ShadowChancer
Chapter 15
by MistThing, published on March 17, 2001
Grace released herself from Gabriel's arms, pushing him gently back. Her face felt hot and flushed, her cheeks still wet with drying tears. She lowered her head with a childish tenacity, avoiding Leigh's abysmal, dark eyes and Gabriel's astonished gaze, falling quiet aside from the soft sound of her rapid, shallow breathing.
-"Grace?" - Gabriel searched for the slightest sign of her approval - "Do you mind explaining what she just said?"
Grace sat still, her hands climbing up and closing tightly on her own arms.
-"Grace..." - Gabriel struggled to keep his voice under control - "I'm willin' to put up with a lot of sh*t, but not this kind..."
-"I'll be back in a few minutes" - Leigh got up sharply and walked away pushing through the crowd of customers, leaving Gabriel and Grace alone at the small messed up coffee table. Gabriel looked at her walking out of the store, and focused his gaze on Grace again.
-"Listen..." - he said - "It's not the right place, surely isn't the right time, but ... dammit ... I don't get what the f*ck is it that you want me to do , Grace. Three years ago, France ... you ... guided me through down there, savin' my butt again ... one minute I hear your voice on the radio earpiece, and the next one I have this ... note in my hand, Grace? You blew me out of your life just when I ... Y'know, it would help if you actually looked at me and not at the filthy f*cken floor, Grace!" - He didn't raise his voice, but Grace stiffened under his hard tone.
-"Just a few hours ago ... a different place ... I was waiting for your answer, too" - Grace's voice was low and foreboding - "all I got was, 'Beats the hell outta me, Grace'. Well ... you'll have to do better then that, Gabriel."
-"What d'ya mean?" - Gabriel spoke quietly, ignoring the hustle around them - "I'm not a f*cken mind reader, Grace."
-"Back at the cybercafe..." - said Grace - "the guy there told you something, he said, 'Three years apart, and yet ... she sends, you receive' ... I asked you what he meant, and you just gave me your usual blow-off..."
-"God, Grace ... I'm not sure I know myself what he was sayin'..." - Gabriel frowned - "Wanna hear a theory?" - he asked, spreading his hands in a hopeless gesture.
Grace nodded silently.
-"Uh ... damn..." - Gabriel moved uneasily in his chair, which was evidently too small for his size to sit comfortably in - "I got used to dreaming stuff, you see? Getting a handle on things through nightmares, or ... uh ... visions. The last couple of months were stranger then anything I knew before, I've ... been getting weird bits of feelings that ... well, weren't mine, can't explain it any other way. And a couple of days ago, before you made that phone call..." - he managed to smile tightly - "... this profound sudden fear woke me up about four in the morning ... I guess that was when you were runin' away after leaving Bruce's place, you told me about that one..." Gabriel distractedly ran his hand through his hair. "I think, these were your feelings I was gettin', Gracie, your signals ... after three years of not seein' you, still - " Gabriel shrugged.
Grace stared at Gabriel, remaining speechless for the second time since this all charade began ... "I was sending, you were ... receiving..." - Grace's laugh was edgy, her tone afflicted with slight sarcasm - "Maybe you should be working for P.S.I.O.N. yourself, Gabriel..."
Gabriel bent forward again, leaning closer to Grace. "See, Grace, this ain't funny ... your life is in danger, and I ..." - he hesitated, searching her face again - "I can't bear anything happenin' to you..."
Grace was shaking her head slowly.
-"You called me , Gracie" - Gabriel dared and fumbled for her hand, closing his fingers on hers - "When it came to this, needin' someone to trust, you turned to me, and it gotta mean somethin', Gracie..."
-"Stop..." - Grace said abruptly, meeting his gaze - "Not now. We can't do this now..." - She took a deep breath. "Gabriel ... I won't withhold this from you any longer. God knows, three years were long enough..."
She closed her eyes, running an old movie through her mind.
-"Think about it, Gabriel" - she said quietly - "P.S.I.O.N., through E.S.P. or Psi, have accumulated powers which are hard to grasp ... my guess is, they're alarmingly close to being invincible by now. Yet, there is something crucial they don't have..." - Grace opened her eyes and smiled oddly - "Immortality."
Last update: October 25, 2007
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