Page 23 of As Darkness Fall
“Of course,” Vir said, glad for the subject change. “Of course, there is the Idol of Amunlea. That is likely the most famous. It was a gold statue of Amunlea, herself.”
I choked, the cough suddenly becoming real. “The Idol of Amunlea. Yes.”
“You’ve heard of it?” Vir asked excitedly.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve read about it,” I said, desperately trying not to look at Aaron.
It was probably for the best that Vir didn’t know what I’d done with the statue.
Chapter Twelve
Iwas avoiding everything.
We’d spent a full day in Vir’s temple paradise, as I was beginning to call it, and while I was feeling more rested and recharged than I had since before my Soulshift so many months earlier, I was still not ready to face the world. I didn’t want to make the next big decision, nor that the ones following it.
Apparently, I was the one in charge, however, and that meant everyone kept looking to me to make the decisions. So as long as I refused to, we could stay here, doing nothing. Which sounded way better than the decision facing me or the reality that, somewhere out there, Lars was walking around with the freaking Blade of Death.
I tried not to think of that.
Which meant I did nothing but obsess over my next decision. The one that had to be made before we left the temple and started heading back–the specific departure time of which wasalsomy decision.
If you ever need to decide that you don’t like being the one in charge of everything, having another person’s life in your hands is a surefire way to go about it. I hated it.
Being in charge of myself was one thing. I could handle that. In fact, Iwantedit. That’s why I was so eager to find a way to sever my latest Soulbond. I wanted to be the only one who made decisions about myself. But not anyone, or anything, else.
“We should leave him.”
I started, pulling my gaze away from the form lying on the floor in front of me. The form about which I had to make a decision.
Johnathan.
Or what was left of him, at least. Vir’s energy had seemed to patch him up somewhat, and most of the charring on his side had faded away thanks to our prolonged stay in the temple, but his mind hadn’t returned. He stared blankly into space when he was awake. At night, he slept, though he had night terrors, screaming and crying out to the point that Vir had created a magical wall to block the sound.
But we could still see him. Anyone awake late enough would often see Johnathan thrashing in his sleep, his mouth moving. It was scarier without the sound to go with it.
Something was very, very wrong with Johnathan, and I knew he wouldn’t make it much longer. He wasn’t eating or drinking. If we tried to take him with us, it would only slow us down. Plus, he was an asshole who tried to murder me. I shouldn’t feel any requirement to help him.
So, why am I considering ordering Aaron to have his men bring Johnathan with us?
Part of me agreed that we should just leave him. It wasn’t even a small part of me. Ihatedhim with every ounce of hatred I possessed. There were times I found myself wishing that he’d just died when I’d hit him with the purple energy. That would have made everything so much easier.
Because you’re a coward. You just want to avoid having to decide on whether to leave him or bring him along.
“Damn straight I am,” I muttered to myself, ignoring Aaron’s questioning grunt.
Yet, despite all that, despite my hatred and the further irritation I knew was to come, I’d already made the decision. I was simply stalling on telling the others.
“We’re taking him with us,” I said at last.
Aaron growled but didn’t protest more than that. “Taking himwhere?”
I prepared myself, well aware thatthispart would garner me the most protest.
“Home,” I said quietly. “We’re going to take him home.”
“What?” Aaron snapped. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” I said, whirling on him sharply, my wolf surging to the surface for the first time in days, angry at being challenged. “His father won’t care for him, but he has other family. Maybe he can recover. You don’t like it? You shouldn’t have put me in charge.”
