Misplaced (147 page)

“Don’t let me fall, please…”

“Y
o
u
fel
l
a
lon
g
tim
e
ago
.
An
d
yo
u
almos
t
too
k
m
e
with
you.”

Elias
turned
a
w
ay
from
his
partne
r
’s
pleading
e
y
es.
Mieley
screamed
,
an
d
t
he
n
t
her
e
w
a
s
th
e
b
riefes
t
silenc
e
b
efor
e
t
he
soun
d
o
f
hi
s
bod
y
hi
t
tin
g
th
e
rock
s
re
v
erberate
d
throughou
t
the
cliffs.
Elias
would
come
to
think
of
this
echo
of
death
as
a
w
arning,
and
would
be
haunted
by
it
for
the
rest
of
his
days.
H
e
rushe
d
t
o
V
ictori
a
and
,
pillowin
g
he
r
hea
d
o
n
hi
s
lap
,
kissed
her
forehead
and
took
her
hand
in
his
and
kissed
it;
it
still
felt
w
arm.

“Joaquín
,
ca
n
yo
u
hea
r
me
,
brother?
”
h
e
sobbed.
“Remember
,
yo
u
al
w
ay
s
referre
d
t
o
go
d
a
s
e
l
jefe
?
How
irre
v
erent
w
e
w
ere…
W
ell,
I
need
you
to
talk
to
him
for
me.
I
kno
w
he
’
l
l
listen
;
a
bette
r
sou
l
tha
n
yo
u
ne
v
e
r
w
alke
d
thi
s
earth.
T
ell him it’s not her time.

“I ne
v
er meant to get you into this mess,” he told his niece.
Rocking
her
back
and
forth
he
looked
into
the
distance,
into
th
e
sk
y
tha
t
ha
d
gon
e
quie
t
again
,
recallin
g
ho
w
angr
y
he
’
d
been;
how
unwilling
to
consider
what
she
had
tried
to
tell
him.
“Breathe,
V
ictoria” he implored. “
P
lease, child.”

H
e
remo
v
e
d
hi
s
coa
t
an
d
co
v
ere
d
her
.
A
s
h
e
w
as
contemplatin
g
joinin
g
Miele
y
a
t
th
e
bas
e
o
f
th
e
mountain
,
he
hear
d
a
singl
e
rasp
y
breath
.
Elia
s
though
t
h
e
w
a
s
hallucinating,
but
with
each
barely
discernable
rise
of
her
chest,
a
small
part
o
f
hi
s
crumple
d
hear
t
unfolded
.
“That’
s
m
y
girl,
”
h
e
blubbered,
strokin
g
he
r
hair
. “Can you see,”
h
e
aske
d
hi
s
long-dead
brother,
“how
much
like
you
she
is?
W
e
need
her
back.
I
need
her back…”

A
s
w
ee
p
o
f
ligh
t
engulfe
d
them
.
V
ictori
a
coughe
d
an
d
sputtered
and
spat
blood
and,
finally,
w
elcomed
a
full
breath
into her lungs.

Chapte
r
Fifty-three
Vic
t
oria

Mart
a
dampene
d
V
ictoria’
s
lip
s
wit
h
a
w
ashclot
h
an
d squeezed a few drops of
w
ater into her mouth.

Sh
e
hear
d a
man’
s
voice
.
H
e
stoo
d
nea
r
th
e
doo
r
in
semidarkness. “How are you feeling,
hija
?”

“¿
P
apí?
”

V
ictori
a
pushe
d
th
e
clot
h
fro
m
he
r
lip
s
an
d
trie
d
t
o
si
t
up
.
“I
saw
them
take
you.”
Her
words
w
ere
sluggish,
and
she
didn’t
recognize
the
rough,
torn-sounding
voice
as
her
own.
E
v
en
so,
the accusation
w
as clear.

“It’
s
th
e
pai
n
medication,
”
Mart
a
tol
d
hi
m
softly
.
“She
doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

“Y
ou killed Celeste.”
Elias
approached
the
bed
with
faltering
steps.
Suddenly,
an
image
flashed
through
V
ictoria’s
mind.
Had
it
been
her
uncle
or
her
father—or
had
they
been
together?
Y
es,
that’s
how
she
remembere
d
it
.
A
gentl
e
voic
e
coaxin
g
he
r
back
,
holdin
g
he
r
hand, lifting her up.

Elias
stood
at
the
end
of
the
bed.
“Bea
told
me
where
to
find
you,
but
I
w
as
too
late.
The
police
mistook
my
desperation
for
guilt.
Thankfully,
they
didn’t
hold
me
long.”
Her
uncle
saw
the
question
on
her
face.
“Mieley’s
dead.”
There
w
as silence
for
a
moment,
and
then
Elias
began,
“
V
ictoria,”
coming nearer
so
she could
see
the
gash
on
his
head,
“what
happened to Khara?”

“Gone.”
V
ictoria
slumped
back;
the
edges
of
the
room
w
ere
going black.

He
r
uncl
e
smoothe
d
he
r
hai
r
a
w
a
y
fro
m
he
r
face
.
“Rest
now.
”
V
ictori
a
smelle
d
th
e
leathe
r
o
f
hi
s
jacket
,
th
e
strong
smells
of
cologne
and
antiseptic.
“I
’
ll
be
back
to
check
on
you
soon.”

She
drifted
in
and
out
of
consciousness.
A
t
times
she
awoke
to
see
the
ochre
hills
and
purple
sky
of
Egypt
exactly
as
Khara
ha
d
describe
d
them
.
I
t
w
a
s
a
quie
t
worl
d
befor
e
automation
wit
h
ocean
s
o
f
suspende
d
time
,
th
e
w
armt
h
o
f
sand
,
and
endless
skies
bright
with
stars.
She
felt
that
at
any
moment
her
friend would appear.

As
the
days
passed,
her
wounds
healed;
the
aching
of
her
heart remained.

One night, when the nurses’ station
w
as quieter than usual,
V
ictori
a
awok
e
wit
h
a
start
.
Sensin
g
Khara’
s
presence
,
sh
e
closed
her
e
y
es
and
emptied
her
mind
in
hopes
of
finding
her,
bu
t
i
t
w
a
s
n
o
use
.
Sunris
e
woul
d
com
e
soon
.
W
anting t
o
catc
h
th
e
firs
t
glimps
e
o
f
th
e
ne
w
day
,
V
ictori
a
trie
d
t
o
sit u
p,
but
w
as
still
too
w
eak
to
do
anything
other
than
turn
her
head
.
Th
e
nex
t
thin
g
sh
e
knew
,
e
v
erythin
g
w
a
s
dark
.
She
looked
to
the
table on
her
right,
which
had
been
crammed
with
hospita
l
equipment
.
Now
,
e
v
erythin
g
w
a
s
gone
,
an
d
sh
e
w
a
s
in
a
cramped
,
dark
,
silen
t
place
.
An
d
sh
e
w
a
s
no
t
alone
.
I
n
spit
e
of
her surroundings, her heart leapt.

“Khara!”

“Shh, I am right here.”

“Where are
w
e?”

“Underneath the palace.”

“Why?”

“I
vo
w
ed
not
to
seek
v
engeance,”
she
said,
and
then
added,
“but
I
see
no
harm
in
teaching
Menefra
a
lesson.”
She
w
as
as
real
to
V
ictoria
as
the
day
she
first
appeared
at
the
Center
for
Help
.
Ther
e
w
a
s
somethin
g
aki
n
t
o
mirt
h
i
n
he
r
voic
e
a
s
sh
e
li
t
anothe
r
torc
h
an
d
place
d
i
t
i
n
a
rin
g
fastene
d
t
o
th
e
w
all.
Althoug
h
th
e
spac
e
w
a
s
small
,
i
t
offere
d
a
co
t
an
d
se
v
eral
basket
s
tha
t
V
ictori
a
suspecte
d
hel
d
foo
d
an
d
w
ater
.
Khara’s
hair
w
as
loose,
and
she
w
as
dressed
in
a
white
linen
shift
and
leathe
r
sandals
.
Aroun
d
he
r
nec
k
hun
g
th
e
tin
y
gol
d
cross
.
A
fe
w
fee
t
a
w
ay
,
a
glimmerin
g
v
estmen
t
fille
d
th
e
roo
m
wit
h
a
sof
t
glow
.
“Tha
t
i
s
m
y
coronatio
n
cape
.
I
use
d
thes
e
passage
s
to
re
m
o
v
e
it
from
M
enefra
’
s
quarter
s
.”
She
laughed
and
s
queezed
V
ictoria’s arm.