Everwild (Skinjacker 2)

"To the Governess of the East, and soon to be West," suggested Milos. "The beautiful catcher of lost souls."

Mary's thoughts seemed to darken when he said it, but she clinked glasses anyway. She took a sip, put her glass down, and strode away from him.

"Is something wrong?"

She paused, looking out of the window. "Saving the children of the world is not always an easy thing," she said. "But the end does justify the means, wouldn't you agree?"

"Sometimes, yes." Milos cautiously moved closer to her.

She still looked out of the window, a convenient way to avoid his gaze. "There's much work to do, but before we begin, there's something you need to know, and something I need to find out."

Then she offered him a confession.

"As much as I despise stepping out into the course of living events, there are times it must be done," she told him. "There is an appliance store not too far from here. In it are many of those television machines, and they often display the news of the day." She began to rub her arms as if she was cold. "I was there, in search of something in particular, and I found it. There was a report of a dreadful car accident-- a terrible thing. Witnesses claimed that the driver actually swerved to hit pedestrians, but the driver claims to have no memory of it whatsoever. Imagine that."

Milos took a nervous sip of his champagne. "Strange things do happen in the living world."

"Yes, they do," agreed Mary. "But I don't think it was an accident at all. And I don't think the driver was himself that day."

Milos withheld his opinion. "And ... were any lives lost?"

"What a curious expression. How can a life be lost when you know exactly where it is?" Mary said. "Two children did leave the world of the living, if that's what you mean. The news was kind enough to show their photographs, but I had already seen their faces. Jill had brought them both into the incubator earlier that day. Of course they were asleep, but I still recognized them."

Finally she turned to him. "You knew, didn't you? Don't lie to me, Milos."

"I am truly sorry," was all Milos dared to say.

"Sorry that I found out, or sorry you didn't tell me that Jill's amulet was fake?"

He looked at the bubbles in his champagne, feeling all his hope begin to extinguish. Milos had no idea what Mary would do now. Would she throw him out? Would she have both him and Jill hurled off the pier to join Pugsy? Directness and honesty, thought Milos. That's what Mary respects. And so rather than wasting his breath trying to spin things to his favor, he simply told her the truth.

"I was afraid to tell you. I thought you might blame all skinjackers for what Jill was doing. I feared that you might send us away. That you might send me away. But I'm not like Jill... ."

And instead of throwing him out, Mary tapped her champagne glass very gently to his and said, "Do you really think I am so shortsighted as to let you go, Milos?" He didn't think he was supposed to answer, so he didn't. "It does change things, though," she said. "Since we don't have to wait for accidents, I can increase Jill's quota."

"Increase ... Jill's quota?" Milos was stunned.

"The more opportunities we have to save innocent children from the living world, the better, don't you agree?"

As Mary's words tumbled through Milos's mind, he knew there were two sides to which they could fall. The side of terror, or the side of wonder. He also instinctively knew that the choice he made now would define his entire afterlife--it was, in fact, the very focal point of his existence. Milos had always considered himself a good person at heart. Admittedly, he leaned toward serving his own best interests, but in an enlightened way--always in a way that helped others even as it helped himself.

"Milos, are you all right? Did you hear me?"

Terror or wonder? To which side would it fall? He still wasn't sure, yet he forced a smile, and took a step closer. "You never cease to amaze me," he said, which was true.

"I understand that skinjackers can't skinjack forever," Mary said, "and that Jill has been skinjacking much longer than you."

"Jill has been in Everlost for more than twenty years, I have been here for four," he told her. "I do not think she will be able to skinjack for much longer."

She looked at him a bit differently than before, as if she were searching his eyes, and Milos held the gaze, hoping she would find whatever she was looking for. "I know you're not like Jill," she said, "but there may come a time that I will need you to do what she does... ." They were standing close now. Close enough to be deep within each other's afterglow.

"If I asked you to, Milos, would you do it for me?"

He knew the question was coming, but he didn't want to believe she would ask it. There was no more hiding behind a gentle gaze and inscrutable eyes. He needed to make a choice. What Mary called "saving innocent children," would be called something very different in the living world. It would be called murder. Would he do that for Mary? Should he? His own words came back to him. "You should never be afraid to tell anyone 'no'," he had once told Allie--but if he said no to Mary, he would lose everything. He would lose her. Losing Mary was not an option for Milos, and once he realized that--once he realized what he truly wanted, the choice became clear.

"Would you do it, Milos? Would you do it if I asked?"

He took Mary's hand, and his afterglow blushed lavender. "Yes," he told her. "I would do anything for you."