Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

bending over a tal cranberry candle near the bay window.
    She glanced over at her youngest sister before lighting the round candle. “El e has many talents, but she doesn’t share their voice. She is, however, a strong telepath, and she can share the shadow world with Kate. Neither Joley nor Abbey have has that ability.”
    “But nothing happened to Joley,” Matt said. He sighed. “So much for my great detective work.”
    Joley made a smal dissenting sound. “That’s not exactly true.” Immediately, she had the attention of al of her sisters.
    “Something happened that you didn’t tel us,” Kate asked.
    “I didn’t want to worry anyone,” Joley admitted. “I get al kinds of sil y threats on the road, and in light of the threat to Kate, I didn’t want to worry anyone.”
    Joley stretched, a sensuous flow of feminine muscle. Everything Joley did, every way she moved or even spoke was sultry. It was as natural to her as breathing. Matt found he could appreciate her looks and voice, yet not react in the least. It was a further revelation to him just how deeply in love he was with Kate. He sank onto the floor in front of Kate and leaned against her knees. At once her fingers tunneled into his thick hair, a connection between them.
    “What happened, Joley?” Sarah prompted.
    “I went up to my room after we al talked the other day. Hannah said she closed the window because the fog was slipping into the house, and it made her uncomfortable. I was so tired I just crashed on the bed, and I didn’t think to pay attention to the feel of the room. I woke up choking, strangling real y. At first I thought I’d wrapped a scarf around my neck in my sleep and somehow pul ed it tight. But the fog was everywhere, layers of it. I could barely see. I pul ed the scarf away from my throat and turned on the fan. My throat hurt and…” She hesitated, sighed softly, and dragged the turtleneck sweater away from her throat. Distinct round bruises marred her skin.
    “And you didn’t think it was important to tel us?” Sarah turned on her younger sister. “That we shouldn’t know this thing has advanced to such a sophisticated level of violence? Joley! You weren’t thinking.”
    “I know.” Joley rubbed her palm over her thigh. “At first I was terrified, and I went through the house and began to gather the herbs and flowers for the windows, but the entire time I wondered why it just didn’t kil me. If it could partial y strangle me, why didn’t it just do it al the way?”
    “Maybe he isn’t strong enough,” Abbey ventured.
    Sarah glanced toward the sea. “He’s strong enough. He managed to take shape and, from what Matt says, even find a voice.”
    “Are you saying he didn’t try to kil Joley? He certainly tried to kil El e,” Abbey argued. “Maybe he wasn’t prepared for how hard she fought.”
    “I’m saying it didn’t try to kil me,” Joley said.
    “Then what was it doing?” Sarah asked.
    “I think it was trying to silence my voice.”
    Kate put a protective hand to her throat. “In the shadow world, he went for my throat as wel .”
    Something deep inside of Matt went very stil . Kate had an incredible voice. “If he wants to stil the voices capable of enthral ment, Joley, Abbey, and Kate are definitely on the hit list.” He looked at El e. “But why you?”
    She smiled, her green eyes bright. “Maybe he doesn’t like redheads.”
    “I think he doesn’t want to be saved,” Kate announced. “When I touched him, I felt rage, yes, but it wasn’t his primary emotion.” She leaned towards El e. “Didn’t you feel sorrow and guilt? You were there, you had to have felt it.”
    El e looked down at the journal, her expression sorrowful. “I felt it,” she said in a smal voice.
    Matt raised his head sharply. “El e shares emotions, doesn’t she? You connected with Jackson when he was taken prisoner.”
    El e refused to meet his eyes. “Yes.”
    “But he was halfway around the world,” Matt protested.
    Libby put her hand out to her youngest sister, and El e took it immediately. “It’s very difficult sometimes, Matthew,” Libby explained. “We’re different. We look the same and try to act the same, but we’re not normal and sometimes the overload is…” She searched for the right word, looking helplessly at her sisters.
    “Dangerous,” Sarah supplied. “Using our talents is very draining. Each of us has to overcome by-products of her gift.”
    “I’ve seen it in