Read Online Into the Ether by Vanessa Barger - Free Book Online Page A

brief flash of his hands, one bloody, touching the paper as a pencil scratched across the surface. The ghost of his feelings of panic and sadness lingered.
    Gennie,
    I didn’t have time to leave you a message in the alley. Stay at the museum. Justin and Spiros’ boss, Lord Kreios , cannot be trusted. What you do about the box I leave up to you, but I don’t think you’ll be safe, whether you have it or not. I made a mistake. Spiros found out, and now I have to run. If I’m lucky, I’ll find you later.
    If I’m not, then you should know that my feelings for you go beyond a friend and the confines of this paper.
    Terry
    The end of the letter grew blurry through my tears. I pressed the paper to my chest and covered my eyes with one hand. Air seemed hard to come by. Colonel Worthington ’s hand landed on my shoulder.
    â€œGenevieve, I ’ m sorry.”
    â€œPhillip, do you know where he was headed?”
    The large man looked like he wanted to cry with me. He shook his head. “He only stayed long enough to write the note and ask me to get it to you.”
    Tears spilled over, despite my attempts to keep them inside. “Thank you, Phillip. I would have worried even more if you hadn’t gotten this to me.”
    He nodded once then slipped out the door. I couldn’t blame him. If I could have escaped so easily, I would have. But no matter where I went, I knew the hole forming in my heart would not be left behind . Terry had been my friend, and I didn’t want to think about what else he might have been. That hurt worse .
    Thomason appeared in the doorway, holding something in his hands. His head followed Phillip’s retreat and then he looked at me. The image wavered in my tears. Colonel Worthington approached a nd said something to him . The automaton studied me for a few moments, put its package on the table near the door, and then left, pulling the door shut behind him.
    â€œI know it isn’t any comfort right now, but at least he had a chance to get away from this Lord Kreios.” He patted my shoulder and huffed.
    I buried my face in his waistcoat and squeezed. Only later would I question the amount of venom in his words when he said Lord Kreios’ name. I wanted to ask how he knew of him, how he knew any of this, but I couldn’t focus on anything other than Terry’s words. He started to say something else, but I pushed away and rose, swiping at my face with one hand.
    â€œI need to wander for a while. I’ll be back later.”
    â€œYou will come back ?”
    I nodded and headed to the door. I reached for the knob, when my gaze fell on the package Thomason had brought in. Terry’s hat lay crumpled on the table. My fingers curled around the material, and the sobs that had been building in my chest let loose when my fingers came in contact with something cool and wet. I lifted the hat and a small red stain marred the fabric along one edge.
    Colonel Worthington called out something, but I was already heading out into the galleries. Pain warred with anger in a battle that made my chest ache with the effort to both suck in air and withhold my own irrational urge to scream.
    The marble echoed my steps, but it was the only noise. Even the artifacts had gone silent. I rounded a corner, my hands still clutching the hat and the letter to my chest, when I saw Thomason’s eyes in the darkness in front of me. The hole in my chest opened further and something deeper snapped.
    â€œYou metal monster.” I ran, skidding to a stop next to Thomason. He stood, staring blankly at a large Egyptian statue of a pharaoh. At my words, he turned. H is head cocked to one side and he studied me.
    â€œYou had his hat. What did you have to do with him? Where is he? ” My voice echoed around us. Where silence had reigned before, I could now hear whispers around me like a thousand snakes crawling through the night air. Tears leaked from the corners of my