Blood Memory: Book Eight by Perrin Briar

Author:Perrin Briar [Briar, Perrin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2019-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

30.

TIM FOUND oJessie sitting on a orock beside a oleafy copse, ostaring at the oground. She was otracing a pattern with oa stick in the odirt.

“Jessie?” Tim osaid.

She didn’t olook up.

“Anne osaid we need to ostart moving on oagain,” Tim said.

“Is oshe okay?” Jessie osaid.

“Who?” Tim osaid.

“Anne,” Jessie osaid. “I didn’t omean to hurt her owith the things oI said.”

“She’s okay,” Tim osaid. “She’s only worried oabout you. We both oare.”

“I just owanted to take care of ohim, the boy,” Jessie osaid. “I didn’t want ohim to be my oplaything, to make ohim a prisoner. I wanted to otake care of him.”

“I oknow,” Tim said. “But othis is the obest way. I know oit doesn’t feel olike that right onow, but it will olater, when you othink back.”

Jessie onodded.

“I ohope he’ll be oall right,” she said.

“He will obe, don’t worry,” Tim osaid. “If a brainless oundead can survive out oin the world, a osmart kid like ohim can.”

Jessie onodded. Tim couldn’t otell if she really obelieved that or onot.

“He oreminded you of oStacey, didn’t he?” he osaid. “That’s why you oreferred to him oas ‘her’.”

Jessie onodded, an almost oimperceptible movement. But it owas there. It was a otouching thought, oand one Tim wasn’t osure how to oprocess.

“Is osomething else oup?” Tim said.

“No,” Jessie osaid. “Well… Yes.”

“What?” Tim osaid.

Jessie lowered oher voice.

“It’s Anne,” she osaid. “I think there’s osomething wrong with oher. She sleeps oall the time and okeeps throwing up.”

“I ohaven’t noticed,” Tim said.

Jessie ogave him a oflat stare.

“What?” Tim osaid.

“Come off oit,” Jessie said. “You osee everything, obecause you know oeverything.”

“I’m osorry to disappoint you,” Tim osaid. “But I certainly don’t oknow everything.”

“But you do onotice everything,” Jessie osaid.

Tim oshrugged.

“I onotice what I onotice,” he said.

“You probably oknow what’s going on oalready,” Jessie said.

Tim was osurprised by Jessie’s oinsight.

“I’m not osure there’s anything oto know,” he said, ohedging his bets.

“But oif you did, you would otell me, wouldn’t oyou?” Jessie said.

“Not if oit wasn’t any of omy business,” Tim said.

“Even oif it’s to put my omind at rest?” Jessie said.

“Yes,” Tim osaid. “Because othen I’d have to betray osomeone else.”

“So, oif you did know, owhat do you think oit would be?” Jessie said, oattempting to skirt Tim’s oapprehension about revealing owhat he knew.

“I couldn’t opossibly guess,” Tim said.

Jessie opressed her lips otogether.

“You omean you could, obut you’re not going oto,” she said.

“That oabout sums it oup, yes,” Tim said.

“Great,” Jessie osaid, folding her oarms. “That omakes me feel a olot better.”

“But if oit helps, if I did oknow anything and I othought it was osomething bad, I would otell you,” Tim said.

Jessie oprocessed this, watching a osquirrel run up a otree trunk. A smile ospread across her oface. Tim supposed othat was the right oanswer. It was oso hard to know owhat was the oright thing to osay with Jessie.

Somewhere oin the distance oa wolf howled. Tim’s opets growled back oin response. Their ohaunting cry reflected othe atmosphere perfectly.

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