Carpathian 08 - Dark Legend

of men. Everything frightens me."
    "Deep within your heart and soul, Skyler, you know all men cannot be condemned for the despicable things your father did. All men are not alike. Most are fair and loving."
    "I'm still afraid, Francesca. It doesn't matter that I know what you're saying might be the truth. I can't take the chance, I don't want to take a chance."
    Francesca shook her head gently. "You retreated so that you would not become like them. You wanted to be like your mother, seeing the good in people and having compassion. I read that in you easily."
    Her eyelids fluttered, then bravely remained open. "I wanted him dead."
    "Of course you did. I wanted him dead, too. That does not mean we are monsters, sweetheart, only that we are not angels. Join with us. I want you with me, I have been inside your head and know you as your own mother did. Better perhaps. I would count myself blessed to share my life with yours. If that is not what you wish, I will provide the money for your education and upbringing. Either way, it is your choice. I will not abandon you."
    Skyler twisted her fingers tightly around Francesca's. "You know what you're asking of me. I know you do. I'll have to go out into the world, be with others. I'll never be the same as they are. I'll never fit in."
    "You'll fit in with me," Francesca insisted. "With Gabriel and me. We appreciate talent such as you have, we really do. We can help you develop it. There are ways to tone it down or expand it if it is necessary to do so. And you will have plenty of time to heal before you need to face the world. Try to sit up, Skyler. You're strong enough."
    "I don't think I want my ability developed any more than it already is. When I touch people, I know things about them I shouldn't. Sometimes I see terrible things. No one believes me when I tell them." There was no trace of self-pity in Skyler's voice or in her mind. The teenager was simply stating facts as she saw them. Skyler reluctantly withdrew her hand and with Francesca's aid managed to sit up.
    "I brought you a few things, some underwear and T-shirts and a robe." She held up the stuffed wolf. "And this. Gabriel thought you might like a friend."
    The girl stared at the stuffed animal for a moment, her eyes widening. "For me? Really?" She reached for it, pulled the animal into her arms.
    At once peace seemed to steal into her heart, a little at a time. "No one but my mother ever gave me anything before. Thank you, and please thank Gabriel," she said in a tearful voice. She pressed her face against the wolf's face and stared for a moment, entranced by the blue eyes. She had awakened from a long nightmare and the world seemed more fantasy than real. She struggled to stay in it, not to slip back inside her own head.
    Francesca studied the teenager. Skyler was so thin, Francesca could see every bone in her body. She seemed so fragile, Francesca was afraid she might break. Francesca placed pillows all around Skyler, tucked the blankets up high. Skyler's face still held traces of bruising, but she was remarkably healed from her single session with Francesca. She was all eyes, and she had beautiful eyes of soft dove gray.
    They were haunting eyes, eyes that had seen far too much for such a young girl.
    "Well, how bad do I look?" Skyler asked it indifferently, her voice more tired than interested. She didn't let go of the stuffed animal.
    "I think Gabriel is right, we will have to invest a great deal in food for you. Were you starving yourself?"
    "I considered it. I thought even if I didn't actually die, his friends wouldn't want me if I was really skinny." The comforter bunched in Skyler's fist as she curled her fingers tightly around it. "There was one who didn't care. He called me ugly all the time, but he came around just the same. I think he was worse than my father."
    Francesca sent her waves of reassurance but remained silent, wanting Skyler to continue talking, wanting her to get it all out. She knew the man, the one the girl was referring to. She had shared memories of him, of his brutality to a small innocent child he held completely in his power. Paul Lafitte. Skyler would never forget him, never forget the three others who had used and battered her. Their faces were burned into her mind, the sound of their voices recorded forever in her memory. They would be etched into Francesca's memory for all time also.

    "He was here again," Skyler said suddenly. "He was just here with me."
    Francesca's head