Lost Girl: Hidden Book One
Page 21
“He’s busy enough. He’s still out there kicking ass.”
“But you’re keeping him away from the really bad stuff. That’s the stuff he lives for, and you know that. You take all the bad shit, and you leave him and the rest of us with the supernatural equivalent of traffic stops.”
I stopped punching and looked at him, finally. “I’m not in any hurry to lose anyone else right now. I’m sorry if that offends you, Brennan. And if you’re here to lecture me again, you need to leave. Because I’ll be honest,” I said, hitting the bag so hard it swung, creaking on its chains. “I’m really not in the mood tonight.”
“Six months,” he said quietly. “You’re not the only one who’s been keeping track.” We stood in silence for a few minutes. “Sometimes it feels like we lost both of you that night. Those first weeks afterward, you were a zombie. Now, you’re like a machine. We all understand. We’re mourning him, too.”
“Did you strike the blow that killed him?”
Brennan just looked at me.
“Then you have no goddamned idea how I feel.”
“You know as well as I do that he knew it would happen that way,” he said quietly. I sensed nervousness in him. “He knew it would kill him, and he told you to do it anyway.”
I turned away. “How did you know that?”
“He left me a letter. Father Balester delivered it, after. He knew.”
“I know he did. I got to hear his thoughts as he died.”
“So maybe you should stop blaming yourself. Maybe you should blame him for putting you into that situation. Or maybe you should blame whoever was ordering Astaroth to capture you. But you can’t keep blaming yourself for something you had no control over.” He paused. “And that last part is something I do have experience with, and you know I do.”
Of course I did. I still had the nightmares when I did manage to doze off to prove it. “And have you stopped feeling guilty yet?”
“No.”
“And you didn’t even manage to kill me,” I said, meeting his eyes, then turning back to the punching bag.
Read more in Hidden, Book Two: Broken, coming soon!
For backstory material, news, and upcoming events be sure to check out http://www.colleenvanderlinden.com/lostgirl
About the Author
Colleen Vanderlinden is the author and publisher of the Hidden series. She is also the author of three books about gardening, and has written for popular websites such as TreeHugger, Mother Nature Network, TLC's Parentables, and About.com.
She lives in the Detroit area with her husband, children, and two lazy cats. She enjoys reading, obsessing over continuity in comic books, gardening, and playing World of Warcraft.
Learn more about Colleen at her author website, http://www.colleenvanderlinden.com, or contact her via email at email@colleenvanderlinden.com.
Lost Girl is her debut novel, and the first book in the Hidden series.