The Gathering (Darkness Rising 1)

"So it's coming." I tried not to shiver. "How much longer?"

"A couple of weeks with Annie." He paused. "We need to talk about all that but ... later. Let's just ..." He looked out at the forest, then at me. "Let's just go for now. Run. Work it off. It'll help you sleep."

He backed into the forest, and his eyes shone like amber.

"Come on," he whispered. "I know you're still mad at me, but I won't try anything. Just forget that for now and come on."

Forget that for now and come on.

God, how I wanted to. I wanted to forget everything he'd done. Just go with him, be with him, run with him, and let it be the way it was before, the way it was in my dreams. I looked at him, half hidden in the shadows, watching me, waiting for me, and I wanted it so badly tears prickled my eyes and I blinked hard.

"Maya?" He stepped back into the clearing.

"I can't. I just"--I sucked in cool night air--"can't."

He exhaled, a loud sigh that made Kenj

ii slip over and nudge his hand.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked.

I shook my head.

Kenjii returned to my side and whined. At a chirp from overhead, I looked up to see Fitz watching from a tree branch.

"You've got this whole power-over-animals thing down a lot better than me," Rafe said, trying for a smile. "They like me well enough, but that's about it. And the healing part, too. You--"

"You don't have to make nice, Rafe. I know you want my help finding the people who did this to us. But I need those answers, too. I'm not stupid--"

"God forbid," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just agreeing. You're not stupid." He sat on a tree stump. "You think you could have handled this better, don't you?"

"What?"

"You understand why I needed to find you, but you disagree with the way I did it."

"Uh, yeah. Hitting on girls you don't care about, pretending to be someone you're not, pretending you like them ... Sure, guys take that road all the time, hoping for a shortcut to sex. But that doesn't mean it's okay."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Are you saying I'm no better than guys who--"

"You think it's okay to hurt people to get what you want, just like they do. Yes, I think you could have found another way to do it. I just don't think you wanted to bother."

"Or maybe I didn't have the brains."

"I never said--"

"You would have thought up a better way."

"I'm not going to fight with you about this." I turned to go. "You think you did the right thing. I think you didn't. No amount of arguing is going to change that."

"Hayley's right," he said. "You don't give an inch to anyone."

"What?"

"You heard me."