Page 73 of Into Darkness (Night Prowler 6)
When Lu turned back, he was shimmering again. This time it took longer for him to coalesce. His face, beaming, was full and clear, but his body wavered in and out of focus. The field of wheat shone and undulated behind him like an endless rolling sea.
I’ve waited as long as I could to meet you, and I’m so glad I did. Remember all I’ve told you. And remember what your father told you, as well.
Lu stood there, dumbstruck.
For one final time, young Grandfather spoke. Do the thing you’re most afraid of.
Then he was gone.
TWENTY-THREE
Lu awoke in quiet darkness, her neck damp with sweat, sheets rucked in tangled disarray around her legs. Her body ached as if she’d been running for a long time, but her mind was clear and still. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, awed yet strangely calm. It seemed her capacity for accepting the impossible or insane had grown in accordance with all the insanities life tossed her way, and for that she was grateful.
Otherwise she’d definitely be crazy by now.
She stretched beneath the sheets, stomach growling, then scrubbed her hands over her face. Ready to face whatever new drama the day would unfold, she sat up, but froze as she realized she wasn’t in the room alone.
There on the floor beside the bed slept Magnus.
On his back, legs crossed at the ankle, hands folded at his waist, fully dressed, not even a pillow to cushion his he
ad. She examined his expression and found it, even in sleep, tense. What could make someone look so wary while sleeping? What did he dream of?
Or whom?
Lu’s breath hitched, but she pushed her jealousy ruthlessly aside. It was time for her to focus on getting into New Vienna safely, and getting her parents out of that prison. Worrying about Magnus’s possible feelings for their elegant host—older than he by a good ten, fifteen years, but who knew what his preferences were?—served only to aggravate her.
Carefully, trying to be as slow and silent as possible, Lu eased her legs over the edge of the bed, and set her feet on the floor. She stood, holding her breath, tiptoeing away—
A big hand shot out and grabbed her ankle.
Magnus jerked upright. Lu lost her balance and flopped awkwardly onto the mattress. Then they were staring at one another with identical expressions of surprise, confusion, and worry.
“What’s wrong?”
Lu gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. They really had to stop saying the exact same thing at the exact same time; it was getting weird.
She opened her eyes and tried again. “Hi. How are you?”
He stared back at her as if he wasn’t entirely convinced he was awake. His dark brows pulled together. His gaze darted around the room, scanning for danger.
“Well, hello to you, too, Lumina! I’m great, and how are you?” she said, more than a little sarcastically. Sarcasm was practically a given when you were mocking someone else’s silence while he had a kung fu death grip on your leg. Magnus’s only response was to tighten his grip on her ankle.
“So . . . has my leg offended you in some way? Or is this some kind of Ikati wake-up greeting I’m not familiar with?”
Magnus frowned at her. Then his gaze slid to her bare ankle, wrapped in his warm, rough hand, and he snatched his hand away as if her skin burned him. “Sorry. Reflex.”
Lu arched her brows. “That’s some reflex. I’d hate to see what you do when someone sneezes. Reflexively punch him in the face?”
He didn’t answer, concentrating instead on getting to his feet, turning his back, and gathering his figurative armor. She felt his withdrawal like the tide going out, a swift, inexorable retraction. Suddenly weary in spite of just awakening, she sighed. Loudly, apparently, because Magnus turned and looked at her, his dark eyes cool and guarded.
“I wonder what time it is,” she said, avoiding his eyes to look around the room. There was no clock, and it was still dark outside, so she had no idea how long she’d been asleep. Magnus, however, answered with confidence as if he’d just looked at his wristwatch. The one he wasn’t wearing.
“Just before dawn. We’ll have to wait out the day before we get on the road again . . .” His gaze dropped to her legs, and his expression transformed from cold to something else. Something that looked suspiciously like anger. He growled, “What are you wearing?”
Lu looked down at herself. Realizing the T-shirt wasn’t exactly doing a stellar job of covering her bare thighs, she tugged at the hem. Heat rose in her cheeks. “I dunno. Night stuff.”
“Night stuff,” he repeated stiffly, his eyes unblinking. He swallowed.
