Dusk (12 page)

He nodded to his brother, then searched the room. Lucy held
herself perfectly still, waiting for him to find her. What she really wanted to
do was fling herself into his arms.
But who knows how he’ll react? I ran
away, like an idiot.
Before she could decide what to say, his eyes met
hers. Static prickled her skin as she felt his relief. He hurried over to her,
eyes soft and warm despite the cool light of a thousand city buildings.

“Lucinda.” He crouched down and took both her hands in his own.
His palms were strong. Steady. “Are you all right?” He glanced at his brother,
Isaac, who stood up and moved away, giving them a little privacy.

She almost started crying again. Solomon didn’t seem angry at all.
To her empathic senses, he felt… grateful, of all things. “Solomon,” she said
tearfully. “How did you get here? You stepped out of solid stone.”

“It is less solid than you think,” he said, kissing her
fingertips. “It’s actually a framework constructed of nanotechnology, organic
filaments, and energy.”

What he’d just said made no sense to her. She was just glad he was
here.

“Are you okay?” he asked, clearly sensing her confusion. His eyes
searched her face.

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Thank God,” he said, and finally pulled her into his arms.

Lucy grabbed his shoulders and hung on as tightly as she could. “I’m
so sorry,” she whispered, wishing she’d never run away.

“Shh,” he said, stroking her hair. “It is all right. Don’t cry.”

She almost said,
I’m not crying,
but then she realized that
she
was.
For the second time this evening. “I’m an idiot,” she choked
out.

He chuckled. “If you are, then so am I, so do not let it bother
you. I should never have let you go.”

She leaned back. “It wasn’t like you had a choice. I ran.”

He shrugged. “I scared you.” He looked toward the windows. “I
should not have pushed you so hard. I know better. I have lived too many
centuries to let go of my control so easily.”

Lucy chewed on her lip. “It wasn’t like I said no, Solomon. And
I’m not a child.” She looked down at their hands. “I know what you’ve been
through, remember?” she whispered, thinking of the memories that had poured
into her mind when they’d made love.

He glanced back at her, then kissed her fingers, saying nothing.
Lucy felt his guilt, but no regret, thankfully. He smiled crookedly and
squeezed her hands, then let her go. She wished he hadn’t. Her fingers curled
into her palms.

Bruno walked over to them. “Enough. What’s done is done, and if
you hadn’t chosen Lucy, we would not now know of this disaster,” he said,
pointing at the sky. “So I, for one, am grateful, brother.” He touched his
finger to his eye.

“He is right,” Greyson said, touching the corner of his eye. Eva
nodded and repeated the gesture. So did Isaac.

Lucy didn’t understand what they were doing, until she felt the
hard knot of Solomon’s guilt easing a little. He touched the corner of his eye
hesitantly. “That is true.” He touched Lucy’s temple, then brought her hand up
and touched his face with it. “You’re one of us now, Lucy. This is our greeting
and goodbye to each other. It means one of us is always watching for danger.”

That’s actually kind of cool,
Lucy thought, sliding her palm down his face to cup his cheek.
Solomon closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. His skin was warm. He felt
like home. He smiled into her hand. Lucy felt her face go hot as she remembered
the way his lips felt on her body. She sat back, dislodging his touch, before
everyone in the room realized how easily he aroused her.

“We need to figure out how to fix the camouflage,” Eva said,
walking over. She sat down next to Lucy. “I know you’re confused.”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah. Just a little.”

Eva lifted a shoulder. “You’re one of us now. No going back.”

“I think I realized that when I passed out on the street,” Lucy
said.

Eva smiled softly. “I’m happy it happened with Solomon, to be
honest. We are truly sisters. And now I won’t lose you.”

Lucy frowned at that. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You’re no longer mortal, Lucy,” Eva said quietly. “Your life span
is much, much longer.”

“I’m still human,” Lucy protested. “I don’t really feel that
different.” She shrugged. “Well, except for the empathy. And I’m very tired.”

Solomon sat on the other side of her and slid an arm around her
waist. “It was a combination of the fight with the Spiders and stretching the
fragile nature of a new pairing. You just didn’t have enough energy to spare
for both of those things,” he said, tucking her into him. “My parents died when
they were separated.”

“I remember. Your memories,” Lucy said, still confused. “But Eva
doesn’t have any trouble being away from Greyson. I thought it was different,
for us.”

“I only ever go to lunch or to the movies with you, Lucy. And
Greyson and I are never away from each other longer than a few hours.” Eva
sighed and leaned back tiredly. “We have a lot of perks, but running away from
each other isn’t one of them.”

“Oh,” Lucy said, feeling even stupider than before.

“You could not have known,” Solomon said.

Isaac pushed off from the window where he’d been leaning. “Solomon,
is there anything you can do about the shield? We’re kind of running blind,
here,” he said, changing the subject. “We’ll probably have to do a sweep, too,
to make sure there are no more hidden pockets where the Spiders have set up
shop.” He flashed Lucy a quick smile.

He’s a very nice person,
she thought, relieved to be thinking about something else.

Solomon sighed. “Not from here. I did a cursory analysis of it
while I was restabilizing the Stronghold net and found nothing, but the energy
fluctuations were so severe, I couldn’t filter out the data I needed. I will
have to go to my tower for more complete access.” He glanced around. “And, too,
this place has too many people weighing on my senses. I do not know how you
live here, Bruno.”

“One grows accustomed to the din,” Solomon’s brother said.

Lucy shuddered. Even now she could feel the people below her,
though not nearly as strongly as when she’d been on the street. The height of
the building clearly helped.

Even so, I would not
want to live here. It’s not like the people are gone. They’re just a little
further away
, she
mused. Walking in the city in the middle of the night had been challenging with
her newly sensitive empathy. She didn’t know how Bruno lived here without going
insane. She yawned, tired after all the drama.

“Lucy.”

She startled. Solomon reached for her hand, tugging until she
turned toward him. “Will you come with me? We need sleep. And I will not be
able to rest unless I know you’re safe.”

She looked into his eyes. She felt his yearning to bring her to
his home. His territory. She was so tired, she couldn’t decide if it was a good
idea or not.
But where else will you go? You’re hours from home,
she
reminded herself.

“Please,” Solomon murmured.

She glanced out the windows, but there was no answer out there. It
was time to follow her heart. “Okay,” she said, swallowing hard. “I’ll go with
you.”

Chapter Nine

If I had known I would have to travel through those pillars to get
to his tower, I would have said no,
Lucy thought, clutching Solomon’s shirt tightly.

“We will be perfectly safe,” he murmured, tucking her into a hug.
He held her overnight bag with his other hand. “I promise.”

“We have to step inside rock, Solomon. Did I mention I’m
claustrophobic?” her voice rose higher at the end as her panic got the better
of her.

He kissed her head. “You will discover that stepping into the
Stronghold net is anything but confining.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered, trying to control her
breathing. Her heart banged against her ribs. “You’d better promise me I’ll
come out of this in one piece.” She scrunched her fingers into the fabric of
his shirt even further. She didn’t care if she ruined it.
I’ll buy him a new
one if I have to,
she told herself.

“I promise you will be safe, Lucinda,” he said softly, deftly
stepping to the side with her. It almost felt like they were dancing, except
not.

She lifted her head, about to complain further, but gasped when
she realized they were no longer in Bruno’s skyscraper. Instead, spread out
before her was nothing but darkness.
No, not
just
darkness,
she realized, staring. The midnight beyond
Solomon’s body sparkled with a delicate framework of light that flashed silver
and gold. Specks like stars twinkled in the distance. She felt as if she’d been
pushed out into space alone, but then Solomon’s confidence and warmth filtered
through her mind, calming her. Before she could even think to take a breath,
Solomon lifted her. Light flashed and she flinched, blinking. When her eyes
stopped watering, she realized they were in a circular room with windows all
around them. The glass showed a filmy darkness, as if they were stuck in a
cloud in the middle of the night sky.

“Home,” Solomon said simply, letting go. Behind him, the pillar
shed its glow, burying them in shadows.

“I can’t see anything,” she said, untwisting her fingers from his
shirt. Her knuckles hurt, she’d gripped him so tightly.

He shrugged and put down her bag. “Mount Washington has the most
abominable weather you can imagine. It is foggy, and nighttime. Perhaps
tomorrow you will be able to see something beyond the tower.” He smiled. “And
then again, perhaps not. The weather is foul sixty percent of the time.” He
took a few steps away from her and clicked on a light.

Lucy looked around. He stood near the windows. Below the glass, a
circular seating area stretched around half of the tower. The lights ran along
the perimeter of the tower, just below where the windows met the stone wall. To
her right, a spiral staircase reached to an upper level. On the opposite side
of the tower, a long table sat against the windows with computer equipment and
a couple of chairs.

“Cozy,” she said, meaning the opposite. “I don’t remember any of
this. You brought me here to heal me?”

He nodded. “You were unconscious the entire time. You only woke up
a little when I brought you back home to your parents.”

Lucy rubbed her arm, remembering the pain. “I never thanked you
for taking care of me.” She was still somewhat amazed that a solitary Sentry
would do such a thing. That he would take care of her. She was nobody. And
everyone knew that the Sentries were aloof and untouchable.
It’s like having
the President put a bandage on your skinned knee,
she mused.

“You do not have to thank me. I was honored to heal you.” Solomon
smiled. “Come on. Let’s get some rest. It will be morning soon.” He headed for
the staircase.

“What about fixing the shield?” she asked, gesturing to the
windows.

He shook his head. “Tomorrow. Right now I am too tired to think
about it. I would make mistakes.”

Lucy tucked her arms in her armpits. “You want me to sleep with
you?” She sensed his exhaustion.
Why are you being so difficult?
she
asked herself.
You’re as tired as he is, and he knows it.

Solomon paused, one hand on the railing. “After everything we have
been through together, I do not think sleeping will be very difficult,” he
said, with a glint in his eyes.

Lucy laughed. She couldn’t help it. “You’re right.” She headed for
the staircase and followed him up. “This is where you sleep?” She looked
around. A beautiful wooden bed sat on the opposite side of the pillar. On the
side nearest the staircase, a heavy wooden dresser stood sentry. It looked very
old and very expensive. “Holy moly, is that mahogany?” She trailed her fingers
over the top. A battered old box was the only thing on top of the dresser.

“It is,” Solomon said, his voice quiet. “I made that for my first
wife, Constance.”

“I remember,” she whispered, recalling his grief from when they
paired. “I’m so sorry.” She also remembered how conflicted he’d felt about her
when they’d made love. Even now, she could feel his uncertainty. It made her
sad.

And a little bit angry,
she thought.
Because I love him.
She couldn’t deny it any
more.
And there’s no going back.
She
would never have been able to pair with him if she didn’t trust him implicitly,
and she only trusted people she loved. Her parents. Eva. And now, Solomon.
I
have to stop fooling myself. I fell for him the first time he healed me
.

He walked over to her and hugged her from behind. “Don’t be. I was
a different person when I met her. She taught me so many things.” He drew her
away from the dresser and over to his bed. “Here, sit down.”

She let him push her onto the bed. He knelt down at her feet. “What
are you doing?”