with her head in the crook of his neck on the train.
The memories began fading. The agony of the onslaught was easing, and she was dimly aware of Julian standing over her with a sword in his hand. She couldn’t move or muster any power. Robert’s memories were weaker but still rushing through her.
I’m going to die.
She wanted to die. Robert was glorious, and she’d gotten him killed. She closed her eyes.
The blow never landed.
When she opened her eyes, Julian was gone. The ghost was gone.
They had just left her lying beside Robert’s headless body. She couldn’t think or feel and got up on her knees. His head had rolled a few feet away, but the blood had already stopped pumping from the stump of his throat.
She looked around in lost confusion.
Why would Julian just walk away?
The numb sensation was passing, and grief was flooding in to take its place.
Robert was dead.
She reached out to touch the back of his hand, and it was already beginning to crack. Leaning forward, she pressed her nose down on his chest, and she just stayed like that.
If Julian came back to take her head, she’d let him.
Arriving in Portland at one a.m., Philip knew he’d missed the train’s arrival, and he drove their stolen car straight to the church. Wade was carsick, and Rose was gripping the handles of the back door, but Philip couldn’t slow down.
They’d lost too much time already.
He had the car door half open by the time he squealed to a stop in front of the iron gates, and he jumped out, shoving the gates open and running for the front doors.
“Eleisha!” he yelled, rushing through the sanctuary for the stairs to their apartment below, but he already knew she wasn’t here. The place felt empty.
“Eleisha!” he still called out once he reached the sitting room, and he turned a full circle in despair.
She wasn’t here.
The next twenty hours were the longest of Wade’s life.
In an ugly scene, he’d managed to convince a hysterical Philip they had to remain at the church.
They had no idea where to look at this point, and Eleisha had clearly told him they would all meet back at the church.
Rose sent Seamus out, but he needed some general area to search, and after searching all around the train station, he had come back with nothing. Then she’d sent him to Salem, but again, he did not find Eleisha, and after that, Rose did not know where else to send him.
Thankfully, Philip collapsed into dormancy shortly after sunrise, and Wade waited out the day, sitting on the floor of the sanctuary. But he had too much to think about.
He couldn’t stand the thought of Julian getting anywhere near Eleisha.
And what if she didn’t come back?
What if . . . what if something happened to her?
This church, their plan for the underground, the life they had been building together would be gone. Rose had the wisdom and the vision. Philip had the strength. Wade had the knowledge and ability to train telepaths.
But Eleisha was the heart.
This would not work without her.
Selfish thought. Wade had never considered what he might do without her, and now all he could think of was himself?
Bastard.
He tried to focus on something constructive. What could he do to find her? He couldn’t come up with a single thing. He didn’t eat all day. He didn’t sleep.
At sunset, Philip came upstairs looking haggard. Rose came up a few moments later—she had slept in Eleisha’s room. They still had no idea what to do. Philip opened the front doors and stood on the porch.
Just past eleven o’clock, a taxi pulled up outside the gates, and Philip bounded off the steps.
Then he stopped, frozen in place.
Eleisha met him halfway, and Wade watched from the open doorway, trying not to gasp in relief. She did not run to Philip or grasp his hands or say anything. She was carrying Robert’s sword case slung over her shoulder.
Wade walked out to join them, and as he got closer, he saw Eleisha’s face.
It was pale beyond her usual ivory and completely empty—as if she had no emotions left. Philip was watching her in hurt confusion.
“Where’s Robert?” Wade asked, not certain he wanted to hear the answer.
“Gone,” she said with no feeling at all. “Dead. Julian jumped down behind him this time. He left me there on the sidewalk.” She touched the case on her shoulder. “I brought back Robert’s sword and some of his ashes.”
Finally, she looked at Philip.