think we’ll have anything to worry
about from her,” Bernadette said happily.
She turned to rest her back on the wall and
hugged herself with all the satisfaction of having fulfilled a
lifelong dream. When she closed her eyes and smiled, tears tugged
at the corners of her eyes and ran silently down her cheeks.
“I finally found her and she is so wonderful.
Thank you for bringing her to me, Cyrus. Thank you from the bottom
of my heart. You cannot know the good thing you have done. Not just
for me, but for all of our kind.”
Cyrus’ foot stopped moving. For a second, he
wondered if it wasn’t a bit odd that Bernadette thanked him for
doing something awful and enabling her to do something even worse
to an innocent little girl. His forehead wrinkled as he took in the
sight of this woman and how she was so happy that she was shedding
tears. She had just walked out of the room of what she claimed was
a harbinger of all things horrible that could befall mankind if she
went unchecked and, after singing her a goddamn lullaby, she was
sure that everything would be smooth sailing.
If it was that easy to tell, then, really,
maybe Bernadette was a little full of shit. But, in his world,
there was really no point in asking questions to either suspend or
support his suspicions. So what if she had acquired the Incarnate
for her own benefit rather than to save the world from devastation
at her hands? It made absolutely no difference, not to Cyrus and
not to anyone else who cared. Considering no one else had come
after her when she’d been kidnapped, Cyrus was banking that not
many people cared about Sunday, anyway.
After a minute or so, Bernadette opened her
eyes and drew a deep breath, exhaling shakily as she trembled with
happiness. She pushed herself off the wall and patted Cyrus’
shoulder as she walked past him and back to her room. Alone there,
with the Incarnate just at the other side of a door a few feet from
where he sat, Cyrus turned back to his book and propped his elbows
onto the armrests of his chair and kept reading from where he’d
left off.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
One month
later…
The soles of her boots squeaked on the
recently mopped tiles as Sunday crossed from the front door to the
stairway. After a full afternoon of shopping, she was pooped, but
not too pooped to play with all her new things when she got to her
bedroom. The over-long sleeves of her oversized knit sweater hid
her fists. In them, she carried bags of goodies from her trip into
Seattle with Astor, her traveling guard. Sunday still didn’t know
why anyone would want to hurt them, but the threat was real enough
that they required constant security.
Astor was a big guy, way bigger than most of
the people at the house. Even though she was tall for a girl her
age, he towered over her. Inky curls cascaded down his back. His
hair was long, much longer than Sunday’s which was only now
starting to grow into something other than a buzz cut. He wasn’t
exactly mundane. She could sense that much about him, but she
didn’t know exactly what he was. Bernadette taught her that some
things were better left unknown, and, like everything else that she
said, Sunday abided by that tenet like gospel.
When Astor thought of how annoying Sunday’s
high-pitched squeaky steps were, she cocked an eyebrow and tilted
her chin to look at him. The corner of her lip curled up into a
dimple and, with a glimmer in her whiskey eye, she winked at
him.
“You could be a little more cautious,” Astor
quickly answered.
“Everyone knows we’re here anyway,” she said,
pursing her lips. “There are cameras at the gate. You should know
about that, Mr. Big Buff Security Guy.”
Astor barked a chuckle and shook his head at
the girl. He was fond of her, and she knew it. Over the few weeks
that he’d been assigned to her detail, she’d endeared herself to
him. The same could be said for anyone in their entourage, really.
Everyone liked Sunday, and Sunday liked everyone. If
about from her,” Bernadette said happily.
She turned to rest her back on the wall and
hugged herself with all the satisfaction of having fulfilled a
lifelong dream. When she closed her eyes and smiled, tears tugged
at the corners of her eyes and ran silently down her cheeks.
“I finally found her and she is so wonderful.
Thank you for bringing her to me, Cyrus. Thank you from the bottom
of my heart. You cannot know the good thing you have done. Not just
for me, but for all of our kind.”
Cyrus’ foot stopped moving. For a second, he
wondered if it wasn’t a bit odd that Bernadette thanked him for
doing something awful and enabling her to do something even worse
to an innocent little girl. His forehead wrinkled as he took in the
sight of this woman and how she was so happy that she was shedding
tears. She had just walked out of the room of what she claimed was
a harbinger of all things horrible that could befall mankind if she
went unchecked and, after singing her a goddamn lullaby, she was
sure that everything would be smooth sailing.
If it was that easy to tell, then, really,
maybe Bernadette was a little full of shit. But, in his world,
there was really no point in asking questions to either suspend or
support his suspicions. So what if she had acquired the Incarnate
for her own benefit rather than to save the world from devastation
at her hands? It made absolutely no difference, not to Cyrus and
not to anyone else who cared. Considering no one else had come
after her when she’d been kidnapped, Cyrus was banking that not
many people cared about Sunday, anyway.
After a minute or so, Bernadette opened her
eyes and drew a deep breath, exhaling shakily as she trembled with
happiness. She pushed herself off the wall and patted Cyrus’
shoulder as she walked past him and back to her room. Alone there,
with the Incarnate just at the other side of a door a few feet from
where he sat, Cyrus turned back to his book and propped his elbows
onto the armrests of his chair and kept reading from where he’d
left off.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
One month
later…
The soles of her boots squeaked on the
recently mopped tiles as Sunday crossed from the front door to the
stairway. After a full afternoon of shopping, she was pooped, but
not too pooped to play with all her new things when she got to her
bedroom. The over-long sleeves of her oversized knit sweater hid
her fists. In them, she carried bags of goodies from her trip into
Seattle with Astor, her traveling guard. Sunday still didn’t know
why anyone would want to hurt them, but the threat was real enough
that they required constant security.
Astor was a big guy, way bigger than most of
the people at the house. Even though she was tall for a girl her
age, he towered over her. Inky curls cascaded down his back. His
hair was long, much longer than Sunday’s which was only now
starting to grow into something other than a buzz cut. He wasn’t
exactly mundane. She could sense that much about him, but she
didn’t know exactly what he was. Bernadette taught her that some
things were better left unknown, and, like everything else that she
said, Sunday abided by that tenet like gospel.
When Astor thought of how annoying Sunday’s
high-pitched squeaky steps were, she cocked an eyebrow and tilted
her chin to look at him. The corner of her lip curled up into a
dimple and, with a glimmer in her whiskey eye, she winked at
him.
“You could be a little more cautious,” Astor
quickly answered.
“Everyone knows we’re here anyway,” she said,
pursing her lips. “There are cameras at the gate. You should know
about that, Mr. Big Buff Security Guy.”
Astor barked a chuckle and shook his head at
the girl. He was fond of her, and she knew it. Over the few weeks
that he’d been assigned to her detail, she’d endeared herself to
him. The same could be said for anyone in their entourage, really.
Everyone liked Sunday, and Sunday liked everyone. If
Similar Books
