Mechanical Hearts (Skeleton Key) by Nicole Blanchard, Skeleton Key Page A

composed expression wilted and his unreadable eyes begged me to understand. “Don’t talk like that.”
    I was having none of it. I gave him my trust and the first chance he got, he was abusing it. Worse than that, Phoebe was going to pay the price for it. There was no one to blame but myself, but I could damn well be pissed off at him for lying to me, leading me on, and robbing me of my chance to go home.
    “Well, at least I can look at the person betraying me in the face instead of having them stab me in the back.”
    “I promise I’m going to find a way to get you home.”
    “Enough,” Fletcher barked. “What the hell am I supposed to do with her?”
    “You know, Ezra, I’ve lost count of the lies you’ve told.” The words even tasted sour so I spit them out.
    He reached for my hand, but I pulled myself away. “I would never lie about this.”
    “And why should I believe you? Don’t even say because I can trust you. We both know that’s just another lie.”
    “I said, what the hell am I supposed to do with her?” Fletcher repeated.
    Ezra and I ignored him.
    “You don’t understand,” Ezra said and ran a hand through his hair. My fingers twitched at the memory of what it felt like to run my own hand through those silky strands.
    “Then why don’t you explain it to me?” I demanded. “You at least owe me that much.”
    When he didn’t answer, I scoffed, “That’s what I thought.” I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. “The least you can do for me is find a way to pass a message to Phoebe. Can you do that?”
    Ezra frowned. “You can do it yourself.”
    “If you think I’m going to get out of this alive, you’re deluding yourself.” I didn’t let him argue, I just kept talking. “Just tell Phoebe I love her, okay? Can you do that? Tell her I love her to the moon and back.”



Heartless
    “ W hat did you say ?” Fletcher shouted, but I wasn’t listening.
    I wasn’t even in Arliss anymore. Not in my head, anyway.
    In my head, I was with Phoebe, and we were in Aunt Millie’s backyard, although Millie wasn’t there, thank God.
    Phoebe and I were swinging on a creaky old bench swing with the scent of sweet spring air swirling around us.
    I wasn’t trapped by the man I’d come to care about.
    I wasn’t in an alternate world, scared, about to die, and completely alone with no way to go home.
    As if through a bubble, I heard a commotion, but it was hard for me to shift my attention from the comforting illusion I’d woven to keep myself from breaking. There was shouting on the other side of the bubble, the sound of gunfire.
    Someone was tugging on my arm, but I couldn’t find the energy to move, or even look up to see who was pulling at me.
    Then everything sped back up and my vision refocused on the scene around me. Ezra was standing in front of me, blocking Fletcher from my line of sight.
    “I’ll find you another whale,” he was saying, and I wondered if he’d ever pleaded, begged, before. The words sounded awkward on his smooth tongue. “Whatever you want.”
    “Shut up, for devil’s sake,” Fletcher said. “Move out of my way.”
    Ezra’s shoulders bunched up and he seemed to double in size. The thought crossed my mind that no one had ever defended me that way before. Except him.
    Then again, no one had every betrayed me before, either.
    “I’m not letting you anywhere near her,” Ezra said. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
    “I’m not going to hurt her, you idiot. Now let me by.”
    “No. You think I’d trust you with this? Move back, old man.”
    I’d never heard the sound of a gun before, aside from what I’d seen in movies, but the sound of the hammer clicking was unmistakable, even in an alternate world, where everything from food to fashion was different.
    Fletcher’s face, though flushed with color, was implacable. “I like you, Ezra, but if you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to make you get out of my way.”
    Ezra didn’t flinch,