Passion - By Lauren Kate Page 0,69

being dragged across the stone meant his past self had leaned back against the wall. You're not the only one who's come through here looking for her.

Daniel's wings burned, sending heat licking down his shoulder blades. Cam.

No, not Cam, his past self responded. Two kids.

Shelby? Now Daniel pounded his fist into the stone floor. And the other one ... Miles. You're not serious? Those Nephilim? They were here?

About a month ago, I think. He pointed at the wall behind him, where some crooked tally marks were etched into the wall. I tried to keep track of the day, but you know how it is. Time passes in funny ways. It gets away from you.

I remember. Daniel shuddered. But the Nephilim. You talked to them? He racked his memory, and faint images came to mind from his imprisonment, images of a girl and boy. He'd always taken them for the phantoms of grief, just two more of the delusions that beset him when she'd gone and he was alone again.

For a moment. The prisoner's voice sounded tired and far away. They weren't all that interested in me.

Good.

Once they found out she was dead, they were in a great hurry to move on. His gray eyes were eerily penetrating. Something you and I can understand.

Where did they go?

Don't know. The prisoner cracked a smile too big for his thin face. I don't think they did, either. You should have seen how long it took them to open an Announcer. Looked like couple of bumbling fools.

Daniel felt himself almost begin to laugh.

It isn't funny, his past self said. They care for her.

But Daniel felt no tenderness for the Nephilim. They're a threat to all of us. The destruction they could cause ... He closed his eyes. They have no idea what they're doing.

Why can't you catch her, Daniel? His past self laughed dryly. We've seen each other before over the millennia--I remember you chasing her. And never catching her.

I--I don't know. The words stuck in Daniel's throat, a long sob building behind them. Quivering, he stifled it. I can't reach her. Somehow I am eternally arriving a heartbeat too late, as though someone or something is working behind the scenes to keep her from me.

Your Announcers will always take you where you need to be.

"I need to be with her."

Perhaps they know what you need better than you know yourself.

What?

Maybe she shouldn't be stopped. The prisoner rattled his chain listlessly. That she is able to travel at all means something fundamental was changed. Maybe you can't catch her until she works that change into the original curse.

But-- He didn't know what to say. The sob rose in Daniel's chest, drowning his heart in a torrent of shame and sadness. She needs me. Every second is a lost eternity. And if she makes a misstep, everything could be lost. She could change the past and ... cease to exist.

But that's the nature of risk, isn't it? You gamble everything on the slenderest of hopes. His past self began to reach out, almost touching Daniel's arm. Both of them wanted to feel a connection. At the last instant, Daniel jerked away.

His past self sighed. What if it's you, Daniel? What if youre the one who has to alter the past? What if you can't catch her until you've rewritten the curse to include a loophole?

Impossible. Daniel snorted. Look at me. Look at you. We're wretched without her. We're nothing when we're not with Lucinda. There is no reason why my soul wouldn't want to find her as quickly as possible.

Daniel wanted to fly away from here. But something was nagging at him.

Why haven't you offered to accompany me? he asked finally. I would refuse you, of course, but some of the others--when I encountered myself in another life, he wanted to join in. Why don't you?

A rat crawled along the prisoner's leg, stopping to sniff at the bloody chains around his ankles.

I escaped once, he said slowly. You remember?

Yes, Daniel said, when you--when we--escaped, early on. We went straight back to Savoy. He looked up at the false hope offered by the light outside the window. Why did we go there? We should have known we were walking right into a trap.

The prisoner leaned back and rattled his chains. We had no other choice. It was the closest place to her. He drew in a ragged breath. It's so hard when she's in between. I never feel I can go on. I was glad when