Misplaced (146 page)

Miele
y
kne
w
bette
r
tha
n
t
o
plead
.
Whe
n
yo
u
encountered
a
larger,
stronger
predator,
you
lo
w
ered
your
head
and
acted
submissi
v
e.

“
I
s
thi
s
wha
t
y
o
u
hi
t
he
r
with
?
”
E
lia
s
r
o
are
d
.
H
e
mo
v
e
d
to
w
ard
V
ictoria who lay motionless.

Somethin
g
shon
e
throug
h
th
e
shado
w
e
d
da
y
light—
a
slim
ring
of
gold
underneath
her
slee
v
e.
Mieley
saw
it,
and
it
ga
v
e
him
the
will
to
li
v
e.
A
man
who
has
lost
e
v
erything
and
gained
it
all
back
in
the
space
of
a
few
seconds
can
ha
v
e
the
speed
of
Hermes
.
Th
e
sigh
t
o
f
th
e
las
t
bracele
t
fuele
d
an
d
blinde
d
hi
m
to
danger.
He
lunged
for
V
ictoria
with
e
v
erything
he
had.
He
had
almost
worked
it
loose
when
he
felt
a
draft
of
air,
follo
w
ed
by
a
blo
w
tha
t
lai
d
hi
m
ou
t
fla
t
besid
e
her
.
Th
e
pai
n
i
n
hi
s
sid
e
made
it
difficult
to
breathe.
When
at
last
he
did
inhale,
he
took
in
a
mouthfu
l
o
f
dirt
.
Gaggin
g
an
d
spi
t
ting
,
h
e
coul
d
hardl
y
breath
e,
though
that
did
not
stop
Elias
from
grabbing
him
by
the
collar
and dragging him to the edge of the mesa.

“
I
ne
v
e
r
mean
t
t
o
hur
t
her
.
Elias
,
please!
”
Arla
n
bleated.
“Now
w
e ha
v
e all three! Do you know what this means?”

Luckily, Elias
w
as not a man of conviction. He let go of him
near the edge.

“Shu
t
up
,
Arlan
.
I
canno
t
hea
r
an
y
mor
e
o
f
you
r
lies
.
Asesino
.
Murderer.”

“But
the
old
woman
begged
me
to
end
her
pain!
As
god
is
my witness, she did!”

“And Max. Did he also ask you to take his life?”

“Forge
t
abou
t
him
.
Tha
t
gir
l
jus
t
v
anishe
d
int
o
thi
n
air
!
Think
,
Elias
,
thin
k
o
f
wha
t
thi
s
means
!
W
e’
v
e
foun
d
th
e
gate
w
ay
t
o
an
o
the
r
d
i
m
en
s
i
o
n.
”
A
s
M
iele
y
s
p
o
ke
,
h
e
fel
t
th
e
gr
o
und
behind
him.
A
t
last,
his
hand
closed
around
a
rock—not
as
big
as he would ha
v
e liked, but if he used it cle
v
erly…

He
had
al
w
ays
envied
Elias
his
grace
of
mo
v
ement,
the
w
ay
h
e
al
m
o
s
t
d
an
c
e
d
whe
n
h
e
w
alke
d
.
Still
,
h
e
w
a
s
s
urpri
s
e
d
when
Elias
dodged
his
attack.
Suddenly,
Mieley
w
as
the
unfortunate
beas
t
an
d
Elia
s
th
e
skillfu
l
matador
,
w
atchin
g
hi
s
hea
d
an
d
e
y
es
for what he might do next.
Mieley
pulled
the
pocketknife
from
his
shoulder,
his
head
swimmin
g
a
s
i
t
cam
e
loose
,
an
d
lifte
d
himsel
f
up
,
knif
e
i
n
hand.
Elia
s
too
k
a
ste
p
for
w
ard
,
hi
s
fac
e
calme
r
now
,
wit
h
th
e
limb
in his hand.

A
knife
in
one
hand
and
a
rock
in
the
other;
for
once,
Arlan
Mieley
w
as
feeling
good
about
his
chances.
He
calculated
that
a
serie
s
o
f
tw
o
passe
s
woul
d
tur
n
th
e
table
.
A
s
h
e
steppe
d
b
ac
k
w
a
r
d
t
o
g
ai
n
l
e
v
era
g
e
f
o
r
h
i
s
f
irs
t
s
t
r
ike
,
t
h
e
ear
t
h
ga
v
e
w
a
y
beneat
h
him
.
Th
e
knif
e
an
d
roc
k
fel
l
a
s
h
e
scramble
d
t
o
gain
a
foothold
on
the
earth
littered
with
fragments
of
pottery
and
pebbles. “Help me!” he screamed, holding out his hand.

Elias’
s
fac
e
w
a
s
stone
.
“Fo
r
sinner
s
lik
e
yo
u
an
d
I,
”
Elias
said,
moving
to
the
edge,
a
look
of
quiet
acceptance
on
his
face,
“Urrac
a
Mes
a
i
s
no
t
th
e
porta
l
t
o
anothe
r
dimension
;
it’
s
the
portal to Hell. Go to Hell,
Arlan.”