Carpathian 08 - Dark Legend

survive what would have destroyed others."
    Skyler's small teeth touched her lower lip in agitation but she didn't answer.
    Francesca smiled at her, a gentle smile of commitment to Skyler's healing. "You're right about me. I am different, just as you are different.
    Perhaps the world around us can shape us, but we are strong inside. You are whole. There is no stain on your soul to cause you to be afraid to be with me. I shared everything with you, your pain, the degradation, the beatings, the fear, all of it. I want you with me where I can shelter you, offer you the things you should have had, things you truly deserve. You're holding my hand, you know the things I am saying are true."
    "There were others with you when you were sharing my memories. I felt them, two men with us."
    "There was only one man," Francesca corrected gently. "Gabriel. He is a very powerful man. Under his protection there is no one who can harm you."
    Skyler looked puzzled. "There was another. I am sure of it. There was one staying very quiet, lending his strength to you and to me. But the other remained passive while you were here with me. After you left, I remember him holding me, yet he wasn't touching me at all. His arms were strong and felt very different than any other's. He wanted nothing from me, only to comfort and help. Who is he?"
    "Only Gabriel was with us, sweetheart. Maybe you were dreaming."
    "I felt all three of you distinctly. He was very strong. There was no anger or rage, only a quiet acceptance. He examined my memories. I know he was learning about you through me, I felt it." Skyler sighed in resignation. "You don't believe me. You think I'm making it up."
    "No, I don't think that at all, Skyler," Francesca said. He was learning about you through me. "I simply do not know who it was. I only felt you. Later I realized Gabriel had shared your ordeal with me, but I was so caught up in it at the time I was focused solely on you. I believe you have this gift. How could I do otherwise? You cannot lie to me. Even though I cannot 'see' this man in your mind, that does not mean he was not with you. You knew I shared your memories when few others would have known. You are aware I am different from others. Stay with us, Skyler, with Gabriel and me. We are different. I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but our feelings for you are genuine." She sent a quick mental report of the conversation to Gabriel. It alarmed her that Skyler remembered so vividly the feeling of another sharing their mind merge.
    "How can I ever face myself, look in the mirror again?" For the first time the thin, small voice held emotion, a sob of burning pain, quickly beaten back. Skyler's torment immediately claimed Francesca's full attention.
    She tightened her hold on Skyler. "Look at me, sweetheart. Look at me." It was a soft command.

    Skyler turned her head once more and lifted her impossibly long lashes. She could see her face reflected in Francesca's black eyes. Like a mirror. Skyler looked beautiful. "That's not me."
    "Yes, it is. That's how I see you. That's how your mother saw you. That's how Gabriel sees you. Who else matters? That man who claimed he was your father? A drunken shell of a human being who wanted only to use drugs to escape what he had become? His opinion cannot possibly matter to you, Skyler."
    "I didn't want to come back. I was safe where I was." There was a plea in the young voice, a heartbreaking plea. "I can't face it all over again."
    Francesca stroked back the fringe of hair tumbling over the girl's forehead, her touch soothing and healing at the same time. "Yes, you can.
    You're strong, Skyler, and you're no longer alone. You know I am different, I have certain abilities. I can dull your memories, give you time to heal properly. You will still feel the pain, but it will be bearable. You are surrounded by those who love you and you see yourself the way you really are inside, not the way that man tried to teach you. He was dead inside, a monster made of drugs and alcohol."
    "He is not the only monster in the world."
    "No, sweetheart, he is not. The world is filled with such creatures and they come in all forms and sizes. We can only do what we can to stop them and rescue the innocents from their hands. Gabriel has dedicated his life to doing so and so have I in my own way. Give us the chance to love and care for you as you should have been."
    "I'm afraid," Skyler said. "I don't know if I can ever be whole again. I can't bear the sight