“You can write it.” He winced and got to his feet.
Mira’s unexpected shout held all kinds of panic in it.
Did we miss a div?
I took off in a spray of blue sparks, only vaguely aware that Kerry ran with me.
47. Inconsolable
Mira
Kerry took one look, fell to his knees, and pulled Lilas from my lap into his. Hinge hovered at his elbow, his bones clicking louder than usual as his agitation grew.
“What can we do?” I felt completely useless.
Rome crouched beside me and slid his arm over my shoulders. I reached up and grabbed his hand with both of mine.
“Should I call Josef?” he asked Kerry. “He could have a healer ’ported here, or close to here.”
“If St. Pat’s is warded, it means Valhalla is under attack.” Kerry’s scarred fingers stroked the little girl’s hair out of her face. “He’s in combat, and probably wouldn’t have a healer to spare even if he answered his phone.”
Then inspiration hit me.
“I’ll use the teleport bracelet!” I held up my wrist.
“If Gina bounced off St. Pat’s, you will, too. It’d be a waste of a charm.”
“We could take her somewhere else.”
“Where? The only way into the Sanctuary now is through an outpost.”
“Enough!” Hinge said. “I’ll use my power and heal her myself.”
“No,” Lilas gasped. “You’ll die.”
“That doesn’t matter.” He grabbed her hand. “That’s our only choice if we’re going to save you, and saving you is all that matters. Besides, I’m not tainted or corrupted. Death doesn’t scare me.”
“I don’t want you to do this, Hinge,” Kerry said, “but I’m outta ideas.”
“You’ll watch out for her, won’t you?” Purple lights blinked up at him.
“All the rest of my days.”
“Good enough.”
What happened next was both terrible and poignant, and nothing I ever want to witness again.
Hinge’s power left him in a slow drain of pearly white light and, as it trickled into Lilas, he fell apart. I mean, heliterallyfell apart. One by one, from the toes up, his bones dropped with sad little clunks before crumbling to dust. By the time his rib cage collapsed, color had crept back into Lilas’ face and her eyes were no longer glazed over.
“Oh, Bertie.” Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry.” He was little more than a skull and an arm now, and still he held her hand and tried to comfort her.
“But you’re dying!”
“I died two centuries ago. All the years since then, I wrestled with regret and the shame of going against God and nature. Now, I realize I was allowed to endure for one reason: so that I could be here at this moment to save you.”
He pressed his forehead against hers.
