The girl stared at the stuffed animal for a moment, her eyes widening. “For me? Really?” She reached for it, pulled the animal into her arms. At once peace seemed to steal into her heart, a little at a time. “No one but my mother ever gave me anything before. Thank you, and please thank Gabriel,” she said in a tearful voice. She pressed her face against the wolf’s face and stared for a moment, entranced by the blue eyes. She had awakened from a long nightmare and the world seemed more fantasy than real. She struggled to stay in it, not to slip back inside her own head.
Francesca studied the teenager. Skyler was so thin, Francesca could see every bone in her body. She seemed so fragile, Francesca was afraid she might break. Francesca placed pillows all around Skyler, tucked the blankets up high. Skyler’s face still held traces of bruising, but she was remarkably healed from her single session with Francesca. She was all eyes, and she had beautiful eyes of soft dove gray. They were haunting eyes, eyes that had seen far too much for such a young girl.
“Well, how bad do I look?” Skyler asked it indifferently, her voice more tired than interested. She didn’t let go of the stuffed animal.
“I think Gabriel is right, we will have to invest a great deal in food for you. Were you starving yourself?”
“I considered it. I thought even if I didn’t actually die, his friends wouldn’t want me if I was really skinny.” The comforter bunched in Skyler’s fist as she curled her fingers tightly around it. “There was one who didn’t care. He called me ugly all the time, but he came around just the same. I think he was worse than my father.”
Francesca sent her waves of reassurance but remained silent, wanting Skyler to continue talking, wanting her to get it all out. She knew the man, the one the girl was referring to. She had shared memories of him, of his brutality to a small innocent child he held completely in his power. Paul Lafitte. Skyler would never forget him, never forget the three others who had used and battered her. Their faces were burned into her mind, the sound of their voices recorded forever in her memory. They would be etched into Francesca’s memory for all time also.
“He was here again,” Skyler said suddenly. “He was just here with me.”
Francesca’s head went up. She scanned the area quickly but found no one who could be considered an enemy. There was no taint of power, no voids to indicate an evil one was near. Whoever or whatever was reaching out to Skyler was powerful enough to elude Francesca’s search. “What do you mean he was here? Lafitte? One of the others? Tell me, Skyler.”
Skyler shook her head. “The one like you. The one that was here before and stayed quiet while you healed me. He touches my mind when my memories are overwhelming. He makes me feel safe.”
“Gabriel?” Francesca had thought he’d gone into the city looking for evidence of Lucian. He had read the newspaper, given a quick exclamation, and was gone before she could ask. When she picked up the paper there was an article about an unidentified man found in an alley with his throat slashed. He had been found in a part of town where few decent people ever went. Francesca was certain she would have recognized Gabriel’s touch in Skyler’s mind. She reached for Gabriel and found him at once.
“You are safe?” She asked it softly, a little hesitantly, knowing from his deep concentration he was in the middle of something important.
“He was here. Lucian. This was his kill. He is still in the city. I do not know why he was not waiting for me as he should have been.”
“Were you here with us just a moment ago? Skyler says she felt the presence of another while we were talking.”
There was a moment of silence. Gabriel examined Francesca’s memories of the conversation she had had with the teenager. “It was not me, sweetheart. This worries me. Lucian is extremely cunning and he likes games. If he is aware of Skyler, he would be aware of you. He would not pass up the opportunity to use either of you to get to me. You must be very careful. He is killing now, leaving his prey for me to find.”