Body of Stars Laura Walter (chrome ebook reader .txt) 📖

said. “To protect you. I’m so sorry, Celeste. I don’t know another way.”

His hand inched closer to my left side, those fateful markings on my ribs. I twisted violently. Miles held on tighter, but I was still strong.

As we struggled, silhouettes flitted past the alley, then doubled back and approached. I looked up to see two men. They were holding hands.

“What’s going on over here?” one of the men asked.

Miles was still pressed against me. The heat of his right palm rested directly on the markings that spelled out his own fate. I held my breath. He hadn’t had time to look at that area; it was only his hand flat against my skin. He didn’t know.

“Let her go,” the man said. He came closer.

Miles released me and took a step back. Shaking, I smoothed my shirt down. When I looked to my brother again, I saw a new expression on his face, something I had never seen before: pure, unmasked fear.

“Who taught you to treat girls like that?” the other man said.

I couldn’t understand why Miles looked so distressed. These men were normal-looking, innocuous, and anyone could see they were no threat to girls. I had been far more afraid in Chloe’s presence than in theirs.

“You okay, miss?” the first man asked. He had dirty-blond hair and a close beard that made him look bookish and gentle. I nodded.

“Good,” the other said. He was taller, with darker skin, and when he smiled, I thought he might have been the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He held out a hand to me. “Let’s get you out of here. This is no place for a changeling.”

Without thinking, I stepped forward and took his hand. The blond man appeared on my other side and put a hand on my back.

“Don’t touch her,” Miles said.

I twisted back to face my brother. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.” I paused, choking for air. “You make me sick.”

“You’ll be all right,” the bearded man whispered. Gently, and so softly I could barely feel it, he began rubbing my back. “You deserve to be taken care of.”

“I said don’t touch her,” Miles repeated. He rushed to keep up with us, trying to pry the men off me. They barely broke stride when they pushed him back. No matter what angle Miles tried, I turned my face from him.

“We’ll make sure you’re safe,” the second man told me. His voice was smooth and seductive. I thought about Owen and felt the soft press of need. I squeezed this man’s hand and he squeezed back.

“Celeste,” Miles said. “Celeste, listen to me. I think these men might work for Chloe. You can’t go with them. You have to fight back.”

I heard my brother’s words, but they sounded far away, like he was on a boat receding into the sea.

“Celeste,” he said again. Then he gave up on my name and started to scream. He screamed, “Help,” and I marveled at the strength in his voice. I held on to that single word until it, too, started to slide away, until the bearded man disappeared from my side. Somewhere in the far-off distance I heard a scuffle, and after that the screaming stopped. The man returned and grabbed hold of my arm again.

“Let’s go,” he said to his partner.

My feet felt heavier with every step. The men gripped me, holding me up. At one point I tried to turn to look for my brother, but I saw only a vast alleyway, empty.

After what felt like a long time, we stopped walking. The man in the brown jacket let go of my arm and knelt to unlock a pair of storm cellar doors. Distant alarms sounded somewhere in my mind, telling me to run. I jerked my shoulder and tried to take off, but the bearded man wrapped his arms around me. He held me still and sighed against my neck, but there was no desire in it, just weariness. When the storm cellar doors creaked open, he gently pushed me forward.

“I’m scared,” I said.

The blond bearded man patted my arm. “You’re here now,” he said, “and you’ll be all right in the end.”

He stepped into the dark and waited for me to follow him. The other man stood just behind me, his body a solid wall blocking my way out.

I stumbled and hesitated, but when it came down to it, I did not claw or scream or cry. I was caught, the game already over. And so I stepped down into the stale black air. It was so dark I felt bodiless, floating through space.

I took a tentative step deeper into the black, then another. Again and again I pressed forward until I was consumed. Until I was lost.

III Awake

Strategies for Reintegration: A 7-Stage Guide for Recovery and Rehabilitation

Stage 1: Acknowledging Your New Future. On behalf of the Office of the Future and the staff of this federally accredited medical institution, we welcome you to the reintegration program designed to address the aftermath of your trauma event. In the days to come, hospital staff will assist you in your recovery journey and ensure all your physical and emotional needs are met.

Your first step is to recognize your new reality. Please note that acknowledging this reality is not the same as overcoming it. In this initial stage, your priority is simple: to survive.

14

I woke in pain, on my side, on a mattress that was both narrow and cheap. A coil pressed into my hip. Once I forced my eyes open, I found myself staring at a wall the deep gray of wet pavement. The trim running along the floor and around the doorway was blood red.

“Celeste?”

I rolled onto my back and turned, blearily, toward the sound of my mother’s voice. She took my hand.

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” she said.

I blinked away from her, focusing my gaze upward. The ceiling was also painted gray, just a few shades lighter