24

Elizabeth said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart," as she sat down and gave her a hug. "But unfortunately, that's the way things have to work out."

"You're freezing," Margaret remarked. Then she turned her head and gazed upward into Elizabeth's face. "Are you an angel?"

Elizabeth thought to herself in a sardonic tone, "Uh... not exactly." Just the contrary.

"Aunt Judith told me that you went to spend some time with Daddy and Mommy. Have you seen them yet?"

I haven't seen them yet, no. And even though I'm not an angel, I'm going to be like your guardian angel anyway, all right? I'll watch over you even when you can't see me. Okay?" "I-kind it's of hard to explain, Margaret. I haven't seen them yet, no. And even though I'm not an angel, I'm going to be like your guardian angel anyway, all right?"

Margaret said, "Okay," as she fiddled with her fingers. "Does it imply that you won't be able to reside in this house any longer?"

Elizabeth took a glance around the room, which was decorated in pink and white, and saw the plush animals that were displayed on the shelves, as well as the little writing desk and the rocking horse that had been hers in the past. She spoke in a low voice and clarified, "That's what it means."

"When they said you went to be with Mommy and Daddy, I stated that I wanted to go with them too," the child said.

Elizabeth made an effort to blink. Oh, baby, it's not the right time for you to go, so you can't. Aunt Judith loves you very much, and she'd be miserable if she had to spend the holidays without you.

Margaret nodded, her eyes dropping. However, when Elizabeth coaxed her and helped her relax,


Margaret placed the cover over her, and then continued with her query. "But don't you love me?"

Margaret placed the cover over her, and then continued with her query. "But don't you love me?"

Elizabeth muttered to herself, "Oh, dumb, stupid," as she pushed her way through the drifted snow to reach the other side of Maple Street. It was too late for her to ask Margaret whether or not Robert had been there at the supper. It was too late to do anything now.

Robert. Her irises contracted all of a sudden. Robert had been outdoors when the dogs at the church lost their minds. This took place at the church. And this evening, Margaret's cat had become wild - only a short time after Robert's vehicle had backed out of the driveway.

She couldn't help but feel that Robert had a lot of explaining to do.

However, sadness was pulling at her and dragging her thoughts away from the present moment. Her thoughts kept wandering back to the beautiful home she'd just left, where she was going over the items she'd never see there again. What on earth is Aunt Judith going to do with all of her niece's old clothing, trinkets, and jewelry? She had the notion, "I don't own anything at this point." I'm a poor.

Elizabeth?

Elizabeth, who had been experiencing some anxiety, was relieved when she recognized the mental voice and the familiar shadow at the end of the street. As she hastened closer Katherine, he pulled his hands out of the pockets of his jacket and placed them in hers to keep them warm.

"Merit informed me as to where you were going."

Elizabeth responded by saying, "I went home." That was all she could say, but as she leaned on him for comfort, she knew that he comprehended what she was going through because of the way he looked at her.

After pausing in exasperation, he continued his request by saying, "Let's locate somewhere we can sit down." All
The locations they used to frequent were either off-limits to Elizabeth or too risky for her to enter. The authorities were still in possession of Katherine's vehicle.

In the end, they decided to go go to the high school where they could watch the snow fall while sitting beneath the overhang of a roof. Elizabeth enlightened him on the events that transpired within Margaret's bedroom.

"I'm going to have Merit and Denis spread the word all across town that cats can play video games,"
attack, too, which is something that people should be aware of, and I believe that someone needs to be keeping an eye on Robert," she said as a conclusion.

Katherine remarked, with a grin that just wouldn't leave her face, "We'll trail him."

She said that it was amusing to see how much more American you had become. "I hadn't given it much consideration in a long time, but when you first arrived, you were a lot more foreign. Now nobody would realize you hadn't lived here all your life." [I] "I hadn't given it much thought in a long time, but when you first came, you were a lot more foreign."

Katherine said that "We adjust rapidly, because we have to." "There are always brand-new nations,


new decades, new circumstances. You will adjust to them as well." new decades, new circumstances. You'll adjust, too."
"In due time, you'll understand. In the event that there is anything... good... Regarding who and what we are, the moment has come. It is not a problem for us, and we may have as much as we want of it. Forever."

" Didn't Katherine tell you and Dominic that you would be "joyous comrades forever"?

" Elizabeth mumbled something.

She could her Katherine becoming more rigid, and he was pulling away from her. "She was talking about all three of us," he replied, "but I wasn't."

Oh, Katherine, I beg you not to, especially not at this time. I wasn't even considering Dominic; all I could think about was
indefinitely long. It gives me the creeps. Everything about this gives me chills, and there are moments when I think to myself, "Sometimes I just want to go to sleep and never wake up again..."

She found that her new senses were just as amazing when she was close to him as they were when she was far away from him. She could hear each individual pulse of Katherine's heart, and she could smell his own distinctive scent mingled with the scent of his jacket, the snow, and the wool of his clothes. She also felt safer in the shelter of his arms, and she found that her new senses were just as amazing as they were when she was far away from him.

She hushed, "Please believe me. I know you're furious at Dominic, but try to see things from my perspective."
Don't be too quick to judge him. I get the impression that there is more to him than meets the eye. And I want his assistance in locating the Other Power, and that is the only thing I desire from him."

Elizabeth didn't want anything to do with the hunter's life tonight; the darkness had no allure for her. She hoped she could be at home sitting in front of a fire instead. At that that moment, it was entirely true. Elizabeth didn't want to have anything to do with the hunter's life tonight.

But it was nice to simply be held like this, even if she and Katherine had to sit in the snow to be able to do it. Katherine's breath was warm as he kissed the back of her neck, and she detected no additional retreat in Katherine's body.

No hunger, either, or at least not the kind she was used to sensing when they were this close to one another. Now that she was a hunter like he was, the need was different, a need for togetherness rather than a need for sustenance. It didn't matter. They had lost something, but they had also gained something. She understood Katherine in a way she never had before. She had gained an understanding of Katherine that she had never had before.
before. And her understanding brought them closer, until their minds were touching, almost meshing with each other's. It wasn't the noisy chatter of mental voices; rather, it was a profound and wordless communion. It was almost as if their spirits were joined together.

When the thought of tomorrow made you sick, it was difficult to make a commitment because you didn't want to drag someone else down with you. "I love you," Katherine said against her neck, and she held on tighter. She understood now why he'd been afraid to say it for so long. When the thought of tomorrow scared you sick, it was difficult to make a commitment.

Especially someone you cared about. "I love you, too," she forced herself to say before sitting back down, her calm mood shattered. "And would you try to give Dominic a chance, for my sake?" she said. Do you want to collaborate with him? "


I will cooperate with him, but I won't put my faith in him. I can't. I'll cooperate with him, but I won't put my faith in him since I know him too well. I can't. I am much too familiar with him."
Katherine's mouth quirked as she said, "I followed Mrs. Flowers today," and she continued, "all day and evening." Do you know what she ended up doing? "

"What?

"

"Three loads of laundry in a rusty machine that seemed like it was going to blow up at any moment." There was just a wringer and not a dryer for the clothing. Everything is located in the basement. After that, she walked outside and put food in perhaps twenty-five bird feeders. After that, I went back down to the basement to clean the preserves jars. The majority of her time is spent in that location.
She had a conversation with herself.

Elizabeth said that Merit was acting "just like a dotty old woman" before adding, "All right; maybe Merit's incorrect and that's all she is." She saw a shift in his facial expression when she mentioned Merit and asked, "What?

"

"Well, it seems like Merit will have to do some explaining herself. I didn't question her about it since I believed that hearing it from you would be more appropriate. But after school today, she went to have a conversation with Alaric Saltzman. And she was really adamant that no one should find out where she was going.

Unease began to unwind itself into Elizabeth's core. "So what?

"

After the event, therefore, she lied about it or, at the very least, she sidestepped the matter. I attempted to probe her mind, but my powers are almost completely depleted at this point. And she has a lot of determination."

You had no right to do that! Please pay attention, Katherine. Merit would never intentionally injure us or breach our trust in any way. Whatever it is that she is concealing from us-"

"So you're admitting that she's keeping something from us, is that it?"

Elizabeth said with reluctance, "Yes," but she added, "But it's nothing that will affect us, I'm sure." Elizabeth didn't realize it, but the phrase got away from her as she was thinking about another buddy, one who'd been with her since kindergarten. Merit had been her friend ever since they were in the first grade.