Black Stars - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 1

Chapter 32 - Hello, Goodbye

Green eyes.

Charcoal hair.

Danny.

She'd fallen off that bridge screaming his name too many times to have any doubt.

He was a couple years of older than she'd remembered, with stubble grazing his jaw and bulk added to his shoulders, but he was still so familiar she felt dizzy with recognition.

A strangled cry left her throat and Danny's gaze flicked up to meet hers. He blinked once, twice and then jerked forward just as Leah launched out of the tree, jumping the distance to the ground.

Their collision was messy, almost painful, but Leah didn't care. Danny's arms came around her, his shirt rough as it pressed against her cheek. And suddenly she was crying again; hot tears streaking down her face.

Her vision had swerved away to memories long forgotten. Danny's face was a kaleidoscope in front of her, flashing from boy to teenager to man.

"It's okay, Leah," he said softly, though his voice wavered. "Don't cry. You're okay."

The familiar tone only made her sobs increase and Danny patted her back reassuringly.

Everything about him was vaguely recognisable, but fogged over by her last sixteen years without him. A sudden sense of safety and security encompassed her. Here was someone who had loved her, and protected her. Someone who'd meant so much to her, he'd crashed through her subconscious, exploding into her new world and refusing to be pushed aside and forgotten.

After a few minutes, Leah managed to regain some control and she pulled back, wiping her tears onto her sleeve.

"I can't believe you're here."

Her words were gluggy and interrupted by a hiccup, but Danny grinned, his smile wide.

"It's good to see you too, little sis."

Leah stared at him. "How did you find me?"

"I'm friends with Matt," Danny said. "I'd asked him to keep a look out for you. Once you'd left, he told Cassandra and she came looking for me."

For the first time, Leah glanced at the woman standing behind Danny.

"Hi, Cassandra," she said.

Cassandra nodded and moved to Jared's side, studying him grimly.

"I'm glad to see you're not the one with a bullet in you," she said.

Leah blinked. "What?"

Danny shifted in front of her, eyeing Jared with distaste. He blocked half her view and Leah's head spun with de ja vu. She'd spent much of her former life peering around Danny's shoulders.

"The shot," Danny said, his voice hard. "We heard the shot and thought Jared must've..."

Leah's throat closed up again, tears pressing against the back of her eyes as her emotions veered back to grief with a speed that gave her whiplash.

She could feel Danny's gaze hot on her face and she turned away. From what she could remember, Danny had been uncomfortably observant. He'd been able to spot a lie before it even left her mouth.

But a lot had changed since she'd last seen him. She'd changed. And Jared was her secret and hers alone.

"No," she said, her voice rusty. "I shot him."

"Why?" Cassandra asked.

Leah felt exhausted, her eyes heavy and swollen from crying.

"I tried to get him to switch sides," she said. "He didn't want to. I wasn't going to let him take me back to Brenton."

Cassandra sighed and looked down at Jared. "That's a shame. He would've been helpful to the S.I.S."

Leah wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. Helpful wasn't a word she'd have used to described Jared.

Danny snorted. "You're too optimistic, Cass."

"Well at least this doesn't change our plans too much," Cassandra said. "We just have to find a ship ourselves now."

Leah raised an eyebrow in question. Her whole body was starting to ache and she longed to just lay down and sleep.

"Danny and I had planned to take Jared out once you got on the boat," Cassandra explained. "It's hard to convince anyone to go near the whirlpools, so we figured Jared could stay until we knew who his contact was. If you'd convinced him to change sides, then great, but otherwise we couldn't let him go with you."

Her tone was matter-of-fact and Leah felt a burst of irritation.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" she asked. "I wouldn't have shot him if I'd known that."

Danny shifted beside her and Leah glanced at him.

"We didn't get a chance to," he said. "You and Jared have been glued to each other's side since Cassandra and I started following you."

Leah wanted to shrink away from his gaze. There was a question in his eyes, one that made her wonder how closely Danny and Cassandra had been tailing them, and how much they'd seen.

"It's not important now," Cassandra said, apparently oblivious to the silent standoff between the siblings. "We need to get moving. We can't let Jared wake up until Leah's back in the live world and far away from any rebels."

Leah nodded quickly, thankful for a reason to look away from Danny's penetrating stare.

She grabbed her bag from the base of the tree and checked through it before turning back to find Cassandra rolling Jared's limp body over and winding rope around his arms. Leah fought back a second bought of nausea, swallowing down the bile that rose in her throat.

It's sensible, she told herself. The longer he takes to get back to the live world, the more time I'll have.

The thought brought her surprisingly little comfort.

Once Cassandra was done, she stood up.

"Ready to go?"

Leah glanced at Jared once more and for a moment, she could've sworn she saw him move, saw his eyes flick away from hers.

She shook her head clear.

"Yeah," she said stiffly. "Let's go."

Andthen, she turned away, walking into the trees and not looking back.