Page 244 of Jagged Souls
I stop even trying to breathe.
I’m giving in. Letting it kill me as I’m sure it will. No heart can withstand beating this fast.
But Maddox is insistent, and just to get the little shit to shut up, I crawl to him along a curved surface, the bottom of Stormie’s bubble. I can see a bit more here, a few flickers of light as the smoke weaves and spins around me.
“You see it?”
I catch sight of a calloused hand pressed up against the pink.
“Can you see it tapping?”
There’s a feeling of movement, but I can’t quite see, so I push the smoke aside with my magic. Just enough for his hand to be clear. It taps against the bubble.
“How many fingers do you see?”
I instantly think five, only to be caught off guard when I count them.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Six.
That’s not right.
Why is my brother so fucking weird?
That thought jars me. My thoughts.
A bit more of the smoke clears.
“Can you hear what it’s saying?” he says.
Most people might think hands don’t speak, but I learned sign language just so I could teach Rudy. I know all the words they can say, the laughter and joy and happiness they can shout from the rooftops.
My heart beat skitters to a stop as I hear it.
He’s saying my name in the tap Rudy used to give at my door.
“Varius!” Rudy calls for me on my wedding night just as I am about to make love to my wife. I yank open the door to our room in annoyance as Micha locks herself in the ensuite and moans louder than she usually does, making sure I can hear her. I want to throttle him.
I don’t. I don’t. I just want him back.
“You can’t just marry me off! Maddox said you were marrying me off? To Lou! I demand an explanation. Post haste! Look how much you’re making me panic!I’m talking like an idiot! I –”
“You knew you would have to marry one day,” I cut in.
“But she doesn’t even know sign language!”
“You have six years before you wed. She can learn in that time.”
