@@@@@ She did not seem dismayed by the idea of a
@@@@@ She did not seem dismayed by the idea of a fragile peace–rather, it
seemed to please herMelanie wanted so badly to make another denial, to claim the boy was just
part of a dreamon't be stupid, I told herhat would be so obviousIt said much for the
repellent nature of the Seeker that she could put Melanie and me on the same side of an
argumentelanie's whisper was sharp, painful like a cut wished I could deny that I felt… similarlyHate was an unforgivable emotion
But the Seeker was… very difficult to like
The Seeker interrupted my internal conversation“So, other than the new location to review,
you have no more help for me on the road maps?”
I felt my body react to her critical tone“I never said they were lines on a road mapThat's your
assumptionAnd no, I have nothing else
She clicked her tongue quickly three times“But you said they were directions
“That's what I think they areI'm not getting anything more
“Why not? Haven't you subdued the human yet?” She laughed loudly
I turned my back to her and concentrated on calming myselfI tried to pretend that she wasn't
thereThat I was all alone in my austere kitchen, staring out the window into the little patch of
night sky, at the three bright stars I could see through it
Well, as alone as I ever was
While I stared at the tiny points of light in the blackness, the lines that I'd seen over and over
again–in my dreams and in my broken memories, cropping up at strange, unrelated
moments–flashed through my head
The first: a slow, rough curve, then a sharp turn north, another sharp turn back the other way,
twisting back to the north for a longer stretch, and then the abrupt southern decline that
flattened out into another shallow curv