away from hers. He was b

knees. He stood up in one fluid motion, lifti

inst his shoulder. The ro

hallway and kicked the bedr

o the center of the m

ck mattress. A dizzying wav

Josephus followed her down.

bone, his teeth scraping a

k. His thumb brushed against her left che

As his hand cupped her jaw, the heavy, rare-earth all

body viole

un. The absolute terror of being exposed

sted her head awa

tly over the left side of her face. She curled her kn

, his chest heaving. Frustration and d

cracked, raw and pathetic in the qui

er eyes shut.

ord-monster-h

ike a physical bl

ttered. A violent flashba

d of a collapsing roof. He saw a

his heart. It was a phantom pai

emporarily overrode the c

lled across the bed, illuminating

rly, but he had felt the ruin

He felt an overwhelming,

ts were no longer violent.

rge, warm hands a

ut, terrified of the rejec

ed. His voice was a de

ay from her face, pressing her wrists in

he dark, jagged lin

lowered

rectly against the ugl

n, staring blindly at the ceiling. Her heart

e skin, a bizarre, electric se

t was a microscop

signature generated by the alloy and the unique, high-frequency bio-electric field his body emitted-a

tortured Abigail for years suddenly vanish

iquid relief washed t

ent, chaotic energy of the drug in his system

yes were dark, clear, and

r," he whispered roug

rs spilled over her eyelashes, trac

from her muscles.

s time, there was no violence. Only a deep, c