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He sighed, and rubbed the back of his sweaty neck with his hand. Now there's two women in
my life. And one elf.
How did my life get so complicated so fast?
Eric wedged himself closer to the glass and closed his eyes.
Ria Llewellyn. Even her name is magical. What a combination. What an incredible
combination. Corporation president, a half-elf, and one helluva lady. Not to mention
staggeringly beautiful. She's like something out of my dreams. It's hard to believe she's real.
But there's something about her
He recalled the odd light, the predatory chill in her eyes when he'd left her, and shivered
involuntarily.
There's a funny intensity there when she looks at me.
Like a cat, a cat that's got a mouse trapped, and is thinking about playing with it instead of
eating it. It's damn scary like I'm nothing to her, only a toy, or a tool
A car honked right under the window, but the sound seemed to come from another world
entirely. As if the world that held traffic jams and the world that held Ria Llewellyn couldn't
possibly be the same. He replayed the scene with her over and over in his mind,
concentrating on it, trying to sift some kind of meaning out of it, but all he got were
contradictions
 like that other way she looked at me, like she's just a child, only wanting someone to hold
onto, someone who'll take the pain away. So lost, so vulnerable. It took everything I had to
keep from taking her in my arms right then, trying to comfort her. It's like someone hurt her
once, hurt her real bad, and she's never admitted it to anyone, maybe not even herself.
He chewed his lip with frustration. God, I can't make heads or tails out of it; one minute she's
about to take a piece out of me, the next, she's like a little kid
And yet another facet of memory focused.  Then she changes again she looks at me with
that little bedroom smile, those come-hither eyes, teasing inviting brushing her hand
against mine
He blushed, and pillowed his head into the crook of his arm, hoping no one in the bus was
watching him. I don't understand that, either. Sure, I'm always making a fool of myself in front
of women, but she she's really something. All I want to do when she smiles like that is drag
her off to a cave somewhere. That's not like me, usually. I try to be a little more . . . dignified
about my sex life.
And everything about the meeting was washed in a kind of glowing fog. The more he tried to
concentrate on some memory-fragment, the more the memory slipped into a haze. It's so
hard to think straight when I'm around her. It's like everything is wrapped in gray fuzz, I don't
know where I am, what I'm doing, what to think.
And that led him back around full circle, to last night and this morning. Those memories were
as clear as crystal, everything sharp-edged and diamond-cut. That's sure not like the way it
is with Beth. With Bethie, I always know what's going on.
Or, at least, I think I do
He pondered that, and concluded ruefully that maybe be didn't know what was going on
between himself and Beth.
She's got me going too, I guess. I mean, I thought we had something special, something
really nice. Maybe even something permanent. I think she understands me, better than
anybody else. After all, she's kinda like me, she's a gypsy too. I make my way by playing
street and gigs she works in TV. A production manager is always between gigs, moving
from studio to studio, or on hiatus, like she is now. She understands how it is.
But when he'd looked for her in the lobby, she'd been gone.
She didn't even wait for me, back there at the Corporation. Just left without me.
Maybe she thought I'd already taken off after all, I did kinda vanish from the protest
meeting. But she didn't even leave a note with the receptionist
It had been like the time his mother had forgotten to pick him up from school. He'd stood on
the curb forlornly for an hour, clutching his flute, watching for the car that never came until
one of his teachers took pity on him and took him home.
Another car or the same one honked again, and this time he jumped. Well, that really
doesn't matter, I guess. What matters now is what I'm going to do. I just don't know who to
believe, Kory or Ria. Which of them is telling the truth?
Korendil what he'd said the elf believed his own words, that was the truth, anyway. But
how much of the truth?
Kory I really don't know what to think about Korendil either. Everything is moving so fast,
too fast to figure out. I like him he's a friend, like no other friend I've ever had
But there's something about him that makes me feel so . . . uncomfortable. The way he looks
at me, like I'm everything he ever dreamed of, the answer to all of his prayers. It's more than
a little embarrassing. And whatever it is that Ria's got that magnetism, that. . . allure he's
got it too . . .
God, why am I thinking that? Maybe it's just that he got himself so trashed trying to keep
Perenur away from me and Bethie, or the fact that we healed him, but I feel so
He gave himself a mental shake. Confused. That's how I feel. All of this is so confusing,
Kory, Beth, the magic Ria He clenched his fingers in his hair. God. Magic. I cant
disbelieve in it anymore. What we did this morning to heal Kory, me and Beth it happened,
it was real, as real as I am. Which means that it all is true, the elves, the magic, everything. It
must be true I am a Bard. Whatever that means. And and if that's true, then what
happened, all those years ago, it was real, too
He shivered, huddled close against the window. The memory came back, as clearly as if the
living nightmare had occurred just the night before.
He was standing on the stage, the bright lights making everything look so distant,
out-of-focus the orchestra was beginning the first notes of "Danse Macabre."
Then he began the opening solo.
And the music suddenly it was so strong, so powerful, better than he'd ever played before;
everything coming together and clicking into place and perfect
Then
Caught in the spell of the music, he began to shiver. The weird melody called up his
nightmares, the things of childhood; the things that lurked under the bed, behind the closet
door, and waited for the light to be turned off-He felt unfriendly, hungry eyes on him looked
out of the corner of his eye at the wings
 and saw them. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]