Free Conduit by Maria Rachel Hooley Page B

would’ve fallen into this kind of danger.”
      Evan’s shoulders sank.  “Perhaps
not, but that’s neither here nor there.  But for now, at least, you’ll have to
learn how to help in this form because that’s all you can do.”
    “You have to help me change that!”
    “I told you I’ll try,” Evan replied. 
“But you acting like this isn’t helping.  It’s not going to get her back, so
stop.”
    Lev opened his mouth to argue, but
then there was a voice. Her voice.
    Elizabeth.
     “Lev?”  It came as a whisper in his
mind.
    “Where are you?”  He paced,
frantically searching for where the voice came from.
    “Lev?”  Evan regarded him as though
he’d heard nothing, which of course he hadn’t. How could he have?
    “Help me.”  Her voice wavered in fear
and pain.  “There’s no one else.”
    “Tell me where you are, where I can
find you!”  He was desperate and enraged, his motions, like his voice, frenetic
and uneven.
    “What’s gotten into you?” Evan
demanded, trying to follow Lev’s gaze.
    “She’s here!” Lev tried to find her
again.
    “No, she’s not.”  Evan stepped into
his path.  “What you’re hearing isn’t real.”
    “You’re wrong.  I can hear her like
she’s right next to me.” 
    Lev pushed past and tried to listen,
dying to hear her voice again, to gain some clue to her whereabouts.
    “Can you hear me?” Lev yelled loudly.
    “Lev!” she called.  “Lev, save me!”
    He spun on his heel, desperate.  Her
voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once now.  “Tell me how to find
you!” 
    Yet she never answered him.  Her
voice died away, and he kept spinning, waiting until the dizziness overcame him
and he fell.  He was breathing hard and fast, struggling to get his bearings
even as he kept trying to hear her voice.
    “Lev, listen to me,” Evan said softly.
    “No.”
    Evan took a deep breath.  “I don’t
know why you’re hearing Elizabeth’s voice.  Perhaps it’s the one supernatural
link left between the two of you, but regardless of what you hear, you can’t
find her like that.  I’m willing to bet she doesn’t even know where she is.”
    “Right.” Lev hissed.  “It’s not like
you give a crap about her or you’d help me get my wings back.”
    “Don’t you think I’m trying,” Evan
replied.  “I’m do what I can to help you.  In return, you need to stop reacting
like this.  Stop before someone gets hurt.”
    Lev’s shoulders sank.  “Would you
stop if it were all you had left?  I have no power, and I don’t know what I’m
doing.  Until there is something more, I can’t make any promises.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
    The late afternoon sunlight spilled
down around Lev and Elizabeth as they ambled along the path toward the lake.  White
birds circled overhead, now and again dipping low and skimming across the
water’s surface to swim.   
    “It’s a perfect day,” Lev said,
smiling, his arm draped around her. 
    She looked up at him.  “And what
makes it so perfect?”
    “You.  Any day with you is perfect.”
    She smiled and tucked her head just
beneath his chin, one hand resting at his abdomen, her fingers lightly curling
into his t-shirt.  She inhaled softly, a contented smile playing at her lips.
    “I love you too, Lev,” she said. 
“I’ve always loved you.”
    His arm tightened around her as they
stepped toward a spot along the shore where the reeds and cattails stood parted,
allowing them passage all the way to the water’s edge, where they lingered and
watched the sun steal from the sky, setting the lake afire.
    “You know, I must have seen a million
sunsets before we met, and none of them ever touched me until I fell in love
with you.  You made all the difference in me.  You alone,” he whispered.
    He nudged her gently forward so he
could turn her to face him, and their eyes met, alive with the warmth of the
present and the possibilities of