Page 175 of Change
“How…” Titus was slowly becoming more coherent, but his eyes were still stone bright as he looked at Bianca. “How did you…” He was speaking to Julian, his words stifled and slow, as if it was painful for him to speak.
But Julian seemed to understand.
“I caught it before her spirit left. I’ve tied her life force to mine,” he explained, brushing her matted hair back away from her dirty face. “Her heart, and breathing, is following mine right now. She’ll automatically start on her own again once she’s regained some energy.”
“You’re literally keeping her alive.” My lips felt numb. I’d never felt so useless.
He really did clean up after my mistakes.
“In a manner of speaking,” Julian replied, still gazing down at her. “But this ability can’t be replicated by machines. I can’t put her down until she’s able to survive on her own.”
“Hey, Julian—” He’d done so much already, and I was forever grateful. But there was still one more thing he might want to help with. “—want to go kill something with me later?”
He did look up at that, Miles and Titus too. For once, the priest kept his protests quiet, allowing his judgement to be fueled by the less-benevolent aspects of his craft. And Titus was already two seconds from ripping anyone’s head off, so there was no protest from him.
Maybe it was finally time to do things Julian’s way.
His eyes glittered and there was something almost feral in his sudden smile. A sense of peace fell over me, a tingling sensation that ran from the top of my head down to the tips of my fingers. The rage was still there, as was the need for revenge.
But there was no apprehension or fear.
The four of us hadn’t been on the same page about something this big in a long, long time. And when we joined forces, the world knew about it.
