Page 116 of Strange Familiars
He pauses, because another deep rumble rolls through us, shaking the ground. When it finishes, he speaks to Danny but keeps his eyes locked on me. “Danny, take Gwendolynne out. Please.”
It finally clicks in my brain—what he’s saying. My fingers bunch in Harrisford’s shirt. “No.” I tighten my grip on him.
Danny, who’s lingering near the portal, uncertain, speaks up. “Come on, Gwen, we need to go—”
“Yougo!” I’m screaming at Danny, but all I can see, all I can focus on, is Harrisford.
Something detaches from the ceiling and crashes to the ground, narrowly missing our heads. Harrisford lets go of my face and throws his arms around me, shielding me—just as he once shielded me from the flaming qílín.
When I blink my eyes open again, we’re covered in dust. My head is still tucked beneath Harrisford’s chin, his hand pressing the back of my head.
When he speaks, it’s in a voice of deadly calm that rumbles right through his chest. “Wong. Go on. Get out of here.”
Danny edges toward the opening. He already has one leg out. Yet still, he hesitates. “You sure?”
“Yes. But, if you can…hold the portal, will you?” Harrisford’s arms tighten around me. “I’ve just got to say goodbye to my girl.”
48
Harrisford
Danny stares at me for a second as we conduct a silent communion. Then he gives us a quick salute and scrambles out of the shrinking hole.
A cracking sound explodes around us, like thunder, and the ground tremors even harder. My head spins; the sedation is wearing off, and lucidity is taking over, but the movement still brings on a disorienting sort of dizziness.
“Thisisn’tgoodbye.” Gwendolynne looks up at me, her eyes hard, her jaw set. “I’m not leaving you.”
I tighten my hold on her. “Don’t sacrifice yourself for me. I—”
“It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a choice.” She balls her fists in my shirt even tighter, her expression so full of grim determination that I almost fold, right then and there.
But I can’t. I cannot renege on my swiftly sketched plan.
“Listen to me.” My words grind out, painful as a serrated knife. “You have to, because—” Another rumble reverberates through the cavern, sending showers of debris tumbling around us.
When the air clears, I try again. “Because you’re better off out there, figuring out how to stop me from causing the explosions—”
She twists out of my arms, takes a brisk step back, and stares atme, her entire expression one of disbelief. “What? Stopyou? Explosions?” There’s another crash, and a bit of the roof detaches, shattering when it hits the ground. Our heads whip around, our attention caught by the sound.
Only for a sliver of a second, though. I don’t want to waste these precious seconds looking at some fucking rocks. I snap my gaze back on her and take a deep breath.
There’s no time for me to explain properly, but I need her to believe me. To understand. “Yes, me. I’m the cause of the explosions.”
“You?” She shakes her head, so vigorously. “That’s…not true.”
“It is.” My voice almost falters, but I hold steady. “There’s no time to explain. The MLO opening too many portals was causing the surges, but it was my Source that was blowing things up. It was implanted too long ago, Gwendolynne. It’s just…too strong.”
“It’s not.” She’s forcing the words out, her body so tightly wound it’s a wonder she hasn’t imploded. “You said the explosions were happening places yourdadwent—”
“I was wrong. They were placesIwent. My father’s been dragging me around to all his events lately. For ‘networking.’ ”
She stares at me, aghast. When she raises her hands to her temples, I can see that they are trembling. “No.No.”
There’s another bang, and we reach for each other, clinging together as the world tilts sideways. The air is silty, full of vaporized rock.
“This is for the best.” The grumbling has escalated to a roar, and I now have to shout to cut through the noise. I pull her to me, crushing her in the tightest embrace, so that my next words are muffled against her hair. “I can’t continue hurting people. I can’t continue hurtingyou.”
And it’s this that seems to hit her, makes her start trembling. I clutch her head to my chest, my hand on her upper back, trying toquell her shivering. Trying to channel enough calm for the both of us.
