James hesitated, though I sensed his resolve begin to falter. “How will you do it?” he asked.
My patience had reached its end. “We’ve not time for that! Will you trust me or not, Mr. Roth?” Power warmed my hand. Which direction it flowed first was up to him.
His grip released, then refastened on my shoulder. “As you wish, Miss Kilbrid.”
I sighed my frustration, not thinking he would actually make good on the offer. But it was too late now, unless I intended to knock him out, which would only prove his initial fear that I could not be trusted.
Very well. The shoulder it is then.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to help settle my own near-frazzled nerves. The pressure from James’s hand was more than a little distracting, and I did my utmost to keep focused on the girl as a stream of power flowed through the protective shell of her head. When the brain came into focus, I saw at once an abnormal dark patch on the outer gray layer near the front. At first sight, it looked similar to a cancerous growth I had healed several years ago. Moving my mind’s eye to the affected area, I jerked from a sudden shock of cold as though I had just plunged into a frigid bath.
Fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Miss Kilbrid...”
Every impulse screamed that I withdraw. The cold turned painful, and it was all I could do not to break the link. But the answers were here, in the very spot that repelled me. I could feel it just as sure as James’s grip. So rather than let go, I delved deeper into the darkness.
My teeth slammed together as a terrible shiver ran from nape to navel. Anna’s physical brain disappeared, replaced by an inky blackness filled with a thousand pinpricks of light. Except for the dark patch, which seemed to absorb the light around it. I grabbed onto the first blurred image that appeared. My skin crawled with icy revulsion, but I refused to let go. Slowly, the lines came into view, solidifying into the shape of a young girl. I gaped at the familiar face, at the pale blue eyes that gleamed with madness.
Deri...
I should have known. Everything cried the wretch’s name, from the random attacks to the overwhelming cold that set my teeth chattering. Another shiver tipped my balance, and I groped blindly with one hand for support when my fingers curled around something solid and warm.
“Miss Kilbrid...” James’s voice sounded so deep and slow it was nearly unrecognizable. “Selah...”
Deri’s face wavered, the lines blurring before the image swirled away in an indistinguishable fog. I let it go, having derived all I needed from Anna’s memories. When the physical brain snapped back into view, I bathed the dark patch with Brigid’s fire, the same way I would have treated any case of frost nip. The tissue thawed under the stream of warmth until it gleamed a healthy gray. I turned my attention to the gangly lines of the wandering nerve, smoothing the disruption from the affected fibers. Satisfied, I opened my eyes and waited.
Anna stirred. With a hand still on my shoulder, James leaned forward to watch her. Drawing in a soft breath, her eyes fluttered open. She blinked several times as the sleepy daze turned to panic in her face.
Her eyes darted from me to James. “Who are you?”
“Don’t be frightened,” I said.
She took in the stables next. “Why am I here?” Digging her elbows into the dirt, she attempted to back away.
James released my shoulder, but not until he tried to move did I realize that I had his calf in a death grip. When did that happen?
I yanked my hand away, and he knelt down next to the girl. “Don’t be alarmed. You fainted is all, right after you came into the barn.”
The girl stared at him, openmouthed with shock. “Yer...yer...” The words stopped as she scrambled to sit up.
“Mr. Roth,” he finished for her. “Now, Anna, I need you to answer something very important. A young girl named Deri came to your father’s inn sometime before sunrise this morning.”
My eyes flew to James. “How did—”
He held up a hand, cutting me off. “Anna, did this Deri tell you to kill Miss Kilbrid?”
Confusion clouded the girl’s face. “Don’t know what ye mean, sir.”
“Just before you fainted, you attacked Miss Kilbrid with a butcher knife.” James pointed at me. “Look at her, Anna. There’s blood on her nose where you pricked the skin.”
The girl did as instructed. Fear leapt in her gaze at the sight of the wound. “No, sir. I... I didn’t try to kill anyone.”
James blew out a hard breath. “How can you not remember?” He picked up the knife, held it blade down for her inspection. “Is this familiar?”
She looked at the blade, her face troubled. “That knife came from the kitchen, sir. But I don’t know how it got here.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Well, it didn’t sprout legs and walk.”
The tears spilled over as a sob broke in her throat. “I swear to ye, sir. I don’t know a thing about that knife.”