The Bone Treaty by McKee T.C

Author:McKee, T.C. [McKee, T.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dpgroup.org, Fluffer Nutter
ISBN: 9780991477845
Amazon: B00MLN4KQE
Publisher: BookFish Books LLC
Published: 2014-08-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Footsteps pad down the beach as I retch in the sand. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, check my closing wound, and glance up. Anne hovers over me, her eyes filled with curiosity.

The sounds of home surround me. Gulls call out, soaring across the sky. Infinite waves of foam crash on the pink shore, like champagne pouring from a bottle. Being home should be refreshing. But without Addie, I fear New Providence, along with everywhere else in the world, might never feel like home again.

Anne scowls. “Dear God, you’re a ghastly sight. Do I even want to know what you’ve done?”

On hands and knees, I crawl over to the water and rinse my face and mouth, preferring the taste of seawater on my tongue to the sour taste of bile. Almost desperately, I need a toothbrush, a shower, and my pillow. I gather the strength to stand, and turn around.

“There was a confrontation. I killed one of them.”

Anne cocks an eyebrow and smiles. “Well done.”

I shake my head. “Not well done. The guy was Addie’s best friend, the lanky fellow who always wore that hideous hat. Although I didn’t know that was who I was killing at the time. He was in another form, and only trying to protect her.”

“What a pity.” Anne dabs at her eyes in mock sympathy, and for once I find the absence of her emotions truly nauseating.

“You don’t understand.” I turn and look out at the water. What can I say? There’s only so much I can tell her—and I certainly can’t mention how Addie sliced through my skin, wounding my clone, an act that should have been impossible, but for her, somehow wasn’t.

“Oh Conal, I think I do.”

She sighs, surprising me with the sudden arrival of her almost non-existent sensitive side. At times, Anne reminds me of a bipolar bobcat, should bobcats ever be psychoanalyzed. When she hugs you close, you never know if it’s out of sincerity or if she might claw out your heart while she has the opportunity.

Anne’s gaze follows mine to the rolling sea. “You have feelings for Addie. You’ve touched her.” It’s not a question. She knows.

“I can hardly believe it myself, but I think I may be falling in love with her, as crazy as that sounds.”

“It’s not crazy. She’s a beautiful girl and a gifted one. You can’t help how you feel. She’s Marked you.”

My eyes widen, and I turn to her. “How do you…?”

She shrugs. “It’s one of the things I hate and love the most about our kind. We’re like damned wolves, but only in a sense. We’re not predestined to mate for life, remaining monogamous to one lover. Thank God. However, the pull toward our first Mark is strong, impenetrable. It’s most inconvenient.” She shakes her head.

“Our first Mark?”

“Yes, your first encounter with an Elemental of the opposite sex can be life changing, especially if your elements are meant to be aligned.”

“Is that why you’ve never had the heart to kill Rackham?”

“Yes.

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