Part 43 (1/2)

Leah ran towards it She stripped off her cardigan, used it to sain, but soed to put out the fire

She did not knoho the figure was, but she kneas daers twitched Curled

Gabriel slammed on the Audi's brakes and the vehicle slithered to a halt behind Sebastien's abandoned 4x4 Both of the Jeep's doors were open No one sat inside To the right of the vehicle, a second Audi was on fire

Barefoot, feet still throbbing fro to the burning Audi, he peered inside, steeling hiht find But the cabin was empty It looked like someone had bled away their life on the driver's seat, but they weren't there now

'Look!'

Sebastien clier seat The old er raised and pointing towards a pillar of s out of a stone structure on the bank of the river Tiny black shapes flickered out of a top floorand spiralled round the colu, Leah knelt over a blackened lump

At the end, she had discovered she didn't want to die in darkness, in the stink of a burning building, with only Jakab and whatever anih the fire had taken her eyes and she would never again see the sun, even though her nerves had been seared away and she would never feel its warmth, it had seemed i herto labour, feeling the breath that rasped in and out of her ruined lungs beginning to slow

'Mummy, please don't leave me here alone'

If Hannah could have wept for those words, she would have done So cruel for life to end this way She knew she had ht choice Knew she had set Leah free Knew she had finally rid her of the curse that stalked theirl And if not hi But she trusted thehter 'I don't want you to go too'

Hannah opened her one So dreadful for Leah to see her like this If only she could say goodbye If only she could offer some comfort

She wondered if Nate would be pleased with her Wondered what he ht say Wondered if even noatched her as she lay here, watched his wife and his daughter together under an autuain starting to flare behind her eyes This tiht, but a cathartic warh, felt herself let go of all the pain and the fear and the loss, and felt herself step into that peace and open her arms to it

Leah slumped over into a heap as she watched her nised her fros left that identified her

She had said everything would be all right But it wasn't all right Wasn't all right at all She shouldn't have to see her parents die like this Not both of the a shout fro towards her Through her tears, she didn't know them And then she did

Gabriel reached her first He stared down at the blackened husk on the grass When he raised his beautiful cobalt eyes to her, she noticed that they ith tears 'Is it Hannah? Is it your , I'm so sorry' His face crumpled, and when she saw that she tried to rise He closed the distance between them and swept her up into his arms, and she nestled her face into his shoulder and breathed his scent and pretended that everything was all right Even though it would never be

'Jakab' Gabriel nodded towards the 's s At the black s across the water 'Is he in there?'

Leah nodded

'She was the bravest woman I ever met, yourwould be all right'

'And it will It may take you a while, but you'll see'

Now she heard a new sound, a dreadful wrenching cry, a er and disbelief and pain When she opened her eyes she saw Sebastien stagger up to Hannah's body He fell to his knees

The old man reached out and seemed about to touch her roasted flesh Instead he laced his fingers above his head and turned to Gabriel 'Do so!'

The Irishman slumped 'What can I do? What can any of us do? Open your eyes, one'

'There's life in her'

'No And even if there wasLook at her, Seb; just look'

Sebastien's eyes ild 'Haven't you paid any attention? Don't you see? When are you going to figure this out for yourself? She's one of you, Gabriel, one of your own Hannah's hosszu elet I'm sure of it She's one of you and she can heal'

Leah felt Gabriel stiffen Suddenly she was slipping fro down his frame

'She can't be,' he said 'That's impossible'

Sebastien lurched to his feet He paced, turned, raked fingers through his hair 'Stupid, stupid It was the one thing Charles and I fought over I knew his intentions were noble, but I never agreed it was the right thing to do'

Now Gabriel was the one shouting, his face flushed 'You're notany sense!'

'It was Charles's theory, notout of hiated the dates, realised there was a good chance He had his suspicions about her row But do you want me to tell you the story nohile she dies at your feet? Or do you want to save her life and let me finish it later?'

Gabriel fell to his knees 'If what you say is true'

'Goddamn it, Gabe!'

Gabriel bent over Hannah and placed his ear against her cracked lips He turned his head and looked into her ruined face Then he raised his eyes to Sebastien 'You're absolutely sure?'

Sebastien clenched his fists and rolled his eyes heavenward

Placing one hand on Hannah's chest above her heart, Gabriel touched her temple with the other He closed his eyes and exhaled

Leah watched, her own breath shallow in her throat She went to Sebastien, fitted her hand into his 'What's he doing?' she whispered, afraid that she had confused what she had heard, afraid that the tiny elowed inside her would wink out

Sebastien enfolded her fingers into his leathery palm 'There's a chance Just a chance, mind you Hosszu eletek can heal one another It's risky and it's painful and it doesn't alork Your mother is partly hosszu elet, I'm sure of it But I can't say how potent that part of her is' Sebastien turned to her 'Do you believe in miracles?'

How in the world did she answer that?

On the grass, Gabriel hissed and his hands twitched Leah watched as, ers appeared to sink into her mother's flesh As they did he tilted back his head and moaned in pain