In the Darkest Night by Patti O'Shea

Author:Patti O'Shea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2010-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Icy wind slashed at her and Farran scrunched deeper into her borrowed down jacket. It seemed much colder in downtown Chicago than it had in the suburban area where the library was located. Here, though, they weren’t far from Lake Michigan or the river, and with giant skyscrapers on either side, it seemed to create a tunnel for the wind to whip through.

It amazed her how busy the streets were at midmorning on a Monday and the sheer numbers of people out despite the cold had made her gawk—until Kel had asked if she got off the farm much.

The memory had her scrunching up her nose. Her world didn’t have huge urban centers or the human population to sustain them and Seattle wasn’t as large as Chicago. But maybe she had been a little obvious as she’d marveled at the sights, and Farran had done her best to be more unobtrusive since then.

She just wished she knew why they were here and not at the tasglann continuing their research. Kel had adjusted his pace to hers, but he wasn’t talking and no amount of prodding on her part had gotten him to say anything.

That would worry her except that he’d been quiet since last night. Kel had gotten some sleep—probably not as much as he needed, though he looked better than he had yesterday—but he seemed subdued. The farm comment was the only normal thing he’d said or done today and Farran couldn’t help but wonder what had brought this on. He had nightmares, but she didn’t think he’d had one last night. Was her tattoo enough to do this to him?

They stopped at a traffic signal and people crowded around them, all talking either to each other or into their cell phones. It made her uncomfortable, and tentatively, she reached out, slipping her hand in Kel’s. He stiffened, but he didn’t pull away, just looked at her curiously. “Your hand is warm,” Farran said, although it wasn’t much of an explanation.

He threaded his fingers with hers and kept his hold when the light changed. They gained some space between themselves and the crowd when they crossed the street and that let Farran relax. She had enough empathic ability that people pressing in made her feel as if she were on overload.

Kel didn’t seem to share her problem even though she knew he was a stronger empath than she was. “How do you do it?” she asked.

For an instant, he looked confused, then he figured out what she was asking. “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because I grew up near here and I’m a huge Cubs fan. Wrigley Field is pretty much sold out every game day and if I wanted to watch baseball live, I had to get control of being in a crowd. Do you know about baseball?”

Farran nodded. “I saw it on television in Seattle a few times. I don’t understand the game, though.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he said and Kel sounded much more alive, much more enthusiastic than he had all day.

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