Page 184 of Wicked Angel
“I think so.”
“How did you hurt her?”
“I didn’t let her into the fortress.”
Rory held my gaze for a moment, then looked away, into the thickets of plants that surrounded us, like he was picturing something else. The fortress, maybe.
I wondered if, after all these years, it was as vivid for him as it was for me.
“What do you think is outside the fortress, Johnny? Beyond that moat?”
“I don’t know how to answer that.”
He sat back in his chair and studied me. “Can you picture it? The wall of the fortress, from the inside, right now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hear things, beyond the wall? Sense things?”
I shook my head, battling the uneven feeling. “My friends are there. Sometimes. Sometimes I hear their voices. Sometimes they speak to me from outside.”
“Do they try to come in?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because they don’t know the fortress is there.”
“Why?”
“Because… I think it’s invisible to them. Because I hide it from them.”
“But they see you.”
“They see… what they think is me.”
“Did she see you? The woman who came and tried to get in?”
“She saw a version of me. But she didn’t try to get in.”
“You said a moment ago that she left because she couldn’t get inside.”
“The fortress was invisible to her, too. She just knew something was in the way.”
He looked… intrigued or something. I wasn’t sure why. As usual, he was probably way the hell ahead of me. More so, since I was so fucking hungover. “This is excellent, Johnny. It might not seem like it to you, but these are important details. You’ve never mentioned this woman before.”
“You never asked.”
Rory smiled slightly, maybe amused. “Ah. Yes. I try to ask the right questions. After so many years, I’m still learning what they are.” Curiosity honed his features again. “Is she a real person?”
I rubbed my jaw uncomfortably. “Yes.”
“Talking about it makes you uncomfortable?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t asked you who she is.”
