while.? She held up the plane ticket she had taken from the front
pocket of his suitcase and waved it a
t him before he could bolt out
of the room. He stopped dead, realizing that he had been caught.
?What I don?t approve of is your choice of destination. What do you
think you?re going to accomplish by going there? Your father forbade
the Hundred to go anywhere near Nantucket.?
He took a breath to calm himself down. It didn?t work. ?It?s their
fault we don?t have what is rightfully ours, it has to be, because all
the other Houses are gone! I have to know how they can live with
themselves when they?ve sentenced the rest of their family to inevitable
death. Immortality is my birthright, and regardless of what
my father allows or forbids, I will not sit back while they deny me
that!?
Creon shouldered his carry-on, wheedled the ticket out of his
mother?s reluctant hands, and moved past her. He hurried down
the ancient stone steps at the back of the citadel, his heart still
pumping with excitement.
Outside, there was a nondescript black sedan waiting. His mother?s
driver was behind the wheel, ready to take him to the airport.
Creon realized that Mildred had known all along that he would kill
that girl. She had probably known he would do it the moment she
arranged for Creon to meet her.
?Son?? she called out to him from under the arched gate. ?Did
you kill her just to have a reason to leave??
He turned and faced her, forcing patience. ?Did you send me
there to kill her??
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His mother smiled at him, but her eyes were far away and out of
focus?thinking many thoughts at once. She walked toward him