on either side of him.
"Whatever . . . are you here?" Payne said hoarsely, aware she was making more sense on the inside of her head than her words would suggest. The fallen Chosen seemed very nervous, although how that was exactly evident, Payne wasn't sure. It was something sensed but not seen, given that the Chosen's black robes were covering all of her.
"Taketh my hand," Payne said. "I should want to ease you." No'One shook her head beneath her hood. "It is I who have come to ease you." As Payne frowned, the Chosen glanced back at Wrath. "The king has permitted me to tarry in his household for to serve as your maid." Payne swallowed, but her dry mouth offered no relief to her parched throat. "No serve me. Be here . . . but serve yourself."
"Indeed . . . there is that as well." No'One's soft voice grew tight.
"Verily, upon your departure from the Sanctuary, I approached the Scribe Virgin--and my request was granted. You inspired me to long o'erdue action. I have been cowardly . . . but no longer, thanks to you."
"I . . . am . . . glad . . ." Although what she could have done to justify such motivation escaped her. "And I am grateful you are here--" With an explosive shove, the door in the far corner was thrown open, and a male dressed in black leather and smelling of sickly death burst into the room. Right on his heels was the private physician, and as he jerked to a halt, the ghostly female put her hand upon his shoulder as if to soothe him. The male's diamond eyes locked on Payne, and though she hadn't seen him in forever, she knew who he was. Sure as if she was staring at her own reflection.
Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes for last she had known, he breathed no longer. "Vishous," she whispered desperately. "Oh, brother mine . . ." He was at her side in a flash, taking form right next to her. His incredibly intelligent stare traced her features and she had the sense that their expressions were as identical as their coloring: her surprise and incomprehension were likewise upon his harsh, handsome features. 470
His eyes . . . oh, his diamond eyes. They were her own; she had seen them staring back at her in countless mirrors.
"Who are you?" he said roughly.
Abruptly, she felt something in her ever-numbing body--and the great heavy weight came not from physical injury, but inner calamity. That he didn't know who she was, that they had been kept separate by a lie, was a tragedy she could hardly bear.
Her voice became strong. "I am . . . your blood."
"Jesus Christ . . ." He lifted a hand that was encased in a black glove.
"My sister . . . ?"
"I have to go," the doctor said urgently. "The break in her spine is beyond my expertise. I need to go get--"
"Find that goddamn surgeon," Vishous growled, his eyes still locked on Payne's. "Find him and bring him here . . . no matter what it takes."
"I won't come back without him. You have my word." Vishous turned to the female and captured her mouth in a quick, hard kiss. "God . . . I love you."
The physician's ghostly face became solid as they stared at each other.
"We're going to save her, trust me. I'll be back the second I can--Wrath's given his permission and Fritz is going to help me get Manny here."
"Fucking sunlight. It's coming all too soon."
"I'd want you here with her anyway. You and Ehlena need to watch her vitals, and Xhex is still in critical condition. I want you to take care of them."
When he nodded, the physician disappeared into thin air, and then a moment later, Payne felt a warm palm encompass hers. It was Vishous's ungloved hand against her own and the connection between them eased her in ways she couldn't name.
Verily, she had lost her mother . . . but if she lived through this, she still had family. On this side.
"Sister," he murmured, not as an inquiry, but a statement of fact.
"Brother mine," she groaned . . . before her consciousness slipped from her grasp and she drifted away.
But she would come back to him. One way or the other, she would not leave her twin ever again.
471
SIXTY-NINE
Xhex woke up alone in the room off the OR, and yet she sensed that John wasn't far.
The draw