, he could have
written volumes on the romantic lives of tunnel residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>I…see.</i> Mary had been alone for so
long…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">First time he’s stayed for breakfast, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pascal went on, distracting him from his
musings. <i>With any luck, William will be so distracted by his presence that
he’ll forget he wants to see Angela. I wouldn’t stay away too long, though.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
gave into the yawn which was trying to escape. <i>No, </i>he agreed. <i>Wake me
if anything happens. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Will do</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
Pascal responded. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">The
brownstone was much as Greg had described it on their trip to Albany: an
anonymous sort of building at the end of a row of brownstones in varying stages
of decay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a sudden heartache, a
tug towards the stained glass and clean brown bricks of their home, and towards
the man who lived inside it. There was also a pull of memory, of Carole Stabler
and the safe house that had turned out to be anything but. She fought down a
chill. “My aunt got it ready for us ahead of time,” Greg was saying as he
parked the grey sedan on the street. “Bought food and everything. But let me go
in first, all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Catherine
nodded, shaking off her malaise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rita
isn’t here yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Greg
turned the key off. “I’m sure she will be soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“How
far are we from the courthouse?” Catherine asked as she shouldered her purse,
the weight of her gun a comforting solidness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“About
fifteen, twenty minutes if the traffic is bad,” Greg answered. He pulled a set
of keys out of his pocket. “This is your set, and I’ll give Rita’s to her once
she arrives.” He unlocked the door and stopped in the foyer. “There’s nobody
else here right now. You should be safe enough; we’ll do some sweeps to, uh,
make sure no one else is here.” Catherine nodded; she would have expected Greg
to have known what happened to Carole Stabler. “You have your gun with you?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yes,”
Catherine replied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Greg
smiled. “Joe said you had sense. Follow me upstairs and I’ll show you around.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">After
Rita arrived and they’d unpacked, Greg sat them down at the old beat up kitchen
table and explained their security arrangements. “There are two of us looking
out for you two—me and Diana over there.” The other agent waved from the
battered couch, close enough to hear the conversation but not, somehow, close
enough to really be present. Catherine studied her, a career’s worth of
instincts beginning to sound a vague, distant alarm—not of danger, but
something else. “This doesn’t really need to be said, but I’m going to say it
anyway,” Greg went on. “Do not leave this apartment without us. You want to go
jogging at o’dark thirty? Take one of us with you.” He chuckled. “If you do
want to go jogging at o’dark thirty, take Diana. She runs laps around me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“It’s
fun,” Diana drawled. “You should try it.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Rita
shook her head. “I’ll be in bed, thanks. But Cathy’s a morning person, so long
as you have coffee.” She tilted her head. “You <i>do</i> have coffee?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Greg
nodded. “It’s always been one of the four food groups, so far as I’m
concerned.” He drew out a map of the courthouse from one of the boxes he’d
brought in from the car and indicated the markings for stairwells and doors and
emergency exits. “You need to memorize your exit points; if something happens,
it’s too easy to panic and get lost otherwise.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Catherine
had a sudden vivid memory of Isaac Stubbs saying much the same thing years
before. “Situational awareness,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Diana
nodded. “Yeah. We’ll be there with you every day, and we’ve reached out to some
contacts in the Albany PD, but your own instincts are your best friends. If
someone or something feels off to you, you need to tell us.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“What
time was your hearing today?” Greg asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Catherine
looked at her calendar. “Pre-trial motions tomorrow, and the start of jury
selection after lunch today.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Greg
took out a small notebook. “Which courtroom?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“The
notice I have here says Part II,” Rita said. “Looks like we’ll be assigned a
judge then.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Good,”
Greg replied, “that’ll make it easier for us to get the layout. Diana, you want
to do the honors?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Diana
stood up and Catherine was struck by the bright red of her hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Sure. I’ll check in with the court clerk and
see if they won’t mind me looking around. I’ll meet you guys there after
lunch.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">After
she left, Catherine turned to Greg. “So, where did you find her?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Greg
laughed. “Joe said your instincts were positively spooky. Diana’s a…recent
transfer to Internal Affairs. She didn’t belong there anymore than I did.” He
shrugged. “We went to the Academy together, and I…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Brought
her along?” Catherine inquired gently. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yeah,”
Greg confirmed. “She’s…well, she’s a mess. Did one case too many in the 2-10,
and it was either take the transfer or…” He shrugged. “You maybe know how it
is, how you’ll fight for a friend even when they don’t always want your help. I
thought keeping an eye on a couple of attorneys should be a vacation compared
to what she usually sees.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Given
the cases the 2-10 usually handled—some of which Catherine had prosecuted—she could
see his point. And yet, she thought of all they’d already gone through on this
case: witnesses disappearing or dying, an indecisive millionaire with immunity
he hadn’t yet finished earning; the car accident in New Jersey and now this.
“You’ve got…a very strange idea of a vacation, Greg.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“So
I do, Chandler, so I do.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">It
wasn’t sight that led Vincent to Angela later that morning, but smell—the
smoky, acrid scent of car exhaust and motor oil and cigarettes. <i>City smells</i>,
he mused; clearly, Angela had gone above at some point. He followed the scent
to an unused tunnel and then closed his eyes, assessing what his senses told
him. Angela had come here, backtracked—possibly lost?—and then had left again,
with more confident steps, towards the Mirror Pool. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">And
there he found her, sitting with her knees drawn up, Joshua resting on a
blanket beside her. “I know you’re there,” Angela said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
remembered a letter from Devin, years ago now, where he’d described his stint
breaking in wild horses on a ranch in the wilds of Montana. <i>If I moved too
fast, they’d run or kick, </i>Devin had written. <i>Wild things don’t know what
else to do. </i>“I’m sorry,” Vincent said, keeping his voice pitched at a
soothing level. “I don’t want to disturb you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">There
was a short bark that might have been a laugh, then, “Come on in, Vincent. Sit
down. I’m not going to shoot you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Angela
had lived for however many years in the outer community; Vincent heard the
implication that clearly she <i>might</i>, if she felt the necessity. Nevertheless,
he sat down next to her, close enough to hear whatever she might say, but not
close enough to feel threatening. She ground out the stub of a cigarette in the
sand. “I went above to get a cigarette,” Angela began. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Father
would have been greatly displeased; would, perhaps, have begun a lecture about
the dangers of smoking, the specter of addiction, the risks it presented to
their fragile ventilation Below. Vincent did none of these things, though he
did wonder where she’d gotten them from. Cigarettes were expensive. Had she
taken a pack with her? “You did?” he began, feeling his way carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yeah,”
Angela said. “I hadn’t, since Joshua and…I needed it.” She held it up for
inspection. “My last pack, I swear.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
shook his head minutely; her smoking wasn’t the immediate concern. “Did your
children come with you?” he asked, careful to keep his tone even.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“No.
Susan stayed with Joey and Joshua.” She shrugged, thin shoulders under the
layers of tunnel patchwork. “I wasn’t gone long. Didn’t you know I’d left?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“No.
There was…an incident in William’s storeroom that I wanted to talk to you
about.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Susan
broke the jar,” Angela said, as if it wasn’t particularly unusual that they’d
stolen food from the community stores. “It was too heavy for her.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“Why
did she take food?” Vincent asked. “We don’t…steal here, Angela. I know we
talked about this.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“She…they…”
Angela took a breath. “She was afraid they wouldn’t get enough to eat.” She
ducked her head. “Things have been…bad and I’ve had to lean on her too much.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
breathed out, seeing the path of things much more clearly. “You left and Susan
didn’t think you’d return?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Angela’s
head jerked up at that. “No! I wouldn’t just leave my kids.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
didn’t say the obvious: if Susan had been afraid enough to make sure they had a
supply of food, clearly Angela <i>had</i> left before, and for an extended
period. The thought was unsettling—what had she gone above for? To forage or
steal or worse? He tried a different tact, hoping to get through to her. “Our
cook is…upset.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Angela
raised an eyebrow at that. “He seems upset a lot.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">It
was, as Catherine would have said, the understatement of the century, and
Vincent recognized Angela’s tactic, using humor to defuse a tense situation,
but he didn’t rise to the bait. “He works hard to feed us all, and to make sure
we have extra food when times are lean. It was…better that I found you before
he did.” And he wondered if Angela understood how thin the ice she stood on was.
She had rescued Father, but if there were further incidents, the council would
not hesitate to return Angela and her family to Lucas or exile them altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Joshua
stirred; Angela readjusted his blanket and turned back to face Vincent. “I’ll
apologize. It wasn’t Susan’s fault; she was just trying to take care of her
brothers.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“William
will want something besides an apology.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
was sure the words had been said carefully, evenly, but the flare of angry,
defensive fury coming from Angela was nearly painful in its force. “<i>No one</i>…will
lay a hand on my children.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Her
hand made a motion—towards the gun she no longer carried, he wondered, or a
weapon they hadn’t yet found?—and he held up both hands in what he hoped was a
calming gesture. “We don’t…do that here. It’s not our way.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She
gave a short bark of something that might have been laughter. “Right. Then what
do you want from us?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
took a deep breath. “That’s not really the question that needs an answer,” he
said. “What do <i>you</i> want with us? What kind of life do you want here?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Angela
tilted her head back briefly, gazing at the small patch of revealed sky, the
sun as it rose. “Been a long time since anyone asked me what I wanted.” She met
his gaze steadily. “It’ll take some thinking on.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
stood then. “When you…figure that out, William needs some help in the kitchen.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He
had just about reached the exit when Angela’s voice stopped him. “Vincent. You
never told your wife about what you saw when you looked at Tamara. Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">His
eyebrows rose; he hadn’t told Angela anything about his conversation with
Catherine. He breathed out once, forcing a calm he was suddenly a very long way
away from feeling. How had Angela known? <i>I should have said something before
Catherine left,</i> he thought. But what? And when? She had been busy, her mind
focused on the upcoming trial and the complications of being separated from her
home yet again. How could he add one more thing to her burdens?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He opened his eyes and focused on Angela,
kneeling next to her son in the reflected brightness of morning. “I…I had no
words.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Angela’s
gaze was challenging and just slightly sardonic. “Really? Or were you…prevented
from speaking?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent
shook his head. This, too, he could not answer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-1024462114391417192015-03-01T14:31:00.000-08:002015-09-08T17:58:05.144-07:00Inheritance- Chapter 13: I Am My Beloved's- PG 13<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chapter 13: I Am My Beloved’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the rest of the evening, as if obeying some unspoken plan, Catherine and Vincent did not speak of Father or her upcoming trial. They talked instead of Catherine’s upcoming lunch date with Dinah Goldstein, the public defender who had once been her law school classmate, and the possible difficulties Vincent foresaw in acclimating Angela and her children to tunnel ways—the kind of pleasant conversation they hadn’t had time to indulge in recently. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, Catherine set down her fork and looked at him over the salad bowl. “Vincent, I was thinking…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Really? I am astonished,” he returned dryly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She threw her napkin at him. “Yes, really. When…all this…is over, we should go back to Connecticut.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent considered. Two months—if Catherine’s estimate of her trial’s length was accurate—would bring them into early fall. He closed his eyes, feeling again the warmth of the autumn sun on his face, smelled the damp earth and heard the slow, steady creak of the porch swing as they…. “We should,” he replied. “But Catherine, if I have to…” Words failed him then—could he really be expected to fill Father’s mammoth shoes? To lead their community as Father had always done? <i>No. I didn’t choose these chains. I didn’t choose this. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine clasped his hand then, and the invisible fetters fell away. “Vincent, even if…” she swallowed and made a gesture with her free hand that somehow encompassed the tunnels below them “…you will still need a break from everything. Everyone does, now and then.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent didn’t mention that Father had only twice journeyed above of his own free will, and both of those had ended in near-tragedy. “And you will as well, after this trial.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She chuckled. “You’re not kidding. I used to wonder, back when I was first hired and Joe had me stuffed in misdemeanors, why the other ADAs used to disappear for a week or two after a big trial. I don’t wonder anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He clasped her hand. “You’re doing what’s right, what you’ve always done. And we…we will survive this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her eyes glimmered in the candlelight. “I know, but sometimes, I wish we didn’t have to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Their nighttime routine was one which varied little since their nights in Connecticut and it was one of the few uncomplicated joys in Vincent’s life to watch his wife—<i>his wife!</i>—ready herself for bed. Her hair had grown longer in the near year since their marriage; honey-blonde and thick, it was prone to tangling though (he noted with some amusement) her morning bed-head would never achieve the gravity-defying heights of his own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine had just emerged from the shower and was wearing nothing more than a pale silken robe which clung to her curves and left very little to his imagination. She smiled at him as she sat on the edge of their bed and handed him the wide-toothed comb. “Brush my hair?” she asked softly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The folds of the robe opened at her thighs as she settled against him. “Of course,” Vincent managed. The nearness of her was stirring something in his blood, a persistent, demanding <i>need</i> which would be answered this night. But not now. He drew the comb through the damp strands and the faintest traces of her scent—shampoo, soap, something indefinable which whispered <i>mate—</i>surrounded him. <i>Welcomed</i> him. He could almost taste it as he breathed in. He could almost taste <i>her</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re…breathing a little faster,” Catherine stated as her nails grazed the short bristled fur of his thighs. “Are you feeling all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The question was asked in apparent innocence, but the rich mischief flooding their bond told a different tale. The comb glided through the strands of her hair, soft as a whisper of silk. “Yes. Shouldn’t I be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She shifted a little and he couldn’t stop the short gasp at her movement. “Well, then clearly I’m not doing something right.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the time since they’d become lovers, Vincent had often been astounded at how the simplest of touches could set fire to his blood. Though he supposed, if he was being honest with himself, Catherine had always possessed that ability; hadn’t their first hug, the chaste embrace at the basement entrance to her apartment, necessitated a long walk before he was composed enough to sleep?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She leaned back and Vincent felt his heart stir, the rumble of a distant, joyous thunder. “I love you,” he murmured to the soft curve of her neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine’s smile was sunlight on water. “I love you too.” She turned in his arms and he was reminded again of the solid reality of her. She was light, but hardly fragile, no longer the frail woman he’d once rescued on a damp April night. Her hands took the comb from him and brushed back the solid mass of his hair from his shoulders. “You’re thinking too much.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He smiled; she’d clearly caught the direction of his thoughts if not the actual words, the realization that their time together would again be wedged in between other moments, the ordinary necessities of the life they’d both chosen. “I was. Can you help me…stop?” His hand rose of its own accord to touch the smooth curve of an exposed breast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The robe fell to the floor. “If <i>you</i> stop, I’ll….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She was so close, nearer to him than his heartbeat. “I won’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Promise?” she breathed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Always.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine started when the phone rang. Vincent had gone Below just after breakfast to discuss some complaint of William’s—an urgent one, to judge by the force of his tapping on the pipes, which had echoed in their downstairs radiator. “He sounds…insistent,” she had observed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent nodded and—she suspected—barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “Yes. William has two moods—not bothered at all, and bothered too much. I would assume this morning it’s the latter,” he replied dryly. “Will you be Below for lunch?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m not sure. I hope so,” she told him. “I’ve got to get these files organized and ready to go before we head up to Albany on Monday and it’s going to be a process.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He brushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen over her forehead. “Make sure you eat, then. I’ll send a message if I’m going to be delayed.” He had gathered up his cloak and departed, heading for the basement entrance to their other world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, Catherine capped her pen and answered the phone, all the while wondering who could be calling on a Saturday. Rita? Joe? “Hello?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Radcliffe, it’s me,” Joe said. “Am I…disturbing you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, not at all,” she replied, repressing an inward sigh. She had been making real progress on her witness list too… “What’s up, Joe?” Abruptly, she became aware of the traffic sounds in the background; he was calling from a payphone, then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’ve got some news about your Albany trip, but I really shouldn’t be saying more on the phone, you know?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She nodded, although he couldn’t see her; his concerns about his office being bugged were very real. “I do indeed.” She glanced around the living room, doing a quick visual check, trying to see it as a visitor might. There were flowers on an end table, fresh from Renata’s garden, Vincent’s poetry books neatly stacked on the coffee table, and photos—New York city scenes taken by her friend Nancy as a housewarming gift. Would Joe think it odd that there were none of her husband, of the two of them together? Would Rita? “Would you like to come by and discuss this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joe chuckled. “An invite to the palace. Man, I really am moving up in the world. Sure, Radcliffe, I’ll come by.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She gave him the address. “I’ll call Rita and see if she’s available…so, see you both in an hour or so?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Better make it two,” Joe said. “We can make it a lunch meeting too, and I can hear more about what you and Rita are planning for Max Avery.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“So, we’ve found a place for you and Rita to stay in Albany,” Joe said, looking incongruous in Catherine’s dining room later that afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You did?” Catherine asked with a smile. “Let me guess, a one bedroom hostel with roaches for company?” She studied him, thinner and more careworn since assuming the duties of the head DA, and wondered what he saw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joe took a drink of his coffee. “That what you think, Rita?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rita leaned back against the overstuffed couch. “If anything, I told her she was being too optimistic.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joe rolled his eyes. “What am I thinking, sending you two to Albany for a couple of months?” He shook his head. “I think you’ll both be impressed. We found a furnished two bedroom apartment in a brownstone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine swallowed, remembering Carole Stabler and the “safe house” in another brownstone which had turned out to be not at all secure. “Who does it belong to, Joe? I know the department doesn’t have that kind of money.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was a knock at the door. To Catherine’s astonishment, Joe rose to answer it. “I told him to be here around eleven, and he’s punctual as usual.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For a moment, Catherine had the fear it might be Elliot Burch at the door (who else would have a roster of available properties at his command?) except that Joe genially detested Elliot and would as soon have called Max Avery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The door opened and Greg Hughs stepped inside. “Nice place you got here, Chandler,” he said with his usual laconic drawl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Greg! What? How?” Catherine asked, astonished. Last she’d heard, Greg Hughs had been promoted to the dubious honor of an Internal Affairs desk job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He jerked a thumb in Joe’s direction. “This guy decided I was wasted in Siberia and got me reassigned to his protective detail. Which means I’m on your protective detail while you two are in Albany.” His smile faded. “Max Avery’s got fingers in a lot of pies, Chandler. I was glad to be able to help you out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She glanced at the clock. “The pizza will be here soon, Greg. Why don’t we all sit down and you can explain how you happened to have a convenient brownstone in Albany?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It belongs to my great aunt; one of her investment properties.” Greg grinned again. “I’m her favorite, so I called in a marker or two. Of course, that means I’ll be in attendance for her mystery meat casseroles on Sunday for a few months but you’re worth it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine smiled. In many ways, it was perfect; a furnished apartment in an anonymous brownstone should draw far less attention than a busy hotel, and while there certainly weren’t tunnels that far north, it would feel a lot closer to home. “Thank her for us, please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Greg nodded. “Will do. I’d invite you over to dinner but she’s still entertaining a hope of marrying me off to ‘some nice girl’ and the little matter of you two being married wouldn’t slow her down one bit.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The doorbell rang again. “That will be the pizza,” Catherine said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent repressed a heavy sigh. Before he’d even arrived at William’s, much of the morning had felt like he was careening from one crisis to another—a set of leaking pipes, a security alarm of Mouse’s that had malfunctioned (again,) the mediation of a small quarrel between Mouse and the accidental instigator of the malfunction, Kipper. Finally, with the problems sorted, he’d been able to make his way to the commons. “William, it’s Vincent,” he called. “I’m sorry I’m late. What can I do for you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He leaned against the rock walls of the kitchen and observed the high red color spreading on William’s neck and face. The older man was furious. “ ‘Bout time you came. We’ve got ourselves a thief,” he announced without preamble. “Probably those…kids you brought here. Or their mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It wasn’t uncommon for newcomers, particularly those who’d endured hunger or starvation, to hoard food, Vincent knew. Still, it was a serious allegation and one which shouldn’t be made lightly. “What makes you say that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">William jerked his head towards the storeroom. “Come see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent followed William into one of their large storerooms. These were William’s private domain and the cook’s pride and joy. “Found a broken jar of stew there,” William said, pointing to the stain on the rock floors. “I guess it was heavier than it looked.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What else was taken?” Vincent asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Three, four loaves of bread. Some milk from the cold storage room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent nodded. All in all, it wasn’t a lot of food, he mused, but theft was theft. “And what makes you believe Angela or her children took the food?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">William blew out his breath in an exasperated huff. “You can’t be that naive, Vincent. They came from…<i>there</i>. You know. Those people steal all the time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes, they do,” Vincent said slowly, “but Angela made a choice for a better life for herself and her children by coming here.” Even as he said the words, he wondered if they were true. Yes, she had left Lucas, but there was just so much they didn’t know about Angela. Was theft only the start of it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">William shook his head. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you <i>are</i> that naive. Vincent, they can’t be trusted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The older man’s short temper had been the cause of many an argument in his years in the tunnels; Vincent fought the answering sparks of his own anger back with sheer will. “It’s a matter for the council to decide,” he retorted. “And they’ve granted Angela and her children asylum for the time being.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<i>But</i>,” Vincent went on, “These thefts are serious and I will speak with Angela. If she knows anything about this, it will be handled.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">William nodded curtly. “See that you do. Before anything else comes up missing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father leaned back in his chair. “That is a…difficulty,” he said when Vincent told him of the thefts. “It’s not as dire as if it had occurred in the dead of winter, but it’s very concerning. What do you plan to do about it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent eyed the older man. This was the type of scenario which used to be Father’s calling—settling new families in, and arbitrating the more serious disputes. To have the decisions, the choices of what to do next, placed entirely upon him now was…disquieting. “I was hoping for suggestions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father shrugged. “Hoarding food isn’t a rare thing and given the conditions in Lucas’s community, I’m frankly astounded they haven’t stolen more. If it is Angela or her children, that is. What does William want done?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He wants the food replaced, or if that’s not possible, then he wants the thief to help him replace it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father nodded. “Which means several uncomfortable hours working for William in the kitchens, but that’s just.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It is,” Vincent agreed. “And yet—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It troubles you, because it’s too easy for Angela and her children to be suspected, and William likes jumping to conclusions. Have you talked to Angela yet?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I went to her chamber,” Vincent replied. “Both she and her children were out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And yet you didn’t put a message out on the pipes asking for her location,” Father stated. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent spread his hands; the thick claws only one reminder that he was, and forever would be, different. “Who knows what she’s been told, Father? If Lucas’s community is allied with the remnants of Paracelsus’s followers, then she knows me as a monster, or worse. I won’t frighten her further by demanding her presence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He was startled to feel Father’s hand, that rough, calloused surgeon’s hand, clasp his own. “It’s a wise decision. It will be lunch soon, and perhaps then Angela will arrive at the commons. You should…see about finding her before William does.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine had no sooner shut and bolted the door when the phone rang again. She had planned to bang out a quick message on their radiator and head below to salvage what remained of her day, to spend some quiet hours with Vincent before her duties separated them once again. She bit back a muttered curse and almost—almost—ignored the ringing phone. Almost. “Catherine Chandler,” she said tersely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Cathy, did you skip your coffee today?” Dinah’s voice said lightly on the other end of the phone, the same banter she’d used a thousand times when they were in law school together. [10]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine smiled. “No. Just…preoccupied, I guess. How are you, Dinah?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She had the sense that the other woman’s smile had faded. “Not good. Look, I have to postpone our lunch. Uncle Saul’s in the hospital.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine had a sudden, vivid memory of Dinah’s uncle and remembered how he had given her first bit of confidence as an attorney when she had interned at his legal aid clinic. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry. Will he be all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dinah breathed out. “They don’t know yet, Cathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know how he is, always putting everyone else first and himself last. He might have been sick a long time before this caught up with him. He’s in the ICU now, but…” Dinah drew a ragged breath. “Dammit, I hate not knowing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine nodded, though of course Dinah couldn’t see her. “How is your daughter taking it? She and your uncle were close, I know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dinah snorted. “He’s been more of a father to her than Avrom ever tried to be. She’s…well, I’m going to pick her up in a few minutes and take her to see him, and if the hospital won’t let Chava in, I may have to bully myself in there. It’s going to be a rough weekend.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Considering this was the same woman who had been abandoned by her husband early in her pregnancy, who had also completed law school as a single mother, Catherine wouldn’t have bet against her. “Chava and your uncle could have no better champion,” she told her. “Look, Dinah, I’m going to be in Albany for the next couple of months,” Catherine said. “Will you—?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dinah drew in a quick breath. “The Avery trial?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah,” Catherine said. “Never a dull moment, but you know that.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I do,” Dinah replied dryly. “Just…please be careful, Cathy. Do you have a phone number up there yet?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, not yet, but I’ll call you as soon as I get one. Will you please let me know how Saul’s doing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of course, Cathy. He mentored a lot of interns over the years, but you were one of his favorites. He was pleased as punch when you went to work at the DA’s office.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Was he?” Catherine asked, startled. She had interned for Saul for two summers until her father demanded she start spending time at his firm. How long had it been since she’d talked to Saul? He had sent her a condolence card when her father had died, but there had been so much she’d let go by the wayside in the aftermath. “I should have kept in touch with him, Dinah.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He understood, Cathy. After your…after you went to work for the DA’s office, he knew you were busy. So did I.” There was the sound of background noises on the other line, then, “I have to go now,” Dinah went on. “I’ll call you if…anything changes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Thanks, Dinah. Take care of yourself,” Catherine told her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She heard the smile return to the other woman’s voice. “I will if you will, Cathy. Bye.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent paused at the steps of the basement entrance, absorbing the currents of emotion flooding their bond. His wife was…lost. Torn. Feeling unsure, and uncertain of the path she’d been asked to follow. Doubting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He opened the door and closed it behind him, crossing swiftly into their home. “I’m here,” he murmured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She smiled. “I know.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
______<br />
<br />
[10] <a href="http://www.batbland.com/Apr12/2013/aliset12apr13.htm">"April, Come She Will"</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2015/09/inheritance-chapter-14-deeds-of-green.html">here</a> for Chapter 14....</i></span></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-61111442602776013282014-12-02T17:07:00.003-08:002015-03-01T14:34:23.425-08:00Inheritance-Chapter 12: Something In Me Understands<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Chapter 12:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something in Me Understands<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">After seeing Catherine off to work, Vincent returned to the tunnels. There was work to be done, after all, and none of it would be accomplished by staying at Bluebird House and brooding. “I’m glad you recognize that,” Catherine said when he’d voiced this thought. “But you know, you are entitled to a fair amount of brooding. There’s been… a lot going on below.” Her green eyes had sharpened as she studied him. “And tonight, you’ll tell me what you saw…what Tamara looked like?” It hadn’t entirely been phrased as a question, Vincent mused, but he’d nodded just the same. There were no secrets from her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">As the false wall closed behind him, he heard Angus bang out a message on the pipes, wanting to see him. <i>Another oddity</i>, Vincent thought; he and Angus had forged a kind of tentative friendship over the last few months but the older man still mostly kept to himself. He picked up a rock and returned the message, responding that he would be at the main hub in fifteen minutes or so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angus was indeed at the hub, pacing back and forth in a way Vincent recognized only too well. “Angus,” he said, “what’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">The older man folded his arms. “What makes you think anything is?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Vincent repressed a sigh. “You asked me to meet you here. The pipes aren’t leaking and nobody’s disappeared, so….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angus spread his hands. “You got me. I…I’m worried.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Since Angus admitting this was almost the equivalent of Father deciding to dance a jig in the commons, Vincent’s eyebrows rose. “What are you concerned about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Angela and her kids. Are you sure we should let her stay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“It’s the council’s decision,” Vincent replied, though the same thought had crossed his mind last night. Angela clearly needed their help; there was no doubt of that. And yet… “They’ll make their decision once Father recovers.” He studied Angus closely. “Have you talked to her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angus nodded. “She seems nice enough. I ain’t got experience with kids so I can’t say as to them. But…it seem odd to you how easy Lucas let them go?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“It does,” Vincent acknowledged. “But Lucas must have recognized that their youngest son would have died. Perhaps he saw a chance for a better life for his family.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“But didn’t want to come with them?” Angus asked archly. “It doesn’t make sense.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Very little does,” Vincent agreed. “I will…talk to her and if there’s reason for concern, I’ll speak to the council.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine paused outside the criminal courts building. It was never easy to walk the line between the worlds, between the life she shared with her husband and the life she led at work, and on days like this, the mental shift was even more difficult. With Avery’s trial looming ever closer and the risks the case had already posed, she couldn’t afford to make a mistake due to inattention or worry. <i>Focus, Chandler. Focus</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Her routine, after all these years, was pretty much set. A nod and a smile to Frank at the coffee kiosk downstairs, and a fast cup---made just the way she rarely had time to make herself anymore. Then boarding the elevator with a bunch of other people, all of them studiously avoiding eye contact, and hoping one of them didn’t insist on conversation before she’d had a chance to take a sip of her coffee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Her luck held until she reached her desk. She’d barely stowed away her purse when Rita pulled her into an empty conference room. “Before you go see Joe,” she began, “I need to tell you something.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine shifted her coat to her other arm. Rita looked alarmed, an uncommon expression on her usually serene features. “Tell me. What’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“You know Gloria, Judge Alder’s clerk?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine nodded. The woman had been a fixture in the courthouse since Catherine herself had been in law school. “Sure. Nice woman, doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Eats unwary ADAs for breakfast.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Rita laughed, but there was something a little hollow about it. “Right. Allen tutored her grandson last year and she let slip something today when I went down there to file the Emerson motion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine raised her eyebrows. “ ‘Let slip’? <i>Gloria</i>?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Precisely,” Rita replied dryly. “Catherine, Judge Alder is going to allow the Avery case to be transferred to Albany.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“What? Why?” Catherine asked, stunned. “He’s handled high profile cases before—surely it’s not the publicity he’s worried about. We can sequester the jury; it doesn’t have to be the circus it was the last time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“That’s the point, though, isn’t it?” Rita asked. “The Grand Jury is supposed to be secret, and Avery got to them. I also think Judge Alder doesn’t want this thing coming back on appeal, so he’ll kick it to Albany and be grateful for the opportunity. He knows Graham Sparks will argue excessive pre-trial publicity otherwise, and the appeals court will bounce it back to him. Or he can send the case to Albany and when the verdict comes in, it’ll be over.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine bit her lip. The timing was horrific---Avery’s trial could drag on for a month or more, and that would leave Vincent contending both with the renewed malice of Paracelsus’s followers and Father’s own condition…by himself. Alone, as she’d sworn he would never be again. She breathed in, muting her own distress by force of will---Vincent had enough to worry about. “All right. Let me go over my notes and see if I can come up with a better argument. Maybe I’ll be able to change his mind.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Vincent found Angela in her chamber, a room which had previously belonged to Gonzalo and Alma until Alma had passed away a short few months after her husband. The chamber was located close to the noisier part of the hub (“too close to Father,” he’d heard at least one teenager mutter) and hence, had sat nearly vacant for years, used by newcomers, then abandoned once they found more suitable lodgings. Only someone with Mary’s skill could have scrounged up two Army cots for the children and a cradle for the baby, a dresser and a larger bed for Angela. It was bare, but given time, it would become a home. If they chose to stay. If they were <i>allowed</i> to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angela stood in the center of the room, hands on her hips and her head tilted back so her hair shone blue-black in the candlelight. Vincent hated to disturb her—he sensed moments of serenity had been rare in Angela’s life—but as he turned to leave, Angela spoke. “I know you’re there,” she said. “Come on in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Vincent told her. “I just wanted to stop by and see if you or the children needed anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angela sat down heavily on her bed, gazing at Joshua asleep in his cradle next. “No…I think we’re fine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Vincent studied her. She was far too thin, the collarbones visible above the patched neckline of her blouse and her eyes held the harried look of prey run to ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Is there…anything you wish to know? You’ve only been with us a day, you must have some questions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“What happens next?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">He could have told her the absolute truth—there would be a council meeting once Father recovered—but she was tense, ready to bolt. <i>Worried. Afraid.</i> Better to stick to immediate—and universal—concerns. “Lunch, I presume. I believe your children are already there with Jamie.” Jamie, kind and no-nonsense, had offered to show the children around; she, too, had once been a frightened, hungry child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Be careful, they might eat you out of house and home,” Angela said with an attempt at humor. “Been a long while since we knew where our next meal was coming from.” She rubbed her arms as if taken by a chill. “When will you decide if we can stay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“It’s not my decision,” Vincent replied. “The council will decide, and they won’t convene until Father recovers. There will be….much asked of you, to give help when asked for it and accept that help in return. Do you think you can?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“That’s it?” Angela asked, disbelieving. “I thought you’d want…intelligence on what Tamara’s planning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“The Council probably will,” Vincent stated. “Do you think she’ll regroup quickly?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“I don’t know,” Angela admitted. “I wasn’t one of her inner circle; Lucas was, towards the end, but…he couldn’t talk about her, what she planned. He couldn’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">There was a hidden import to her words, more than a mere keeping of an oath. “Did she…bind him in some way? Prevent him from talking?” Vincent asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angela started; her hand flew to her mouth. “You saw,” she said, her voice a fearful husk. “<i>You saw</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Images of what he had seen just the night before rose to his mind’s eye, the words of <i>Yes, I saw her. I saw what she is</i> rising to his lips before he clamped down on them, hard. This woman was not Marisol, known and trusted, or Narcissa, who accepted the uncanny with the same ease she accepted the rising of the sun. Nor was she Catherine, who might not believe but who loved, who trusted <i>him</i>. An instinct deeper than his blood demanded silence and caution. “I saw…something,” he said carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Angela relaxed minutely. “Then you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">He rose then and Angela’s hand grasped his wrist, a talon’s grasp. “This isn’t over. Lucas thought it was and…he’ll learn.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">The chair creaked alarmingly as Joe leaned back in his chair. “What do you want me to say, Radcliffe?” he said. “If Judge Alder wants the case booted to Albany, there’s really not a lot we can do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine pushed the hair back from her face. “It’s just…frustrating, Joe. The judge hasn’t stood for any of Graham Sparks’s shenanigans this entire process and now…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“So make your arguments,” Joe retorted. “Argue the time and money this is going to cost taxpayers—we’re going to have to get you and Rita cross-designated to even prosecute in Albany County, and that’s not always an easy process. Plus we’ll have to sequester the jury there, and put you and Rita up in a hotel for the month—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“Two months,” Catherine muttered. <i>If they were very, very lucky.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">“The two months this trial is supposed to take, then,” Joe went on. “And the expense on our witnesses and victims, the travel time—six hours round trip each day, away from their homes and businesses. And if we have to put them up in hotels, that’s another expense. The judge is an elected official, in an election year. Surely he can be…persuaded.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Catherine glanced down at her opposition motion and saw Joe’s reasoning on the pleading paper. “It’s in my motion,” she said. “But I worry it won’t be enough. And if he doesn’t read it—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Joe grinned. “You think his clerk will let him get by with that? Give ‘em hell, Radcliffe. It’s all you can do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Vincent’s day proceeded in a series of duties—taking part on the maintenance crews, then, later on, his English Literature class, lunch and then checking in on Father. Mary had taken him aside and asked for his help: “You know he’s the world’s worst patient, Vincent. And he can’t risk a relapse of his pneumonia, not at his age.” He had agreed, of course, but there was the small matter of what he could do to keep his aged parent in his bed and compliant with Peter’s directions. Father hadn’t invented stubbornness, it was true, but he certainly could lay claim to perfecting it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">He halted just outside Father’s chamber and watched, amused but unsurprised. Father was hobbling around, trying and failing to locate something on his desk. “I cleaned it, while you were out,” Vincent said. “I had…time on my hands.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Father turned to look at him, not at all repentant. “I’d have thought it would have taken you a month at least. What did you do with my PDR?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Considering that Father would never believe the actual truth—that his battered copy of the <i>Physicians’ Desk Reference </i>seemed to be a favorite target for one of the tunnels’ more mischievous spirits, Vincent didn’t answer the question. “Why do you need it this time?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“I want to look up that antibiotic Peter prescribed for me. Never heard of it,” Father said with an odd edge to his words. Vincent recalled hearing that tone before---when plastic IV bags had replaced the old glass ones, when needles became disposable instead of something which needed to be sterilized after every use. It was the tone of a man who was forced to realize that his world had shifted again, without his knowledge or consent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Father’s hands---gnarled, roughened by decades of medical practice---halted on a stack of books. “Do you know, Vincent, I wasn’t ever supposed to have patients?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Vincent smiled. “No?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Father shook his head. “No. Not unless they came in petri dishes. I was a research physician and now, if I took my boards, I doubt I’d pass. Too much time has passed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Peter brings you medical journals,” Vincent pointed out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“He does,” Father acknowledged. “And half the techniques I’ve never dare try. The world moves forward, with or without us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“I just saw Joshua,” Vincent said carefully. “He’ll be fine. And Angela and her children will have a chance to heal and thrive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Joshua wasn’t an example of medical genius,” Father said tartly. “Anybody could see the boy was starving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Except his parents,” Vincent replied, sensing the coils of despair beginning to encircle his parent. “He’s already looking much better than he did, I’m sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Food will do that,” Father said. He sighed. “Vincent, I’m an old man, and not much of a doctor anymore. Peter has been taking care of them all this time—I never knew how bad things had gotten there. Children, starving so close to us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Peter has said before that you had your hands full with us,” Vincent reproved gently. “He wanted to help them, and had time to do so. You did your best and Joshua is alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Yes, about that…” Father began, then stopped. “When is the council meeting about Angela’s request to join us?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“The council is…waiting until you’ve recovered,” Vincent answered. “For now, Angela and her children have been given Gonzalo and Alma’s old chamber. Mary has helped them settle in too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Father shook his head. “The council doesn’t need to meet, Vincent, not on this issue. They’ve—<i>you’ve</i>—handled this exactly the way I’d have suggested.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Vincent heard the words <i>You don’t need me</i> all too clearly. “There are some larger concerns,” he admitted. “It’s something the council should be aware of.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Father chuckled, a dry rasp with only the faintest note of humor. “I see what you’re doing, my boy. Trying to remind me that I’m needed. Well, I happen to know better. And I’d like to be alone now, if you don’t know what happened to my PDR?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Vincent stood at the obvious dismissal, uncertain of what else to say or do to convince his parent that he was still necessary. “I’m…sorry, Father. I really don’t know where it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Catherine exited the cab with a sense of weariness she’d not felt since the day after she took the bar exam. Everything ached, her heart first among them. <i>How do I tell him this? How do I just…leave? </i>The answer, of course, was obvious: she would do what her duty required. Vincent would ask for no less, nor did she expect it of herself. <i>Duty.</i> The taste of it was sour in her mouth. It wasn’t the first time they’d been separated because of her work—there had been the conference only a few months before—but the thought of another separation, another set of stolen moments, made her wince.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">She paid the driver and trudged to the front door of Bluebird House. There was a faint light at the very edges of the curtains—Vincent was home, then. The old tumbled locks of the door opened with a series of clicks and soon, she was inside, the burdens of her day shut firmly on the other side. “I’m in here,” Vincent called from the kitchen. “Dinner should be ready soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Her stomach chose that moment to reminder she hadn’t been able to finish the half sandwich and soup she’d meant to eat, not with the motion hearing on the Avery case so soon after lunch. She placed her keys in the basket by the door and toed off her shoes. “What are you making?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Spaghetti,” Vincent said. “It’s quick, at least and…” He looked at her and the tilt of his head told Catherine he’d sensed the depths of her emotions. “Things did not go well for you today either, I take it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">The air was heavy with the scent of spices and sauce and under all of that, Vincent’s own scent of cardamom and something wilder all his own. It was a balm on her fraying nerves. “You could say that,” Catherine said dryly. “The judge ordered the Avery case transferred to Albany county.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Vincent stopped stirring the sauce. She felt the instinctive <i>flinch-withdraw-calm</i> of his controlled unease in their bond. “I thought you said the judge was unlikely to grant the request.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Catherine nodded. “We thought so but…I can’t honestly say I blame him. Avery’s attorney made it abundantly clear he’d appeal a guilty verdict if the venue wasn’t changed, which means we’d get to do this all over again, and given the delays, the trouble we’ve had keeping witnesses so far….” She touched his hand, feeling the coiled strength of muscle and bone. “I’m so sorry, love. If here was any other way…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“There isn’t,” Vincent stated. It wasn’t a question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“No,” Catherine replied. “We’ll be there on Monday, beginning jury selection, assuming all else goes well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Then you must do what you must. As you have always done.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Catherine nodded. “I will. And you…what happened to you today?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Not to me,” he said, his voice entirely too even. “It’s Father. He’s…giving up.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">There was such a wealth of jagged sorrow in those words that Catherine nearly flinched. “Father” and “giving up” didn’t even belong in the same sentence. “What? Why?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Vincent turned off the burner on the stove and removed the sauce from the heat. “Many reasons. He’s growing older and feeling his age. I…did not have the words to reach him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“Oh, no, I’m sorry,” Catherine said. “Surely he realizes how much you all need him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“I don’t know,” Vincent replied softly. “I’ve seen him despondent before—after Ellie and Dmitri died, but Peter was able to argue him out of it, somehow. This…” he trailed off. “I don’t know what to say to him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">“And I’m leaving you alone to deal with all of this,” Catherine said, seeing the shape of things all too clearly. “Vincent, you know, you must know…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">His finger on her lips silenced her words. “I do. I always have.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2015/03/inheritance-chapter-13-i-am-my-beloveds.html">here</a> for Chapter 13....</div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-38179712407913979622014-10-11T17:56:00.000-07:002014-12-02T17:09:27.129-08:00Inheritance- Chapter 11: Go Forth With Your Fears<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chapter
11: Go Forth With Your Fears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
sensed him first, a bare few moments before Father left the passageway. As he
emerged into the dim light afforded by Angus’s hastily lit torch, Vincent saw
that his cane was missing. Added to Father’s considerable limp and the pulsing
flare of agony from long-damaged muscle and bone and Vincent knew his missing
cane was no accident. “Father,” he murmured, and stepped forward barely in time
to keep the other man hitting the ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m
all right,” Father insisted. “Leg…just gave out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He’s
not all right,” Quinn retorted from Father’s other side. “I don’t know how he’s
managed to walk this long.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sheer
stubbornness, more like,” Mary murmured. “Did you manage to get his doctor’s
bag?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Here,”
Rhys said, handing it to her. “I grabbed it just before we left.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Good,”
Mary said shortly as she opened the scarred leather case. “Ah, good. It’s still
in here.” She removed a long polished wooden tube, folded into fourths. “One of
Mouse’s inventions. He called it his ‘travel cane’—I think he modeled it after
the cane that blind people sometimes use. I packed your bag before you left,
remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
sighed. “And I thanked him for it and thought I’d never use it. That’ll teach
me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well,”
Mary said, “time to see if this is the one of his inventions that actually
works.” She unfolded the cane and with a muted <i>snick</i>, the cane unfolded
to its full length. “I think it should get you back home, at least. Father,
shall we try it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
helped the older man to his feet, suddenly conscious of his frailty, of the new
lines in his face and the grey in his hair. So much rested on one man’s aged
shoulders. “Thank you, Vincent,” Father murmured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Very
touching,” a flat nasal voice said, hissing against the rock walls. “Where did
you think you were going?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Why, hello child,” Narcissa’s Haitian cadences greeted Catherine as she returned a blissfully sleeping Benjamin to his cradle. The older woman was, improbably, knitting something that looked like a sock, her needles flashing in the candlelight. “You soothed the little one. Good, good. His mother has need of rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
bet she does,” Catherine said dryly, staring down at the little face, now slack
with sleep. He was still too young to look much like either of his parents, but
Catherine thought she saw something of Marisol in the furtive smiles that
crossed his face now and then. “Is Marisol all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sleeping,
child. Just sleeping. I told her I’d wait up until you returned.” She gestured
towards the carved wood cradle, and Catherine wondered again how Narcissa could
know so precisely where it was. “You do well with her son, yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded. “He seemed to like my hair a bit, but I think we got along fine.” She
paused. “Narcissa, I can’t remember the last time I saw you here. Is
everything… all right?” The words rushed out before Catherine had time to
consider them, but Narcissa only smiled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What,
you don’t believe an old woman would come here merely to visit?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Narcissa
always left Catherine feeling a bit off-kilter—small wonder, considering the
circumstances of their last meeting. Yet Vincent counted her a dear friend, as
did Marisol. She pondered her words and decided that honesty was the best
course. “Yes, and no. It’s a very long way to travel, isn’t it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Narcissa
laughed. “Oh, child, farther than you know, farther than you can see.” Her gold
earrings twinkled in the candlelight as she tilted her head. “You know
where….The Father and the others are, yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Vincent
is bringing them home,” Catherine replied slowly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Narcissa
leaned back in her chair. “Ah, you…see it too, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,”
Catherine said firmly, yet there was no accounting for the chill that shot up
her spine, or the hairs that rose on the back of her neck. “What’s going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Evil One had many in his employ, bound to him by greed or anger or pain,” Narcissa stated, and there was no trace in her words of the dotty old woman who so bedeviled Father. “It is one of…<i>those</i> your Vincent meets.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Narcissa
speaks in layers</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Vincent
had said once, long ago. Catherine was no stranger to hearing hidden meanings,
and the jagged currents of <i>danger</i> in her words were impossible to miss.
“ ‘Those’? What have you seen?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
stitch fell unnoticed from Narcissa’s needles as her hands stilled. “There are
no words in your language…or mine. The spirits speak to me, child, but I don’t
understand what they say.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
struggled to parse this. “You had a vision and…you couldn’t make sense of it?
And you thought Marisol could?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“She
is a seer,” Narcissa said flatly, as if it was a matter beyond all debate. “If
she saw it, then I thought…” She laughed. “But I am a silly old woman, as The
Father says. And perhaps the vision wasn’t meant for me at all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That
laugh</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Catherine had heard
it before, in an utterly different context: sitting across from a witness or a
victim, and listening as they brushed off the seriousness, the danger of what
they’d faced…because admitting the danger also meant admitting how very near death
had been. It was the laugh of the uncertain, the…afraid. <i>Afraid? Narcissa? </i>She
took a deep breath and placed her hands over the older woman’s. “You…fear what
you’ve seen. Don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Narcissa’s
sightless eyes stared off into the middle distance. “When I was a girl…there
was a man in my village, a young man, you understand? Full of life…oh, Jean…you
should have seen him then. I thought him beautiful and I was not the only one.
But he was not what he seemed. He began to change…became angry and vengeful, stirring
up old grudges and feuds for his amusement. His family asked the loa for
guidance and…” She shuddered, a memory over half a century old clearly still
biting. “Catherine, it is one thing when an illness makes a man a stranger. It
is quite another when he chooses it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine stared at her case notes, unseeing. She had retreated to her study below, determined to at least make a start on refining on the questions she would ask the prospective jurors on the Avery case, but the image of a rattled Narcissa would not leave her mind. She closed her eyes, forcing away all her fears and her worries and all the questions she couldn’t yet ask. Vincent and the others would be home soon; a message sent from the furthest sentry station at the perimeter of their community had assured their arrival within the hour. Father was, the message had gone on to say, well enough, though dehydrated and in some amount of pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That
last announcement had caused no end of worried, angry murmuring, Catherine
remembered—understandably so. If Vincent was the heart of this community,
Father was its compass, the one who had held the entire community together in
its times of deepest danger. The furor over his treatment would run deep—and
Vincent’s own feelings…Catherine closed her eyes, feeling the insistent thrum
of his anxiety fluttering in their bond. <i>I’m here, </i>she thought to him. <i>I’m
here. You’re not alone in this.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
felt his answering warmth—-message received and understood, then—and returned
to a determined study of her notes. Given the potential size of the juror pool,
and the usual antics of Avery’s attorney, Catherine knew she’d have to be very
careful in screening prospective jurors. If she could get a jury composed
entirely of contractors and construction workers, the verdict would be a slam
dunk, but Graham Sparks was unlikely to let that happen. At least he couldn’t
dismiss the entire jury pool….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Half
an hour later, Catherine was well and truly into the weeds when she heard a
knock on the door. Not one of the community, she thought—they usually announced
themselves with the pipe code for their name. A topsider, then—and Catherine
smiled at the turn of phrase. <i>She </i>had been a topsider once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peter
stood in the doorway, all rumpled coat and mussed hair. “Jamie called—I came
here straight from the airport. What on earth has been going on around here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
had survived enough disasters in his life that he understood it was common for
those who had endured them to want to discuss everything, as if in reassurance
that they had survived and overcome. What he wanted right now, though, was
Catherine, his bed (or Catherine <i>in</i> his bed, one part of his mind
acknowledged with an inward smile) and solitude. However, with Father still
being examined by Peter, he understood he was unlikely to have any of these
things anytime soon. Peter had bustled them off to the hospital chamber with a
minimum of discussion, insisting they must be examined first before returning
to their families. Catherine had planted a very quick kiss on his cheek and
said she’d follow shortly. As far as Vincent was concerned, “shortly” couldn’t
come soon enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
watched as they clustered, an unlikely grouping, in a deserted corner of the
hospital chamber, each waiting their turn for Peter’s examination---Mary,
Quinn, Angus, and Angela and her children. His keen ears picked up the topic of
their discussion: their escape from Tamara and how, in Angus’s words, it had
all been too easy. Vincent found himself agreeing; Tamara might have been an
old woman, but her followers were not. They had been armed and, in Lucas’s case
at least, furious at Angela’s departure. Yet Tamara—and Lucas—had let them
leave. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“…I
don’t understand it at all,” Angus was saying. “What was a young woman like
that doing with them?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela’s
head jerked, and the short hairs on the back of Vincent’s neck stood up. There
had been no other woman with Tamara’s group. “Who…who did you mean?” Angela
asked faintly, growing pale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
looked at her, bemused. “You know, Tamara.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quinn
closed her mouth, then opened it. “Angus…she had to be in her 80s at least.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What?
No! She was in her 20s! A beautiful girl! Reminded me of a girl I used to
date…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That’s
what I saw too,” Rhys put in. “A lovely dark-haired girl.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
shook his head. “No, she was blonde, with her hair coiled around her head.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quinn
rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll ask Vincent. What did you see?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“An
old woman,” Vincent replied, though that had not been the half of it. Only
Catherine would hear and believe. No one else would understand what he’d seen
in the instant before the torches were lit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
looked as if she wanted to say something. “Go on,” Vincent urged softly.
“We…speak our minds here, as you noticed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
offered a quick smile that did nothing to dispel the look of horror in her
eyes. “No…I cannot. <i>I will not</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How
is he?” Vincent asked sometime later. Mary had taken Angela and her children to
be settled in a chamber, and from the sound of things, would be having lunch
with Santos later on today. Angus and Quinn had left with Rhys and Bronwyn, so
it was just he and Catherine remaining. He breathed in, Catherine’s scent
reassuring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
opened his mouth, clearly intending to voice some protest, but Peter cut him
off. “As well as can be expected, but that’s not saying a lot. He’s dehydrated,
has a hairline fracture in his upper thigh, and he’s working on a lovely case
of bronchitis.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“None
of which is fatal,” Father put in. “Really, I’ll be fine.” The deep hoarse
cough bellied his words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Uh-huh,”
Peter said skeptically. “I’ll send down some medications for him as soon as I
can get to the pharmacy. As far as the fracture, I’ve set the leg but Jacob,
you’ll have to let it heal. Not like you did before.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What
do you mean?” Vincent asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh,
you don’t remember—you were only a child, Vincent, but part of the reason he
has that limp is because he got up too soon after his hip injury. They don’t
heal overnight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t recall I had a choice,” Father retorted acidly. “Who else was going to run this place, hmmm? Who else?” He breathed out. “It’s all long ago and far away now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes,
but…” Peter stared at him hard. “Jacob, there are others here who can help now.
You must let them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
felt Father’s grey eyes settle on him and Catherine’s hand tightened on his
own; a necessary, welcome anchor. “Yes, of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The basement of their brownstone was silent for once, Vincent observed with a glimmer of humor—the ghosts possibly sleeping off a spectral hangover. Catherine had insisted on their return to the brownstone (“It’s not as if they can’t find you, Vincent,” she’d said with her hands on her hips and what he thought of as her courtroom gaze) and since he’d long ago learned the wisdom of not arguing with someone trained to argue, he’d agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In truth, he was glad to return. The chamber was his, and although he’d made a place for her in it, rearranged and remodeled it to suit them, the brownstone was the first place that had been exclusively theirs from the beginning, their place between the worlds. And now, with the demands of his word pressing on him, he needed that space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“So,”
Catherine asked as she opened the creaking basement door to enter their home,
“what are your plans for tomorrow?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
was startled to recognize he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I…don’t know,” he
confessed. “You?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’ll
have to get some work done first thing; we’ve got pre-trial motions on Monday.
But…” Catherine took his hands, the clawed hands he’d once despised, in her
strong grasp. “I think you’ve earned a day of ‘do not disturb,’ personally.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Such
a thing would once have been unthinkable; even as the others had rested, he had
always sought extra work. Now, though…Vincent kissed her, the scent and feel of
her chasing away the shadows of the last few hours. “What did you have in
mind?” He had a sudden vivid memory of her asleep in their bed as the rain,
haloed by the light of a nearby streetlamp, cast dappled shadows on her fair
skin. He had wondered what the rain would taste like on the gentle curve of her
breast…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
unlaced the leather ties at the collar of his shirt. The sudden jolt of joy as
she touched him shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was…a surprise and a
gift. “Precisely the same thing you do, love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Later,
much later, Catherine awoke to find Vincent standing by their bedroom window,
staring out onto the cemetery far below them. The moonlight cast him in silver,
highlighting the long lines of bone and muscle, but there was something about
his posture; he was clearly lost in his own thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
didn’t bother to put a robe on as she left their bed—he was naked as was she,
and it was hardly necessary. “What is it, love?” she murmured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
turned to her with a start. “Forgive me. I…didn’t want to wake you.” He looked
at her under the thick veil of his hair. “I was…thinking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
came to stand behind him; the muscles of his back and shoulders were stiff and
tense under her hands. “About what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
breathed out once. “We met an armed party and were grossly outnumbered. Yet
Tamara let us go. Lucas let his wife and children leave without much more than
some vague threats. This…isn’t over. It can’t be.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine had thought the same thing once she’d heard the story, but given the relief over Father’s return without serious injury, she hadn’t thought it prudent to mention that this was likely only the first salvo in what might be a long-running conflict. “I know. But was there anything else you could have done?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
gazed down at his hands, the claws glittering like shards of diamond in this
light. “One part of me wanted to,” he confessed softly, “but Catherine, I was afraid…I
was so angry with them for trying to kidnap Father that I wasn’t sure I could
control my rage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
clasped his hands, forcing them to unclench. “Vincent, you did the right thing.
You brought them home. And Father will be fine.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He
will,” Vincent acknowledged. “For now. Later, though?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
tugged on his hands. “Later is…later. Come back to bed, love. We’ll deal with
it in the morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/12/inheritance-chapter-12-something-in-me.html">here</a> for Chapter 12...</i></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-19013312308761994812014-08-23T08:08:00.001-07:002014-10-11T17:59:48.158-07:00Inheritance: Chapter 10- Those Who Wait<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Chapter
10: Those Who Wait<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father had always had an instinctive fear of the dark; as a young man during the endless hours of the Blitz, the enforced, constant night had made him claustrophobic and many years later, in the tunnels, he had kept a small candle burning, regardless of the risks. Several cramped hours as Paracelsus’s prisoner hadn’t helped the feeling and now, as he followed Angela’s light, even steps, he took deep measured breaths and thought of home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The darkness pushed in and he breathed
against it, forcing it away. “You all right?” Quinn murmured (off to his right,
he thought, but it was difficult to tell.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,”
he said, as quietly. He found himself wishing for the solidness of Vincent’s
presence, for his son’s unerring awareness. It was difficult to be afraid around
Vincent, though only Father (and Catherine, he supposed) understood just how
much of an act his son’s pose of restrained calm really was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quinn
clasped his hand. “You’re really not okay. Your pulse is hammering like a
jackhammer.” A pause, then: “Father, are you claustrophobic?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It
was a difficult thing to admit, given their usual living conditions. “Yes. No.
Sometimes,” he allowed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We
should stop,” Quinn began, but Father cut her off. “No. We need to keep moving,
Quinn. If Lucas and the others should find us—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quinn
sighed. “All right. But—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angela’s
voice carried a whispered urgency. “Hush. I hear something.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“There’s
someone up ahead,” Vincent murmured as they stopped. He tilted his head
slightly. “Seven people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Not
Father and the others then,” Angus said as quietly. “Scouting party?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Perhaps,”
Vincent replied, uneasy. There was very little noise for such a large group and
that alone was reason for concern. If he’d heard seven people, there could
easily be twice as many that he hadn’t heard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Can
you see anything?” Angus asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
pathways and corridors around them were cloaked in shades of grey; Vincent knew
this looked like pitch darkness to the others. “No. But they’re not far away.”
He looked around the cavern, trying to find a place where they could hide.
Perhaps in the rocky arch over the left corridor...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A
child’s whimper echoed in the stillness. Vincent glanced at Angus and Mary, saw
they hadn’t heard the noise. “There’s a young child, a baby, with them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mary
shook her head. “That’s no scouting party. Refugees, maybe? Though I don’t know
if---”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent tapped on the rock---pipecode for “silence”---and Mary stopped talking. His sense of Father told him, inexplicably, that Father and the others were coming closer. <i>They’re escaping</i>, he realized, <i>and there are other people
with them. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> ***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
stretched and yawned. “That good, is it?” Marisol asked dryly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Marisol
looked tired, her black hair escaping from the fraying strands of her braid. “I
was about to ask you the same,” Catherine told her. “Everything all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Sure,”
Marisol said, “if you count a baby who won’t sleep as ‘okay.’” She yawned
hugely. “Miguel is with him now. I have it in mind to take a nap.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
should,” Catherine agreed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
can’t,” Marisol replied. “Miguel has to go into work soon and he can’t drive a
bus half-asleep.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
waiting was the hardest, Catherine had heard before in other contexts, but here
was something she <i>could</i> do. “I could take him for a couple of hours at
least,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Marisol
smiled. “Bless you for offering, and I will take you up on it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine rose and followed Marisol to the chamber she shared with Miguel and their infant son, Benjamin. It was slightly larger than most of the chambers she’d seen, but the pale rock walls—evidence of a new chamber carved for Benjamin—accounted for some of that, as did Marisol’s loom, resting against the opposite wall, a brightly colored tapestry half-finished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Miguel was pacing the interior of the chamber, trying to soothe his fretful son. “<i>Mijo, mijo</i>,” he murmured, but his voice was nearly lost in the boy’s fretful wailing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Catherine,
this is Benjamin,” Marisol said dryly. “Miguel, you’re off duty.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
don’t know what’s wrong,” he said. “He’s fed, he’s dry, he’s just—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Being
a baby, I think,” Marisol replied over the noise. “Don’t worry. Catherine’s
going to help me get some sleep—why don’t you go get something to eat before
you go to work. I’ll get her filled in on what he needs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Benjamin
was passed from his mother to his father and Miguel gave a grateful smile. “<i>Gracias</i>,
Catherine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At
the whimpering from her youngest son, Angela stopped. “Give him to me,” she
hissed in a whisper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rhys
obediently handed the boy over. “What are you— oh,” he said. If it hadn’t been dark
as a tomb, Father was certain he’d have seen the man’s blush light up the
corridors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father’s eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness but he thought Angela smiled. “What, you had a better idea?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rhys shook his head. “No, not at all. I’d have done it myself but the plumbing’s a bit lacking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She
might have chuckled. “Use what you got, I always say.” She tilted her head.
“Whoever else is out there, they’re coming closer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Are
they…dangerous?” Father couldn’t keep from asking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“If
they are, there’s not much we can do,” Angela replied reasonably. “I didn’t
have time to get the guns from the armory. But only a fool would fire into the
dark.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father
withheld his opinions of the relative intelligence of Lucas’s group and said
instead, “Very well. What do you suggest? Do we go forward or backtrack or…?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Staying
here isn’t an option,” Quinn said. “They’re coming closer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent
stayed in his listening position—eyes closed, head tilted—for several seconds.
He could feel the concern from the others, the uncertainty arcing through him,
but couldn’t spare the attention to deal with it. There were two groups
approaching, from different directions, and he needed every bit of awareness to
assess the situation. He breathed deeply, unleashing the hunter’s instincts;
Catherine had taught him that his abilities were not something to be feared,
but understood and accepted, and trusting in her counsel, he loosed the reins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
hunter, the Other, his hidden self—<i>he</i> knew precisely who was coming. A
group of seven—Father’s group—and another, whose scent and steps he didn’t
recognize. Five men, one woman, and the woman was not…entirely unknown. The
vaguest scent of sulfur, of something evil and grasping…the vile impostor
unmasked…the mask…<i>the mask</i>…<i>the maker of the mask</i>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There
was more too, the faint heavier metallic smells of gunpowder and unwashed
bodies. <i>They have guns. They are armed. </i>Vincent opened his eyes. “Father
and the others will be here soon. They…are not alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus
rolled his eyes. “Of course they aren’t. Why would anything be easy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mary
shook her head. “How many, Vincent?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Six. With weapons,” he answered. “There are few places we can retreat to, if they start firing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“So
we’re sitting ducks. Great,” Angus put in. “Explain to me why Father doesn’t
allow <i>us</i> actual weapons again?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It
was obviously a rhetorical question and Vincent didn’t answer. Instead, he
turned to them. “Go. Send a message. Tell the others—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“No,”
Mary said firmly. “We’re not going. We’re not leaving you alone to face this,
Vincent.” She touched his arm gently and the warm bubbling of her emotions was
soothing. She was the only mother he had ever known. “Not ever again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Walk.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Turn.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sway.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Walk. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Turn. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sway.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
walked the hall outside Marisol and Miguel’s chamber with Benjamin in her arms,
the baby’s hands clutched in the collar of her blouse. He was still fussy, but
his wailing had died down to an occasional whimper, soothed by the
movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey Catherine, who’s your new
friend?” Valerie called as she entered the corridor. “Ah, young Benjamin. Good,
I’m glad Marisol finally asked for some help.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She
came closer and Catherine saw Leah in her patchwork sling, which had clearly
been repurposed from at least one backpack. “How’s your baby doing?” Catherine
asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“About
as well as Benjamin is,” Valerie said ruefully. “I finally got her to sleep and
Cullen said to wake him in a couple of hours and he’ll take the rest of the
night.” She yawned. “I’ll let him, too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
chuckled. “I’d imagine so.” One of Benjamin’s hands had clenched in her hair;
wincing, she gently she unwound the hair from his fist. “Has there been any
word at all?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Valerie
bit her lip. “That’s one of the reasons I was looking for you. Pascal stumbled
into the commons a few minutes ago for the strongest coffee William makes. He
said there was a…ghost of a signal on the pipes, something in an old code we’ve
abandoned, but he <i>thought</i> it came from Lucas’s community.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Was
he able to translate the message?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Valerie
nodded. “Not really. The message broke off but…” She trailed off and Catherine
thought how rare it was to see Valerie broken out of her usual serenity.
“Catherine, are you at all familiar with the concept of signatures in pipe
code?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Not
really,” she replied. “Vincent taught me pipe code in Connecticut, but I don’t
think we got that far.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
probably…had other things to keep you busy, I’m sure,” Valerie replied with a
wink. “Basically, everybody knows the same pipe code, but there are subtle
differences. After a while, you get to the point where you can tell who’s
tapping without knowing who sent the message.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
bet Pascal knows everybody,” Catherine said as she tucked the blankets closer
around the baby against the perpetual tunnel drafts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You’re
not kidding,” Valerie agreed with a laugh. “Sometimes I think he knows who’s
tapping before they even start the message.” She sobered. “Catherine, Pascal
thinks it may have been sent by somebody who used to be one of Paracelsus’s
followers. Have you heard of…a woman named Tamara?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
shook her head. “No. Should I have?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Valerie
stared down at her daughter and Catherine had the momentary impression that she
didn’t want to meet her eyes. Finally, Valerie spoke. “When Vincent was
recovering from being so ill…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“A
bunch of us went to the remnants of Paracelsus’s community.” She met
Catherine’s gaze and there was steel in her hazel eyes which hadn’t been there
before. “I’ll be honest with you. We intended to drive his followers out of
here permanently. By whatever means necessary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I…see,”
Catherine replied, stunned. “I had no idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
weren’t supposed to,” Valerie said. “You had enough to worry about. I don’t
think we even told Father, but….he knew when we came back exactly where we’d
been. Never said a word to us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“And
you encountered Tamara?” Catherine surmised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes…and
no. You’ll recall Paracelsus had a particular gift with masks?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
shuddered, remembering Winterfest and Lou, and the oh-so-precise imitation of
Father which had driven Vincent over the edge into madness. “Yes. Tamara was
his mask-maker?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“That’s what we were…told by one of Parcelsus’s cronies,” Valerie said, and Catherine had no doubt of the circumstances of that particular confession. “Tamara was, of course, long gone by the time we were taken to her workshop. She had masks, half-finished, and some which were nearly done, all over the place—on the walls, on stands, everywhere.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Did
you…recognize anyone?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Valerie
snorted. “Who <i>didn’t</i> I recognize? You. Pascal. Cullen. She hadn’t finished theirs, but she was…really close to finishing yours.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Benjamin
had grown heavy in her arms; Catherine rubbed his back and he made a small
squeaking noise and subsided into sleep. “That’s disturbing, to say the least.
How could she expect to fool anyone with that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You’re
asking me to explain that kind of crazy?” Valerie shook her head. “I have no
idea. But it was plenty scary enough seeing it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine
certainly couldn’t disagree. “And now Pascal thinks she’s resurfaced?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
know Pascal. If he says it’s possible, you can believe it. She’s back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father
looked askance as Angela stopped. “What is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We’re
trapped,” she admitted. “There are two groups approaching from opposite
directions, and we can’t go back.” She didn’t bother lowering her voice; there
was, as Father acknowledged, no point if they had no place to hide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“One
of the groups is likely Vincent’s,” Quinn put in. “That means we outnumber the
other group…right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“They
have guns,” Angela reminded them. “Most likely, anyway. It wouldn’t occur to
Lucas and…<i>her</i>…to try and reason without them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Her, </i>Father
mused, their so-far nameless phantom. “Who is she, Angela?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“She wouldn’t tell me her name,” Angela responded. “ ‘Names have power,’ so she says.” She blew out her breath. “My granny on the rez used to say the same thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A
bolt of ice shot up Father’s spine. Paracelsus’s own words, when he’d abandoned
the name of John Pater in what felt like an eternity ago. <i>Someone very close
to Paracelsus, then.</i> “Is she an older woman?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yeah,
I guess so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I haven’t been
around her much to say.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father
glanced at her, at the children listening so raptly, and decided his questions
could wait for another time. Angela seemed to think the same thing and held up
her hand again. There was only the sound of the baby’s soft snoring and the
rustle of clothing as they breathed. “We should move forward,” Angela
announced. “Sitting here waiting isn’t going to accomplish much.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He
breathed deeply himself, hoping against hope they had not come all this way to
be injured or killed now. “Very well.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/10/inheritance-chapter-11-go-forth-with.html">here</a> for Chapter 11...</i></span></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-41119277397196052352014-07-20T07:40:00.000-07:002014-08-23T08:13:24.897-07:00Inheritance: Chapter 9- The Tangled Web<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chapter
9: The Tangled Web<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
the time Catherine reached their chamber, Valerie had filled her in on the
day’s events. “Come on in and sit down,” Catherine called to her as she went
into the bedroom. “I just need to change first. My feet are killing me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
chuckled. “Heels do seem…impractical.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That
they are,” Catherine agreed as she toed the vile things off, “but necessary,
sometimes.” She dug out her favorite pair of worn tennis shoes from under the
bed and put them on, then shrugged into the grey Columbia Law School
sweatshirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Ahhhh, much better. Make
yourself some tea if you want—I think the kettle is on the burner.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It
is,” Valerie confirmed. “Is this one of Mouse’s inventions?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What,
you mean the burner?” Catherine asked as she pulled her hair into a loose
ponytail and found Valerie staring bemusedly at the burner, which had been
jury-rigged to fit neatly above an old carved tea cart. “Yeah, it does. And
with a minimum of fireworks too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
chuckled. “Mouse, bless him. Above, I don’t know what he’d be—either in jail or
running a toy company.” She sobered. “Catherine, he wasn’t…very happy about
being left behind. A bunch of people weren’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m
sure Vincent had his reasons,” Catherine replied. “It must have been hard for
him to choose.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It
was,” Valerie confirmed, “but he had good reasons. Fewer people means a
lessened risk of being discovered, plus…well, you might not have noticed, but
Mouse doesn’t come with an ON/OFF switch. I don’t think he knows how to <i>be</i>
quiet.” She folded her arms. “Still, I’d expect Vincent to get an earful from
some of them. Me, I’m just glad he didn’t ask Cullen to go. He and Leah are all
I’ve got, you know?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded. “I do. I do indeed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What
were your plans tonight?” Valerie asked, a shade too carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
question was loaded with some other meaning, Catherine sensed. “I hadn’t really
thought that far,” she confessed. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
fiddled with the edge of her teacup—a nervous gesture. “There are people
gathering in the commons,” she finally said. “It would do them good to see you.
To know that <i>you</i> are not afraid. It’s what Vincent would do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
sat down heavily in one of the overstuffed chairs, absorbing this. Her husband
was as much symbol as man to the tunnels, but this was the first time she’d
confronted it quite so baldly. “And if I tell you that I am afraid…what then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Then
you’ll be another member of the club,” Valerie said dryly. “At least you won’t
be alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
small group traveled mostly in silence for the first few hours. Vincent was
pleased by this; they didn’t know precisely where Lucas’s sentries might be and
they were much less likely to be discovered if they didn’t make unnecessary
noise. He glanced at Mary and Angus and thought their expressions must surely
mirror his own: grim determination mixed with just the slightest amount of
apprehension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
took a deep breath, forcing calm over his instincts, the urge to leave the
others behind and strike at the people who had harmed his father. There was the
instinct of the hunter rising within him, thrumming with the rhythms of his
blood; set free…<i>alone</i>…and nothing and no one would stop him. <i>I can do
this, </i>the Other said, giving voice to all his inner conflicts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Let me. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
became aware of murmuring, and that Angus had said something to him and was
awaiting his answer. “I’m…sorry, Angus. My mind was elsewhere. What did you
say?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
shook his head. “Distracted is no way to go about this, you know. I said I
think we should stop for a bit—if I remember the maps right, and Mary says I
do, the corridors are going to start branching soon and we’ll need to figure
out which one to go down. Plus, if we’re going to cut power, we need to know
where they’re hiding their junction box.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
accepted the rebuke with an incline of his head. Winslow would have said much
the same. “You’re right,” he said. “My apologies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
grinned, an unexpectedly wry look on his dour face. He felt the weight of
Angus’s hand on his shoulder and through the contact, Vincent sensed there was
no true anger in him, just concern. “That’s what you brought me here for, ain’t
it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
returned the smile with one of his own. “Not entirely, but…yes, thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Angela,
what’s going on?” Father asked as the door shut behind her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
shifted her son to her shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
other hand rested on the thin, fragile shoulders of her eldest daughter. “Were
you serious, what you said? You would let us join you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Depends,”
Rhys said before Father could speak. “Did you know what Lucas was planning?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m
his wife,” Angela replied, as tartly. “Not his counselor. Not his mind-reader.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quinn
folded her arms. “That doesn’t answer the question. Did you know?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
knew Lucas was going to get a doctor—Joshua was sick, and Dr. Peter had told us
he wouldn’t be available for a time. I didn’t know… all of this.” Angela looked
at all of them, the bravado missing from her eyes, and Father noticed how tired
and frightened she looked. “<i>I didn’t.</i> Please. Believe me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
do,” Father said, before any of the others could speak. “But Angela, the
council will have to make the final decision as to your asylum. Be prepared
that they may not be in a listening mood after…all of this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela’s
smile made her look years younger. “They will, if I help you escape.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
felt a certain unwilling respect for her; Angela might well want a better life
for herself and her children, but she was going to buy her way into their
community with the only currency the council would accept. It was calculating,
and a touch cold, but he couldn’t argue with her logic. “Very well,” he said.
“I assume you have a plan?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
followed Valerie into the crowded commons and realized that most of the
community must be in here, waiting. There was an uneven, worried tone to the
rise and fall of conversation and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a
sullen Mouse (<i>sullen? Mouse? </i>she wondered) sitting with Jamie. But in
the nervous glances, Catherine saw that Valerie’s assessment had been correct:
without Father to lead them, without Vincent to calm them, the community was
rudderless and afraid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
took a deep breath and considered what to do next. There was an empty space
across from Mouse and Jamie’s welcoming smile beckoned her forward. “Do you
want some coffee?” Valerie asked. “There’s a fresh pot. I can bring you some if
you want. Cream, sugar?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Both,”
Catherine said. “And thank you.” She walked over to the table and sat down. The
conversation halted as soon as she sat down. “I told you,” Jamie said. “She’s
here, Mouse.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
am,” Catherine told her with a confidence she didn’t feel. “How are you two
doing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Mouse
is grumpy,” Jamie said, forthright as always. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Wanted
to come,” Mouse said, an unusual sourness edging his words. “Should be there.
Father’s not just Vincent’s Father.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
was fidgeting, Catherine saw, with the worn ceramic handle of his mug, and she
thought how odd it was to see him without one of his customary tools in his
hands. “Of course,” she soothed. “But I’m sure Vincent didn’t want to see you
get hurt.” And almost without conscious recall, she remembered the days after
the cave-in, coming Below to check on Vincent and finding Father engaged in a
serious discussion with Mouse about all the risks he’d taken to free them. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That much explosive, you could have been
killed!”</i> Father had said, and although Catherine hadn’t heard the worry in
his words then (she’d thought Father was being just a tad unfair, considering
Mouse’s risk had saved his life and Vincent’s) she thought she understood now.
Mouse didn’t care for his own welfare when the lives of his tunnel family were
endangered…and to keep him safe, Vincent had left him behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
he did for me.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
thought was not a new one, and Catherine knew she would have been of little
use—what need had they for a lawyer right now?—and she was buried in work
besides, necessary work with the Avery trial starting so soon, but…Jamie’s
light touch on her arm broke into her train of thought. “Catherine, you know
he’s going to be okay, right? They’ll all come home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
thought I was here to reassure you,” Catherine replied dryly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You
are. You did. But you needed to hear it too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They
trudged on in relative silence for another few hours or more. Vincent shut his
mental door against his darker thoughts to concentrate better on the faint
clues only he could pick up: the smell of fabric, the heavier (and much more
unpleasant) scents of unwashed bodies, the emotional residues of fear and worry
(Vincent shook his head once; sometimes these emanations were as overpowering
in their way as the more obvious smells.) The center corridor was absent all of
these clues; clearly no one had come this way in some time. The corridor to the
left, though…He picked up a whiff of <i>tea-antiseptic-book </i>and <i>knew. </i>Father
and the others had been taken down this passage. The growl rumbled in his
chest, unbidden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
turned at a tug on his cloak: Mary, gesturing them both to a jury-rigged
junction box hidden just inside the narrow left corridor. “It’s as I thought,”
she said, voice pitched low. “They haven’t made any changes since I was here
last. Father and I…saw this on our way back the last time. He was appalled.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
grunted. “With good reason. It’s a fire hazard waiting to happen. Complacent
bastards, aren’t they?” He eyed the wiring skeptically. “Been a while since I
mucked around with electrical work, but it looks easy enough to cut power.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And
how far away are we from Lucas’s group?” Vincent asked. He had a mental
estimate but he could as easily be wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
yawned and glanced at his watch. “Coming on midnight now. Shouldn’t be too much
longer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
felt a pang of guilt. They had left on his insistence and had not stopped,
except for a few brief breaks, for hours. And Angus and Mary were older; he
should have given them some time to rest. <i>And you? Aren’t you tired?</i> an
inner voice asked in Catherine’s voice—Catherine who had always insisted that
he gave his needs and desires as much weight as everyone else’s. Reluctantly,
he acknowledged the truth: he too was tired, and worried. And it was only with
great effort that he was able to limit the torrent of feelings coming from
Father and the others so he could focus on finding them. The strain of that,
the constant tug on his own emotions, was beginning to wear on him. “We can
stop for an hour or so,” he said aloud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary’s
head jerked up. Her hair had come down from its customary knot—a rare enough
sight—and as Vincent watched, she hastily repinned it. “I don’t think an hour
will make much difference, Vincent. We’ll all sleep better once they’re home.”
Her arch look punctuated her words: <i>Don’t stop on my account.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
nodded. “She’s right. Better we get there—we can rest on the way home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
folded his arms. “There might be…little rest for us on the way back. Are you both
certain?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
grinned, a challenging, fierce look. “What do you think, boy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
sat down heavily on the bed, tired to the marrow of his bones. Rhys paced the
confines of the narrow room. “Do you believe her?” Quinn asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
sighed. “I believe that she wants a better life for her children. Whether I
believe that she’ll be able to cut the electrical power and return to rescue us
is another thing entirely. But…it’s in Angela’s hands now. There’s little else
we can do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her
plan, he had to admit, had been a good one. With Lucas and the other members of
their rag-tag council embroiled in a meeting with “her” (Angela’s eyes had
flickered nervously to the door as she’d said the word,) it would be easy
enough for Angela to bring her children to Father and the others, and then
journey to the power junction to cut all power—and the overhead lighting. Then
she would return to guide Father and the others out of the community and on
their way back home. He fought against another sigh—so many, many things,
resting on the frail shoulders of one woman. And if she was caught…well, as
he’d said, it was up to Angela.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
heard the muted <i>snick</i> of the door’s lock; the door creaked open. Angela,
guiding her children inside. “I’ve fed Joshua and changed him,” she said
without preamble. “We should have a couple of hours before he gets fussy again.
These are my other children, Susan and Joseph.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Joey,”
the boy insisted. “My name is Joey.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
girl Susan rolled her eyes. “Joseph is your full name. I keep telling you
that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Joey
is a fine name,” Quinn said. She glanced at both children. “Would you like to
come with us? There are lots of other kids for you to play with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And
there’s food there,” Angela put in. “Food for the taking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Food
for the <i>asking</i>,” Father said firmly, wondering how well these children
would fare. “We do not steal in our community.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joey’s
eyes were round with shock and Susan opened her mouth to say something, but
Angela’s hand on her shoulder silenced them both. “Maybe we can talk about how
you live after we get there, eh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhys
smiled. “Great idea.” He took Joshua from her and sat down on the bed, holding
the child with a parent’s practiced ease. “How long do you think it will take
you to cut power and return?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
shrugged. “About an hour or so. Once I shut the power off, there will be a lot
of confusion and I’m sure Lucas will suspect something is up, so bar the door
and don’t let anyone in until I come back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Is
Daddy coming too?” Joey asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
bit her lip. “I don’t know, baby. I’ll ask him though, okay?” She squared her
shoulders. “I need you and Susan to stay here for a bit, okay? I’ll be back
soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
lights flickered and died on the last of her words. And Father knew, as surely
as he knew the sun would rise, or one of Mouse’s gizmos would inevitably
backfire…he <i>knew</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
and the others had arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
the hours wore on, more and more people came into the commons, as if to relieve
those who had already left, or simply to support those who remained. Bronwyn
joined them at some point near midnight. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said simply.
“The kids are out like lights, but…I can’t. Can I sit here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of
course,” Catherine said, scooting over on the long bench to make room. “Have
you eaten?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Some,”
Bronwyn replied. “But…you know how it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
do,” Catherine told her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
stood. “Oh, there’s Marisol and Miguel. Can I get you something from the
kitchen, Bronwyn?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bronwyn
shook her head. “Catherine, do you mind if we talk a little outside?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of
course not,” Catherine replied. She rose and followed the other woman into the
narrow corridor just outside the commons. Someone—Kanin, probably—had carved a
couple of wide benches into the wall and she sat down on one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tappings on the pipes, even at this late
hour, rose and fell and she felt some of the tensions of her day subside with
the rhythms of home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bronwyn
sat down next to her. She smoothed a non-existent wrinkle in her long patched
skirt then said, “Catherine, what do you know about what’s going on with Rhys?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Only
what you do,” Catherine replied and that thought unnerved her more than she
could say. Vincent, she sensed, had narrowed the threads of their bond to
concentrate better, and although she understood his reasoning, it was difficult
to perceive so little from him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bronwyn
folded her arms. “Are you…I’m sorry, Catherine, but I’ve heard rumors
about….you and Vincent’s connection. Isn’t there anything you can tell me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I…I
only know he’s well. I have to assume the others are, too,” Catherine said,
slightly nettled with discussing their bond so openly. It wasn’t something that
needed much analysis…it simply <i>was</i>, like the air she breathed or the
moon at night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bronwyn
flushed slightly. “I’m sorry. I’ve asked you about something personal—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
breathed out and smiled, recognizing the desperation that had driven Bronwyn to
breach the tunnels’ tacit respect for privacy. “No, if the shoe was on the
other foot, I’d have asked the exact same thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bronwyn
tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear. “But they’re all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded. Bronwyn’s hand reached out and clasped her own. “Then we’ll have to
hold to that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/08/inheritance-chapter-10-those-who-wait.html">here </a>for Chapter 10...</span></i></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-56186375509657667962014-06-19T18:07:00.000-07:002014-07-20T07:42:15.536-07:00Inheritance: Chapter 8- Like a Crystal Burning<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chapter
8: Like a Crystal Burning [8]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Someone must have called Mary, Vincent realized a few eternal minutes later when he saw her rush into the room. She took one look at him and her lips narrowed into a thin line. “It’s Father, isn’t it?” she stated. “Somebody talk to me, and I mean <i>now</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kanin
and Cullen exchanged surprised glances and Vincent found a wave of mirth
threatening to erupt from somewhere. He had long known that Mary’s gentle
nature concealed a whole host of steel, but it was likely the first time either
of the men had witnessed it. The altercation with the feral invaders so many
months before had changed her; made her stronger. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I was a damned fool,” she’d said to him
sometime afterwards. “I wanted to believe they were safe people. And I didn’t
listen to my instincts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You
weren’t the only one,” Vincent had said gently, recalling that Father and a
good percentage of the council had allowed themselves to be persuaded that
there was no danger. Only he had known, smelling the danger as a foul miasma
that stalked his every move. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I knew</i>,
he mused, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and no one listened. I knew</i>.
He banished the thoughts; it was all long ago and far away and both he and Mary
were no longer the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He allowed
himself to be guided to a chair and watched as Mary removed a stethoscope from
around her neck and placed it against his chest. “Don’t talk,” she ordered and
listened for a few moments. “You seem…more or less all right,” she announced,
removing the earpieces from her ears. “Your heart rate is fine, but I’d sit there
and rest for a bit because your color’s off.” She folded her arms and gazed
down at him, far more intently than was her usual. “It was bad… wasn’t it?
What’s happened? Did…those people hurt him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
seemed little point in denying it. “Yes,” Vincent said, finding his breathing
coming easier now that the momentary torment had ceased. “How did you know?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary reached up to repin a wayward lock of silver hair and favored him with a dry smile. “Come now, Vincent. I may not be Sherlock Holmes but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if Father’s gone to the outer community and nothing’s been heard since, and you’ve nearly passed out, it’s nothing good.” She bit her lip. “I warned him about returning there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You….you
<i>what</i>?” Angus asked, and a good thing too, Vincent mused, since it saved
him from asking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Remember
a few years back, when they asked us to come because one of their women was
having a difficult delivery?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
nodded. Angus merely shrugged. “Well,” Mary went on, “she…didn’t make it.
Neither did her baby. I told her husband she should have been in a hospital but
he said he took his orders from…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Lucas?”
Vincent asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,
somebody else,” Mary said. “I was never able to figure out who, but her husband
was very scared—too terrified to risk defying his orders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That…doesn’t
sound like Lucas,” Vincent said. “He sent for help when it was his own child in
danger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m
sure it wasn’t,” Mary replied. “Lucas is a common thief and his moral compass
is mostly lacking, but he’s not the kind to inspire that level of fear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You
didn’t want Father to go back there,” Kanin said. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary gazed at all of them in turn and there was something about her that was very far removed from the quiet tunnel midwife they’d all known for so long. “Have you ever watched someone die and known they could have been saved? I begged them to take her to the hospital, even just to drop her off at the ER and leave, but they refused for fear of what this nameless man might do. That’s who Father is dealing with—people who would sacrifice their own, merely to save themselves.” She clenched her fists. “He should never have gone, and now, something has happened.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An
uncomfortable suspicion began to form in Vincent’s mind. The allegiances of the
outer community, as he had once told Catherine, had always been murky at best
and it was likely that at least a few people there had owed allegiance to
Paracelsus. Had he been the nameless puppet-master back then? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
what about now? </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It
occurs to me,” Marisol said softly, in deference to the sleeping Benjamin,
“that if I were setting a trap, I could think of no better bait than Father.
They have to know you would come, Vincent. Rhys and Quinn were merely an added
bonus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
others stared at her, but Vincent nodded. “You are speaking of plots within
plots. Something which also does not seem to be Lucas’s style.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,”
Mary agreed, “at least, not from my knowledge of him. He’s not that subtle. If
this is some part of a larger plot, it’s not his idea.” She walked over to the
table, piled high with scribbled notes and ideas. “So, what’s the plan?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
glanced at her watch, calculating when she could slip out of the office with
the least amount of comment. Since Joe’s unwilling promotion, her caseload had
more than doubled and it was no longer as easy as it had once been to leave.
She breathed in once, twice, forcing calm; Vincent’s emotions had ricocheted
through her while she had been in court, but the savage echoes in their bond
had subsided, supplanted once again by the feeling of his usual steady warmth.
He had recovered, though she could sense he was still deeply worried—and small
wonder, with Father and the others still missing. A delicate cough alerted her
to Rita’s presence. “Thinking of going home early?” she asked in a
conspiratorial whisper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
smiled, forcing her worries and her fears aside. “I was, as a matter of fact.
You?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh,
yeah,” Rita replied. “My calendar is clear, and it’s too pretty a day to be
stuck in here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
was gorgeous outside, a clear sunny day, the perfect day for a picnic. She
could almost hear the birds chirping outside. “It is,” Catherine agreed. “Have
you finished reviewing Graham Sparks’s motion?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah,”
Rita said. “The usual. The jury pool has been tainted, his client stands no
chance of a fair trial, we’re awful meanie poo-poo heads who clearly have a
vendetta against his client.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
chuckled. “He didn’t actually say we were poo-poo heads, did he?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rita
smiled in return. “No. But that was the gist of it.” She grew serious. “Can we
try this case in Albany?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
leaned back in her chair. “We can try it anywhere---” and she smiled faintly,
remembering, and wondering what Devin would have made of all of this—“south of
Oz and north of Shangri-La. I just hope we won’t have to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
regained his footing and the air in his lungs at almost the same moment. Lucas
and the others made no move to help him, not that he’d really expected them to.
“A wounded doctor is rarely of use,” he said quietly. “If this is your manner
of persuasion, I find it lacking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas
spread his hands. “Merely a taste of what might continue if you don’t agree. We
don’t want them---” he gestured towards Rhys and Quinn— “so they can leave.
We’ll escort them to our perimeter and they won’t be harmed.” He glanced at
Quinn, trying to shake off the beefy arms of the man who held her in place, and
Rhys, who was—to Father’s eyes—one short second from losing his temper. “Of
course, if you need more persuasion…well, like you said, we can’t keep hurting <i>you</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
abused tendons of his leg twisted and jumped; Father kept his voice even with a
will. <i>When we get back home, I’m not leaving the heated bathing pool until
next Winterfest</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. </span>The pool
had been John’s discovery, he remembered with the kind of peculiar mental
meanderings which burst forth in moments of stress, and dismissed the
recollection almost instantly. Memories of a dead psychopath would hardly be
helpful <i>now</i>. “That would be most…unwise,” he said at length, something
tickling at the back of his mind. They knew Vincent would be coming,
eventually—and yet, they seemed totally unconcerned. Why? “Who planned all
this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
the startled jerk of Lucas’s head, his hunch had struck a nerve. Lucas’s mouth
opened and closed several times before he spoke. <i>He obviously doesn’t play
poker much</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,</span> Father thought.
“I…no one. We need a doctor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You
do. And badly. But that’s not why you decided to kidnap us. Or at least, that’s
not entirely why.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas
and Gordon exchanged glances. “You’re some smart,” Gordon finally drawled.
“Smarter than she said.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Father wondered. <i>Who is really in charge here? It’s not
Lucas.</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Enough
of that,” Lucas snarled. “Doc, you’ve got a choice to make. Gordon will take
you and the others back and you’ll have until tomorrow morning to make your
choice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
shifted his balance, reaching for the phantom comfort of his missing cane. “My
answer won’t change.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gordon
gave him a twisted parody of a smile. “We’ll see about that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen
leaned back in his chair, shifting Leah to his other shoulder. “All right. So,
you think this is where Father and the others are being held?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One</i> of the places,” Mary corrected him,
arching a bit to stretch her back. They had been pouring over maps and Mary’s
remembrances of her trips to the outer community for what felt like an
eternity, and Vincent’s own eyes were becoming tired and gritty. “Most of their
chambers, like most of ours, don’t have doors. You’d hardly put three people in
a room without one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marisol
had long since left to attend to a fretful Benjamin and it was Valerie who
spoke next. “No, you wouldn’t, but…they could have made changes since you were
here last.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
doubt it,” Mary asserted. “They haven’t the resources to change very much; they
can manage basic security measures, I’m sure, but I don’t believe for a second
they could marshal the kind of work crew that you and Kanin and Angus can,
Cullen. It’s…a very transient community, untrusting of most of its people.” She
tapped the map. “If they’re anywhere, it’s in one of these three chambers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At
the other side of the table, Vincent fought the urge to stand and pace in his
frustration. So much of this plan hinged on a series of ifs—<i>if</i> Father
and the others were still healthy enough to leave, <i>if</i> the ways to the
outer community hadn’t been changed in the intervening years,<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <i>if</i></span> there was not something
far more sinister than just kidnapping going on. <i>If. If. If.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span>And there was the demanding constant
presence of the Other, rattling the bars of his mental cage in his fury and
need to do <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">something.</span> It was,
at the moment, an impulse Vincent was very much in agreement with but he
checked his impulses; now more than ever, he needed to remain calm. <i>Fake it
until you make it,</i> he heard Catherine say in her wry way, and felt some of
his inner turmoil subside. She would be here soon, he sensed, balm to all his
worries and fears. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
cannot come with us</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> the dry whisper of
the Other’s voice skittered across his consciousness. Vincent hid a start;
rarely was the voice of his sometime-nemesis so clear. <i>We must protect her.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span>He barely stopped himself from nodding
(surely the others would look askance at <i>that</i>) in agreement. When it
came to Catherine and her safety, they had always been in agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“They
have guns too, right?” Angus’s voice said, breaking Vincent out of his musings.
“How we gonna dodge that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Turn
off the lights,” Mary said simply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen
inhaled sharply. “They’re bleeding electricity from the city power lines?
Jesus, how damned stupid are they?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We</span> do it,” Vincent said a touch sharply. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah, but not all the time, and
not in such large amounts as would make anybody suspicious,” Cullen retorted.
“Emergencies only.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And for the coffee pot,” Valerie
put in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You mean that’s not an
emergency?” Cullen quipped and everyone laughed, the break of tension welcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary took a sip of her own coffee
and smiled. “I’d certainly call it a necessity.” She returned her attention to
the scrawled maps. “So the plan is…?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Go
in, get them, and return safely,” Vincent said, keeping the growl (<i>rage!
fight! protect!</i>) out of his words, but only barely. He could feel the
timbre of it, rumbling through his chest, demanding to emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary
touched his hand and squeezed it as if to say, <i>I know. I understand</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. </span>“We’ll find them. We must. And
tomorrow, they’ll be back home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
had asked that the cab stop near the Central Park entrance, ignoring the
driver’s flustered protests that she couldn’t be thinking of walking alone
there. It hadn’t even crossed her mind to go to their brownstone first; with
Father and the others still missing, Vincent wouldn’t have come to their home.
He’d be Below, waiting for news and—she sensed through the currents of their
bond—planning a rescue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To
her surprise, Valerie met her at the tunnel entrance. “Where’s Vincent?”
Catherine asked without preamble. <i>He can’t be injured. I would have known. I
would.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
eyed her carefully. “Catherine, Vincent and the others—Angus and Mary—they’ve
left already.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through
the tumult of her feelings, Catherine heard the other woman’s words. Vincent
hadn’t gone alone this time; he had taken people he trusted, people he knew.
And of course, he wouldn’t have taken her with him, but… “I…see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Do
you?” Valerie challenged gently. “They had to leave as soon as possible—they
can’t take the straightforward way to the outer community, not and evade
Lucas’s sentries, and that will take hours. They’ll arrive during the middle of
the night, which further lessens the risk that anyone will be…injured.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
heard all that Valerie carefully wasn’t saying: Vincent was going to rescue
Father and Quinn and Rhys, but he didn’t want to kill anyone in the process
unless it couldn’t be prevented. “All right,” she said. “Why don’t you tell me
what’s been going on today?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
found he could not sleep, options and possibilities and questions turning over
in his mind like the tumbled stones in a creek. Finally, he dared voice his
thoughts. “I could stay,” he said into the utter stillness of the room. “I
could stay and they’d let you both go and you could lead the others back
here---”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
hand—Quinn’s, he thought, though of course there was no light to tell—grasped
his shoulder and shook it slightly. “No, Father. They’re lying. They don’t want
witnesses. They don’t want us traveling back home and bringing Vincent here. As
soon as we were out of your sight, they’d kill us both. Then there’d be some
message that you were hurt or killed and…that would be it. Or so they’d think.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“She’s
right,” Rhys said. “We go together or not at all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
was silence for a time, then Quinn spoke again. “Father, who do you think is
really running this show?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not
Lucas,” Rhys said. “He said ‘she.’ ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“
‘She’?” Quinn echoed. “Not Angela, I don’t think, not after you saved her son’s
life. Who else could it be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
folded his hands, thinking. “Paracelsus was allied with a number of different
people when he…died. One of them was a woman named Tamara. We have had no
further sightings of her since his death.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Tamara? The mask-maker?” Quinn
asked. “The…scouting party didn’t find any trace of her. Why would she come
back here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scouting
party</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father thought. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A
very delicate euphemism for the angry, intent mob determined to chase the last
of Parcelsus’s closest followers from these tunnels. </span>Too preoccupied
with his worries over Vincent’s health in the days immediately following
Paracelsus’s death, Father had not ordered or sanctioned such a thing, but he’d
known it was happening and then, as now, had a hard time mustering more than
the faintest wave of guilt about it. “Nevertheless,” Father said, “I believe
she may still be alive. And still living Below.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
heard the faint intake of breath off to his left—Rhys, most likely, wanting to
speak. There was a knock at the door and the minute, hesitant creak of the
door’s opening. Angela slipped into the room, her children trailing silent
behind her. “We need to talk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[8] “Oh
Day of Fire and Sun,” by Sarah Teasdale<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/07/inheritance-chapter-9-tangled-web.html">here</a> for Chapter Nine...</i></span></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-9670369720101486062014-05-10T17:39:00.001-07:002014-06-19T18:11:43.844-07:00Inheritance: Chapter 7- Under a Moon Waning and Worn <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Chapter 7: Under a Moon Waning and Worn
[7]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine started at the sound of the
telephone, breaking the point of her newly-sharpened pencil. She dug the
receiver out from a pile of legal pads, briefs and nearly dislodged a now-cold
cup of coffee into her lap in the process. She blew her hair out of her face
and picked it up. “Catherine Chandler.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Hi, Ms. Chandler, this is Lucy at reception.
You have a call from a Detective Griffin from the Elizabeth, New Jersey Police
Department. Did you want me to take a message?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yes, Catherine
wanted to say, rubbing eyes gone gritty and sore with tiredness. Aloud, she
replied, “No, Lucy, I’ll take the call.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Okay,” Lucy replied. “Stay on the line
and I’ll transfer him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine took a hasty drink of her
coffee before the male voice began speaking. “Hello, am I speaking to ADA
Catherine Chandler?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,” she answered. “What can I do for
you today?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Are you familiar with a woman named
Marge Mueller?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her heart sank. It had been almost two
months since Marge Mueller had come to her office, delivering a box of Max
Avery’s tax records. “Yes, yes I am. Is she in some kind of trouble?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Well, I wouldn’t call it that, exactly,” Detective Griffin said laconically. “She hasn’t done anything that we can tell. It’s only her house was robbed last night—strangest thing too. She had some valuables in the house—not many, but nothing a thief worth his salt would have ignored—but those weren’t taken.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Mrs. Mueller had provided
some…information on a case we’re prosecuting,” Catherine said, cautious of
saying too much to anyone about the Avery case. “Is she all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Oh, yes,” the detective replied. “Her
house is a total mess, though, and she suggested we talk to you as part of our
investigation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I’m sure,” Catherine replied. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There are no coincidences.</span> “The
documents she gave us are part of an ongoing investigation. I’m sure you
understand I can’t comment further.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Of course,” the detective replied.
“Seeing as how this is related to a case you’re prosecuting, I’m going to have
some more patrols in her area for a time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Thank you,” Catherine replied. “Please
let Mrs. Mueller know I’ll be contacting her soon as well.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After he hung up, Catherine leaned her
head forward into her hands. Between Vincent and his manifold worries and
concerns, and the convoluted mess that the Avery case had been and was
continuing to be, she felt as if she were trying to plug holes in a dam with
bubble gum. <i>Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof</i>, she thought; it
had been one of her father’s favorite quotations and it was as if—for just a
second—she felt his presence so very near. She smiled, and took a deep breath.
Mrs. Mueller’s phone number was around here somewhere….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“So what’s this all about?” Angus asked
as he followed Vincent down a deserted side-corridor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent halted in his own pacing,
trying to marshal his thoughts. “Security of these tunnels has long been my
exclusive province,” he began. “Not by my choice necessarily, but…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Well, you do seem…equipped for it,”
Angus said, bluntly. “What are you thinking?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent stared at thick nails—claws,
really, if he were to be perfectly accurate—which glinted in the torchlight. “I
cannot stage a rescue on my own,” he replied, finding Angus’s honest words to
be the balm he needed to continue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus folded his arms, one foot braced
flat against the rock wall. “So you think they <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">will</span> need to be rescued?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,” Vincent said after some
deliberation. “I do. I would prefer to do it without loss of life, if
possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“And you’re asking for help…from me,”
Angus said slowly. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Because I trust you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You trust Kanin and Cullen—hell, you
even trust Mouse and some days, that’s a bridge too far. Why me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Olivia’s pregnancy has
been…challenging thus far and she needs Kanin’s help with Luke. Cullen has a
new wife and a newborn daughter who need him as well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Whereas nobody needs me,” Angus said
bitterly. “Thanks, but—“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Deep in his chest, Vincent felt the
snarl, the rumble of frustration, the desperation that he might yet lack the
words to make Angus see, waiting to unfurl. “<i>No</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. </span>That’s not it at all,” he ground out. “You, more than anyone
here, know what love and loss can do to a person and yet you choose…you have
chosen…to be better than that.” He tried to smile. “Perhaps I merely need the
reminder.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus stared at him. “You’re afraid…of
losing Father, aren’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,” Vincent admitted. “There is so
much we don’t know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus rubbed the side of his face. “Do
you think you might be jumping the gun here a bit? You sent a message. You
haven’t even received a reply and you’re…what, planning an invasion?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“No,” Vincent replied. “I’m…trying to be
cautious. To prepare, if things should be as bad as I suspect.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">do</span> know something then, don’t you? Or you sense it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent spread his hands. “Impressions,
mostly. The sense that things are going badly…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fear</i>…desperation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus swallowed. “Is Quinn all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“It isn’t that specific. I’m sorry, I
wish it was.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“But it is with Catherine?” Angus asked
shrewdly. “Never mind, you don’t have to answer that. I…know how it is with you
two.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Not
for the first time, Vincent wondered exactly what stories were circulating
about them in the tunnels. Aloud he said, “I…see. If there is trouble, will
you—“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Angus
clapped him briefly on the shoulder. “Yeah. Of course. You never needed to
ask.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You all right?” Quinn asked, her firm
hand on his elbow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">His right hip throbbed, a dull, steady
agony that flared with each step. “I’ve been better,” Father muttered as they
walked—hobbled, really, if he were to be totally honest—down the long length of
the corridor. His hip hadn’t hurt this badly since the unending walk from
Paracelsus’s lair with Catherine (John had, of course, taken his cane<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“the
better to play my role with,”</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
</span>he’d gloated) and the memory of that nightmare time was more than enough
to make him dread what was ahead. He took a deep breath and squared his
shoulders; this was not a good time to get mired in the past. “But I’ll live.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Gordon stopped and turned back to look
at them. “That’s good,” he said, a touch too cheery for Father’s taste. “You
being dead would mean all sorts of explanations I’d have to make to Lucas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Out of the corner of his eye, Father
saw Rhys’s fists clench, then slowly release. How often had he seen that same
gesture from Vincent in his youth, trying to grapple with fury or frustration?
Though Rhys was unrelentingly amiable, Father had never made the mistake of
underestimating how fierce he could be. He smiled at the other man, trying to
communicate what could not be said with words. <i>I’m all right. Don’t worry.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rhys nodded briefly. “How much longer will we be walking?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Gordon laughed. “Why? Thinking of
making a map?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quinn smiled. “Him? No,” she said, obviously trying to release some of the tension as her fingers unobtrusively sought Father’s pulse. “He gets lost in <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">our</span>
tunnels.”<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The comment, in their own community,
would have brought some gentle laughter and fond smiles. Here, among the
strangers who were their neighbors, it received nothing but a hard, foreboding
stare. “You’ll need to make a left turn at the next junction,” Gordon said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rhys raised one eyebrow. “And if we should go…right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Gordon folded his arms. “You get lost
easily, you don’t want to turn right. If you know what’s good for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That statement ended all conversation
for a time, and Father found his thoughts returning, as they often did during
times of trial, to Margaret. Not Margaret as she had been during those final
seven days—those memories were still too precious and he hoarded them as the
treasure they were—-but as she had been during their all-too-brief
marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had given him his first
cane as a joke, saying that anyone with his accent needed a cane to look
properly British. It had been an affectation he’d hardly needed then and he
smiled inwardly, thinking of that younger Jacob Wells who’d been able to take
his wife out dancing, but after his hip injury (<i>Had that been John’s doing</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">?</i> he wondered now, all these years
later) the cane had been the one relic of his time above that had been still
been useful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quinn’s hand on his arm brought him out
of his musings. “We’re here,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine rested her head against her
hands. The call to warn Mrs. Mueller—even to suggest that she go stay with a
family member for a time—had been utterly fruitless. Showing a spirit Catherine
had not originally suspected she possessed, Marge Mueller had insisted that she
would not be chased from her home by a couple of robbers. Her one concession to
her own safety was that one of her sons-in-law, a construction worker, was
working nearby and would certainly come and check on her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She heard the crinkle of a bag and the
distinctive footsteps of Joe, and looked up. “Cheese nuggets? Nacho cheese
nuggets? Now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He grinned. “It’s nearly lunch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She glanced at the clock. “Ugh. It is.
Have you seen the…sandwich cart?” <i>Maybe there would be some news of Father
and the others.</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yeah, he’s over with the interns,” Joe
replied. He tilted his head. “You look tired, Radcliffe. Everything okay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I’m fine,” she said, dredging up a
smile from somewhere. “I just need to get something to eat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Joe eyed her closely. “If you say so.
Did Rita show you the latest motion Avery’s attorney filed?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“No. He filed another one?” Catherine
asked, feeling the ominous lurch in her stomach begin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yeah. Rita’s going to be seeing you
soon about writing the response; she took it with her to read it in court while
she’s waiting for her arraignment to be called. It seems he wants a change of
venue. Again. This time to Albany.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine held back a snort, but only
just. “Oh, sure. Just because his client had his thumbs in every pie in New
York City, of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">course </span>he wants
the trial moved north.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Do you think there’s
a chance the judge will agree?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Joe pitched the empty bag into the
trash and folded his arms. “There’s always a chance, but the judge said ‘No’
once. I can’t see him suddenly agreeing now.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What’s his calendar look like around
the trial date?” she asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Clear—it’s not as if the Avery case
will be one of several high-profile cases being heard that week. It’s pretty
much the only one,” Joe said with satisfaction. “The judge would have even less
reason than usual to agree to the change of venue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Catherine leaned back in her chair,
feeling the tension suddenly lift. She was ready to try this case in whatever
venue it finally landed, but going to Albany, being so far away from Vincent
and the current troubles in the tunnels, was not at all ideal. “Well, let’s
hope the judge is reasonable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The rusty squeak of the sandwich cart
announced Benny’s arrival. “What’ll it be, hot stuff?” he asked with a wink and
a smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Do you…” she began and met his eyes
over Joe’s bowed head, only to see Benny shake his head slightly. No news,
then. “…Well, I can’t decide. What do you suggest?” <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“The ham and Swiss on rye is good,”
Benny said. “On the house. We’ve got too many of them today anyway.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Hey, how come my sandwiches are never
free?” Joe demanded, half-seriously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Benny winked. “Because you’re not
nearly as pretty.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father noticed the noise first—the
sound of tapping on the pipes. It was a welcoming, familiar sound, the sound of
home. But the messages were in a code he couldn’t quite translate, yet another
reminder—as if he needed one—how very precarious their situation was. “We got a
message from your boy,” Lucas said without preamble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In other circumstances, Father would
have laughed at anyone calling Vincent a “boy.” He’d topped a rangy six feet at
sixteen and before that, even Father would have hesitated to call him a boy;
Vincent had always been too old for his years, for the weight of his burdens.
Aloud Father said only, “Oh? I’m sure he wanted to check on us. We were
supposed to have sent a message some hours ago.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“That’s what he said,” Lucas replied
with a small frown. “To be honest, I’m surprised he’s not already here. Maybe
he doesn’t miss you as much as you thought?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rhys snorted in derision. “Or maybe
he’s weighing his options to get us back. You ever think of that? He knows
something’s not right.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Why did you want to see us?” Quinn
asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucas raised his eyebrows. “You and
Rhys are free to go. You can tell Vincent that we’re keeping the doctor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that how you think this works? You kidnap us, and I’m just going to stay here because you say need a doctor? No.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The sharp blow to the back of his legs
(<i>with what?</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">his cane?</span></i> Father wondered through
the haze of agony which made his vision grow thin and grey) jolted his hip and
brought him to his knees, driving the breath from his lungs. Gordon stepped
back, satisfied, as Father tried to remember how to breathe, how to think, in
the tumult. He dimly heard Angela’s gasp of horror, the sounds of Quinn and
Rhys trying—and failing—to rush to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Father looked up to see Lucas fold his
arms, apparently unmoved. “I told you that we can be…persuasive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent sat with Cullen, Angus, Kanin, Valerie and Marisol at the octagonal table in Father’s study which had been there at least since his own birth, and possibly before. They were, if he admitted the truth, planning an invasion; old tunnel maps were unfurled and paperweights of books and mugs kept the maps from curling, while Kanin and Cullen made notations on a large section of butcher paper. He glanced at Marisol and Valerie and considered that there was no real reason for them to be present, except for the necessary counterbalance they provided. He had thought to ask Mary to join them, but she was Father’s oldest friend; it would not be kind to worry her until there was real reason to worry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Almost as if divining his thoughts, Cullen raised his head and spoke. “Man, we should get Mary here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What makes you say that?” Angus asked.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“She went with Father to the community
once—one of the women was having trouble giving birth. How long ago was that?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“It was a few years ago,” Vincent
recalled. “Four, maybe five years.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“She might know a better way in than these maps,” Cullen responded. “And you know she’d do anything to help Father.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“As we all would,” Valerie put in
kindly. “It’s a good thought, though.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vincent nodded and rose to bang out the
message on the pipes when a sudden burst of agony nearly drove him to his
knees. His vision greyed and he must have groaned for when he opened his eyes,
it was to find the others staring at him. An inner force rose<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">---avenge! protect! defend!</i>---snarling, wanting to unleash its fury and he choked it back with an effort. “It’s Father,” he managed. “We…don’t have much time.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/06/inheritance-chapter-8-like-crystal.html">here</a> for Chapter 8....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">__________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">[7] “September Nights,” by Sarah
Teasdale</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-83481228703873720152014-04-11T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-10T17:43:12.198-07:00Inheritance: Chapter 6- Starry Questions With a Single Key<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Chapter 6: Starry Questions
With a Single Key [6]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catherine awoke in the middle of the night to find the bed
empty and cold. She pushed the hair out of her eyes and sighed. Vincent,
restless and awake, consumed by his worries. He was still inside their house;
their bond spoke of his closeness and when she listened closely, she could just
barely hear the squeal of the teakettle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He often seemed to require little sleep but since Father’s absence,
Vincent had slept even less than normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She pulled on a robe and descended the stairs; one step—the
middle one—was creaky despite all the renovations, and she side-stepped it
neatly, not wanting to startle him. “I know you’re there,” Vincent called
softly. “I’m all right, Catherine. Truly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“All right” was not the most accurate description, Catherine
mused; she could feel the tangled knots of his concerns as if they were her own
burdens, but she smiled at the attempt at reassurance. “So that’s why you’re
down here at 2am with the teapot going full blast?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent might have sighed. He put down the book Catherine knew
he hadn’t been reading and turned the table lamp on—more for her benefit than
his own. “I couldn’t sleep.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You don’t say,” Catherine replied dryly. She drew the folds of her robe closer and walked into the kitchen. “What kind of tea would you like? Chamomile or—?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Chamomile, please,” Vincent answered. “I don’t think I need
caffeine at this hour of the night.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No,” Catherine agreed. “What’s troubling you? Father?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes. He should have sent a message to us hours ago. Yet Pascal
reports nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catherine bit her lip. “Joshua could be sicker than Father
realized.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The thought wasn’t a new one, she could tell. “Father would
still have sent a message, or asked Quinn or Rhys to do it. We’ve heard
nothing, and that’s with Zach listing on the few pipes which we think originate
in the outer ring community. If there was something to hear, Zach or Pascal
would have heard something.” Vincent stared down at his clenched fists. “What
am I to tell Bronwyn? Or Angus?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catherine nodded, somewhat surprised by the linking of Quinn’s name with Angus’s. She’d had only minimal contact with Angus and barely knew Quinn but Angus’s reputation tended to precede him. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Well, what do you know…</span>Aloud she said, “You’ll tell them what you must. The truth. That you don’t know anything yet but that Pascal and Zach will let everyone know the moment you do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He gave a low chuff of reluctant amusement. “You make it sound
so simple.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s because it is,” Catherine said, taking his hands in
hers. “Vincent, nobody expects you to have all the answers, not in this kind of
situation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Perhaps,” he murmured as he rested his head against hers. His
voice was so low she hardly heard his next words. “Father would know what to
say, how to keep people calm, how to reassure Bronwyn and Angus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catherine shook her head. “And you don’t? Vincent, the people Below believe in you. They trust that you know what you’re doing.” She studied him closely, sensing something…. “This isn’t just about nerves, is it? Something else is keeping you up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent tilted his head back to stare at the muted glow of the
plastered ceiling as if it might contain all his answers. “I have a sense,” he
finally said, “that things are going badly with Father and the others.
And….there is nothing I can do. I fear if any of us went to check on them, it
would be viewed as a provocation, and the outer community is armed, as Cullen
would say, to the teeth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catherine nodded. “All right. Could you…send a message to
Lucas, asking if Joshua is all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes. But I would not expect him to tell me the truth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Father and the others spent an uneasy night in their small
chamber. Father was uncomfortably reminded of the hours he’d spent as
Paracelsus’s captive, bound and gagged in a tiny recess behind an oil painting,
and found it difficult to sleep as a result. Quinn and Rhys had agreed before
the last light of the candle burned out that each of them would take turns
keeping watch and he thought it might be Quinn’s turn now, though of course it
was impossible to see anything. Then her voice spoke out of the darkness and he
was obscurely comforted. “You all right, Father?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“As all right as can be expected, yes,” he responded though it
was growing chill in the room and they’d been provided with thin
blankets—sheets, really. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The others will know something’s up soon,” Quinn said by way
of reassurance, though she couldn’t possibly have felt as confident as she
sounded. “Rhys and I were supposed to check in hours ago.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“As was I,” Father replied. “I’m sure everyone is quite
concerned.” He looked in her general direction and smiled. “You should get some
rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I will, when Rhys wakes up. But not until,” Quinn retorted. He
heard the rustle of her clothing as she pulled the folds of her knitted and
patched cardigan closer together. “Not the Hilton, is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Not even close,” Father agreed dryly. Vincent had done well to send these two here, he thought. Quinn was rock steady and not given to panic, and Rhys was disarmingly amiable; neither of them would appear to be a threat to a community used to solving most of its problems by violence or mayhem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He heard the creak of the thin mattress; Rhys, sitting up. “My
turn now,” Rhys said through a yawn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dawn found Vincent deep in conversation with Pascal. “And do I
remember correctly that it’s this pipe which leads directly to Lucas’s
community?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pascal nodded, his bald head reflecting dimly in the light from the candles scattered around the room. The chiming and clanking of pipes was not yet as loud as it would become once everyone was awake, and Vincent had taken the opportunity to have a rare quiet chat with the pipe-master. “Should be,” Pascal said. “I mean, near as we can tell. You know they don’t let us get too close.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Probably for good reason,” Vincent replied grimly, and was
startled by Pascal’s touch on his arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Don’t worry too much, okay?” Pascal said with a fond smile. “I
know you will, but I know you’ll find a way to get them home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Then…you also don’t believe this delay is coincidental?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No,” Pascal said. “I don’t. I’ve been keeping my suspicions to
myself, but if Father couldn’t get a message to us, Rhys and Quinn surely
could. And it’s been silent since yesterday.” He gestured with the metal rods
he used to tap on the pipes. “I pick up echoes, here and there. Too faint for
me to hear fully, but I know they come from Lucas and his people. Since Father
and the others arrived, there’s been not even that. Radio silence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“All right,” Vincent answered. “Do you know their pipe code?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He was surprised by a rakish grin from the normally reticent
man. “Probably better than they do, yeah. You want to send a message?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I do,” Vincent said. “Ask after Joshua. And when we can expect
our people back home?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pascal turned to bang on the pipes; when the message was sent,
he looked back at Vincent. “I wish we knew more about them. They’re our
neighbors, after all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent nodded. “Yes, I agree. When Winslow and I visited years
ago, we were met by a committee, you might call it. We never saw the entire
community.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh, I remember—you went there because of Mouse, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes. We thought he might have wandered away from his family
somehow. Winslow was…greatly disappointed to find that wasn’t the case.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pascal chuckled. “Yeah, I remember that pretty well. Especially
since Mouse followed you around everywhere, and you spent a lot of time with
Winslow in those days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent smiled. “Winslow used to say, ‘First time I ever saw a
mouse chase a cat!’ ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The morning was broken by a series of visitors: Angela, bringing Joshua by for an exam. The baby, Father was happy to see, was beginning to regain the weight he’d lost but he could see the worry in Angela’s eyes—the formula he’d brought with them would only last so long. “Maybe you’ll help us now that…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Father rubbed his eyes, feeling the grit of tiredness and worry
seeping into his bones. “I’m not staying here, Angela. You must realize this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angela nodded. “But…you could do a lot of good here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rhys opened his mouth to speak, but Father’s look silenced him.
“I’m doing a lot of good where I live now. I’m their leader, Angela, and I need
to go home.” He took a deep breath. “You could come with us. You all could.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angela smiled, but there was no real humor in it. “I don’t
think Lucas would agree to that, do you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“There’s plenty of room,” Quinn said unexpectedly. “Or there
will be. You don’t have to steal for your survival. You can come with us and…”
She shook her head. “Life—your life—doesn’t have to be this hard. I can’t
remember the last time we didn’t have food to eat. Do you, Rhys?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rhys grinned. “Sure I do. When Arthur sneezed into the stew.
All William had to do was make sandwiches, though.” He shrugged. “Nobody
starves. We work hard, though, to keep it that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angela looked down at her son, but would not meet their eyes.
“I have no skills. I…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The door opened. A thin, taciturn man Father had never seen
stood in the passage, his lean form highlighted by the flicker of candles. He
presumed the man intended to guide them to Lucas but was startled when the man
took his arm instead. “Your cane. Leave it here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Quinn found her voice first. “He’s lame. He needs it to walk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The unidentified man sneered. “Then I guess he won’t be walking
far without it, will he?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rhys stood up, all traces of his usual genial manner gone. He
reminded Father in that instant of the street-fighter he’d once been, the man
who’d once fled Below with a price on his head because he’d refused to throw a
fight. “Some man you are, taking a cane from a cripple.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Violence crackled in the air; Father held up a hand. “Rhys,
that’s enough. I won’t have blood spilled on my account.” He placed the cane
against the wall and took an experimental step forward, feeling the pain shoot
up his hip. “Where are we going?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Lucas wants to see you,” the man said. “And so’s you don’t get
any funny ideas…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s not right, Gordon,” Angela said, shifting Joshua to her
shoulder. “Father saved his life and you’re going to make him walk all that
distance to our chamber without his cane?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The man Gordon cracked a toothy, ominous smile. “It’s what
Lucas wants. And what he wants, he gets. You should know that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent retreated to the commons after leaving the Pipe
Chamber, the combination of an early morning and a sleepless night leaving him
craving coffee. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And breakfast too</span>,
his mind reminded him in Catherine’s voice, and he smiled. Catherine, who had
wanted to come Below with him, despite the early court appearance she had
scheduled. They’d argued—amiably, but still, it <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">was</span> an argument—that she needed to be rested and prepared for
the first round of motions hearings on the Avery case. In the end, he had
prevailed but he could sense the warm threads of her concern through their
bond, even as she left for work and her own set of challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bronwyn and Angus were sitting together at one table, Sioned and Jeanne on either side of their mother. Valerie, Cullen and Leah were there as well, along with Marisol and Olivia. The commons was normally nearly deserted at this hour, but there were large clumps of people milling about—worried, Vincent realized, as the sharp, jagged waves of their emotions buffeted him. A good many of the faces turned to him, expecting some answer, some news. He took a deep breath. “We’ve sent a message asking after Father and the others. As soon as there’s anything to tell, I’ll let you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The words were simple and Vincent was startled to see that even
that statement—said with an assurance and calm he was a very long way from
feeling—settled them somewhat. He poured a cup of coffee and sat down across
from Bronwyn. She eyed him carefully—she was eternally cautious, the opposite
of Rhys’s unguarded nature—and spoke quietly. “I know you will.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Of course,” Valerie said brightly, as she rubbed Leah’s back
in her carrier. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for why we haven’t
heard anything from them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cullen nodded, though the dark look he shot Vincent over Bronwyn’s bowed head spoke volumes. “She’s right,” he said. “Father’s a doctor; any number of things could be delaying him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Mmmm,” Bronwyn murmured. “I’ve never known a situation where
Rhys could be kept from speaking, though.” She rested a hand on Sioned’s head.
“I need to get these two ready for school. Vincent, you’ll keep us posted?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He nodded. “Of course. And Bronwyn?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She turned back at the exit, her black hair glinting in the
torchlight. “Yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“If you…need to talk, please, let me know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bronwyn smiled, a sad, faded little smile; she kept her own
counsel much of the time, Vincent knew, and yet…she shouldn’t feel so alone,
not here, not now. “Thank you,” she murmured, and left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That was a mighty good act you put on,” Angus said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cullen shot him an angry look. “What act? Vincent doesn’t know
anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angus met the glare with one of his own. “Doesn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“ ‘He’ is right here,” Vincent retorted, beginning to feel the
strain of keeping his own emotions under control under the barrage of outside
feelings. “And…speculation isn’t going to help Father and the others come home
any sooner.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angus barked a short, harsh laugh and Vincent fought an
instinctive recoil against the shards of his emotions. “Sure, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just let them go and now you’re telling
me they’re perfectly safe?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Valerie shook her head. “Angus, don’t be an ass. Nobody could
have kept Father here, and as for Quinn and Rhys, they agreed to go. It was
their choice. They knew the risks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angus stood up. “Sure. Tell me you’d be saying that if it was
Cullen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Vincent breathed out. Quinn’s potential loss echoed strongly
with Angus, coupled as it was with the memory of his wife’s loss many years
before. “Angus,” he said quietly. “Let’s…take this outside and talk, shall we?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Angus folded his arms. “You taking me out to the woodshed?” he
asked dryly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No,” Vincent answered. “But we do need to talk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/05/inheritance-chapter-7-under-moon-waning.html">here</a> for Chapter 7....</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt;">____<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt;">[6]
“Tie Your Heart at Night to Mine, Love,” by Pablo Neruda<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-82513434349074207732014-03-13T20:08:00.000-07:002014-04-11T20:01:53.971-07:00Inheritance: Chapter Five- At Midnight by the Flowering Tree<style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">V.
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At Midnight by the Flowering Tree [5]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
looked up to see Quinn and Rhys enter the room. Their demeanor—Quinn’s frown,
Rhys’s anger—spoke of some trouble. He was not entirely surprised Vincent had
asked them to come here; Quinn’s training as a nurse—though she hadn’t
practiced in some years—would be invaluable in the event of a serious medical
crisis, and Rhys, though usually amiable, still bore the attitude of the
street-fighter he’d once been. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas
looked at the three of them. “Well, I hate to interrupt this reunion but Angela
and I have some…things to discuss. Angela?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
handed her son to Lucas. “The boy’s alive, Lucas. Not much more to be said.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas
gazed down into the face of his infant son. A mixture of emotions Father
couldn’t entirely identify crossed the man’s face—hope, anger, fear, love.
“Yeah, I…see that, Angela. Come on, now.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
nodded. At the door, she turned back. “Thank you, Father.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
the door shut firmly behind them, Father turned to Quinn and Rhys. “Are you all
right?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Quite,”
Quinn said briskly, running a hand through her short hair. “Can’t say much for
the hospitality but nothing’s bruised except my pride. I should have heard
those guys behind us.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhys
shook his head. “I didn’t hear them either. Don’t blame yourself.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Plainly,
Quinn disagreed but she didn’t argue. “How are you doing, Father?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well
enough. I’ve examined Joshua and he seems to be on the mend.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah,
about that…Father, if he’s all right, why aren’t you packed up and ready to
head home?” Rhys asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There’s
a food shortage here,” Father explained, “and a bad one.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What,
they couldn’t steal enough?” Quinn scoffed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
speared her with a look. “Yes, precisely that. There are children here and
they’re suffering, Quinn.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
flushed but said only, “I’m sorry, Father, but what do they expect, living like
they do?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quinn’s
attitude was not an uncommon one and Father understood it, to a degree. They
could help in this situation, yes, but there would be others; this aid was no
permanent cure, but a temporary fix, a bandage over a gaping wound. “We need to
do what we can to help, until they’re capable of…helping themselves.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhys
shook his head. “If you say so, Father.” He reached into his pocket and
withdrew a bottle of pills. “I almost forgot. Vincent gave them to me for you.
Said you’d…likely forgotten.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">His
blood pressure pills, forgotten in the urgency of Joshua’s illness. Peter had
been insistent and stressed the importance of not missing a dose. Yet he’d left
the bottle behind. Father rubbed the bridge of his nose, suddenly weary to his
bones. <i>Physician, heal thyself…</i>except the days when he could were long since past. “Yes, thank you, Rhys.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">His
duties completed, Vincent began the walk to Bluebird House. The vague, inchoate
feeling of danger he’d sensed had not lessened and, indeed, had increased once
the distractions of physical work had passed. But he couldn’t narrow the focus
of the feeling, couldn’t decide if it was Father, or Quinn and Rhys, or some
other danger entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He breathed out, seeking the center as he’d been taught so long before by Solomon, and felt some of the tension withdraw. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen,
sensing something of his mood, had volunteered to teach woodcarving class they
were supposed to teach together. “Go on, man,” he’d said before their students
arrived. “You’re worried, aren’t you?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
had been no point at all to denying it, though he once would have tried. “Yes,”
Vincent admitted. “And yet, there’s no real reason why I should be concerned.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen
had raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Father’s gone off to help someone in the outer
ring community. I’d say you were crazy if you weren’t concerned. Now, go. Spend
some time with Catherine and…relax.” Cullen’s eyebrows had waggled
suggestively, drawing a reluctant laugh from Vincent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, he paused at the sentry post and let Henry and Aidan know where he was going; it was a formality since the sentries were generally aware of everyone’s location, but in his capacity as unofficial leader until Father’s return, Vincent felt he should at least make a formal announcement. Aidan looked up from his sandwich and gave him a mock salute. “Back tonight?” he called.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
was late afternoon and if Catherine had no other plans…. “I don’t know yet. But
I’m not far away should anything happen.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aidan
grinned. “Yeah, I heard about the radiators in your home. Enjoy the rest of
your day—we’ll call if we need you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
words were said lightly, with Aidan’s usual good cheer, but Vincent felt the
weight of what Father must have dealt with all these years: forever available,
continually on-call, with the added responsibility of an entire community to
contend with. How had he managed for so long?</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because there was no one else who could,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Vincent heard Father say in his
starched, British tones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mentally, he
shook himself; this kind of brooding, as Catherine would say, wasn’t helpful.
Father would return soon and life in the tunnels would return to normal and he
would still (he hoped) have some time before the matter of the succession must
be decided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if it is not? If there is no decision, what then? </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">a dark, softly menacing voice asked, and
Vincent paused. This was the Other, his sometime-nemesis, speaking from a
barred chamber in his mind. Not entirely real, but nonetheless speaking a
counsel he had learned to respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Will
you let yourself be chained again?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent shook his head, remembering the ache of metal against the sharp bones of his wrists, remembering too the long confused haze of memory and nightmare which had plagued him so recently. They had only been able to chain him once, he thought; the second time, he had been too strong, too possessed of fury and fear to let anyone come that close. Anyone, that is, save Catherine…Catherine who had freed him from any number of metaphorical chains simply by loving him for all he was and wasn’t. Freeing him to choose, to make a real choice…<i>one
day.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
paused at the hidden wall which concealed the short tunnel leading to their
basement entrance, sensing, as he sometimes did, the faded murmur of other
presences just beyond. He and Catherine had heard them at times when the house
was still—the clink of champagne glasses, the hushed murmur of voices and laughter,
the faint notes of ragtime music. Now, the presences were far more quiet—though
Vincent supposed the speakeasy that had once been in their basement had never
operated during broad daylight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
wall rotated back on its pivot and Vincent walked through the tunnel beyond it
to their basement. It was warm in the tunnel this close to the surface and he
removed his cloak, shaking his thick hair back. He fancied he could almost feel
the warmth of the summer sun in his bones, and his unease receded still
further. This place, their home, had no shadows.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
basement door opened with a muted creak; Vincent closed it behind him, already
becoming aware of the unusual quiet of their home. There was, of course, the
muted tapping on the radiator, but those noises were so much a part of his
daily life that he had long ago ceased to notice them. Catherine was here, he
knew that much from the gentle scent of her perfume, but where was she? Then
the faint sound of snoring reached his ears and he smiled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
was asleep on the couch, her notes and law books scattered in a mini-tornado
around her, piled in disordered heaps on the steamer trunk which served as
their coffee table. Sunlight streamed through the partially-opened curtains and
warmed the burgundy leather of the couch, the gilded gold of her hair. He knelt
on the patterned carpet next to her. “Catherine.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
stirred slightly. “Mmm, what?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re
asleep on the couch. Surely you’d be more comfortable upstairs?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
stretched and yawned. “Plenty comfortable here. Care to join me?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The couch was not nearly wide enough for the two of them (they’d discovered that quite by accident, an accident which had ended up with Vincent landing squarely on his tailbone, and Catherine in tears of helpless laughter) but if she lay on top of him…his heartbeat quickened at the thought, all thoughts of fear and concern temporarily driven from his mind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
was still a lifetime’s worth of caution that insisted that the idea of
snuggling on a couch in daylight was too risky. But the stained glass obscured
much of what anyone could see from the outside, and the curtains took care of
the rest. And the street itself was nearly quiet. “Very well,” he said, and
with a minimum of contortions, Catherine rested in the crook of his arm. It
wasn’t precisely comfortable; the couch clearly had never been designed for
someone of his height and his booted feet hung off the edge, but with his wife
resting against him, Vincent hardly noticed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Did
you hear anything from Rhys and Quinn?” Catherine asked. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,”
Vincent replied. “Nor from Father either. I suppose we’ll hear when there’s
something to tell.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Mmmm…hmmm…”
Catherine murmured, her hair tickling his throat. “I had a letter from my Aunt
Jane.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
had a near-photographic memory for names and faces and as if in a movie, he saw
the library of the cottage in Connecticut and Catherine discussing her mother’s
oldest sister. There had been some disagreement between her aunt and her
father, but Catherine hadn’t gone into great detail. “Did you? What did she
say?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“She’s
coming out here for a conference next spring,” Catherine replied, and there was
a certain quality to her voice, echoed by the flare of her emotions. She was
not at all comfortable with her aunt’s visit, then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It
will be fine,” he said, trying to be reassuring. “What can she do?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It’s
not that easy,” Catherine murmured. “She’s…difficult.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Father-level
difficult or…?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
chuckled. “My grandmother could have bested Father on her worst days. Aunt Jane
is…very particular; she has some decided ideas about the way I should have been
raised and the way I should be living my life now. And telling her I’m content
and fulfilled has never worked on the phone. In person? I can’t imagine how
well that will be received.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was a time, Vincent mused, when he would have been angered at the fates which had made it so he could never been fully acknowledged in her life. And while he still felt the tug—Catherine was his wife, he should be able to be there for her—the sting of that was somehow lessened. He would be there, as far as he could be, and Catherine would never ask any more of him than that. “When was the last time you spoke with her?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“After
my assault,” Catherine said. “She…well, you have to understand, my mom’s family
came from money, old money. My dad? Was a tailor’s son from Detroit. When he
and my mom met, there were fireworks, and not only of the romantic kind.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Your
aunt disproved of your father?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“From what Daddy told me, pretty much everyone in the family did. He got through undergrad by bussing tables, made it to law school at Columbia with a scholarship, but he’d been working since he was fourteen years old and never once stopped. The men in my mother’s family…they worked because it was good to be <i>seen</i> to be working, but they rarely needed to.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
had heard of such things; certainly social class had played its role in the
demise of Father’s marriage. “Jane resented your father for not being in their
class?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded. “Yeah. Mom’s social connections ensured a good start for his law firm,
once he was ready to start one, but theirs was a genuine love match, regardless
of what either of their families thought. When she died, things were…difficult.
Aunt Jane and Daddy had some quarrel—I don’t really know what it was about,
even now—and he cut ties with her totally. When I heard from her after my
assault, it was the first time I’d talked to her in over a decade, aside from
cards and letters.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
kissed the top of her head. “We shall deal with her, when the time comes.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re
right,” she said softly, and Vincent was relieved to hear the contentment
return to her voice. “Did I also tell you I had a note from Gertrude?
She’s…inviting us to come back to Connecticut.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connecticut,
the place of their first refuge, where all their dreams for the future had
begun, the place where he had walked unafraid in the sunshine, and where he had
loved this woman under the arching branches of a secluded grove. “No,” he
breathed against the warmth of her hair. “Is she well? And her husband?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Mmm..hmmm,”
Catherine said. “Vincent, Gertrude gave us a reason to come back there this
fall. If we need one, that is.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
had been in his mind ever since the day they left the white-shrouded couches in
the cottage that what had been done once, could be done again. They <i>could</i>
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I don’t think we need one
but…that was nice of her. What was her reason?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Fresh
produce,” Catherine said, chuckling. “You know Gertrude, ever-practical. She
and Matt have planted some winter squash and they expect it to be ready for us
by the fall.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Squash,”
Vincent mused. “William will be pleased.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No
doubt,” Catherine observed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">They
lay there together for a time and Vincent was beginning to think he might doze
himself when Catherine spoke. “You seem…tense.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
was a certain <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tone</i> to her voice, a
curl of satisfaction and desire edging her words. At the feel of her lips
brushing his neck, Vincent was quite willing to remain tense forever if only
she would not…stop. “Yes,” he managed, shifting a bit. “Perhaps…we might relax
upstairs?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
kissed him, all thoughts of sleep clearly driven from her mind. “I thought you’d
never ask.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quinn
raised her head, the dark curls glinting in the candlelight. “I have to tell
you, Father, I don’t like this, not one bit. If we’re not prisoners, we should
be allowed to leave now that your work is done.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It had been a few hours since Angela and Lucas had left. They’d been fed and shown to the facilities but the door remained resolutely bolted otherwise. There were no pipes to communicate their situation and Father was forced to agree: whether Lucas had said so or not, they were captives. “I don’t like it either,” he told them both, “but perhaps this is a security measure.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhys
looked over from where he was inspecting the door. “Maybe. I hope you’re right.
But this thing is solid; I can’t even see light through the cracks.” He returned
to his pacing, reminding Father quite suddenly of Vincent. <i>He’ll be very
worried if he doesn’t hear from us soon.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
door opened, and Lucas and another man Father had never met stood in the
doorway. “You all can leave,” Lucas said. “Except for you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father’s
eyes widened. Quinn bristled as Rhys stepped forward. “What do you mean,
‘except for him’?” Rhys demanded, his Welsh accent growing broader in his
agitation. “We came together, we’ll leave together.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No
need for you two, but we do need a doctor.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“So
do we,” Quinn said, stepping in front of Father. “You steal from Above, fine,
we can’t stop you. But you’re not stealing our doctor.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You
can get another one,” Lucas said firmly. “You’ve got two.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Excuse
me,” Father said acidly, “but the doctor in question is sitting right in front
of you. And I have no plans to stay here.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas
grinned, a Fagin in worn, patched flannels. “You say that now. But we can
be…very persuasive.”</span><br />
<i style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></i>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">[5]
“Changes,” by Sara Teasdale</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<i style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/04/inheritance-chapter-6-starry-questions_11.html">here</a> for Chapter 6....</span></i></div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-55391028122496978122014-03-02T07:32:00.000-08:002014-03-13T20:10:25.596-07:00Inheritance: Chapter Four- The Distance I Have Wandered<style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IV:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Distance I Have Wandered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the morning wore on, Catherine
occupied herself with reviewing her notes on the Avery case, while also keeping
what she hoped was a covert eye on her husband. As she’d learned was the case
when Vincent was contending with a mystery he could neither solve nor fully
explain, he was distracted, unable to fully settle—picking up books, putting
them down—and so she was not surprised when he rose suddenly. “I believe I
should find something to do. Perhaps Angus….” <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine nodded; Angus was in charge
of the maintenance crews this week and would certainly appreciate Vincent’s
help. “If it’ll make you feel better, go.” She smiled up at him. “Better that
than wearing a hole in the floor pacing.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent chuckled. “Absolutely.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine closed her notebook and stood
as well. “I’m going to go back to the brownstone; I need to make some phone
calls and check the mail. Will you come there when you’re done, or will you
stay below tonight?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t teach until mid-afternoon,” he
replied, shouldering into his older, patched cloak—his working cloak, she
recognized, the leather cracked and stained in many places, but suitable for
keeping him warm in the tunnels’ furthest reaches. “So yes, I will join you at
our home tonight.”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Home. Our home.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Catherine swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. Despite the manifest
reality of Bluebird House, all the months she and Vincent and many others had
spent renovating the place, it was sometimes still difficult to wrap her mind
around the fact that yes, they had a home above. An address, a <i>place</i>,
belonging to the two of them. “Sounds good. Let me know when Father wants a
ride back.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The stockroom, as Father had suspected,
was nothing of the sort—a couple of rickety shelves holding some shelf-stable
provisions of powdered milk, peanut butter, canned soup and meats just this
side of their expiration date, but little else. Nothing like the well-stocked
storerooms of William’s making, the homemade bread he made with such pride
every day. But of a sudden, the growling ache, the memory of hunger, clawed at
Father’s insides. Yes, he remembered how hard it had been for years in his
community—the constant battle to obtain enough food to feed all those who had
sought refuge below, the many, many nights when the adults had taken turns
fasting so the children at least might eat. And it was that memory which made
him gentle his voice. “Angela, how many are living here?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She’d sat down on the lone chair and
was feeding Joshua from the bottle of formula Father had brought with him. The
baby’s soft suckling was the only sound in the stillness. “Why do you want to
know?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father could not quite keep the sarcasm
out of his voice. “I should think it would be obvious, Angela. If I’m to bring
provisions here…”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another voice boomed from the entrance.
“What’s this all about?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was Lucas—tall, black-haired and
broad-shouldered, easily Vincent’s height and the equal of his commanding
presence. On his previous visits, Father had thought Lucas might be the unofficial
leader of this small group, but the more reticent nature of this community had
discouraged him from asking too many questions. “He’s here to help,” Angela
said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas glanced at his son. “Is the boy
eating?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She nodded. “Yes, formula.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas let out an explosive sigh. “You
know that stuff’s hard to steal!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What choice did I have?” Angela
retorted sharply. “I can’t feed him, Lucas. Don’t know why, but I can’t.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You could,” Lucas said, sullen, “if we
had more food.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Which is what I’m here for,” Father
said crisply, aware of the undercurrents swirling, just outside of his
understanding. “I can have some supplies brought here to…tide you over.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas inclined his head towards the
entrance. “Couple of your folks been sighted already. That’ll complicate
things.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father swallowed in a dry throat. “
‘Complicate’…how?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas smiled but there was no humor in
it. “Why, more mouths to feed. What did you think I meant?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The few hours of maintenance done,
Vincent and the others—Cullen, Angus and Kanin—had decided to return to
Cullen’s workshop to work on their own projects. Cullen was finishing up a
child-sized dresser for Leah, while Angus and Kanin were both working on
bookshelves (one was for Quinn, Angus had said with a look that dared him to
say anything. Vincent had merely nodded.) There was not a lot of extraneous
talk as the men worked, and Vincent found it restful, as he had for all the
months of the renovation of their brownstone. The unease he’d felt since waking
up from his nap began to recede under the smell of sawdust and varnish—<i>hard
work gets stuff done,</i> <i>dreaming don’t</i>, he heard Winslow say, almost
as if the big man was standing just behind his shoulder. <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent replaced his sandpaper back on
the shelf and stood back a bit to look at his work on one side of Angus’s
bookshelf. “Good work that,” Angus muttered. “Not a splinter to be found. How
long you been doing this?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Since old Solomon decided he needed an
apprentice,” Vincent murmured, thinking of the half-deaf carpenter. “He was a
good man.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus shrugged. “Yeah. Died the year I
came here, wasn’t it?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes,” Vincent replied. “Heart attack,
Father said.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Mmm,” Angus grunted. “This ain’t my
usual line of work but Cullen was kind enough to let me use his workshop.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen looked up with his usual wry
grin. “No sense in this chamber going to waste now, was there? Plus none of the
other chambers have enough ventilation for all this”—-and he gestured towards
the neat racks of varnishes and paints, their labels stained by their
individual colors. “And I can’t have it around the baby anyway.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kanin looked up from his own
bookshelf—a present for Olivia, whose birthday was in a few weeks. “How’s Leah
doing, anyway?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen yawned. “You mean you don’t hear
her?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kanin smiled. “Sure we do, but you
know…babies. That’s kind of what they do.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A smile of a rare fondness touched
Cullen’s face. “She’s fine, man. Just fine.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Humph,” Angus said, but his own small
smile took out much of the sting. “Turning into a circle of women we are. Next
we’ll be talking about our favorite knitting projects.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well,” Vincent said dryly, “I <i>am</i>
knitting a pair of socks. And Mary gave me some yarn that—”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus rolled his eyes. “So, I was
meaning to ask, what do you really think about Father being gone?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There were hidden undercurrents to his
words, Vincent sensed; Angus had grown fond of Quinn even though he might not
yet be ready to admit it. And Rhys, though a danger around pretty much all
tools, was a valued, helpful member of their community. Bronwyn surely worried
for him, as they all did. “A baby was sick,” Vincent replied, not wanting to
give voice to his own fears; as their temporary leader, he couldn’t lest his
words give weight to everyone’s concerns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Mmmm,” Angus said, reaching for the
fine-grained sandpaper. “Seems to me they maybe should have their own doctor
instead of borrowing ours.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was a point which had come up
before, Vincent remembered—most recently in a discussion between Peter and
Father. “Jacob,” Peter had said, “they literally have no one among them who
knows more than how to keep a wound clean and use a bandage. If something
serious should occur and I’m not there to help them…” Father had agreed, but
had responded that there was little else which could be done so long as Lucas’s
community chose to live as they did. “It’s their choice,” Vincent said quietly.
“They could join this community. They’ve always had the option.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cullen snorted. “Oh, that would be
just…wonderful. A band of thieves and who knows what else.” He ducked his head
briefly, and through the hot flush of embarrassment Vincent sensed, he knew
what memories plagued the other man. “Not that I was better, once, but…I
learned.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kanin rested a hand on his shoulder,
then stepped back into his usual folded-arms position. “Who hasn’t made
mistakes—big ones? You know what I’ve done and…it’s just…they don’t seem to
want to live by any code but their own. And it’s worrying, what we don’t know
about them.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We’re not even sure if they were with
Paracelsus or not, even now,” Angus put in. “I’m all for second chances, even
third and fourth ones. But sending Father into that mess? How do we know a baby
was really sick?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent leaned against the wall,
considering his next words carefully. They were not saying anything he hadn’t
said to Father already, but there had been no swaying the older man’s mind, not
when a child, a baby might be ill. (“A child, Vincent, would you have me ignore
a sick baby just because Peter is absent?” Father had demanded.) “It’s not
always a choice, with Father,” he said finally. “His duty is to the sick and
there was no way he would have stayed. And we’ve always been on good terms with
Angela and Lucas.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah, I suppose,” Angus said, “if by
‘good terms,’ you mean nobody’s shot at us yet. There are some mightily short
fuses in that group I hear.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine closed the door of the
brownstone behind her and relaxed against the solidity of the old door. The
pile of mail scattered on the wood floor looked a tad ominous, she thought;
bills, flyers and so forth…all of which could be taken care of later. She
gathered the mail into a pile and walked into the kitchen and the blinking
answering machine, kicking off her high heels as she went. The lights, she kept
on low, preferring the mellow glint of light on hardwood after a day spent in
the tunnels. Plus, the muted light refracted off the stained glass, something
which never failed to fill her with a great amount of joy. The stained glass
was far more than bits of colored glass; they were tokens of Vincent’s safety,
his ability to walk here, as he could nowhere else, in daylight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She retrieved the notepad from the
cabinet above the answering machine and pressed “play.” The first message, not
surprisingly, was from Rita, announcing that she’d been in touch with one of
their witnesses on the Avery case who had also, miracle of miracles, not only
agreed to testify but agreed to meet them to be interviewed before-hand. She
breathed out a sigh of relief; at least one witness besides Elliott Burch
wasn’t reluctant. The second message was from Joe, wanting to see her once
they’d finished interviewing the witness and the third message was from Dinah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Hey, Cathy, I’ve got some free time
coming up next week and I wanted to see if you wanted to get together for
lunch. Nothing fancy, mind. Call me at 555-7584 if you want to. Bye.” Catherine
smiled. Dinah Goldstein had been an old law school classmate and good friend
who had gone into criminal defense work after they’d graduated; they’d lost
touch for several years afterwards and had only recently reconnected a few
months before, when Dinah had pulled her aside after court one afternoon to
warn her about Max Avery and his friends. [3] <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The prospect of lunch with Dinah made a
smile cross her face. There were few friends she’d kept after her assault—Jenny
and Nancy, to be sure—but all others had fallen away, either dismayed by the
changes in her life or uncomfortable with her assault itself. Then there had
been the chosen burden of Vincent and his world, which had isolated her
further. She had not been able to afford the risk of deep friendships, fearful
that one wrong word, one statement, would reveal far too much. Now,
though…parts of their life together had emerged from the shadows. She was known
by her co-workers and remaining friends to be married, if to a husband no one
had ever met. Her address had changed to the brownstone, which everyone knew
was the house she and her husband had renovated together. She could risk a
lunch with the intelligent, discerning Dinah, now that there was so much more
she could talk about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine had begun sorting through the
mail when the international postage caught her eye. <i>International? Has Devin
gone off gallivanting again? No, he wouldn’t, not without Charles…</i>Then she
saw the rest of the envelope and recognized the swirling cursive as belonging
to her aunt. Inside the envelope was a brief, terse letter—Aunt Jane never was
one for long letters full of pleasantries—with her aunt’s travel itinerary for
her conference in the spring. The note closed with, “And I do hope you’ll
introduce your young man to me.”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Young man?</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Catherine wondered, bemused. The last time she and Aunt Jane had talked on the
phone had been just after her assault, when she’d urged her to settle down with
“that nice Tom Gunther.” Nerves worn to a shred and battling to reconcile the
huge changes in her life—to say nothing of her burgeoning feelings for
Vincent—Catherine had ended the call abruptly. She had not heard from Aunt
Jane, aside from holiday and birthday cards, since. <i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if she really thinks I’m still with
Tom Gunther? </i>Her mouth twisted. Tom Gunther would have continued the
relationship if she’d stayed “his” Cathy—the one who was content to be arm
candy, the polished corporate attorney, the one whose connections could help
him advance in society. The thought of introducing Vincent—Tom Gunther’s
opposite in every way—to her stolid Aunt Jane made her chuckle as she pinned
her aunt’s itinerary to the bulletin board in the kitchen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was another envelope, one much more
welcome than the prospect of a visit from an aunt she hadn’t seen in person
since her mother’s death. She could almost hear Gertrude’s voice as she opened
the short note: “Cathy, Matt says to tell you he’s planning to plant some extra
squash, so we should have a bumper crop this winter. Care to come
visit? We’d love to see you both. Love, Gertrude.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The handwriting, of course, was
Matt’s—Gertrude had been blind for the last several years, and Matt or one of
their daughters handled their written correspondence. But still, an image of
the cottage in Connecticut rose before her mind’s eye; Connecticut where
everything and nothing had changed. Even as they had locked the door of the
cottage and returned home, Catherine had known they would return, one day. But
to be given such a reason—though they hardly needed one—it was…serendipity.
They could return…and they would.</span></div>
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_____<br />
[3] "Providence," Chapter 8.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/03/inheritance-chapter-five-at-midnight-by.html">here</a> for Chapter Five...</i> </span>Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-61130332130885043092014-02-23T20:16:00.000-08:002014-03-02T07:35:06.017-08:00Inheritance: Chapter 3- What Lies Beneath<style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">III.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What Lies Beneath</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">After
breakfast, Catherine and Vincent returned to their chamber. As the door shut
behind them with a weighty <i>thud,</i> Catherine became aware of a distant,
pained tension in their bond. She glanced up at Vincent and saw the tight,
drawn lines around his eyes; a headache, then, she surmised. He’d put a good
face on it during all the clamor of breakfast, but Catherine knew it was only
through the ease of long practice—even now, he would not reveal any weakness to
his tunnel family. “Why don’t you go lay down, love?” she murmured. “I’ll put
some tea on.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
smiled. “That would be…very much appreciated. Thank you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
chamomile tea was easy enough to find, lodged between the jar containing a
haphazard collection of buttons and the small—if somewhat perplexing—-statue of
a seated monkey examining a human skull. </span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">She heard the creak of the armoire in their bedroom
and the answering groan of the mattress springs echoing in the stillness as she
set the tea to steep in the old enamel pot. Vincent, settling into their bed,
the vision providing a sudden warmth utterly aside from the heat of the
brazier. It was still, after almost a year of being married, a source of wonder
to her that she could walk into their bedroom and find him there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
teapot began to whistle and she poured the tea—mint for her, chamomile for
him—into the chipped teacups which were so ubiquitous below. “The tea’s ready,
love,” Catherine said and walked into their bedroom. Vincent was sprawled on
the bed, one arm over his eyes, but at her approach, he sat up. “How bad is it?”
Catherine asked as she handed him the teacup.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not
too bad,” he replied, taking a sip of the tea. “Chamomile. It’s very good. I
remember when Peter first brought this to us---”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
shook her head. Vincent could, she knew, hold forth on the origins of tea
leaves as easily as he could the lineages of the medieval kings of England—and
would, if it would distract her from being concerned. But she’d done her share
of cross-examinations of reluctant witnesses and knew the start of a diversion
when she heard one. “Vincent,” she said again. “Your ‘not too bad’ is everyone
else’s ‘excruciating’ and don’t think I don’t realize exactly what you’re
doing.” Indeed, through their bond, it was impossible not to know—unless, as
Vincent was doing now, he blocked her from that awareness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Very
gingerly, as though he feared he might drop it, Vincent placed the teacup on
their night-stand. “Very well,” he responded. “I feel…unwell.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Should
I let Father know?” Catherine asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
closed his eyes. “No, don’t. There isn’t anything he can do, and Angela and
Lucas need him more.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded, acknowledging the truth of this even as she regretted not being able to
give him so much as an aspirin. “All right.” She studied him, the way the lines
of strain made creases around his eyes and a memory arose of their trip to
Connecticut. [1] “Vincent…was it the meeting?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
opened his eyes. “Yes,” he replied. “How did you know?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The
cougar in Connecticut,” she answered simply. “You had a headache then and you
told me it was common after that kind of mental contact.” She took his left
hand in her own, feeling the ridge of his wedding band as it rubbed against her
own. “Has this happened every time you’ve gone to a meeting?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not
always, but today…there were a lot of strong emotions.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
hadn’t noticed,” Catherine replied, struck again by awe and wonder that he
could know such things. “You seemed fine during the meeting.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
can…ignore it, push it aside,” Vincent murmured. “Most of the time, at least. I
could hardly do anything else, living as we do. But people tend to…think very
loudly in a meeting. Emotions…shout.” <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
had a sudden, vivid memory of her first week at the DA’s office. Used to the
carpeted, paneled walls of her father’s firm, the quiet tones of negotiations
concluded behind closed doors, she’d been astounded by the level of
noise—phones ringing, people talking over cubicle walls, the constant din of
harried voices and typewriters and other office machinery. It had been almost a
month before her days had ended in anything other than two aspirin and a glass
of water. “I see,” she said softly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
smiled. “I know you do.” The look in his eyes turned inward, reflective as, she
thought, he struggled to find the words to describe what he’d never been able
to discuss before. “But if…<i>when</i>…Catherine, I may have to do what I must.
What duty requires, if there’s no one else who can, or will. If there’s no
other solution.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
know that, too,” she said simply. “All I ask, all I want for you is that it
truly be your choice.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">After
Vincent fell asleep—the one true cure for his headaches—Catherine retreated to
her study and cracked open the notebook containing her notes on the Avery case.
Jury selection would begin the following week and there were still a few loose
ends she’d need to tie up before she ever set foot in court. Getting Mrs.
Mueller’s evidence admitted would be a large hurdle; Aaron Geller, Max Avery’s
accountant, was long dead and now, so was Herman Mueller. [2] There was no way
to cross-examine the dead and the judge might prevent the use of the records
based purely on those grounds. Well, she thought, they certainly had enough
other charges against Max Avery, but the records—proof of his tax evasion—were
a treasure she was not quite willing to abandon just yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
were other concerns, too. Despite his grant of immunity, Elliot Burch was still
an unknown quantity; Catherine knew that despite his subpoena, Elliot could
hire a firm of lawyers to dodge every attempt to actually have him appear in
court. They simply couldn’t rely on Elliot to make their case; the other
witnesses—frightened people she and Rita had convinced to testify, plus the
remaining witnesses from the first grand jury—would have to do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
turned to a blank page in her notebook. <i>Opening statement</i>, she wrote,
then stopped. How could she possibly distill all that Max Avery had done into a
brief paragraph? He’d had his fingers in so many pies—extortion, racketeering,
murder, attempted murder, tax evasion—-that everything could have been summed
up with <i>Max Avery is a very bad man. </i>And yet, that wouldn’t be nearly
sufficient, though (she thought with an inward smile) it might win points from
the jury for brevity.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> she wrote, <i>Mr. Avery’s attorney is
going to tell you a story of a self-made man wrongly prosecuted for the crimes
of his relatives. He’s going to insist that Max Avery is innocent, and ask you
to acquit him of all charges. The story I have to tell you is a far different
one, of a made man with the Rotolo crime family who has, for the last decade,
run a sophisticated extortion racket with ties to every large construction
project in this city. Even the most powerful developers have had to pay him off
or see their projects halted, their crews injured and their machinery stolen or
damaged. You will hear (</i>I hope, Catherine thought grimly) <i>from one of
these developers as well as several small contractors, including one who was
permanently maimed because he refused to pay Max Avery’s crews so he could
continue working. At the end of this trial, ladies and gentlemen, I will ask
you to find Max Avery guilty on all charges.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
leaned back in her chair and stretched. It wasn’t a great opening statement,
but it was a beginning, at least, a start for the case she hoped to present in
full to a jury. She jumped, startled, as a message rang out on the pipes: <i>Quinn
and Rhys leaving for outer ring. Will send message when we arrive.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“They
should have accepted your offer of a ride, as Father did,” came Vincent’s soft,
graveled voice from the doorway, raspy with sleep. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded, and noticed he looked a bit wan. “I <i>did</i> offer. They…Quinn said
it was best not to spring too much at once onto the outer community.” She saw
again Quinn’s broad, friendly face, tense and shuttered with unease, and hoped
the woman hadn’t miscalculated. “Did the pipes wake you?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,”
Vincent replied, seating himself in the overstuffed chair that had once
belonged to her grandfather. “I awoke from a dream of…danger. But when I tried
to recall what I’d seen”—he spread his hands—”the fragments vanished.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">That
brought her up short. Vincent’s dreams were very often nothing of the sort; his
visions were deep and true, as she’d once learned to her great cost. “Is it
danger to Father, or to Rhys and Quinn?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
sighed and leaned his head back against the worn velvet of the chair. “I don’t
know.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re
worried about them,” Catherine said. “And there’s reason to be, from all you’ve
said. But…try not to worry.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
smiled tiredly. “Do you know how?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
felt a rueful grin tug at her lips. Letting go had never been a skill either of
them possessed. “No, but maybe we’ll learn together.” <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
leaned back in his chair and waited for his patient. Upon his arrival, he had been
guided to a rough-hewn, anonymous chamber, provided with tea and several stale
cookies and told Angela would be with him shortly. Then he had been left alone
and he was finding the strange quietness of this place—no constant tapping on
the pipes, no chatter of voices—to be greatly unnerving. The outer ring
community was, at best guess, half the size of Father’s own, yet there should
be some sound, some noise. Unless, he thought uncomfortably, he had been
brought to this isolated place precisely because it was apart from them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
rustling of fabric against stone announced Angela’s arrival, that and the
fretful wail of a newborn. Angela entered, trailed by her two other children—a
girl of about nine and a boy of five. “I brought Joshua, Doctor,” she said
softly, cradling her infant son. “He’s…sick.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father
cracked open his doctor’s bag. “What seems to be the problem?” As he removed
his stethoscope, he cast a physician’s eye on Angela. She was thin, too thin,
and both she and her children were clad in clothes which were far removed from
the sturdy patched layers he’d worn for so many years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Joshua,
he won’t eat,” Angela said, sitting down in the lone chair next to the bed. The
baby’s foot poked out from the edge of a ragged blanket and his toes curled in
the cool air. “Fed my other babies before him, no problem. But he won’t eat.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joshua
was the youngest of the three babies born to the tunnel communities that spring
and summer; Benjamin, Marisol and Miguel’s son, had been the first, followed by
Leah, the daughter of Valerie and Cullen. At Joshua’s birth less than a month
before, he had weighed more than either of the other infants, but now… “May I
hold him?” Father asked gently, his every instinct urging caution. Angela
seemed almost skittish and he had the sense that if he spoke too loudly or
urgently, she’d bolt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh,
of course,” Angela said and placed the child in his arms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
boy had lost some weight, Father observed, but he wasn’t dehydrated, not yet,
and his heart and lungs were clear. But soon, the boy would be in real trouble.
“How much does he nurse?” he asked over the infant’s cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Often,”
Angela said shortly and Father stifled an inner sigh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m
not trying to attack you,” he said gently. “Perhaps—”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
bit her lip. “Lucas said you’d do this.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Do
what?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Try
to make me stop feeding him.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">That
rocked Father on his heels for a moment. Most women in the tunnels breastfed,
but for those who couldn’t or didn’t wish to, there was always some formula in
one of the stockrooms. “No, that’s not my intent,” he assured her. He took in
Angela’s thinness again, the sharpened angles of her collarbone and wondered
how to phrase his next question. “Angela, a nursing mother needs between 500
and 1000 extra calories per day to feed her child. Has there been a…food
shortage recently?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her
faded blue eyes darted nervously towards the door. She gave a short humorless
laugh. “When isn’t there?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
wanted to murmur what had become a uniting truth in his community: help existed
for those who needed it and they in their turn, passed that help on. But this
community—largely lawless, hidden, existing on what could be stolen from the
world Above—was far more precarious and ultimately, untrusting of any offers of
outside assistance. “The baby has to eat,” Father tried again. Just the year
before, Angela had come to Winterfest and she had looked far healthier. Now, he
wasn’t sure who was more ill, Angela or her son. “<i>You</i> have to eat. Would
you consent to try some formula with Joshua?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Lucas
won’t like it,” Angela protested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Lucas
isn’t the one who’s at risk of starving,” Father retorted. “Angela, once Joshua
is fed, then if you’ll show me your stockroom, we can see about helping you out
with some food to tide you over until…”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Until
Lucas and the men can steal some more?” Angela retorted in her turn. “You don’t
have to dodge the words, Father. I know how my husband gets our food.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
seemed utterly unconcerned by either the deed or its possible implications, so
Father did his best to set aside his instinctive reaction—<i>bunch of damned
fools, putting us all at risk!</i>—to help his patient. “I…see. Will you let me
help?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It’s
not like that,” Angela said suddenly. “I know what you’re thinking, that Lucas isn’t
doing well by us.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That’s
not at all what I was about to say,” Father replied, though his thoughts had
been running on a parallel course. As a leader---if Lucas <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> their leader---he should have asked for help. But he hadn’t.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He
does his best,” Angela insisted. “But there’s only so much he can do when…”</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">When it’s harder to steal</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Father thought but did not say. “Times
are…difficult.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He
thinks what he and the others bring should be enough. We’re…missing a few
people.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Did
they leave?” Father asked, though he suspected he knew the answer. The size of
this community must fluctuate with arrests and disappearances and so forth. It
was just the devil’s own luck that the missing people hadn’t yet led anyone to
investigate further. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
shrugged. “Who knows? I have my ideas about what we should do but Lucas…”</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lucas won’t listen</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Father heard, as clearly as if she had
spoken. Joshua set up a fretful wail, and Father’s attention returned to his
smallest patient. “Will you let us help you?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angela
picked up Joshua, wrapped him in the faded blankets. “Yes. And my husband be
damned.” </span></div>
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<i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/03/inheritance-chapter-four-distance-i.html">here</a> for Chapter Four....</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">_____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">[1]
“When Fall Comes to New England,” Chapter 13</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[2] “Providence,” Chapter
63</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-64733566933140262292014-02-18T14:28:00.001-08:002014-02-24T05:29:59.493-08:00Winterfest Contributions<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">2013</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2013/postcardproject/postcardindex.html">The Postcard Project</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"These Are the Days," part of the <a href="http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2013/Reflections2013/reflectionsindex.html">Reflections </a>project</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>2012</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"All the Hazards We Can Run," part of Volume 2 of the <a href="http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2012/secretkeeper/secretindex.asp">Secret-Keepers</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2012/02/poetry-corner.html">Recording </a>of "If Your Eyes Were Not the Color of the Moon," by Pablo Neruda</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"<a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2012/02/just-because-pg-13.html">Just Because</a>"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>2011</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Some Say Love," part of the <a href="http://onethursdaynight.blogspot.com/2011/02/hearthside-stories.html">Hearthside Stories</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Clenched Soul," part of the <a href="http://onethursdaynight.blogspot.com/2011/02/hearthside-stories.html">Hearthside Stories</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Give Me the Beat, Boys," part of <a href="http://onethursdaynight.blogspot.com/2011/04/things-he-keeps.html">The Things He Keeps</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"<a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2011/04/cliffs-of-fall-r.html">Cliffs of Fall</a>" </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>2010</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2010/rr/classic/">Classic Round Robin<i> </i></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Episode Enhancement- "<a href="http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2010/subm/nibac/">Nor Iron Bars a Cage</a>"</span></div>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-70120226482554453892014-02-17T07:12:00.000-08:002014-02-23T20:20:27.637-08:00Inheritance: Chapter 2-Some Enchanted Meeting<style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">II.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some Enchanted Meeting <span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
had been attending tunnel meetings since his early childhood; some of his first
memories were of sitting among the large bookshelves in Father’s upper alcove
while the discussions went on far beneath him. It was only later, when his
roles and responsibilities had grown exponentially, that he had been expected
to attend every one, no matter how mundane, and contribute something to the
discussions. He’d fought it at first—the lure of late-night strolls in New York
City far more attractive than the early-morning tunnel conferences—but Father
had silenced his objection with a stern, “And how do you think it will look
when you lead these people but don’t know the first thing about governing them?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
a teenager, Father’s logic had been smothering and something dark and wrathful
had arisen inside him—surely it had only been Vincent’s own imagination which
had heard the Other’s mocking laugh as they’d argued, the thwarted roar of fury
rattling against the iron bars of its mental cage. Later, maturity and hard,
brutal experience had brought a different perspective: he was not Winslow, who
had apprenticed Above for a time, nor was he Devin, who had fled in anger, nor
was he Stewart or Marta or Ike or Janelle, or any of the other young people
he’d grown up with. They had options, dreams of a world beyond the tunnels…and
though Father had never said so openly (<i>of course, </i>some dark inner voice
snarled) Vincent had come to acknowledge—if never fully accept—that their
dreams and his would never be the same.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
settled himself in the large carved chair which had been his since before his
feet could touch the ground and watched as the members of the community began
to enter Father’s antechamber. Not everyone was present—the haphazard nature of
tunnel life meant that at any given time, there would always be people involved
in maintenance or patrols which couldn’t be interrupted. But the chamber would
nevertheless be nearly full, something which had astonished Catherine the first
time she’d attended. “You’d be lucky to get ten people to attend my co-op
board’s monthly meeting,” she told him. “Such a difference between our worlds.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now,
all these years since his first meeting, Vincent understood Father’s wisdom in
some measure; attending so many had given him a real understanding of the inner
workings of the community, the tensions and the unspoken needs of people who
lived in very close proximity. And in his role as unofficial mediator of a good
many disputes, both trifling and otherwise, nothing could have given Vincent a
greater sense of the community. But it was still…nerve-wracking…to stand in
Father’s stead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
was a cool wafting breeze of <i>calm </i>in their bond<i> </i>and almost as if
Catherine stood near enough to brush his hair back, he felt her ghosting touch.
She was seated with Valerie and Cullen and Marisol nearest the spiral
staircase, but she met his eyes and smiled slightly. <i>I’m here. Relax.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
ambled in, with Santos and Mary behind him. Mary had never been merely prompt
for a meeting; she had usually an hour or more before, and many times Vincent
had arrived to find her deep in conversation with Father. Today, as Vincent saw
her laugh at something Santos said, he thought he had never seen her as
young…or as content…before. Angus was another surprise, in a different vein; he
sat down between Mary and Quinn, where before, he would have clung to the edge
of the crowd, if he’d come at all. Of course, this was partially his project,
Vincent mused, but still it was…interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
glanced down at his notes written on one of Catherine’s legal pads (not for
anything would he have used one of Father’s leather-bound ledgers) and rose.
The crowd quieted almost immediately. “Good morning, everyone,” Vincent said. “No
doubt William has prepared brunch for us so if we can finish this meeting
quickly—”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“—That’ll
be a first,” Cullen drawled and everyone chuckled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
smiled. “There’s a first time for everything, or so I hear. Elizabeth, you had
a request?”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTPuF1uxntqwM5b7wi8Q-q4rCGXiaSSlKPs5rgSso5KRUXbBFaumZATVPel7A39QyciaqBormQDYO6q6CWeTRfp2I-HajTPCRanDq3IuaLD4lBhI4XW-j9lHA_xGznzdaLaUl00J9YXaF/s1600/Elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTPuF1uxntqwM5b7wi8Q-q4rCGXiaSSlKPs5rgSso5KRUXbBFaumZATVPel7A39QyciaqBormQDYO6q6CWeTRfp2I-HajTPCRanDq3IuaLD4lBhI4XW-j9lHA_xGznzdaLaUl00J9YXaF/s1600/Elizabeth.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elizabeth
was neither frail nor particularly daft, Vincent knew, but she was preoccupied
and frequently ill-at-ease with the larger community. Nevertheless, she stood
and spoke in a firm, carrying voice. “I’m running out of wall space, you see,
and I’d like to expand the Painted Tunnels.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How
much space do you think you’ll need?” Vincent asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elizabeth
paused for a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Two more tunnels,
for now. The empty ones, you remember?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
did indeed remember; the last time she’d needed additional space had been just
before he’d found Catherine so…<i>over three years ago now. </i>He made a quick
notation, absently calculating time and effort against the multiple maintenance
projects already planned or in progress. “I don’t see why not, Elizabeth. There
will be a sign-up sheet outside the commons; all who are interested in
volunteering should sign up.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elizabeth
smiled, though there was something a bit…mysterious about it. “Thank you. I’ve
got a portrait in mind, you know.” Incredibly, she winked at him and with a
swish of her skirts, sat back down. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNg8DZ9qY5WaRQJNf9qi9wmMrUJyBsDZMVE6D6eQVDGXGC4m8czIc5FvSoeeyrzKKqEDbJ0ifHTNITsMFgkg-sV4M-1MhfmrKvS2kOi4sxNQKG2ami766OH-UaLh5_tSRfm83WGSOrH4t7/s1600/Elizabeth's+Mural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNg8DZ9qY5WaRQJNf9qi9wmMrUJyBsDZMVE6D6eQVDGXGC4m8czIc5FvSoeeyrzKKqEDbJ0ifHTNITsMFgkg-sV4M-1MhfmrKvS2kOi4sxNQKG2ami766OH-UaLh5_tSRfm83WGSOrH4t7/s1600/Elizabeth's+Mural.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now,
that <i>was</i> perplexing, Vincent mused; Elizabeth did paint more massive
murals on occasion, but she preferred to save her larger scenes for her canvas
works. And two tunnels’ worth was a considerable amount of space. <i>I wonder
what she’s planning? </i>Putting away the mystery for a time, he looked at the
next item on the list. “Mary, you wanted to schedule an inventory of the
supplies in the hospital chamber?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
rose to her feet. “Yes. Peter sent word last week that he’s going to be buying
some supplies for his own practice soon, and he wanted to know what we need.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“When
is Peter planning to go shopping?” Vincent asked, making another notation.
Inventory was something everyone dreaded at the best of times for the sheer
monotony of the work, but it was necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“His
note said he’d be going in two weeks. We haven’t inventoried the largest
stockroom since last winter so it’ll be a large job.”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not since last year?</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Vincent wondered, startled. <i>Father always insisted the
inventories be done every three months—why was this put off for so long? Did he
forget? </i>Aloud, he said, “There doesn’t seem to be any important projects
scheduled for this weekend so…any volunteers?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
murmur went around the room as people suddenly found items of great interest in
the worn carpeting underfoot, their shoes, even the darkened rock walls.
Vincent repressed a sigh. “I need ten volunteers to work throughout the week.
If I don’t get them, I’ll have to start picking people at random.” He felt
rather than saw Catherine’s intent gaze and the impression of her assent
crossed their bond. “Catherine and I will help. Who else?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
pulled the loose folds of her cardigan closer against the perpetual tunnel
chill. She was seated in a low alcove near the spiral staircase; it was, as
Valerie observed quietly as she finished feeding a hungry Leah, an excellent
place to watch without being too much in the forefront. “That’s for people who
actually have items on the agenda,” Valerie said in a whisper, lacing the front
of her blouse closed again as she shifted Leah to her shoulder. “And I don’t
know about you, but I hate sitting that close to Father in full meeting mode.
Makes me feel like I got sent to the principal’s office.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
laughed, the memory of her own lectures from Father no longer quite as
stinging. “I don’t blame you.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now,
as the meeting continued around them, Catherine enjoyed her chance to watch
Vincent all unawares. Such opportunities were rare; he was simply too <i>aware</i>—of
himself, of her, of their bond—to ever be totally unguarded. Even in his
deepest sleep, her slightest movement would cause him to shift, to draw her
near. But in her observations now—with Vincent fully preoccupied with Mouse’s
report of possible new water source—she came to a stunning conclusion,
something she had sensed on an instinctive level but had not seen fully until
this moment: Vincent was a leader. These people—his people—trusted him, his
ability to mediate disputes and make decisions on their behalf, and no matter
how uncomfortable Vincent was to be acting in Father’s stead, his community
accepted him in the role. Whether Vincent himself ever would was another matter
entirely, Catherine mused. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Valerie
touched her arm. “He’s good at this, isn’t he?” she murmured quietly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes,”
Catherine agreed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
the end of the meeting, the minutiae had been taken care of; Vincent folded his
notes into a folder for later presentation to Father and the council. “Angus,
you wanted to discuss the expansion plans?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
wiped his hands on his jeans. “Um…yeah. Santos, do you have the plans?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Santos
nodded. “<i>Si</i>. Here they are.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both
men stood and walked towards the rough center of the room. Angus unfolded an
easel and placed a carefully drawn map on it. Vincent could see the notations
of the city streets and neighborhoods—<i>West 60s, Midtown West, Lincoln
Square---</i>written besides those of the various tunnels; clearly, Angus and
Santos were taking no chances that the breadth of the expansion plans might be
misunderstood. Angus cleared his throat and began speaking. “We’ve been talking
for years now—certainly since I came to the tunnels, and probably before
that—about the need for this community to expand. With the help of Santos,
we’ve been able to come up with a few areas where we think we could expand
safely.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
pleased murmur rose from the crowd. “The first step,” Angus continued, “is to
get an accurate survey—to have clear maps of the areas we’re hoping to expand
into so we know exactly what we’re dealing with. I know you all have seen our maps;
some of them are so old that they’re nearly illegible. With Santos’s help, we
hope to get that fixed. Then we can return and discuss the actual expansion
plans with the Council.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
nodded. “How long do you estimate the survey will take?” he asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Santos
tilted his head and considered. “A week, perhaps two, depending…”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Depending?”
Vincent inquired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If
we do not have major projects planned,” Santos replied. “If I can get the
necessary equipment. You know.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
do,” Vincent assured him, feeling the other man’s nervousness as if it were his
own. Santos wanted so badly to make a good impression for…for….<i>for Mary</i>,
Vincent realized, the current between them as alive as the one between he and
Catherine. It was unusual to sense the other man’s feelings so strongly and
Vincent firmly closed the mental door which protected him from the onslaught of
others’ emotions; he could not afford distractions in the middle of this
meeting. He fought back a wince as the first ominous pulse of a headache began
to hammer. <i>Of all the times…</i>Vincent thought, but it could hardly be
helped. “The sooner we can begin, the better,” he said aloud. “If the Council
approves the survey project—which won’t happen until Father returns—when could
you start?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Santos
shrugged. “A week or so. I do not think the surveying equipment will be noticed
then, and things are always going in for repair, you understand…” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of
course,” Vincent said dryly. “Thank you, Angus and Santos. Who would you want
to come with you on this project?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angus
wiped his hands on his patched and faded jeans. “Well, you of course—you were
there with Simon when he made the original maps and that’s an area I’ve never
traveled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The three of us should be
able to get the initial surveys done and return inside of a week or so. For the
actual expansion project itself—Kanin and his crew, you, me and whomever else
volunteers. It should take a month or two, depending.”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Depending. </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once
those words had held a darker import—depending, Simon had once muttered under
his breath, if they didn’t run into a rockfall where none should be, or an
uncharted settlement of what Vincent later knew to be Paracelsus’s followers. <i>Depending.
And now? What will we find now?</i> “That sounds reasonable,” Vincent stated,
making a series of notations on his legal pad. “Father wanted to call the
Council once he returns from the outer community; once a decision is made,
you’ll be told. Thank you.” He looked around at the crowd. “If there’s nothing
else, I think we should all head to breakfast.”</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/02/inheritance-chapter-3-what-lies-beneath.html">here</a> for Chapter 3...</i></div>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-41075875123094872262014-02-12T18:34:00.003-08:002015-09-08T17:59:21.015-07:00Inheritance<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Summary: </span> </span></span>A few months after the events of "Providence," Vincent and Catherine are beginning to discover that marriage was only the start of the adventure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A/N: This is the sequel to "Providence," which is available in its entirety on this website, and "When Fall Comes to New England," which is available here and on CABB. Familiarity with the events in the stories is assumed. My deepest thanks to LauraG and Crowmama for their editing, friendship and constant support. :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqx9naZQRzh906Faf0O9axpTucs9Kr-YXOkx6Nlw0LRfM-epaobRKGF8RIlpFDO2a41vy4wRuiWCj9XvRAi3xIYwGd3AteVCVI_H7fMIy-tX9-guJtJF9d1BP6c4LReOfsvOK01cvYrodp/s1600/Brownstone+in+the+summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqx9naZQRzh906Faf0O9axpTucs9Kr-YXOkx6Nlw0LRfM-epaobRKGF8RIlpFDO2a41vy4wRuiWCj9XvRAi3xIYwGd3AteVCVI_H7fMIy-tX9-guJtJF9d1BP6c4LReOfsvOK01cvYrodp/s1600/Brownstone+in+the+summer.jpg" width="260" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/02/inheritance-chapter-1-at-break-of-day.html">Chapter 1: At Break of Day</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/02/inheritance-chapter-2-some-enchanted.html">Chapter 2: Some Enchanted Meeting</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/02/inheritance-chapter-3-what-lies-beneath.html">Chapter 3: What Lies Beneath</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/03/inheritance-chapter-four-distance-i.html">Chapter 4: The Distance I Have Wandered</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/03/inheritance-chapter-five-at-midnight-by.html">Chapter 5: At Midnight by the Flowering Tree</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/04/inheritance-chapter-6-starry-questions_11.html">Chapter 6: Starry Questions With a Single Key</a></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/05/inheritance-chapter-7-under-moon-waning.html">Chapter 7: Under a Moon Waning and Worn</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/06/inheritance-chapter-8-like-crystal.html">Chapter 8: Like a Crystal Burning</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/07/inheritance-chapter-9-tangled-web.html">Chapter 9: The Tangled Web</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/08/inheritance-chapter-10-those-who-wait.html">Chapter 10: Those Who Wait</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/10/inheritance-chapter-11-go-forth-with.html">Chapter 11: Go Forth With Your Fears</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/12/inheritance-chapter-12-something-in-me.html">Chapter 12: Something In Me Understands</a></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2015/03/inheritance-chapter-13-i-am-my-beloveds.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Chapter 13: I Am My Beloved's</span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2015/09/inheritance-chapter-14-deeds-of-green.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Chapter 14: Deeds of Green Thrilling Light</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-47352103694632404972014-02-12T18:33:00.000-08:002014-02-17T07:13:48.128-08:00Inheritance: Chapter 1- At Break of Day <style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At Break of Day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The warmth—a
prickly, heating flame—grazed Vincent’s face, the red heat of sunlight burning
behind his closed eyelids. The panicked rush of <i>daylight-Above-hide-run! </i>still
disconcerting after more than a month in the brownstone, causing his heart to
beat a frantic rhythm until the faint fragrance of Catherine’s scent reached
him. <i>Home. </i>Their brownstone, their home, their place between the worlds.
<i>Bluebird House. </i>The distant flutter of birds’ wings in the trees below
told him it was early in the morning and he stretched, opening his eyes.
Catherine lay beside him, one bare leg outside the covers (how she could sleep
with one leg exposed, Vincent never understood—no matter what the ambient
temperature, she always slept like that.) There was a subtle play of light and
color over her skin; their bed was angled so that the muted colors from the
stained glass window were the first to greet them each morning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Vincent
watched, dust motes glistened, shining miniature prisms stirring in the subtle
air currents. The play of light on Catherine’s leg—a diffuse red, palest green,
the faintest violet—blushed on her fair skin, a kaleidoscope on satin. She
stirred in her sleep and Vincent froze—would she wake, somehow sensing his
regard? Instead, she burrowed more deeply into the sheets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He leaned back
against his pillow and pondered the day ahead. The day before, Father had
received a message from the outer community that Angela and Lucas’s infant son
was ill, and with Peter attending a conference out of state, Father had taken
the unprecedented step of accepting a car ride from Catherine so he could more
quickly attend to his patient. He had left Vincent in charge of the tunnels
until his return, and Vincent had, of course, accepted. There was no one else
Father would have considered asking, no one whose leadership he trusted and as
he’d said before Catherine’s car door ended their conversation, “You’ll have to
do this one day anyway. I know you’ll do it well.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well” was
relative, Vincent mused. He knew the outward functions of running the tunnels,
the day-to-day minutiae which Father handled with apparent ease. But
observation was vastly different from having the entire responsibility thrust
upon him and as the muted noise from the radiator—in reality, messages from the
pipes Below—began to increase, Vincent could only hope Father would return
soon. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re
brooding again,” Catherine murmured beside him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The golden
spill of her hair partially covered her face; Vincent brushed it back with a
gentle hand. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I was
dreaming,” Catherine said, “and you called to me.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What were we
doing in your dream?” he asked, taking her in his arms. Frequently her dreams
were a quicksilver river merging with his own as they slept, but the boundaries
between their conscious, awake minds were not as fluid. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We were
playing baseball,” Catherine replied. She grinned. “Do you even <i>play </i>baseball?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I did. Of a
sort.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Where?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He gestured in
the rough direction of the tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There’s
a lot you can do in the wider corridors without…anyone noticing.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
laughed, a delighted trill. “Vincent, you were rebellious!”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Guilty,” he
replied, unrepentant. “Father didn’t like it, of course, not with the torches
everywhere. And I suppose it was dangerous—”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Hardly,”
Catherine put in. “Now, if you’d played baseball in Central Park? <i>That</i>
would have been dangerous.” She propped her head up on one hand. “So, we were
playing baseball in the park and Father had just bunted and you wanted me to
run to third. That was when I woke up.” Her small hand cupped his chin. “Why
are you so…preoccupied? Father?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was no
hiding the truth from her, something which was occasionally as harrowing as it
was comforting. “Yes,” he admitted. “Santos, Kanin and Angus want my input on
the tunnel expansion project. They’ve waited some months and Santos thinks
he’ll be able to…borrow some surveying equipment without any difficulty.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But Father
has the final say?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Father and
the council, yes. This meeting is a preliminary one, mainly to see what the
full extent of their plans are. Angus would, of course, like a final decision
now, but…”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The decision
isn’t mine to make. And even if it were, I don’t want to be…seen to be taking
too much of Father’s authority while he’s gone.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t blame
you,” Catherine said. “Especially since you’re not sure if you want to take
over for Father one day.” She paused. “Wait. Angus wants to do something with
Kanin? And it doesn’t involve using him as a punching bag?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
smiled. “They seem to have mended their fences. I doubt they’ll ever be
friends, but…civility <i>is</i> a welcome change.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Will you go
with them on the expansion project?” Catherine asked.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes. My
skills will be needed.” He kissed the palm of her hand, felt the small thrill
shoot through her. “And there is…considerable pressure from the community to
see this done and done quickly.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Space is at a
premium, isn’t it?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It always has
been. We have several teenagers who should be moving into their first chambers
now and out of the children’s dormitories, but there’s simply not much room to
spare, and families have priority on what room we do have.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A message
clanked its way through their radiator: a reminder of the Council meeting set
for later on this morning. “What else is on the agenda?” Catherine asked. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Minutiae,
mainly. Elizabeth seeking help expanding the Painted Tunnels; Mary wanting
scheduling for the inventory of supplies in the hospital chamber; Mouse’s
latest plans for the freshwater source he and Angus discovered last week, which
will doubtless include one or more gizmos. For the sake of Father’s blood
pressure, I suspect I’d best take care of <i>those </i>plans before Father
hears of them.” He breathed out and smiled. What <i>was</i> it about her
presence that made his problems easier in the telling? “It won’t be a difficult
meeting.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yet you’re
brooding,” Catherine observed. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I---”<span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I heard what
Father said to you before I drove him to Angela’s tunnel entrance,” Catherine
went on. “He…assumes a lot. Doesn’t he?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
nodded. “Yes.” That there was more, he didn’t need to say, the press of
expectations and a promise made in miasmic darkness nearly choking him again. “There
was no one else he could ask.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“This time,
yes. The next time, though?” Catherine asked gently. She shook her head. “He’s
not a young man. If you don’t think you want to lead the tunnels, then the two
of you will have to find some other way.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes,” he
replied. “I know I need to talk to him about this, but…I am afraid.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of what?”
Catherine asked. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He let out a dry,
rueful laugh. Even to his own ears, there was no humor in the sound. “Of his
disappointment. He’s built so much and if I choose wrongly…”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My father
planned to leave his partnership in his law firm to me,” Catherine told him. “And
when he realized I wasn’t going to come back and take that corner office, it
was hard,<span style="color: #4bacc6; mso-themecolor: accent5;"> </span>very hard.
But it was my life. I was the only one who had to live it.” Her hand brushed
his hair. “You showed me I had the strength. And you’re not alone.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine was
conscious of Vincent’s pensive silence as they walked the long corridors in the
tunnels. She didn’t need to attend this meeting, it was true, but her presence
gave Vincent a measure of support. “Has there been any word on Joshua’s
condition?” she asked.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,” Vincent
replied. “Father said he’d send a message once he was stabilized.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Do you think
it’s very bad?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It’s hard to
say,” he admitted. “Angela and Lucas are…not always forthcoming. But for them
to contact Father—” <span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
nodded. “It doesn’t sound good.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No. And
Joshua is Leah’s age—a newborn, or at most a few months old. It’s…worrying.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How many
families live in the outer community?” she asked. There was so much she still
didn’t know about his world—their world, now—so many stories she’d never heard.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We don’t
really know,” Vincent answered. “Father told me there were three or four
families when Grace brought him Below, but they…discouraged any further
questioning.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Discouraged?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“With guns,”
Vincent told her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They…didn’t want to
be bothered. Grace thought it a good idea to leave them alone.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Wow, yeah. I
can see why.” Catherine said, astonished. “Are they as…feisty now?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes and no,”
Vincent answered. “We have very…tentative relations with them; I got to know
many of the families when Mouse first came to us but in the main, they live
precisely as they wish to, separate from the rest of the main community.” He
shook his head. “There is no physician among them and coupled with their
extreme isolation…it can be dangerous to live as they do. It’s only been in the
last few years they’ve made it to a few Winterfests, but there are entire
families living in the outer areas who are almost strangers to us.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He walked into
a narrow side corridor and Catherine followed him. When the corridor
dead-ended, he said quietly, “Several of the outer ring families live very
close to the remnants of Paracelsus’s community.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The evil
that men do</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Catherine
thought, wondering if the community—and Vincent himself—would ever be free from
that most malignant of ghosts. “Is Father in danger?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No…at least,
he didn’t believe so. But it’s always been a concern, you understand.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She nodded. “You
don’t know where their allegiance was.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Precisely.
I’ve asked Rhys and Quinn to meet him there as soon as their other duties are
completed. Quinn was trained as a nurse in the Army—and Rhys is….”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
smiled as a picture of the broad-shouldered Welshman flashed before her. “Formidable.
When he’s not getting lost.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vincent
nodded. “Yes. Father…debated about going but he couldn’t stay away. But that
doesn’t mean he should be alone there.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Of course
not,” Catherine replied. “When will Quinn and Rhys arrive?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I heard the
message while you were in the shower this morning; they should arrive early
this afternoon.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catherine
looked up at him. She could almost feel the weight of his burdens pressing on
her shoulders, see the tension deepening the furrow between his arched brows,
the lines around his eyes. Vincent was worried, and by more than just Father’s
absence. “What is it, love?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The other
families don’t live as we do. They have a rather…intense dislike of the world
above.” He tilted his head. “Do you remember when I told you about Father’s
discussion with Mouse?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Which one?”
Catherine asked with a grin and was rewarded by a chuff of raspy laughter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The one about
‘finding, not taking,’ ” Vincent went on with a smile. “Since our community was
founded, we’ve survived by society’s cast-offs…later, as the first helpers’
network began, it became easier to draw that bright line in the sand and say,
‘We do not steal.’<span style="color: red;"> </span>” He paused. “There is no
helper the outer communities trust, no one they can depend on to bring them
food or medicines in times of crisis. Except for Father.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Then how do
they survive?” Catherine asked, though she felt she might already know the
answer.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“They steal,
Catherine,” Vincent responded. “They justify it as profiting from a city which
has already rejected them, but…”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I can’t
imagine that goes over well with Father,” Catherine said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No,” Vincent
agreed. “We co-exist well for the most part, but he worries—as we all do—that
one day, their actions will bring unwanted scrutiny on us. And if it does…” he
spread his hands. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The expansion
project,” Catherine realized. “You’re also looking for a place to retreat,
aren’t you?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes,” he
admitted. “If we must. We had no such plans when the foundations for Burch
Tower were laid.” He shook his head. “We will not be caught unawares again.”</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2014/02/inheritance-chapter-2-some-enchanted.html">here</a> for Chapter Two...</i></span></div>
</div>
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-23038161738841528332013-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:002013-09-01T20:38:54.080-07:00Once Upon a Galaxy (mild R)<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Once Upon a Galaxy</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Aliset</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>A/N: This story was
partially inspired by a discussion on BBTV; those who were around at
the time will likely remember it. ;-) This story first appeared in the 2013 Conzine- I Bid My Heart to Follow.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">–//--</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Peter Alcott removed his stethoscope.
“It's bronchitis, I'm afraid.” He looked severely at Catherine.
“That, my dear, is what you get when you let a simple cold get this
bad.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine coughed painfully. “I
thought it was just a cold, Peter.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You do not take care of yourself
sometimes, especially during a trial,” Vincent reproved gently,
taking her hand.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She smiled, acknowledging the point; it
was an affectionate, well-worn discussion. “Sorry, love,” she
managed, looking at her husband. “Looks like you'll be stuck with
me for a few days.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent's hand brushed her forehead,
feeling the fever burning under her skin. “It's no trouble.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Are you sure?” Catherine asked.
“You must have work to do; you don't have to stay here with me.
I'll be fine.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Before Vincent could answer, Peter
spoke. “Nonsense, Cathy. Someone needs to stay with you, if only to
make sure you stay in bed and rest. I'll bring by a prescription of
antibiotics later on this afternoon and I'll call your boss and let
him know you'll be off for the next few days.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Will you let Father know as well?”
Vincent asked. “I'm sure he's guessed but....”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“But he worries anyway,” Peter
finished, smiling. “Sure. I'll tell him.” He stood and shrugged
back into his coat. “Get some rest and drink plenty of fluids,
Cathy. Let Vincent take care of you.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She rested her head against Vincent's
arm. “I don't seem to have much choice.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent walked Peter to the door. As
the older man was about to leave, Peter turned to him. “I don't
know if you're aware of this, but antibiotics....”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent tilted his head. “Yes?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“They can interfere with some kinds
of birth control. Make sure you use a back-up method if you...”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent forbore to mention it wasn't
likely they'd be indulging in those sorts of activities for several
days at least. “I...see. Thank you; I didn't know.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Peter grinned wryly. “I couldn't see
Jacob mentioning it; listening to him sometimes you'd think chickens
barely laid eggs.”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He chuckled. “True. Thank you for
coming, Peter.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Anytime, Vincent. And if you need
anything at all, just call.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent turned the burner off on the
stove and stirred the chicken noodle soup one final time. It was
William's, virtually guaranteed---as tunnel lore had it---to bring
the dead back to life; Kipper had brought it along with some
groceries for the pantry, which was mostly bare since Catherine had
almost ceased to live here. He poured the soup into a bowl and walked
into the bedroom.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As he'd suspected, Catherine was
dozing. Vincent didn't want to wake her but she needed to eat
something. “Catherine,” he said softly.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Mmmm,” she replied, groggy.
“You're here.”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Where else would I be?”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She smiled. “That's William's soup.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It is,” Vincent confirmed.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It's good soup,” Catherine said,
tasting it. “Look, here we are again. I'm sick and you're taking
care of me.” She sat up in bed. “I only wish...”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What, love?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I wish I was in our bed.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He handed her an antibiotic, along with
some juice, and brushed her forehead. “Which bed would that be? The
one below, in our chamber---which Father and Peter both agree is too
cool and damp for someone with bronchitis? Or the one in our house,
where the central heating is being repaired? You wouldn't get any
rest with all the noise.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her hair was mussed and her complexion
wan, but Vincent still thought he'd never seen anyone more beautiful.
“You know what I mean,” she said. “It's all so...disruptive.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent gave a low chuff of amusement.
“This from the woman who stopped everything when I was so ill and
who stayed Below until you were certain I would recover. Catherine,
it's no trouble...and if you <i>were</i> Below, I'd be removed from
the work crews because everyone would understand my place was with
you.” He kissed her forehead. “Finish your soup, and if you
like, I'll read to you.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">By the end of his third day in the
apartment, Vincent knew Catherine was getting stir-crazy. She was a
compliant patient---far more compliant than he himself had been
during his illness, he acknowledged ruefully---but that didn't mean
she wasn't getting bored with the inactivity. It showed in the tiny
constellations of her gestures: the books she opened, read briefly,
and put aside, her unfocused gaze towards the balcony windows, where
a heavy rain fell. “Vincent,” she asked one afternoon as he put
their lunch dishes in the dishwasher, “why don't we watch a movie?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He dried his hands off with a towel. “I
think that's a wonderful idea. Which movie did you have in mind?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He listened to her breathing as she
walked towards the small shelf where her videos were kept. <i>She's
getting better, </i>Vincent thought, reassured. “What about <i>Star
Wars</i>?” Catherine asked. “Have you seen it?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” he replied. “I remember it
making quite a stir Below, though.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How so?”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Some of the tunnel children wanted
to see it, but of course, we didn't have the means to send them. One
of our helpers was able to pull a few strings with the owner of a
local theater, so Winslow---”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Winslow?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent nodded. “Yes. I know it's
hard to believe, but he loved science fiction movies even though he
wasn't fond of <i>herding cats</i>---as he put it---to see one.
Winslow took the children Above to see it, but was late---very
late---getting back.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What happened?”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“They returned a couple of hours
later. They'd decided to watch the movie again. Father...was not
amused.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, I can imagine,” Catherine
said. “Was that the last film you all saw?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Vincent replied.
“Occasionally we've been able to see older films using a projector,
but not this one.” He picked up the case of the videotape. “Was
it a great favorite of yours?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, yes. Nancy and I must have seen
it four or five times when it came out.” She took the tape from
him and popped it in the VCR and uncoiled the remote on its cord.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent sat down on the couch and felt
his wife nestle against him. The couches were still little and
“dinky,” as Catherine had told him Joe had once described them,
but there were certain...benefits...to being forced to sit so close
together. And although his legs hung off the end of the couch,
Catherine's head rested on his heart, where she always was.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As he'd more than halfway expected,
Catherine didn't make it through the opening credits, but Vincent
cradled his wife and became absorbed in the Death Star and Darth
Vader, a boy named Luke and the Force....</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Two days later, they'd made it through
both <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>and <i>Return of the Jedi</i>.
Catherine wasn't surprised to find Vincent enthralled by the series.
“Will there be any others?” he asked as he cleaned up the last of
their dinner dishes.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“There's been some discussion about
it,” Catherine replied, handing him a clean towel. “I hope not. I
doubt they'll be as good.” She smiled up at him. “So you liked
them?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I did,” he replied. “Very much.
They remind me of the legends Father has in his library---the hero on
a quest, the rogue with the heart of gold...”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Sounds a bit more like the sons
Father raised,” Catherine countered dryly. “Devin could surely
play Han Solo, no doubt there.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And who would you suggest I play?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She kissed him. “Why, the hero, of
course.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Luke whines too much,” Vincent
observed. “I do not whine.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Catherine agreed. “But you
do tend to…brood when things don’t go right.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent affected a pose of injured
innocence. “What things?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, like when the central heat went
out at our home.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It had just been installed before we
moved in,” Vincent said. “There was no reason for it to have
stopped working.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No, you’re right,” Catherine
replied. “But it did make you all grumpy.” She smiled. “And it
was kind of cute too.”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m not---”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Heedless of her soapy hands, she pulled
his head down for a kiss. “You are.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Peter replaced the stethoscope back in
his battered doctor’s bag. “Your lungs sound clear. No fever or
aches?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine shook her head. “Nope.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The rest did you some good, then,”
Peter told her. “You can go back to work tomorrow if you like.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That’s good. Vincent’s been so
worried,” Catherine said, buttoning up the last button on her
blouse.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes, where is he?” Peter asked. “I
thought I'd be tripping over him.”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine’s expression grew serious.
“Santos sent word late last night of a planned inspection by City
Water which was going to come a little too close to one of the tunnel
entrances. Vincent and the others have been working around the clock
to set up false walls. I don’t expect him back much before the end
of the week.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Peter nodded. “Get a message to me if
they need any medical supplies---they’ve got more than enough for
ordinary use but a crisis can certainly strain things.”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I will,” Catherine agreed.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Have you had any difficulties with
the backups?” Peter asked.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Um, what? What backups?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, I thought Vincent would have
told you…about using backup contraception.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well, we haven’t recently…that
is….” She shook her head. “Peter, I’ve been sick as a dog for
the last week. Do you really think either of us would...?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Stranger things have happened,”
Peter said with a smile. “And I’ve delivered many of them.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When Vincent and his crew finally
surfaced almost a week later, they were tired, dirty, and hungry…but
the inspection had been completed and the false walls had served
their purpose. Catherine and the others had met the crew as they
emerged; Vincent had been so swathed in mud and muck that the only
bright spots were the blue of his eyes. “Come on,” she urged
gently as she took his hand. “The brownstone’s closer and you
know we’ll hear if there’s any news.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent managed a tired nod. Their
brownstone had two radiators; one downstairs and one in their
bedroom. Matthew, Mouse and Angus had contrived to make sure they
were hooked into the pipe network and though their noise was muted,
the radiators allowed Vincent and Catherine to keep an ear on the
goings on Below. “All right,” Vincent agreed through a yawn. He
gazed down at their joined hands. “I’m getting you all muddy.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And you know I don’t care,” she
murmured. She led him unresisting to the small side tunnel which led
to their basement and into their home Above. “Go ahead and get into
the shower, love. I’ll get you some clean clothes.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine went upstairs and pulled out
the clothing he favored when it was just the two of them in the
house---a worn pair of sweatpants, a loose shirt. She dug around in
their upstairs bathroom for his wide-toothed comb and the leave-in
conditioner, then came downstairs intending to put the finishing
touches onto dinner---a rich, heavy stew William had taught her to
make---which had been simmering in the crock pot all day. It wasn't
until she unloaded the dishwasher that she realized the shower was
still running---longer than Vincent normally took in the shower, even
allowing for the filth which had covered him. She walked into the
bathroom and was somehow not surprised to find he’d fallen asleep
standing up. “Come on, love,” she said to him softly as she
turned off the water.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He opened one sleepy eye, then the
other. “Catherine…what…”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine tugged down two of their
thickest towels which sat under one of the heating vents. “You’re
all done in,” she murmured, draping one of the towels over his
broad shoulders. “You fell asleep in the shower, love.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He raked back the soaked thickness of
his hair with one hand. “First time I’ve ever done that,” he
mumbled. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine peered at him closely. She
brushed a hand against his forehead and sighed. “Vincent, you have
a fever. You’re exhausted. No wonder you fell asleep standing up.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I don't get sick,” he insisted.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The pink tinge under his eyes---signs
of a fever---told otherwise, and Catherine shook her head. “Everyone
down there is sick with something this time of year, Vincent. Why
don't you dry off and I'll bring you some dinner?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You look tired,” Marisol observed
over lunch a few days later. She had stopped by the brownstone on her
way back from taking her baby son to see Peter and Catherine, glad
for the company, had invited them to stay for lunch. “Is everything
all right?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I am tired,” Catherine
acknowledged. “It's been a long couple of weeks. The heater went
out in the brownstone, I had bronchitis, Vincent and the others had
to deal with the surprise inspection and then he got sick and now...”
She sighed. “We've both been so busy.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Benjamin stirred in his sleep; Marisol
rubbed his back. His tiny hands clutched in her hair. “When was the
last time you and Vincent did anything fun? Something just the two of
you enjoy?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She thought back to the movies they'd
watched. Vincent and <i>Star Wars</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Whoever would have guessed? “He came to the apartment while I was
sick and we watched the </span><i>Star Wars </i><span style="font-style: normal;">films.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Not
my idea of a vacation,” Marisol observed dryly, “but if it works
for you two, then...” She smiled. “Catherine, I know how hard you
both work, but don't forget to take time to play too, all right?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">What
do you and Miguel do?” Catherine asked. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Marisol coughed and
a faint blush rose to her cheeks. “Well, um...did I ever tell you
how I got into the tapestry weaving business Below?”</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">No,”
Catherine asked. “How---?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Right
after Miguel and I were married, he had to pull a lot of overtime. I
didn't see him for nearly two weeks because he was covering other
shifts. When he finally came Below, it seemed everyone in the tunnels
stopped by to congratulate us. And...you know how it is down there.
People, they mean well but...we never had a moment to ourselves. So I
came up with a way to make sure we had time together, and that was my
first tapestry Below.” Marisol's dark eyes twinkled. “You have
doors here. Use them.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent looked up from the folded note,
perplexed. It was from his wife; even if her handwriting hadn't been
a clue as to the writer's identity, her scent clung to the heavy bond
paper. <i>Meet me at the basement,</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
the note said. There was a light impression of mischief
too---clearly, Catherine had been pleased with herself when she wrote
the note. He refolded the note and placed it in his cloak pocket, and
a fond smile crossed his face. Whatever she was up to, he'd know soon
enough.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Out in the
corridor, Vincent found Valerie and Cullen, walking with their
newborn daughter, Leah. “Hey, Vincent," Cullen said, "We're on our way out to the
park to watch the sunset.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">And
maybe get Leah to sleep,” Valerie put in with a yawn.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cradled in
Valerie's arms and swaddled in her blankets, Leah resembled nothing
so much as a rosebud with a few tufts of dark hair peeking out. “It
should be a lovely night,” Vincent agreed. “It's supposed to rain
later, though.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">We
won't be out that long,” Valerie murmured, shifting Leah to her
shoulder. “Where are you off to?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Our
basement,” Vincent explained. “Catherine...sent me a letter.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Ohhh,”
Valerie said with a delighted grin. “It's a summons.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">A
request,” Vincent protested mildly. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Trust
me,” Cullen said dryly as he wrapped his arm around his wife and
child. “It's a summons.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">At the
foot of the basement steps, Vincent found another note, propped up
against an unlit candle. </span><i>Don't turn the lights on, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">the
message read. </span><i>Come to our bedroom. I'm waiting for you.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">He
swallowed hard, images of what </span><i>waiting</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
might entail momentarily derailing his thoughts. He picked up the
candle and opened the door leading into their brownstone. It was
completely dark inside, though bits of light from the streetlamps
peeked through the curtains Catherine had drawn over the windows. His
ears caught the faint sounds of music, music whose familiarity teased
at the edges of his consciousness. Putting aside that mystery for
now, he walked up the stairwell towards their bedroom. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">You're
here,” Catherine murmured from the grey shaded darkness. She was in
the middle of their bed, her bare shoulders like carved ivory against
the colors of the quilt.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">I
am,” he replied. “Catherine...what....?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Do
you recognize the music?” she asked. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">I've
heard it before,” he acknowledged. “But...”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">She
smiled. “You'll recognize it soon enough, I'm sure.” She gazed at
him and Vincent thought only eyes like his would have seen the </span><i>want</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
the </span><i>need</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> in her eyes
as she pulled back the corners of the quilt. “Why don't you join
me?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">If her
note </span><i>had</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> been a
summons, it was a summons Vincent was only too happy to obey. Their
lives had been so busy lately, between illness and the ordinary
business of life... “I've missed you. It's been...too long.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">I
know, love.” Catherine smiled at him. “I...have a surprise for
you.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The very thought
made him laugh. Catherine, who had been the greatest of all
surprises, had one more? “What are you up to?” he asked.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Get
into bed and I'll show you. It's in the bathroom; I'll bring it out
to you.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>It? </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Vincent
wondered. </span><i>In the bathroom? What could she be doing in
there? </i><span style="font-style: normal;">“All right,” he
responded, pulling off his shirt and pants and climbing into their
bed. The strains of the music continued from the stereo in the corner
and he recognized the music as the soundtrack from </span><i>Star
Wars. Star Wars? Mysteriouser and mysteriouser.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The bathroom door
creaked open and Catherine emerged with one hand folded
over...something. “Close your eyes,” she instructed. “This is a
surprise, after all.”</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He laced his
fingers behind his head and closed his eyes. He heard the rustle of
fabric as her silken robe and gown fell to the floor, the groaning
springs of the mattress as she settled next to him. “All right,
love, you can open your eyes.”</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">There
was a small glowing green circle in the palm of her hand. Vincent
opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. He was not
unfamiliar with such things, being a doctor's son, and he knew full
well that Father kept a cookie jar full of them in the hospital
chamber. But this... “Catherine. A glow in the dark </span><i>condom</i><span style="font-style: normal;">?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She nodded and her
laugh was rich and mischievous. “Well, Peter said...”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Vincent
waggled his eyebrows. “I'd love to see </span><i>that</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
prescription.” A thought occurred to him. “Catherine. The
music....?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">Mmmm...hmmm,”
she replied. “Gives a whole new meaning to 'may the Force be with
you,' doesn't it?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He couldn't help
it. The laughter burst from him as he realized what his wife had
done---brought joy and fun back into their life together, dispersing
the grinding weariness of the last couple of weeks. He looked at her,
his love, his light. “ 'Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only
hope,' ” he murmured against her mouth. She was so soft under his
hands....</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent felt more
than saw Catherine's answering smile, the quickening of her
heartbeat. “ 'Use the Force, Luke.' ”</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">THE END.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-89715466159249513532013-03-09T13:24:00.002-08:002013-03-09T13:51:09.992-08:00Providence: Chapter 68: Above All Shadows Rides the Sun <b> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Chapter 68: Above All Shadows Rides the Sun [82]</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The weeks which followed assumed a certain regularity: Catherine would go Above to her job, and Vincent to his tunnel duties and when she returned home that evening, they would go over Cullen's notations for what work had been finished on the brownstone during the day, and what still remained. The tasks were growing smaller, she noted with satisfaction, but it was only because of the concentrated efforts of many people that the renovations had been accomplished with such speed. “Here's our homework,” Catherine said during one such night, lifting the note off the entrance to the basement. “Looks like it's tile and grouting in the kitchen.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent cast a quick concerned glance at the bandaged gash on her hand---she had cut it open on a broken shard of subway tile while working on the downstairs bathroom a few days earlier---and instinctively, she folded the palm flat against her jeans. <i>He worries so</i>. “Are you sure? I could...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She silenced him with a finger to his lips and nearly concealed the wince her shoulders felt at the movement. “I'm sure.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He kissed her finger. “Your shoulders still ache.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Of course they do,” Catherine said. “We painted most of the downstairs yesterday and I've bought so much aspirin, I'm thinking I should buy stocks in Bayer.” She tilted her head. “Vincent, I'm fine. And I want to continue.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He gently took her unbandaged hand. “Very well. However, if you feel you need to rest....”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I'll tell you. I promise.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Perhaps...later...you might want a massage?” The words were said with a studied innocence, but their bond told another story. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The thought of those hands....the hands which were most definitely made to give love...Catherine felt herself grow suddenly warm. “I'd like that, but what about you? Aren't you...stiff from working all day?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">His blue eyes twinkled at her intentional double entendre. “Perhaps. And perhaps you could help me with that as well?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ignoring the screech of muscles in her shoulders, Catherine rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I'd be delighted,” she murmured against his mouth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tonight, Cullen was absent; the number of people working on their house varied according to their other commitments and while they might sometimes have as many as a dozen people working, there were times when only three or four people were present. Warren was there, working on Cullen's lathe with practiced skill. “Hiya,” he said as they entered the basement, stepping off the treadle---which Catherine recognized had once belonged to an old sewing machine---to allow the machine to slow and his words to be heard. “Mouse went back to his chamber for a gizmo and Kanin sent word he won't be here tonight.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Is everything all right with Kanin and Cullen?” Catherine asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, yeah,” Warren said in his slow, careful way. “Olivia's got the flu and Luke's a handful, about like you'd expect. And Cullen is...well...Valerie had some contractions around lunch that Father says is nothing to worry about, but he's nervous she's gonna pop while he's over here.” He grinned. “Can't say as I blame him there. She looks large enough, but don't tell him I said that.” He removed a baluster from the lathe and handed it to Vincent. “What do you think, Vincent? Good match?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It's an excellent match for the missing ones on the staircase,” Vincent replied, clapping him on the shoulder. He studied the lathe. “I know Cullen said Mouse had jury-rigged one which would be quiet enough to use here, but I never thought...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Warren nodded. “Even the one Cullen normally uses is pretty loud. But this one is fine for the smaller jobs.” He picked up another piece of wood. “I think we've got about six of these to finish; Kanin said he'd work on the others tomorrow.” He yawned. “I'm going to finish a couple more, then take off. You all okay?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent told him. “Just setting tile on the kitchen floor tonight.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“All right. Mouse should be back here soon, assuming Arthur hasn't run off with his gizmo.” Warren put back on his safety glasses and they walked into the brownstown, the hum of the lathe echoing behind them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent remembered, as if it had been yesterday and not several months before, what their kitchen had once looked like---the walls exposed down to the bricks, the blue lines of the layout on the floor, the scents of rusted piping and rotted, frayed knob-and-tube wiring. There had been so many changes; the space was now dry-walled and every day, it was beginning to look more and more like the kitchen it would soon be. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I hope Olivia feels better soon,” Catherine was saying as they walked into the kitchen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It's not the flu,” Vincent murmured.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh?” Catherine asked. Then realization hit her, the sparks of happiness clear in their bond. “Oh!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes. If Kanin doesn't know it soon, he will.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine tugged at his arm. “You knew?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent nodded. “Her...scent has changed over the last few days.” He paused. “They likely won't say anything for some time. Olivia has had...losses before.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How awful,” Catherine murmured. “Does she...do they....?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Do they know I know?” Vincent finished. “Olivia might, but I doubt Kanin realizes.” He darted a wry look at her. “Women are...usually more perceptive. And Olivia and I grew up together. I doubt there's much she hasn't figured out by now.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I know,” Catherine replied. “Olivia and I talked a bit while you were so sick.” She ducked her head slightly and the waves of mischief flooded their bond. “She told me you were her first kiss.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He felt the heat rise at the back of his neck. “I was nine, Catherine.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And chasing older women? Olivia was ten. Tsk, tsk,” Catherine said with a grin. She hung her coat on the back of a small ladder and reached for an unopened box of slate tile. She winced slightly and Vincent took the box from her. “I can handle it,” she insisted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes, you can,” Vincent told her, “but…would you please let me help you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“All right,” she agreed, flexing her hand. Her right hand, he noticed; it had been his left hand which had been wounded on their honeymoon. [83] <i>We are counterparts, even in this,</i> he thought, somewhat amused by the coincidence and he heard Narcissa’s voice as she had told him often during his childhood: <i>There are no coincidences. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine set the last of the tiles and stood, arching her back as her muscles protested. “We’ll let the grout set up overnight,” Vincent said. “It’ll have to be completely dry before the cabinets are installed in a couple of days.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The bronzed fall of his hair fell down one long arm as he rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ve had a long day too,” she murmured. “What time is it, anyway?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He yawned suddenly. “Nearly midnight.” He tilted his head. “What time are you going into work tomorrow?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I have a couple of meetings tomorrow morning---one with David and then the staff meeting. I might decide to work from home the rest of the day,” Catherine said. “I just have case prep on my desk and I can do that pretty much anywhere. Why?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This time of night, the mineral pools should be deserted,” Vincent said. “But if you were going to have to go to work early, I didn’t want to keep you up.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She unsuccessfully fought back a yawn of her own. “The mineral pools sound ideal. If I don't, I'm afraid I'm going to go into work tomorrow doubled over like a crab.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The image amused him, she could tell, the quirk tugging at his mouth. “We can't have that,” he murmured. “Let's go, then.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They were just leaving the tunnel entrance when Vincent halted so abruptly that she nearly ran into him. “What is it?” Catherine asked softly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Do you feel that? </i>Vincent tapped against her hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She shivered and then realized she shouldn't be shivering; it was no colder Below at this time of night than it was the rest of the day. <i>Yes. What's going on?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent stood slightly in front of her. “Who's there?” he asked. “Please, come out so we can see you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine thought the diffuse, pale light was a product of her tired eyes but as the column of light expanded and began to assume human form, she realized what she was seeing. <i>A ghost. Another ghost.</i> The shape resolved itself into a man wearing the patched flannels and jeans she'd seen a hundred times since coming Below. She didn’t recognize the man, but it was clear Vincent did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Phillip?” Vincent asked. And Catherine recalled the story as he’d told her several months before: Phillip, the friend of his youth, killed while defending the tunnels from intruders. [84 ] He could not be more stunned, Catherine thought, if William had started dancing the hula naked in front of him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The spirit nodded---for spirit he clearly was---nodded. “No fooling you, but then, there never was. It’s good to see you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent seemed to recover a bit of his composure. “I…it’s been a long time, Phillip.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It has, man,” Phillip answered. “Thought I’d stop by, see how you were doing. Been here before but you never saw me.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I thought I…sensed someone a few months ago,” Vincent replied. “Was that you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You sensed that? Oh, man…I really am no good at this ghost thing. Yeah, it was me.” He tilted his head and Catherine wondered if he’d learned the gesture from Vincent, or Vincent from him. “So this is your lovely wife. I knew you’d find someone.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She’d once held paintings done by Kristopher Gentian; the recollection that she had also drunk cappuccino with a ghost steadied her somewhat. “A pleasure,” he said. “Kristopher has talked about you a lot.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I bet,” Catherine returned dryly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, not like that,” Phillip assured her, though his eyes were twinkling. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent gazed at the other man. She could almost feel the mental gears turning as he came to some conclusion. “Was it…were you in the basement next door when Mouse was injured?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The ghost spread his hands. “Guilty. Couldn’t let him get crushed after all…” Phillip tilted his head. “Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Why…all this? Why are you here?” Vincent asked. “We buried you among family and friends; you should be at peace.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This was my home,” Phillip said simply. “I left, but...” He waved a hand. “Don’t ask, man. You wouldn’t get it, and that’s a good thing.” He folded his arms. “You…won’t have any trouble from the spirits who used to live next door.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Someone pushed the wall on top of Mouse?” Catherine guessed. “It wasn’t an accident?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Phillip said. “It wasn’t. But…that’s all taken care of now; you’ll be safe.” There was a small, mysterious smile on his face. “And so will your family.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What---” Vincent began, but Phillip’s smile seemed to halt his words. “Nothing is truly impossible,” Phillip said. “You know that. <i>You know.</i>”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent glanced at Catherine and the warmth in his gaze made her completely forget the chill in the small corridor. “I do.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Good,” Phillip replied, apparently satisfied. “I’ll be around, but this…coming here and talking with you all is harder than it looks. So…just take care of each other, all right?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The diffuse light enfolded him once again, and with a last wave, Phillip disappeared. Vincent watched the light fade then turned to Catherine. “I…”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What are you feeling?” she asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He enfolded her in the curve of one strong arm and his scent—a stronger male scent, heavier with his recent exertions---surrounded her. “Blessed. Just…very blessed.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine jerked, startled, as the phone rang. She dug for the receiver buried underneath her paperwork and scattered notes. “Catherine Chandler.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Hi, Cathy, it’s Deborah at reception. David Smith is here to see you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Thanks, Deborah,” Catherine replied. “I’ll be up in a moment.” She stood and saw Joe coming towards her desk with a bag of…whatever he was eating. “Joe, David’s here. You have time to sit in on the meeting?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe grinned. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Radcliffe. Let’s go.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few minutes later, Catherine sat down at the long table with a full cup of coffee and an empty note pad. “What did you find, David?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well, Joshua and I compared the ledgers of Avery’s ‘legitimate’ businesses to the transcripts the IRS sent and…there’s no doubt what these records reveal. It may come as a shock,” David said dryly, “but Max Avery was grossly understating his income, to the tune of about eight million dollars a year.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rita spoke up from the other side of the table. “How far was his accountant involved?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Up to his eyebrows,” David replied. “He had one set of ledgers for the IRS and another for Max Avery. And he signed off on all those tax returns.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Probably got an attack of conscience once he realized his life was in danger,” Joe said. “Once Max Avery was indicted, Aaron Geller became a liability.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Trial starts in June,” Catherine said, glancing over David’s preliminary report. “That’s not long from now. Will you be done with your analysis by then?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, yeah,” David replied. “Joshua and I will both be available to testify whenever you need us.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And just so I understand you correctly, Max Avery isn’t going to be able to say he was an honest businessman led astray by a corrupt accountant, is he?” Catherine asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">David snorted. “No. This was a very deliberate shell game and there’s no way Avery couldn’t have known what was going on.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How did Mr. Geller and Herman Mueller know each other?” Joe asked. “I’m still wondering about that one.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine shrugged. “I’m not sure we’ll ever know. Mrs. Mueller didn’t know Aaron Geller, and now that both men are dead….” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe nodded. “All right,” Catherine said. “I think that’s it for now. David, thank you and Joshua both for your work on this case.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">David smiled. “No problem. Give my regards to…your husband when you have a chance. Tell him he owes me a chess game.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It should have startled her, this open discussion of Vincent, but all she felt was a pleased warmth. “I…will, David, thank you. You’ll have to come over for dinner some night.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe looked askance at her. “You two know each other?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I grew up with her husband,” David put in easily. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe shook his head. “Huh. What are the odds, eh?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>About the same odds as Vincent finding me that one night in April, </i>Catherine thought. <i>There are no coincidences.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You want me to what?” Catherine asked in shock a week later. “Vincent…really?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent smiled at her over his coffee mug. “Yes. Can you… stay away from the brownstone until tonight?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was the weekend, and normally she’d be in the thick of things with the rest of the work crew at their brownstone. But Vincent wouldn’t have made such a request without good reason. “Why?” she asked suspiciously. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’ll come for you tonight,” Vincent told her. “I promise.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You’re not answering the question.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You’ll just have to…wait and find out.” He kissed her. “Go to the bathing pools and relax. Read. Catch up with Marisol or Valerie.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The prospect of leisure time---something neither she nor Vincent had had much of since the renovations began in earnest---was attractive but… “Are you sure?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent replied. “Very sure.” He stood and picked up the worn leather tool-belt and fastened it around his narrow hips. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Do you have to leave…so soon?” Catherine asked. His hair was still damp from his recent shower and…<i>damn,</i> she thought. <i>How can he look so hot just standing there breathing?</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I do,” Vincent said softly. “But tonight…” One clawed finger traced the outline of her lips, a gentle caress which nevertheless made her knees slightly weak. “It’ll be worth it. You’ll see.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Few forces in the universe were as unrelenting as Vincent when he had his mind made up---<i>immovable force meets irresistible object, </i>Catherine thought dryly---so she nodded. “All right. I’ll see you in a few hours, then?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Tonight,” Vincent said, obviously amused. “Get some rest if you can, please.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">To no one’s surprise but her own, Catherine managed to stay busy the entire day. She visited with Marisol and held her son Benjamin while his mother finished the last threads of a tapestry curtain destined, Marisol told her with a wink, for Geoffrey’s first chamber. She stopped by to see Valerie and found her folding freshly laundered baby clothes and helped her place them in a dresser still smelling of sawdust and beeswax polish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After a late lunch and a nap, she ended up at Father’s chamber. “I see you’ve been making the circuit,” Father said dryly. “Would you care for some tea?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Thank you,” Catherine said, taking a cautious sip of the hot tea. “I suppose you know what’s going on?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Mmm…Vincent and the others are working on the brownstone, my dear. What else should be going on?” The grey eyes were calm and innocent of any mischief. An excellent performance, Catherine would have said, except for the fact that she’d married his son and knew the look of wry devilment when she saw it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Indeed,” Catherine replied in the same tone. Her eye fell on the half-empty bottle of pills resting on top of a stack of books. A few years ago---last year, even---she would not have dared ask but… “How are you feeling, Father?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well enough, thank you. Peter is quite pleased with my blood pressure. Also called me a ‘damn fool’ for waiting so long to see him.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine nearly choked on the tea he’d poured for her. “Oh?” she managed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Father went on as if he’d not noticed her reaction. “Peter said as a doctor I should know better, but I was forced to remind him we often make the worst patients.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was an insistent clanking, a message Catherine translated almost without conscious thought: Vincent, calling her to the Bluebird House. For a bare instant, she was confused---t<i>he Bluebird House?</i>--- but then she recalled the stained glass piece now cleaned and uncovered in their study and a lump rose in her throat. She rose and Father’s warm gaze met her own. “You’d best be going, my dear.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I…yes, thank you,” Catherine said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It seemed as if half the tunnels were gathered in the tunnel leading to their basement. The door opened and Vincent stood, haloed by light. He held out his hand. “Will you let me lead you through the darkness?” he murmured for her ears alone and she nodded even as his features were blurred by her tears. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Of course,” she said. She took his hand and let him guide her into the first floor of their brownstone and stopped, stunned. The furniture... “Vincent…what…..<i>how</i>?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Some of the furniture came from your storage unit,” he explained. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mouse stood with a smiling Jamie. “Took key. Vincent copied address. Moved heavy stuff today. You like?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh, yes,” she said, touched by the amount of work which must have gone on. The large overstuffed leather sofa and loveseat had been her parents’ as had the burgundy Persian carpet, the coffee table a steamer trunk once belonging to her grandmother…pieces she’d described to Vincent in Connecticut. The lamp she didn’t recognize but it was nearly a twin to the one in her study below. Vincent must have made it, she realized. “I can’t…I don’t even have the words.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You don’t have to say anything,” Vincent said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine looked up at him, seeing the promise, the future neither of them had ever dared dream separately. But together…all things <i>were</i> possible. “This is…home.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent said. <i>“Yes.”</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">THE END. (For now. :D)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[82] “Journey’s End,” by JRR Tolkien</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[83] “Providence,” Chapter 18</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[84] “Providence,” Chapter 27</span><br />
<br />Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-81882503905172855022013-02-19T10:12:00.002-08:002013-03-09T13:25:57.994-08:00Providence: Chapter 67: The Astonishing Light of Your Own Being (PG-13)<b> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Chapter 67: The Astonishing Light of Your Own Being [81]</span></b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /><i>Warmth. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Warmth at her neck---his heated breath, nuzzling. The soft waves of his hair as it brushed the open collar of her gown…the gentle brush of his furred hands. Catherine opened her eyes to see her husband curled next to her. “Good morning,” Vincent rumbled with his early morning rasp. “I was beginning to think I’d lost my touch.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Her eyes focused on the long pillar of the wax candle on their dresser. It had only burned down a small amount since they’d lit it last night… “Vincent, it's not even dawn.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Yes,” he confirmed. “There’s something I want to show you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She studied him, all golden bronze in the light of the candles. The shadowed blue of his eyes was nearly cobalt and the faint impression of mischief crossed their bond. “What could you be planning, love?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />He handed her the robe she usually wore against the tunnels’ perpetual morning chill. “If you put on some shoes, I’ll show you.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She sat up, reluctantly withdrawing from the comfort of the covers. “I better put on something heavier if we’re leaving this chamber.” She raised her eyebrows. “We are leaving this chamber?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent nodded and she noticed he was already dressed in what she’d come to think of as his “construction clothes”---heavy chambray shirt, jeans, and scuffed, scarred leather boots. “We’re going to the brownstone,” she guessed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />He smiled. “Maybe. Were you as persistent as a child?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She tugged on a pair of jeans and a faded sweatshirt, her own boots. “I was more persistent, if you can imagine that.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“I can,” Vincent replied, the chuff of amusement a gentle wave in their bond. “If we stop by the commons first, I’m reliably informed William has made coffee already.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Catherine pulled her hair into a quick ponytail. “You’ve been up for a while.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Guilty,” he responded, utterly unrepentant. “What I have to show you required some…help. I couldn’t do it alone.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Asking for help, recognizing he had the right to ask, was something Vincent only recently had begun to learn, and Catherine was touched that he’d done so on her behalf. “I’m intrigued. Lead on, Macduff.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />***<br />Catherine halted before the locked basement door of their brownstone. “Vincent, what…?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Ssssh,” he murmured and tapped out a quick rhythm on the pipes, too fast for her to follow. Almost immediately, an answering message rang back and the basement door opened. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Cullen grinned down at them, looking entirely too awake considering the hour, Catherine thought. “Mouse and I did a quick check---there’s no one outside this early. The sun will be up in a few minutes, though.” He tossed the set of keys at Vincent, who caught them in his left hand. “Have fun, you two.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent did nothing more than incline his head, but Catherine had the muted impression of delight---he was up to something, then. He stepped back into the shadows as Cullen opened the front door. “We'll lurk outside for a bit, just to be sure.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent nodded. “Thank you, Cullen.” The heavy door shut behind him and Vincent turned to her. “Shall we...go upstairs?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />They hadn't gone upstairs together in months; the initial restoration work had focused on the downstairs and only recently had work begun on the upper floors. Cullen and Kanin had carved the missing balusters on the staircase; and the steps and the balusters now awaited staining. The air was heavy with the scent of sawdust and new wood as they walked up the stairs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />When they reached the very top, Vincent turned. “Close your eyes,” he told her. “It's not far.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />He guided her down the hallway and by the creak of a door, Catherine realized they were inside one of the upstairs rooms. “Look,” he murmured. “<i>Look</i>.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />***<br />There was color <i>everywhere</i>, touching the walls, the scuffed, battered wood of the floors....<i>everything. </i>“We uncovered a stained glass window last week,” Vincent explained “It had been...plastered over all these years. When it was rehung, I thought...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent's hair was highlighted with a splash of blue light, layered with the faintest of green rays as the sun rose. The soft bristles on his face were tinted with just the smallest hints of red. “To see you in the sunlight,” he said hoarsely. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Every morning,” Catherine whispered over the knot in her throat. “Every morning we could awake in this room and see...” She reached up to touch the untamed mass of his hair, turned a burnished copper as the sun rose. “You're beautiful.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She remembered as if in the half-shadows of a dream, standing with him before the glory of a New York sunset...a sunset Vincent had never, until that day, ever seen. She had feared for him, for his utter weariness and defeated hopelessness...but even as his illness had escalated, his avowal had strengthened her for all that followed. “I love you,” she murmured against his shoulder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent gazed down at her and by the unusual brightness in his eyes, Catherine knew the same memories were in his own mind. He kissed the top of her hair. “There are other bedrooms on this floor but I thought, perhaps...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“This one should be ours,” Catherine finished. “Yes. Oh, yes.” <br />***<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They didn't linger in the brownstone overly long, just enough to watch the sunrise. As they descended into the main floor, Catherine cast a speculative glance on the area where their kitchen would one day be located. Boxes of tile and grout rested against the wall, as did a copy of the work schedule Cullen had written out. The sight of the kitchen—-and her own eventual work in it---brought another thought to her mind. “Vincent, when does William start cooking for the evening meal?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Usually about an hour or so after the dishes are cleaned from lunch. Why?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“So he has time in between?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent stopped and eyed her. “What are you up to?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“I've been thinking---” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Really?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She shook her head, smiling. “Yes, really. A total shock, I realize...anyway, with all the work which needs to be done, I thought I might talk to William and see if he can teach me some simple recipes to feed you all in the evenings. Maybe plug in a crock pot or two. I won't have everyone starve while they're working on our home.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />There was a certain reluctance, something almost like...embarrassment in their bond; Catherine thought if Vincent had been a small boy, he might have shuffled his feet and looked at the floor rather than meet her eyes. “Catherine, I....”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“...didn't think I could cook?” she said dryly. “I can see why, considering the size of my kitchen. And we usually get take-out when you come Above. But I can cook, I just...don't know how for large groups of people. That's why I want to talk to William. I'll need to know how much food to buy and so on.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Catherine, you don't---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“I do,” she said firmly. “Vincent, let me help. I won't have the renovation of our house be a drain on the community's resources.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent took her hands in his own larger ones. “Catherine, you’re a part of the community. There’s no need---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“There is,” she insisted. “I saw Cullen’s schedule. He’s got people in and out of here all hours of the night working.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Everyone on that list volunteered,” he put in mildly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“So they did,” she agreed. “But they’ll be hungry after they finish, and either I feed you all or William will have to compensate somehow for the extra meals. Seems like it would be easier if we handled the meals here. That way, William doesn’t have to cook more, or raid the community stores for extra meals.” She smiled up at him. “What do you think?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“I think…you’re very generous,” Vincent said, drawing her close. “But you also work a busy, demanding job during the day. How will you have enough time to prepare the meals?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Oh, well, if I can’t manage it in time,” she said, grinning up at him, “that’s what take-out is for.”<br />***<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rita intercepted her almost as soon as she walked into the door of the Criminal Courts building later that morning. Her mind was still a few hours away and the taste of cardamom and cinnamon---<i>his taste</i>---lingered from their kiss, and so, she almost didn’t hear Rita call her name. “Gosh, Cathy,” Rita said with a fond smile, “you looked like you were a thousand miles away.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Sorry, Rita,” Catherine replied, forcing her attention to the present with some difficulty. “What’s up?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Mrs. Mueller’s waiting in reception. She showed up first thing this morning and won’t talk to anyone else.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Nothing serious, I hope?” Catherine asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“She said no,” Rita answered. “She had a box with her, though.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“A box?” Catherine mused. “I wonder what…” She took a sip of her coffee. “Let’s not keep Mrs. Mueller waiting.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“So where did this box come from, Mrs. Mueller?” Catherine asked as they seated themselves in the vacant conference room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />The older woman fiddled with the handles of her purse, clearly uncomfortable. “I was…cleaning out some of Herman’s things last weekend when it arrived. I had to sign for it too. There was a letter from some attorney upstate taped to it.” Mrs. Mueller bit her lip. “Ms. Chandler, we aren’t…the kind of people who hire attorneys; Herman didn't even have a will. We’ve always led a very simple life, but then this….”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“May I see the letter?” Catherine asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Oh, of course,” Mrs. Mueller said, taking it out of her purse. “I must have read it four or five times trying to make sense of it but then I thought…well, you’d know what to do.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Catherine smiled. “I hope so, Mrs. Mueller.” She opened the letter and skimmed it briefly. It was from an attorney representing the estate of Aaron Geller---<i>Max Avery’s accountant,</i> Catherine recalled with a shock---indicating that he had been instructed to deliver the box to Herman Mueller once Max Avery was back in custody. <i>My client believed Herman Mueller would see the contents of this box delivered to the proper authorities,</i> the letter concluded. <i>He believed his life was in danger and he knew Mr. Mueller to be an honest man.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“I don’t even know an Aaron Geller,” Mrs. Mueller said. “Who is he, Ms. Chandler?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Catherine refolded the letter and handed it to Rita. “Mrs. Mueller, have you…looked inside the box at all?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“No,” Mrs. Mueller replied. “My girls, they wanted me to get rid of it, said it must have been a mistake, but looking at that, I knew it wasn’t.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“You’re right,” Catherine told her. “Rita, would you please see if Joe is available? He needs to see this.”<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some hours later, after Mrs. Mueller had received a police escort home, Joe replaced the lid on the box. “I don’t know what to say,” he said finally, balling up the fabric of his tie and tossing it to the far corner of the table. “Elliot Burch’s records were one thing, but this…it’s unreal. Critical evidence just doesn’t walk through the door---it’s like something out of James Bond!” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Catherine made a face at her mug—her coffee was ice cold---and nodded. “I know. Do you think we’ll be able to get any of it introduced as evidence in court? It’s not as if anyone can cross-examine the accountant.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Not this accountant, no,” Joe said, tapping the one of the battered ledgers. “But our accountant can review them---David Smith can testify to what these records mean, and Graham Sparks can call his witness and dispute our conclusions, same as always. I don’t see a problem.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />She released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. “I was hoping you'd say that. You know....”<br />“What?” Joe asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“We could always get Max Avery on tax evasion. From what's in here, I doubt he was claiming his income from money-laundering and extortion.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Joe spread his hands. “It worked for Al Capone, didn't it? I don't care how Max Avery ends up behind bars, only that he does.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Right,” Rita said with a tired smile. There were seven or eight thick ledgers in the box and they'd been going over them for hours. “I'll contact Investigations about getting transcripts of his tax returns.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Good idea,” Catherine replied. “Once we have those records, we can amend the complaint to add the tax evasion charges.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Why, Radcliffe,” Joe said dryly. “You sound as if you don't believe Max Avery is an honest businessman.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Catherine shook her head. “That would be because I don't.” She fought back a yawn. “Why don't we call it a night?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />***<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine had sent a message; she would be delayed somewhat and would meet him at the brownstone. Vincent paused a bit in wonder at the small piece of paper. <i>The brownstone.</i> Their home, their place between the worlds. Would the day ever come when this seemed...normal? He opened the basement door to find a barrage of scents and smells; over the scents of paint and mastic and sawdust, plumbing and new metal wiring, there was...Chinese food?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Hi love,” Catherine announced from the general vicinity of the kitchen. “Hope I got everyone's orders right.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Cullen and the others---Warren, Mouse, Angus, and Kanin---who had been working on the brownstone since the late afternoon, looked up and waved from where they sat. Catherine handed him a container. “I got you kung pao chicken with noodles; Henry was kind enough to send a carafe of tea as well.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent considered that his mouth was hanging open slightly in astonishment, and closed it. “I...thank you. This is why you were delayed?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />“Well, no, not entirely,” she replied, kissing him briefly. “I was delayed because we had a break in the Avery case, then I realized if I was hungry, so were you and then I got to thinking about Cullen and his crew and....” She reached up to touch his hair. “Go eat, love.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Vincent sat down cross-legged on the floor next to the others and watched, bemused, as Catherine removed the copy of Cullen's work schedule which had been taped to the kitchen wall. “All right,” she said, coming to sit next to him with her own meal. “This is my first time here at night. What do you need from me?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><i>All I need, I have right here,</i> Vincent thought, content, and from the quick flash of Catherine's answering smile, knew she felt it as well. <br /><br /><br /><br /><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2013/03/providence-chapter-68-above-all-shadows.html">here</a> for Chapter 68...</i><br /><br /><br />____<br />[82] “I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being,” Hafiz.</span>Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-25745561207310053542013-01-28T09:32:00.000-08:002013-02-19T10:15:11.813-08:00Providence: Chapter 66: Though the Hills Be Held Shadows (PG)<b> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Chapter 66: Though the Hills Be Held Shadows [80]</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine went to work somewhat later in the morning; with her court appearances scheduled more towards the late afternoon, there was no reason to be there as early as possible and Joe had encouraged both her and Rita to keep a more irregular schedule as long as Max Avery's case was ongoing. Rita met her almost as soon as she opened her briefcase. “Joe wants to see you as soon as you get in. He's on a tear this morning.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Why?” Catherine asked. “Something bad happen?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rita gestured towards Joe's office. “Take a look in there and tell me what you see.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bemused, she stashed her purse in a desk drawer and walked towards Joe's office. Joe's vacant office. “Oh,” she murmured. “Did he...?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rita shook her head. “I'm not sure if he's moved into the...other office or someplace else entirely, but your guess is as good as mine. The rumor mill is going nuts, though.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She knew what Rita meant by “the other office”: John Moreno's old office, which had sat empty since his arrest. Catherine saw two of Rita's interns hovering nearby, trying and failing to look busy. “I'll just bet. Where is he?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Last time I saw him, he was pacing down by the...other office. Waiting for you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “All right. Anything else I should know?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rita smiled. “Don't bring coffee. Looks like he's had more than enough.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent was putting the final touches on his gift for Marisol's son when he heard the message rattle across the pipes. Marisol, asking to see him. It had been almost a month since the birth of her son; the naming ceremony had been delayed somewhat to make sure the little boy was healthy enough to be in the drafty Great Hall. He shut the carved wooden lid of the box gently so as not to rattle the colored glass he'd fitted into the lid, and rose to answer the message. <i>Do you need me to bring anything?</i> Vincent asked; perhaps she needed his help moving some furniture. Though he and Marisol were friendly, as he was with nearly everyone in the tunnel community, Catherine and Marisol were much closer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>No,</i> Marisol responded. <i>Just yourself.</i> It might have been his imagination that there was just the faintest tinge of amusement in her answer, but somehow, he thought not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When he arrived, it was to find Marisol changing her baby into a flannel sleeper. “Oh, hi, Vincent, glad you came.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Is everything all right?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She zipped the sleeper and picked up her son. “Of course. Would you like to hold him?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The last baby he had held had been Lena’s and he hesitated, feeling suddenly awkward. Her son was so tiny... “I…are you sure?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m sure,” she told him, and placed the baby in his arms before he had a chance to object. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The baby’s warm, comforting weight sank into his arms; a little fist bunched and raised to his mouth as he opened his eyes. “Hello,” Vincent murmured. The baby couldn’t focus at his age, but there was…an awareness there behind the murky blue eyes, perceptions still blurred and unformed. The baby's feelings flowed gently against his own: <i>warmth/comfort/safety</i>. Settling the blankets more carefully around him, Vincent gazed at Marisol. “Why did you ask me to come?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Marisol settled herself carefully on the bench of her loom. “You know where I come from,” she said quietly. “You know why I ended up here.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Narcissa told me, yes,” Vincent replied, and was startled when the baby’s finger grasped his with surprising strength. It had been on Marisol’s account, some years before, that an agitated Narcissa had entered his chamber late one night, demanding he guide her Above because she needed to bring someone Below. The “someone” had proven to be a bruised and battered Marisol, and as he and Narcissa gently cleaned and bandaged her wounds, Narcissa revealed what she’d seen in her vision. When Father had arrived, alerted by the sentries, she quietly left and Vincent let both Father and the council believe he’d been the one to find her. He had, he recognized now, been obeying some imperative he only dimly understood, but in the years since, Marisol had become a valued member of their community, the circumstances of her arrival almost forgotten. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She folded her hands. “You fear many things, Vincent, but this thing you fear the most…it will not come to pass. It won’t.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was such surety in her gaze; she might have been announcing the sky was blue. “How… how can you know this?” he managed, wanting to trust, not daring to hope. “How… when even I don’t know?” The meaning of her words struck him then. “How did you know that we were…?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Marisol smiled. “I’ve got two eyes, haven’t I? Three if you ask Narcissa and anyway…I’ve seen you with the children, you and Catherine both. I know it’s been weighing on your minds and I know….I know what you were told.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Narcissa said you were a seer,” Vincent said softly. No one could have known what Paracelsus had told him, the foul lies born of a madman’s hate; only Catherine and Father had been around for the immediate aftermath and neither of them would have spoken of the harrowing night which followed Paracelsus’s death. He should have been appalled that someone else knew but all he felt was a curious sense of relief. There was no blame in Marisol's eyes, no fear of him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“So she did,” Marisol replied. “Does that make it easier to hear the truth? Very well, then. I’ve seen your child, yours and Catherine’s, playing here with my son as clearly as I see you now.” She shook her head, as if in response to the question he hadn’t quite dared to ask. “That’s all I saw. But don’t go forth in such fear, Vincent. There’s joy waiting for you both ahead.” She grinned, the expression making her seem the impish young woman he’d first known. “When you and your wife decide to…well, send her to me if she doubts.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The baby stirred against him. “She’s not the one who doubts,” Vincent replied. “She never has been.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Then believe her,” Marisol said. She rose from the bench and took the baby from his arms. “Now, I believe my son is hungry so…we’ll see you at the Naming Ceremony tonight?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent said. “And...thank you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Marisol nodded, the baby's hand clutching the woven material of her patched sweater. “You needed to hear it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine saw Joe sitting inside the empty conference room. She knocked on the door. “Joe? You wanted to see me?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe opened the door. His tie was askew and his dark hair disordered. “Oh, hey, Radcliffe...yeah. Come on in.” He sank into the nearest chair. “Got a press conference today. I'm not looking forward to it.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The one with the governor?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah. It's an election year, you know. He wants to look tough on crime and...” he yanked his tie further askew. “I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to take this job, but man, I hate press conferences.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You used to like them,” Catherine said lightly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I did, but I also used to like Moreno. Should have been smarter there too,” he shot back. He sighed. “I'm sorry, Cathy, I shouldn't have snapped at you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She shook her head. “Joe, did you think you'd get out of this whole mess completely unscathed? He was your mentor, your friend, and now you're stepping into his role in your first press conference since you were sworn in. You're bound to feel...conflicted.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He chuckled, a distant echo of his usual hearty laugh. “That's an understatement. Oh, and...the governor wants to meet with us afterwards.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Us?” Catherine repeated. “Why?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“He wants an update on the Avery case.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine raised her eyebrows. “That sounds...ominous. Why? What does he want to know?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joe rubbed the wood of the table absently. “He and Moreno...they went back a ways. They went to law school together and Moreno donated heavily to his campaign. If we can put Max Avery behind bars, it'll go a long way to minimizing the idea that the governor might have been linked to corruption.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh,” Catherine murmured. A thought occurred to her. “Joe, you don't think...?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No, I don't,” Joe replied. “But...just to be safe, let's not tell the governor anything he couldn't find out in the papers. I have to work with him, say the right things, but that's a long way from trusting him.” He flashed a tired grin. “Or anyone, save you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After speaking with Marisol, Vincent headed to the commons. There were too many possibilities clattering in his mind, and while his natural inclination was to brood over what she'd said, he knew it would be a mistake to examine her words too closely. The gift she'd given him was the rarest of jewels, and one he'd keep in his mental stockroom of other such moments---the first time Catherine had looked at him with love and trust in her eyes, their parting embrace at her threshold (did she know that was the first time I'd been embraced by another woman since Lisa? Vincent wondered,) her easy, wry grin as he'd stumbled through one of his vows at their wedding. Marisol had let the future touch them, just for a bit, and like those other moments of magic, it didn't need to be analyzed. It simply was. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He found Cullen, Kanin, Warren, Mouse and Angus clustered around one of the long tables, pouring over a set of blueprints. A notepad, a few pencils and several crumpled up balls of paper spoke of a planning session. “Hey, Vincent,” Cullen called. “Come over here, will ya?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent filled a mug up with coffee and walked towards the table. As he came closer, he realized the blueprints were a copy of the ones Matthew had given them for their brownstone. He and Catherine had one set, but the other had been given to Cullen, who’d volunteered to be the unofficial foreman of the tunnel crew who would be working on their house. In many respects, it was ideal: Cullen could enter the house without fear of discovery during the day, plus, he’d had enough construction experience to be able to interact with Matthew’s workers without attracting undue attention should an inspector come by. “Hello, everyone,” he said as he sat down. “What seems to be the issue?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well, now that the drywall is hung,” Cullen explained, “we're trying to figure out a work schedule. What we can do at night around Matthew’s crew, that sort of thing. Most of the hard work has been done already but here's what we've come up with. Cutting tile, refinishing the floors---those are in good condition, I believe, though the ones upstairs will need some work---finishing the kitchen and painting.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That's...not really very much,” Vincent observed. <i>So soon...our dream...so soon...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No, it's really not,” Cullen replied. “You've finished repairing the stained glass and you said you'd teach Catherine how to install tile in the kitchen.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent nodded. “I have...experience.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cullen flashed his usual insouciant grin. “So I've heard.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well, cutting tile is out,” Kanin put in with a frown. “That old tile-saw is loud.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Could do it in the basement,” Mouse said. “Or in the tunnel. Can't be heard by topsiders.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Kid's got a good point,” Angus stated. “The tunnel leading to your basement is plenty wide enough for us to get a lot of the noisy stuff done, then carry it into the house. Within reason, of course.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mouse smiled in a way that made Vincent a touch uneasy. “Could make machine. Lift heavy things into the house. No worries. Work great.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Picturing the usual results of Mouse’s engineering, Vincent had never been so grateful for city ordinances in his life. “I’m…sure it would, Mouse, but remember, the idea is to work quietly so we don’t make a lot of noise and disturb the neighbors.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angus glanced at Mouse with an almost-smile, an unusual look on his dour face. “We’ll need some of your tools, Mouse. It’ll make the job go much faster with them.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mouse nodded. He grinned at Vincent. “Catherine see the glass yet?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Vincent replied. “She’s worked late much of the last few weeks, and…I want her to see them in daylight.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“She’ll love what you did with the stained glass,” Kanin said. “When you bring her by, let us know and we’ll keep a look-out. If you arrive early enough in the morning, there shouldn’t be too much activity on the street anyway.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Thank you,” Vincent replied, humbled and pleased. <i>To think I—</i>we<i>--have such friends.</i></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked up, startled, as Cullen’s hand clasped his shoulder. “No problem, man. We know how important this is.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine lightly jumped down the remaining few steps and turned to look at Vincent. “You have such an…unusual look in your eye.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Do I?” Vincent asked mildly, though the corners of his mouth twitched with the small hidden smile she loved. “It’s been…a very unusual day. How was yours?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Joe had his first press conference with the governor; I don’t know who was more nervous, Joe or me.” She took his hand, the clawed furred strength of it comfortable and reassuring. “Were you able to finish the gift for Marisol?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I was,” Vincent replied. “The memory box idea was a very good one, Catherine.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“My mom had one for me,” Catherine recalled. “It smelled of cedar and it sat on her dresser. I used to think it was a treasure chest when I was a little girl.” She chuckled. “I was terribly disappointed to find out it held my first photo and my name bracelet from the hospital, the lock from my first haircut.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Marisol and Miguel will like it very much,” Vincent said as they walked. “Has Marisol…told you any of her story?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” she answered. “She always seems more focused on the future than on the past.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent nodded. “Very much so.” He paused, as if weighing his next words carefully. “Did you know she’s a seer?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine stopped and stared up at him. “That's...well, no, it never came up...” She took a deep breath, the boundaries of reality as she knew it shifting yet again. Yet in the face of the one man whose entire existence should have been impossible, how could she doubt him? “Is that how she came to live here?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent said quietly. She didn't press him for details, respecting the tunnels' attitude towards privacy. “She...asked to see me today,” he continued.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Marisol...had a vision, Catherine. She saw our child.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Our...” For a bare second, it seemed like the universe itself stilled. “And...what...how...?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“She said the child was playing with her son, but that's all she would tell me,” Vincent murmured, gathering her close. The beat of his heart was a comforting, reassuring anchor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I don't know what to say,” Catherine began, until a clawed finger on her lips stilled her words.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I didn't know either,” Vincent said. “But...she warned me not to let my fears make my decisions for me.” Gently, he tilted her head up so that she met his eyes. “I cannot promise to be unafraid, Catherine. There is so much which remains unknown...but I can promise to try and not to be guided by my fears.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She heard the words he could not yet speak: <i>one day, Paracelsus will not haunt us.</i> “That's all I can ask,” she murmured.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent held out his hand. “Come, Beloved. We have a Naming Ceremony to attend.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2013/02/providence-chapter-67-astonishing-light_19.html">here</a> for Chapter 67....</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">_____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[80] “Love is Enough,” by William Morris</span><br />
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-41251005264835555302013-01-01T08:28:00.000-08:002013-02-20T17:24:44.283-08:00Providence: Chapter 65: And Spoke in a Hundred Silent Ways (PG)<b> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Chapter 65: And Spoke in a Hundred Silent Ways [79]</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Winter's chill was still evident in the tunnel leading to their brownstone, a cold nip in the air that spoke of the season's slow retreat. Catherine pulled the folds of her jacket closer and was glad she'd changed into jeans and a sweater before joining Vincent for their meeting with Annie and Matthew. “How is everyone going to work in here, as cold as it is?” she asked as Vincent unlocked the basement door. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The way we always do,” he assured her. “Don't worry. We'll all be fine.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“If you say so,” Catherine said. She remembered the thick stew their housekeeper had made on frigid winter evenings, the smell of the heavy broth and meat and vegetables....<i>It would keep them warm and full, </i>she mused. <i>I have Helen's recipe, but I've never made it for such a large group. I wonder if William would teach me how to make it for them. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Vincent, Catherine, that you?” Annie called out as they exited the basement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent answered. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I figured,” Annie replied. “We're in the study. Or what will be your study, once all is said and done. Come on in.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent pulled the chain on the lone light bulb, now covered with a light fixture. It was in deference to her own eyesight, Catherine knew, for he could see perfectly well in the darkness. She tossed him a grateful smile---the chain was almost too far for her to reach---and felt his hand clasp hers as the light revealed the interior. The last time they had seen it, the building had been gutted; now, there was new wiring and plumbing and who knew what else. Catherine shook her head, astonished. How far their home had come from when they'd first seen it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They walked through the living room into the study, the room where they'd first seen the bluebird stained glass. Stacks of drywall, waiting to be scored and hung, leaned against one wall. Annie had set up a make-shift desk using a sawhorse and a wide piece of scrap wood. She smiled as they entered the room. “Now we get to the fun part.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You have a strange definition of fun,” Matthew put in, though his eyes were twinkling. “She's right, though. It'll be a lot of work to finish this place, but I think you'll find it rewarding.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine looked askance at the notebooks and blueprints scattered across the desk. “Well, where do we start?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">An hour later, they had at least the rough sketches of a work schedule, of duties which would fill up the next few months. “I know you'll want to do some work here in the nights,” Matthew said, “but don't forget the noise ordinances. Nothing after 6pm during the week and nothing at all on the weekends without a permit and a noise mitigation plan. Which we won't be getting because we're trying to avoid undue attention.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Then how---” Catherine asked, but her words were halted by Matthew's quick grin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Nothing loud, Catherine,” he said. “You all will have to work quietly. Your neighbors on the one side---” and he gestured to the cemetery behind them “---won't care, but the ones across the street surely will.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She nodded and looked at the list, which already seemed daunting. A hand---Vincent's hand---settled on her shoulder. “It'll be fine. You'll see.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine took a deep breath. “All right.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie smiled. “Before you get all worried, would you care to step out into your backyard for a bit? There's something I've been meaning to show you both.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was no moon, but the stars twinkled above them and Vincent saw in the dark grey shadows what the others could not. “Not much further,” Annie's voice said from a short distance in front of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent heard a soft <i>swish</i> of fabric---Catherine, pulling the folds of her jacket tighter against the damp chill of early spring. “What's out here, Annie?” she asked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It's what's <i>not</i> here,” Annie said quietly, angling her flashlight. “Look.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Where the looming, wrecked shadow of the other building had been, there was nothing but razed earth and high walls of a much more recent construction which completely matched those on the other side. “The walls,” Catherine breathed, the wonder ricocheting through their bond. “<i>The walls.</i>”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie smiled. “Yup. They were finished just before that last rainstorm.” She turned to Vincent. “Now you'll be safe out here. No one can see over them, or through them. This is...”</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8yDC2GhrlOr1oeHvCBT2e9a_kAw-bXCtdEE6yL8hY1IixERruaruXDavm8vUwiLX_6u4xWArsVjaFW760yHX2WyTkKw1oZ-ANSBZIp3DGj9RU3qq218YE6R472ACCzIwk-BfIQ5mR8ec/s1600/22ahappylife467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8yDC2GhrlOr1oeHvCBT2e9a_kAw-bXCtdEE6yL8hY1IixERruaruXDavm8vUwiLX_6u4xWArsVjaFW760yHX2WyTkKw1oZ-ANSBZIp3DGj9RU3qq218YE6R472ACCzIwk-BfIQ5mR8ec/s200/22ahappylife467.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The sunlight on Catherine's hair in the summer, the rustling of leaves, the laughter of children...their children....playing openly without fear...</i>Vincent felt the warmth of the sun on his shoulders as the vision released him. “This is freedom,” he finished softly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“There’s something else I need to show you,” Annie said as they reentered the brownstone and walked back into the study.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What more could there be?” Vincent asked, bemused. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie leaned against the wall and folded her arms. Vincent had seen the look on her face many times before---her <i>getting to business look</i> Matthew called it. “This is about security. I know that has to be a concern.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It is,” Catherine said, taking his hand. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened up here.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie nodded. “This house has some…unusual features. You asked me to look into the house’s history, and it most definitely was used as a speakeasy during Prohibition, but that’s not all.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent and Catherine exchanged a glance. The speakeasy wasn’t a surprise, not after Kristopher and the sounds of champagne glasses they’d heard in the basement. “What else?” Catherine asked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This house was built by a retired merchant captain who had---shall we say---a very dubious reputation. He owned several saloons in the area and there were rumors he used the tunnels under this brownstone for his smuggling operations.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine recalled her encounter with the Chinese spirit some months before and nodded. “That…explains a lot.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie raised one eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling some of this information isn’t news to you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine chuckled. “I’ll explain later, I promise.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“See that you do. I love a good story,” Annie said dryly. “But to continue…there’s one with a passage which leads directly into the tunnels. And it’s still mostly intact; I went down there this morning and it seems to end near the tunnel you and the others cleaned out.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Matthew shot a dark glance at his daughter. “You went down some rickety stairs, closed-off since who-knows-when, by yourself? Annie---”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Dad---”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They glared at each other and Vincent thought if they’d been cats, they’d have been hissing with their tails twitching. “Where is it?” he interrupted gently to forestall the inevitable argument; Matthew and Annie had been disagreeing about the risks she took ever since she and Devin had discovered that a natural dip in the Maze made an excellent skateboard ramp. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She breathed out once, gestured to the far wall opposite them which stood in between the study and the downstairs bedroom. “It’s right here. If I had to hazard a guess, it was concealed behind a bookshelf in a false wall. Like in the movies,” Annie explained. “You’d lift a book or a statue, something like that, and the mechanism would be activated. Now only the stairs remain.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Perfect for a secret agent,” Catherine said with a smile. “Is there another one?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Annie said. “It’s located in the upstairs master bedroom; the closet has a very narrow set of stairs which lead to the roof.” She frowned. “I’m not sure how much of an escape route that was supposed to be, unless the plan was to have people flee across the roofs, but there you have it.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That’s three escape routes, counting the basement itself,” Vincent mused. “Will it be difficult to repair the other two?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annie shook her head. “I don’t think so, no. The one in the upstairs bedroom has been closed off for years, likely as part of the ‘remodeling’ which initially turned this building into apartments. The one here was deeply concealed; we didn’t even notice it until the electricians were in to run some new wiring. If you can get Mouse to recreate the machinery, there’s no reason this one couldn’t work either. What do you think, Dad?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Matthew folded his arms. “You’re right. And it’ll be easier to repair these than to create new secret passages, that’s for sure. Probably be a weekend’s job, but things are slow right now, so my crew will be happy of the work.” He tilted his head. “How are you coming with the stained glass repairs?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m almost done,” Vincent said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine looked at him, her astonishment clear in their bond. “When have you been working on those?” she asked. “I haven’t seen them since we brought them out of the basement.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Cullen and I have been working on them during the day,” he explained. “And you’ll see them once they’re installed. It’s…a surprise.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Matthew chuckled. “When you’re done, just bring them up here. Drywall is going in soon, so your timing is excellent.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It’s my turn to read tonight, isn’t it?” Vincent asked as he unlaced the ties of his worn leather vest. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Catherine answered. “I believe we were going to start <i>The Age of Innocence</i>, weren’t we?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She pulled back the covers of the quilt and settled against his broad shoulder as he opened the book. A rattling, frenetic clanking burst upon the pipes and Vincent froze, his sudden stillness somehow more terrifying for its utter lack of affect. His blue eyes were distant and he barely breathed. The pipes ceased and he vaulted from their bed, pulling on a pair of pants and a thermal undershirt. “What is it?” she asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Marisol’s in labor,” he answered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine pressed her hands to her mouth. “Oh, no. Her baby wasn’t due until late April.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He nodded. “Father’s asked me to guide Peter down, and Kipper’s gone to fetch Miguel. Will you go stay with her until he arrives?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Of course,” Catherine agreed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Mary will be there soon,” Vincent went on. “But you’re her friend. If you can keep her calm, that will be a big help.” The hem of his sweater was in his hands, and he twisted it as he spoke. “Father and Peter may not be able to stop her labor.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine closed her eyes briefly. “You’re afraid, aren’t you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” he said but there was something closed off in him, words he would not speak right now. Catherine clasped his hand and they left the chamber.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine had never been around a woman in labor before; Nancy's babies had been home for weeks by the time she came to visit them and none of her other friends had yet had families. To her surprise, Marisol was in her own chamber, not the anonymous bed in the hospital chamber. “How are you doing?” she asked Marisol. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Not too bad right now,” Marisol said. “The contractions aren't strong yet.” She laced her hands over her swollen belly. “I hope they can stop this...<i>Dios</i>, six weeks early...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“He'll still be a good size, though,” Catherine said, trying to reassure her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Si,” Marisol replied in a whisper. “I hope so.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mary bustled in then, with an armful of clean linens and other supplies leaning precariously on a cart. “Vincent sent word: Peter's on his way.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“And Miguel?” Marisol asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Kipper said he'll be here soon.” Mary patted her shoulder. “Try not to worry.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How can I not? If I go Above---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“If you go Above,” Mary said firmly, “Peter will do what is necessary to protect you and your child. You know that.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine looked at the two women and felt herself on the edge of a not-uncommon mystery below: where had Marisol come from? How had she come to this place? “Don't worry,” Catherine repeated. “Peter's an old hand at being...creative. He'll do what he has to do. You just...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“...Try and stay pregnant?” Marisol asked dryly. “If it were that easy...” her hands clenched in the blankets. “Peter needs to come soon.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She stepped outside once Miguel arrived; he had rushed in to the room and embraced his wife, murmuring words she could not quite hear, and not wanting to intrude, she joined Vincent out in the corridor. “Everything all right?” he asked quietly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I'm not sure,” Catherine replied. “But at least Miguel is here.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Peter's picking up some supplies from the hospital chamber and bringing them here,” Vincent said, gathering her near. “He and Father will do their best for Marisol and her child.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Six weeks isn't so early.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No, it's not,” Vincent agreed, “but if there are complications....we are ill-equipped to deal with almost all of them. It's better if she can go to term than to risk delivering now.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There were some deeper fears chasing his words, but Catherine knew this was not the time or the place to discuss them. Perhaps later, when all was well with Marisol and their family, then they could talk about the larger import of this night. But not now. “Will you be...needed the rest of the night?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He shook his head. “No. Lena was...Marisol has Miguel.” His mouth quirked. “Labor attendant isn't my usual role here.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“All right,” Catherine said. She yawned. “Think William has some coffee left?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They were met in the commons by several other people who’d also heard the klaxon and found themselves unable to sleep---Valerie and Cullen, Jamie and Mouse, as well as a host of tunnel-dwellers Catherine had only met in passing. “Any news yet?” Valerie asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine shook her head. “No. Miguel’s with her now and Peter and Father will be there soon. Not much we can do but wait.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And wait they did, through two more pots of coffee and William’s breakfast, through a Monopoly game which ended almost as fast as it had begun because half the pieces were missing, and through the first of the lunch crowd. It was as if all time hung suspended, waiting for one solitary piece of news. All conversation ceased when one sound rang out, echoing throughout the rocky caverns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The shrill cry of a baby. The cry of new life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then Pascal on the pipes, his message somehow recreating the sounds of bells: <i>Marisol and Miguel have a new son. Mother and son are doing well…</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A cheer went up among the gathering but out of the corner of her eye, Catherine saw Vincent briefly duck his head so that the amber hair covered his face. The current in their bond was a dark swirling river; there was no one emotion of his she could grasp to know how he was feeling. “Are you all right?” she asked under the cover of the noise and the chatter, knowing his ears were more than sensitive enough to hear her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes, I….” He swallowed. “I’m fine.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He was very much <i>not </i>fine, Catherine mused, but he wouldn’t say so here, now. Not with all the happy faces celebrating the good news. “I’m pooped,” she said. “I think I’ll head back to our chamber and catch a nap.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent rose gracefully, taking the out she offered. “I’ll join you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine waited until the doors closed behind them with a solid weighty thunk, until the water for their tea was steaming over the brazier, before she spoke. She poured the tea into a chipped cup and handed it to him. “All right, love,” she said softly. “What gives?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For a time, Vincent didn’t answer, staring into the bottom of his tea cup as if he expected the answer to appear there. “Marisol is fine,” he murmured.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“She is,” Catherine replied. “Did you think she wouldn’t be?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“If it was you…you might not be.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Damn Paracelsus</i>, she seethed, inwardly raging. <i>Again</i>. “Vincent, you know…you <i>must</i> know…what he told you was nothing but a package of lies from start to finish. You didn’t kill Anna. You didn’t kill your mother.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">His gaze, when he finally looked up, was aching and hollow. “Paracelsus killed Anna. But I don’t know about my mother. What if I did harm her, somehow? How can I put you at such risk, Catherine?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She could have said <i>It’s a risk I would bear gladly</i>, but he knew that. He knew her heart, after all. “You sensed Marisol’s pain, didn’t you?” she asked instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A nod was her only answer. “Did you sense at any point that she regretted her choice?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Vincent said, “but---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She placed her own cup of tea on a side table and knelt in front of him. “Vincent, one day, you’ll have to choose. We’ll both have to choose…to decide if this part of our dream is one which is meant to be fulfilled. If you decide it is…then you’re going to have to come to terms with all the risks, all the dangers somehow.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He bent his head so it touched hers. “I know,” he answered, his words no louder than her heartbeat. “If anything should happen to you...to our child...”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">That had been the other fear he battled, Catherine realized, the fear of what could happen if their child needed more medical care than the tunnels could provide. If the worst had happened to Marisol's son, he could have been admitted to the hospital, but for Vincent's child...<i>their child</i>... “Vincent,” she said quietly, the ache of that possibility a darkness in her own soul. “I understand. I do. But...Marisol's baby is fine. Marisol is fine. And we will be too.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent met her gaze again, and she was relieved to see a little less pain in his eyes. He reached out to touch her face. “My strong one. You really believe this?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I do,” Catherine assured him. “Don't you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” he said. “Because you believe.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“All right,” she told him. It wasn't quite the answer she wanted, but Paracelsus and his lies had cast such a long shadow over their lives that it was small wonder he'd be haunted even now. She stood and held out her hand. “Come on, love. Let's get some rest. We'll be meeting a new baby soon.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2013/01/providence-chapter-66-though-hills-be_28.html">here</a> for Chapter 66...</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[79] A quote from Rumi: “I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways”</span><br />
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-17331069070740049052012-12-08T04:42:00.000-08:002013-01-01T08:30:43.275-08:00Providence: Chapter 64: As Time Remains Free of All That It Frames<b> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Chapter 64: As Time Remains Free of All That It Frames [77]</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine knelt at the entrance to the Cathedral and reached into the wicker basket of white candles. “Vincent, they're all different sizes and shapes. How do I choose one? Is there some sort of rule?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He shook his head. “Narcissa made these, Catherine. Years ago, when this chamber was discovered, she brought the first candles to us. Her instructions to us then were to simply choose one which seemed...right.” He shrugged. “How we were to do that, though...she can be...cryptic, at times.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine smiled. “You don't say.” She reached into the basket and felt for the outlines of one candle. Her hand stilled on one and she picked it up. “This one.” Instead of the smooth tapers she was used to seeing in the home chambers, this one was tall and lumpy---<i>damaged,</i> she might have said, except for the certain knowledge that Narcissa never made anything without a purpose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She followed Vincent into the large cavern and saw, as she had before, the flickering light reflected in the quartz fragments embedded in the walls. There was an empty space besides the candles lit for Winslow and Simon, and Catherine stood her candle on its end next to theirs. “I didn't bring a lighter,” she realized. “Vincent, do you---?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent dug into the pockets of his cloak and handed the little red lighter to her. “Here you are.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Is there anything you don't carry in there?” Catherine asked with a grin. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He rubbed his chin in a very Father-like gesture. “Perhaps the kitchen sink; it's simply too heavy.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She laughed, then glanced at the unlit candle. A heavy weight settled over her---Herman Mueller had risked so much for the testimony he'd given and if Max Avery walked....Vincent rested his hand on her shoulder. “Enough, beloved. You have done all you could...as Mr. Mueller did. Let it go.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine nodded, and with unsteady hands lit the candle, placing it next to its fellow. “Be well, wherever you are,” she murmured. “And thank you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the way to the commons, they nearly ran into a sprinting Geoffrey, who bore a message from Matthew. “Was it urgent?” Vincent asked the young man; running in the tunnels, near so many torches, was a fire hazard if nothing else. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Geoffrey grinned and Vincent was reminded strongly of Devin's rakish grin just after committing some fresh mischief. “Nah,” he said. “Don't you ever just want to run?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent said gently, “but...there are lit torches everywhere. You know the rules. If it's not an emergency---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Jeez, you sound like Father,” Geoffrey retorted with a teenager's scowl. “Come on, Vincent. I grew up here. I'll be careful.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“All right,” Vincent conceded, taking the message from him. “Enjoy your...run.” As Geoffrey ran off, Vincent looked at his wife, who was leaning against the corridor wall with her arms folded. “I don't sound like Father, do I?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Catherine replied with a fond smile. “But he's a teenager. You're old enough to be his father---you've <i>been</i> his father in a good many ways. If you told him the sky was blue right now, he'd argue it was orange.” She tilted her head. “Don't tell me you and Father didn't have those kinds of conversations when you were his age.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent remembered his adolescence---and for the first time, he noticed with some surprise, without the horror and guilt which had overshadowed his life for so long. “We...it was a challenge, yes.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She raised her eyebrows in a wry, teasing look. “I'll just <i>bet</i> it was.” She gestured towards Matthew's note. “What does he have to say?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent unfolded the note. “He wants to meet tomorrow night to go over the progress on the house. And Annie says she has some background on our house too. Are you available?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I'll make time,” she assured him. “My dance card is pretty light this week, actually. How was your day?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Troubling</i>, he might have said, remembering Father’s unreasonable anger at Santos during their meeting. But he put the thought aside for now and said instead, “Busy. I met with Santos and Angus and Father to discuss the possible tunnel expansion.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Were you able to decide on a location?” Catherine asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes, after some deliberation. Angus thinks we might be able to channel clean water there now that Matthew has repaired some of the pipes.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine shook her head. “I’m amazed. I never knew, never suspected, how much work it is to keep this place going.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Why should you have?” Vincent asked, amused. “Should I have spent the few minutes we had together on your balcony discussing the minutiae of council meetings? Or leaking pipes? Or William’s compost heap? That would hardly have been…romantic.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Mmm…compost heaps…talk dirty to me, baby,” Catherine said dryly, fluttering her eyelashes, and Vincent laughed, a deep laugh which kindled hers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once they regained their breath, he crooked his arm. “If I haven’t ruined your appetite, dinner should be ready soon.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine watched as a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the commons. “Vincent, isn’t that…Angus?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked up from his lasagna. “It is.” He gestured to an empty seat---one of the few left---and Angus walked towards them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“He normally takes his meals in his chamber, doesn’t he?” Valerie asked. “Wonder what’s brought him to the commons?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“As if William’s lasagna wouldn’t be enough,” Cullen replied. “You can smell it as far out as my workshop.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angus sat down at the table and inclined his head by way of greeting. “Hello, everyone.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Hello,” Vincent said. “It’s good to see you here.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah, man,” Cullen put in. “Don’t be a stranger.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angus shrugged. “It's...quiet in my chamber sometimes. And the food smelled good.” He turned to look at Vincent. “You ready for sentry duty tomorrow morning?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You've got duty then, Vincent?” Cullen asked. “I thought Kanin did.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There were several reasons Kanin might not have wanted to pull sentry duty with Angus, Catherine mused, but Angus spoke. “Kanin wanted to get an early start and take Olivia and Luke to the zoo. He posted a notice asking if anyone would be willing to switch with him. I....volunteered.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angus flushed under the pleased regard of several pairs of eyes. “What?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Nothing,” Vincent said, the small smile hidden behind his mug. “Nothing at all.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Angus is taking Kanin's shift? Was that as surprising to you as it was to me?” Catherine asked sometime later in their chamber. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yes,” Vincent agreed, unlacing the ties of his patched leather vest. “He's still our resident curmudgeon, but...I never expected he would volunteer to help Kanin of all people.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It's a good sign, isn't it?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It is. Perhaps he and Kanin have made their peace. I hope so.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She peered up him from the edge of their bed. “I hope so too.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was a thrumming sort of buzzing tension in their bond, drifting with the wandering of Catherine's thoughts; Vincent tilted his head to study her. “Your day...was not uncomplicated, was it?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” she replied, resting her hands on the edge of the mattress. Her wedding band glinted in the diffused light from the candles. “You and Joe have a lot in common.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It should have sounded ludicrous---what could he have in common with Catherine's boss?---but she was serious. “What do you mean?” he asked quietly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Joe has a decision to make. He's been offered Moreno's job until the next election. And...he's not sure he wants it, but he doesn't have many options which aren't career-ending.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent sat down on the bed next to her, feeling again the sour tug of <i>duty</i> and <i>obligation</i>, the chains made not of metal but of desperation. <i>No choice...no choice. No! I choose...I </i>will<i> choose</i>...“I...see.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Catherine's small hand cupped his chin. “I want <i>you</i> to be able to decide what's right for you in spite of this community's expectations, or Father's.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once he'd told Father, “Mine was another life before Catherine” [78] but even then, he hadn't known, hadn't yet begun to fully understand how deeply she would affect his life. No one else had ever spoken as though he might have had another option, a choice, something aside from the eternal expectations of family that <i>of course</i> he would lead the tunnels one day. <i>Of course</i>. And his decision—whatever it might be, whenever he had to decide---was no longer one he must make alone. Catherine stood with him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I know,” he said simply. “I know.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Morning sentry duty began at dawn. Catherine rose sleepily to kiss him goodbye and murmur, “Be careful. I love you” before he tucked the covers around her and shouldered into his cloak. He closed the door of their chamber behind him and walked the nearly-silent corridors towards the intersection where Angus waited. “I checked the torches in Sector D and E on my way here,” Angus said. “They're all lit and I didn't see any signs of leakage.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That's a relief,” Vincent murmured, keeping his voice low in deference to the early hour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah, no lie,” Angus replied. “Especially after that pipe rupture in Sector F. Never seen one that bad down here and I hope I never do again.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent nodded in agreement, mentally running through the checklist of duties this morning. When they reached the first branching of the corridors, he asked, “Which direction?” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let's try Sector C,” Angus decided. “Then we can hit B and A and start at the perimeter.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For a long while, the silence was broken only by the normal tunnel sounds as they walked: dirt and grit swishing over their boots, the very faint sounds of the occasional message skittering its way through the pipes while Pascal slept (<i>uneven, clipped rhythm after the location code, must be Geoffrey sending a message—why is he up so early</i>? one part of Vincent's mind wondered, and he smiled when he heard Samantha's sleepy response.) It wasn't until they reached a narrow---and so far vacant---tunnel just before Sector C that Angus stopped. “Did you find something?” Vincent asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No,” Angus replied. “How does Father feel about the expansion project?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent raised one eyebrow. “You were there. You heard what he said. Why?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angus turned from his inspection of what appeared to be a narrow seam in the ceiling. “I stayed after you and Santos left so we could go over the calculations for the amount of pipe it would take. Father was...testy. Couldn't get him to tell me what the issue was, but he barked at me when I suggested seeing what Matthew or his contacts could finagle. Told me if I couldn't figure out a way to do it without help, we'd cancel the project.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent studied the other man, sensing the eddys of thought and emotion as he did from everyone. That there might be something more ominous behind Father's irritation he would not, could not discuss, but Angus... “It wasn't...you. Father had much the same response to Santos when he suggested it.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Makes no sense, if you ask me,” Angus retorted with his usual brusqueness. “Not like I can just whistle those extra pipes into being. We're gonna need help if he ever wants to see the tunnels expand.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Father doesn't like to ask for help,” Vincent said quietly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You don't say,” Angus replied. “Next thing you know, you'll be telling me the sun will come up tomorrow.” He ran a hand through his disordered silver hair. “Him and Matthew on the outs?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I don't think so,” Vincent answered. “More likely, this is merely...”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Father being Father? Yeah, I thought so.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The conversation---and its possible import---weighed on him heavily the rest of the morning, as he finished his sentry rounds and returned to his chamber to find Catherine dressed and ready to head above to begin her own workday. The weighing, assessing glance she turned on him told him clearer than any words that she'd sensed something of his trouble. “What is it?” she murmured. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I shouldn't delay you----”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“A few minutes more won't matter; my first court appearance isn't until almost noon,” she answered. “Tell me.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was his own phrase and from somewhere, Vincent found a smile. He recounted the substance of the meeting with Santos the day before, and the conversation with Angus. When he finished, Catherine smoothed the folds of her skirt and folded her hands. “I've seen Father cranky,” she said slowly, “and Angus is right; that's not an uncommon mood for him. What makes you so concerned?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Santos is...a new helper,” he explained. “Eager, skilled, but still, very new. It's always been Father's wont to be gentler with those who are still learning our ways.” He rested his hand against the soft curves of her face. “It wasn't that way with you, I know.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I was a special case,” Catherine said dryly. She pressed a kiss to the inside of his palm. “So he's impatient with Santos?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Furious, though I doubt Santos noticed; the emotion came and went so fast. And Angus' suggestion wasn't out of line, certainly nothing worth cancelling the project over. Whether Father wants to admit it or not, we will need Matthew's help.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Then you'll have to talk to him and convince him otherwise,” she said. “Vincent, I know you're worried about him. But based on what you've said so far, this sounds like Father feels he's being pushed into accepting help he doesn't think is necessary.” Her gaze, clear and steady, anchored him, reassured him. “Unless there's something else you sensed?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I understand why Father might be annoyed,” Vincent said slowly. “But...his mood swings…Catherine, I've seen him in council meetings where even Pascal was about to lose his temper, and Father's always ridden out the storm. Why not now? What's changed?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I don’t know,” Catherine said. “I can see why you’re concerned.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’ll talk to him this morning,” Vincent said. “It’s…troubling.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent descended the short staircase into Father’s chamber. Someone---Peter---had been here very recently; the air was heavy with the scent of Old Spice and the chemical smells of antiseptic. Father sat at his desk staring at a lone bottle just barely visible among the stacked papers and books. “Father,” Vincent said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked up. “Oh, there you are, Vincent. How you can walk so silently I’ll never know.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was an old observation, but a fond one; Vincent smiled. “How are you doing? How was your visit with Peter?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’ll never understand<i> that </i>either,” Father said dryly. “Peter is fine.” He took a deep breath. “I asked him to come and examine me.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent sat down in the carved chair opposite him. “Is something wrong?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Father handed the bottle to Vincent. “Peter’s put me on medication to control my blood pressure.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Father, I---”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The older man shook his head. “No, let me finish. I’ve been having headaches lately and my temper…” He folded his hands. “I’ve been too easily irritated.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since there was nothing Vincent could say but agree, he didn’t say anything. Instead he handed the bottle back to Father. “There was nothing more serious, then?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Father didn’t answer for a time, staring off into the middle distance. “Did I ever tell you about my father?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent shook his head. “No. You’ve never spoken of him.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“He died of a stroke when I was still a boy. He was a young man; I came home from school and he was… gone.” He picked up the bottle again, and placed it more carefully on top of the smallest stack of books. “I should…Peter says I must pay better attention to my health.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vincent clasped his hand. “You must, Father.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He nodded. “And I need to find a way to contact Santos and Angus and William. I have been…unfair to them.” The grey eyes were shrewd. “And I’ve worried you. I’m sorry.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You have,” Vincent acknowledged. “But…it’s over. I’m glad you called Peter.” His relief was mostly for Father, but also for himself. <i>I’m not ready to lose you. And I cannot fill your shoes. </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Click <a href="http://alisetsfanficchamber.blogspot.com/2013/01/providence-chapter-65-and-spoke-in.html">here</a> for Chapter 65... </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">_____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[77] “Equilibrium,” by John O'Donohue from <i>To Bless the Space Between Us</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[78] “Nor Iron Bars a Cage,” first season episode</span><br />
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Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8315138414393538503.post-74221115932797563312012-11-22T11:44:00.000-08:002012-12-08T11:46:38.719-08:00Carillon
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Carillon </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> </b><br /> <i>A/N: This was written for Thanksgiving, 2012</i><br /><br />–//-- <br /> <br />Vincent woke in the early hours to the sound of the pipes. They were different this morning, as they always were on holiday mornings: the delicate chiming sounds Pascal somehow managed to coax from the pipes during Winterfest, the celebratory clanking announcing engagements, weddings and births, the deeper, mournful sounds of condolence when someone passed away. Today, they were a carillon of thankfulness---was it his imagination, or did he hear the undertones of “Simple Gifts” under the standard time announcement? <br /><br />His attention turned to the woman at his side, still sleeping. He halfway considered leaving their bed; Catherine would awaken soon and it would be no difficulty to go to the kitchen and retrieve her coffee for her. She turned, though, and the covers slid lower over the cuve of her rounded belly. The child—<i>their child</i>—flipped under his hand. “Ssssh, little one,” Vincent murmured. “Leave your mother to rest.” <br /><br />“Not likely,” Catherine told him quietly, opening her eyes. “She's a night owl like you.” <br /><br />Vincent smiled. She—<i>their daughter</i>---the very thought was astonishing. “Another generation of late-night tunnel walkers, then,” he said. <br /><br />The child rotated again, and again, in what seemed to him a frenetic dance of joy. “Don't encourage her,” his wife replied, though her answering smile took the sting out of the words. “What time is it?” <br /><br />“Depending on your perspective, either very late or too early.” Vincent knew by his wife's snort of laughter which view she chose; Catherine was decidedly <i>not</i> a morning person, and as her pregnancy had advanced, had become even less so. “Shall I bring you some coffee?” <br /><br />Catherine yawned. “No, not yet, love. Let's just...lay here a while, okay?” <br /><br />“All right,” Vincent agreed, pulling the covers back over them both and snuggling next to her. Her head rested on his shoulder; their child turned again under his hand. “What does that feel like?” <br /><br />“Like a starfish doing the Charleston,” she replied dryly. “I'm never sure which end is up but she's certainly active today.” <br /><br />The chimes rang out again: William's standard messages for the kitchen volunteers, a reminder to check the bulletin board for the times of their shifts. “You didn't volunteer?” Catherine asked. <br /><br />“I tried,” Vincent said. “William wouldn't hear of it. Said my place was with you.” <br /><br />“That was nice of him,” she replied. <br /><br />“Mmmm-hmmm.” Despite himself, he began to doze. <br /><br />“Vincent,” Catherine murmured just as he was drifting into the grey edge of sleep. “I know what I'll say I'm thankful for at dinner.” <br /><br />He kissed the top of her head, sensing in some unnamed fashion the heartbeat of their child. “So do I.” <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> <br /></span>Kristahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05725718076683750180noreply@blogger.com2