Free Perfectly Reflected by S. C. Ransom Page A

… you’ll be dead.” The pain was etched across his face.
    “I know. That’s why I called for you. I knew that you wouldn’t let that happen.” I squeezed his hand and gave him as much of a smile as I could muster.
    “The trouble is, what if I don’t get there in time? I could try and copy everything like before, but how would we get the amulet back to you so I could download it all again? I mean, seriously, this is bad news.” He was shaking his head as he considered the floor.
    I didn’t know what to say, what to do, to comfort him, so I opted for being generally upbeat. “Well, at least I now know what he might do. It’s only noise; he can’t actually hurt me. If he tries again I’ll just ignore it until you can get there.”
    “And what if you’re driving? Or crossing a road? He could get you killed that way too!”
    “Well, that would be pointless, wouldn’t it? If he got me killed he could hardly steal my memories, could he? Calm down, Callum, I’m sure it will be OK.”
    “Matthew doesn’t think so.”
    That stopped me in my tracks. Callum thought the world of Matthew, the Dirges’ leader. “Oh, I see. So what does he reckon?”
    “He thinks that we need to leave the cathedral now, and think very carefully about whether or not I bring you back. We hadn’t realised quite how … unpleasant some of our companions could be when they know you’re around.”
    He raised his head and his stunning blue eyes held mine. “I will look after you, I promise. No one from here is going to hurt you while I’m around to stop it.” His voice was low, urgent, and I couldn’t doubt that he meant every word. “I think, though, that we ought to do as he says, and leave now.”
    I felt disappointment mingle with fear; I had been really looking forward to another opportunity to hold Callum, to touch him and kiss him. I bit back a sigh. His face was strained, the jaw muscles tight, his body still held tense and ready to fight, but he was slightly transparent, and touching him was like touchingcandyfloss. I realised just how much I wanted to be able to stroke his arm properly, kiss the hollow of his neck, pull his head down towards mine … I shook myself to concentrate on the problem in hand. If someone killed me first I’d never be able to work out how to get Callum into my dimension.
    “OK, you’re the boss,” I agreed reluctantly, with a last forlorn glance back at the stairs up to the top. I tried to keep it light-hearted, but I could tell he was still tense. “I guess we should start heading back then. You can protect me while I’m walking to Waterloo station, and I can’t get into too much trouble when I’m actually on the train.”
    Callum nodded glumly, obviously still lost in his thoughts about Lucas. “I suppose not,” he said eventually. “I need to talk to Matthew but I daren’t leave you alone, not in here. I’ll wait till you’re safely on the train.”
    I glanced around the galleries as we made our way down to see if any of the other Dirges were still about, but no one was in sight. Matthew must have been keeping them away, I assumed. I wondered how you threatened someone whose existence was already appalling, who didn’t need to eat or drink, who was already trapped for an eternity. What punishment would stop Lucas attacking me again? I shivered as I remembered his face, so full of hate. Callum was right; it was time to go.
    We started the long walk back to the station. I had a little pocket map of the area so could see exactly where we needed to go. We walked in silence for a bit, Callum lost in thought again.
    “Come on,” I said eventually. “Talk to me, Callum.”
    He grunted non-committally. As we were walking I couldn’t see the expression on his face, but I could imagine it only too well. I tried again.
    “Tell me what you are thinking. What are we going to do?”
    “You’ve got to stay away from every other Dirge. I’ll have to make sure that none of them follow you