Graham lasted about an hour. Then he started to look sick and faint. I held my hand out to Williams, absolutely dreading it.

“Just relax. Let it happen,” he said impatiently.

I nodded, but the advice didn’t really help. If anything, realizing that he was already annoyed with me made me tenser.

Some part of him slid into me and pulled something out. The barrier he was working sprang into my awareness, small and dense and rigid in the trunk of the car. He pulled more out of me. It hurt just as much as last time, only this time it didn’t stop.

“Goddamn it,” he growled, frustrated.

I tried to allow it, tried to be open. Lord knows, I didn’t want Justine to get away any more than he did. But it seemed wholly out of my control. It was like I couldn’t tell what he was taking, so I couldn’t release it to him.

It was beyond horrible — the pain, the sense of violation. Soon enough, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

Kara leaned back between the seats.

“Beth, I’m going to sedate you, okay?”

I nodded, hiccupping and gasping. She took the arm Williams wasn’t holding and injected something. Almost immediately, my muscles loosened. I slumped back against Graham and drifted, only vaguely aware of what was happening to me. I knew it was something bad, but it didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

Chapter 14

I surfaced slowly. I was lying on a hard surface. Something was buzzing. Someone was bending over me. Focusing was a struggle. Annoying. I turned my face away. The floor was pleasantly cool and solid. My arms and legs felt heavy, immobile. There was a touch. Someone was touching me. I didn’t want to be touched anymore. No more invasion, no more pain. I pushed away, whimpering. I felt myself held and began to struggle.

Suddenly, my head cleared. A strange man was bending over me, touching my face. He was the single most arresting person I’d ever seen. He had a languid, almost bored expression, but I also got the sense of tremendous energy running beneath the surface.

He was astonishingly beautiful — to the point of unreality. He was more like a work of art. Every lock of glossy black hair hung just so around his face. His mouth looked sculpted with light in mind, so that shadows would offset its shape. His nose was bold, faintly aquiline.

I looked into his eyes. Each brown iris contained a tawny starburst pattern, which shifted as his pupils contracted. His complexion was olive and completely even, like he’d not only never aged, but never had a pimple, never scratched a bug bite, never gotten razor burn.

He was no more human than the green man.

This must be Cordus.

I stared up at him, awestruck.

He held my gaze for several long seconds, then looked away, releasing me.