Free Wake of Darkness by Meg Winkler Page B

didn't completely trust her,
but she figured it was worth a shot. She closed her eyes and thought about the
hallway. Almost an instant later, she felt a sudden breeze hit her face.
     
    “Whoa!” she exclaimed.
     
    Laney reached out to grab Sophie as
she took a step backwards in shock.
     
    “You okay?” Laney asked.
     
    “Uh…” Sophie began, “yeah, I’m
okay.” She giggled to herself. She was more than okay; she was elated.
     
    Excellent job, thought Dante,
now that they were all in sync with one another.
     
    Way to go, Sophie! Jim
thought from somewhere else in the house.
     
    “Is that how Alexander got me here
so fast yesterday?” She asked Laney.
     
    “Yeah. Pretty cool, huh? Now, try
it again, but try to go downstairs this time,” Laney said.
     
    The only room she’d seen downstairs
was the front room.
     
    Okay, here goes nothing ,she
thought to herself.
     
    Laney nodded in encouragement.
     
    Sophie drew in a breath, trying not
to worry that everyone would be watching or listening for her next move. Closing
her eyes, she saw the front room in her mind's eye. She felt the air move out
of her way, but she was prepared for it the second time.
     
    What she wasn't prepared for was
what happened next. She opened her eyes with a gasp and stumbled backwards from
Alexander. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. She
tripped over the rug behind her in her haste. Without thinking, he reached out
and caught her hand before she could fall back into the glass table. He pulled her
into his arms in an effort to steady her.
     
    Her sharp ears heard the steady
beats of his heart in his chest, obviously unaffected by the encounter. Sophie,
on the other hand, had to hold her breath to keep it from escaping her lungs
too quickly.
     
    Out of the corner of her eye, she
caught Catherina shoot a sideways glance at Dante. She’d missed the silent communication,
but Alexander hadn’t. He frowned and roughly dropped his arms from Sophie and
marched into the dining room, leaving her behind, stunned. She let out a shaky
breath and hugged her arms around her chest, rubbing them where he’d held her.
She turned around, and her eyes widened in shock. He had kept her from crashing
into the glass table behind where she stood.
     
    “That was awesome!” Jim yelled from
the top of the staircase, snapping her attention back to the moment.  
     
    Sophie could feel a smile spread
slowly across her face as she looked up at him. “Thanks, Jim.”
     
    Zoey was there instantly and laid
her arm across Sophie’s shoulders. “You’re doing very well,” she said.
     
    Sophie remembered what Jim had said
about the redhead – she wasn’t very talkative, but what she did say meant
something more. Sophie smiled to herself; she didn’t think Zoey would have said
anything complimentary just to be nice.
     
    You’re right, Zoey answered
her silently.
     
    Sophie nodded gratefully.
     
    “Come on,” Zoey said aloud and
walked with Sophie into the dining room.
     
    Catherina smiled vaguely at Sophie
as the pair walked into the vastly windowed dining room. Laney and Jim were
already there; it would take her a while before she was comfortable traveling
in any other way than her slow, human method of transportation.
     
    Catherina took her place at the
head of the table with Dante on her right and Laney to her left. Alexander sat
at the foot of the table. The chairs to his left and right remained empty. From
the opposite ends of the table, the two exchanged a cold look but didn’t say
anything to each other.  
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
    The room was hauntingly quiet and
Sophie was alone. A library in and of itself was nothing unfamiliar to her, but
she sat silently in this one for the first time, playing absentmindedly with
the silver cross that hung around her neck. Zoey had brought it to her soon
after her arrival, but it had been unclear who the gift may have been