trying to pull it out of her, a memory surfaced, one she’d tucked away in a mental box along with Eva’s crime-scene photo and so many other things she’d just wanted to erase from her conscience.
When she didn’t speak, Jonah said, “It will not hurt you to share. It cannot hurt you.”
He was right. Here, in the secure Limpet house, what was the harm? “I was . . . I don’t know. I can’t remember how old. Pre-teens? Frank and I were having another showdown—I don’t recall what about. Doesn’t matter. But I know I was angry. So angry. And I wanted to hurt him.”
“Did you?”
“Almost. We were in the dining room.” It was all coming clear now—the smell of the TV dinners she’d pulled from the oven. The clatter of a basketball game on the tube. “I glared at him and, all of a sudden, a fork flew off the table and almost got him in the arm. It missed by inches.”
“Did it ever happen again?”
“No.” Dawn shook her head until her hair slapped her face. “I was . . . horrified. Scared.”
“You shoved it away so you would not have to confront it again. You found other ways of taking your anger out on everyone.”
She nodded. She’d repressed it. So how was it that she could make things shiver and shake now? Had she spent so much time fighting this “talent” that she’d weakened?
Or had she gotten stronger through all this vampire crap?
“I wish I knew everything that’s going on,” she said, realizing it was no excuse for her recent behavior. But it was the best she could do, and at least her motives were pure.
“By the end of this, you will probably know more than you ever wished to.” He sighed. “The Friends even understand your insatiable curiosity—except for Kalin, that is. After you ordered Breisi to take you inside Kalin’s portrait, a smattering of hell broke loose between the two of them.”
Dawn jerked her head up. “Is Breisi okay?”
“Breisi always holds her own, even in spirit form, but you didn’t do much for Friend relations.”
“Well, I get the feeling Kalin does a pretty good job of ruffling Friend feathers herself. I’m sure Rose would testify to that.” She couldn’t help referring to the tension she’d seen between the two women hunters. “And remember the day you had Kalin bind me during that misguided foreplay session? The rest of the Friends were calling for her to stop and, when she did, they seemed to be arguing with her. . . .”
“Kalin has always been strong willed.” There was a warning in his voice—one that told Dawn to lay off the Fire Woman. “In her day, she was lucky not to be called a witch and murdered for it. Someone else I know has much the same attitude, Dawn .”
Well, okay. Touché then.
Even now, Dawn’s inner detective was kicking in, sensing an opportunity to learn more, at any cost. From what Dawn knew of Kalin, the older hunter would’ve done the exact same thing—pursued like a mad dog.
“Well, if anything,” Dawn said, “you’re at least going to tell me why our Friends are in those portraits. Yes?”
“Don’t you have any theories?”
“Actually, I think I do.”
“Then . . .”
She drew her knees up to her chest. “Maybe the paintings are more than a bed for them to slink back to while they rest and gather energy for missions. They’re a . . .” She thought of what Breisi had said about Kalin’s memories pretty much living in the portrait. “They’re a type of body that houses everything about them, a living thing that even feeds them? And when their essences travel out of these ‘bodies,’ it’s a little like astral projection or whatever.” She’d read about the ability to travel out of body with your soul. Why not?
“Near enough.” He sounded a bit impressed.
“Can you tell me if Kalin is going to use those fire powers on anyone soon?”
“She cannot do that, Dawn. Physical talents like hers do not translate into the world she lives in now. Friends, as they are, have
When she didn’t speak, Jonah said, “It will not hurt you to share. It cannot hurt you.”
He was right. Here, in the secure Limpet house, what was the harm? “I was . . . I don’t know. I can’t remember how old. Pre-teens? Frank and I were having another showdown—I don’t recall what about. Doesn’t matter. But I know I was angry. So angry. And I wanted to hurt him.”
“Did you?”
“Almost. We were in the dining room.” It was all coming clear now—the smell of the TV dinners she’d pulled from the oven. The clatter of a basketball game on the tube. “I glared at him and, all of a sudden, a fork flew off the table and almost got him in the arm. It missed by inches.”
“Did it ever happen again?”
“No.” Dawn shook her head until her hair slapped her face. “I was . . . horrified. Scared.”
“You shoved it away so you would not have to confront it again. You found other ways of taking your anger out on everyone.”
She nodded. She’d repressed it. So how was it that she could make things shiver and shake now? Had she spent so much time fighting this “talent” that she’d weakened?
Or had she gotten stronger through all this vampire crap?
“I wish I knew everything that’s going on,” she said, realizing it was no excuse for her recent behavior. But it was the best she could do, and at least her motives were pure.
“By the end of this, you will probably know more than you ever wished to.” He sighed. “The Friends even understand your insatiable curiosity—except for Kalin, that is. After you ordered Breisi to take you inside Kalin’s portrait, a smattering of hell broke loose between the two of them.”
Dawn jerked her head up. “Is Breisi okay?”
“Breisi always holds her own, even in spirit form, but you didn’t do much for Friend relations.”
“Well, I get the feeling Kalin does a pretty good job of ruffling Friend feathers herself. I’m sure Rose would testify to that.” She couldn’t help referring to the tension she’d seen between the two women hunters. “And remember the day you had Kalin bind me during that misguided foreplay session? The rest of the Friends were calling for her to stop and, when she did, they seemed to be arguing with her. . . .”
“Kalin has always been strong willed.” There was a warning in his voice—one that told Dawn to lay off the Fire Woman. “In her day, she was lucky not to be called a witch and murdered for it. Someone else I know has much the same attitude, Dawn .”
Well, okay. Touché then.
Even now, Dawn’s inner detective was kicking in, sensing an opportunity to learn more, at any cost. From what Dawn knew of Kalin, the older hunter would’ve done the exact same thing—pursued like a mad dog.
“Well, if anything,” Dawn said, “you’re at least going to tell me why our Friends are in those portraits. Yes?”
“Don’t you have any theories?”
“Actually, I think I do.”
“Then . . .”
She drew her knees up to her chest. “Maybe the paintings are more than a bed for them to slink back to while they rest and gather energy for missions. They’re a . . .” She thought of what Breisi had said about Kalin’s memories pretty much living in the portrait. “They’re a type of body that houses everything about them, a living thing that even feeds them? And when their essences travel out of these ‘bodies,’ it’s a little like astral projection or whatever.” She’d read about the ability to travel out of body with your soul. Why not?
“Near enough.” He sounded a bit impressed.
“Can you tell me if Kalin is going to use those fire powers on anyone soon?”
“She cannot do that, Dawn. Physical talents like hers do not translate into the world she lives in now. Friends, as they are, have
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