Wings In The Night - Embrace The Twilight Part 32

"Amber? The sun will be up soon, we have to go."

She glanced at the sky, then looked around. "But...where is he? Where is Stiles?"

Fina lifted her head very weakly. "Willem pitched him from the very top. He hit the rocks below, child. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Where?" she asked. "I want the b.a.s.t.a.r.d dead. I want to see for myself that he's dead."

"Amber-"

Jameson put a calming hand on his wife's shoulder, and she fell silent. He glanced at Will, nodded once.

'"Put me down, Will," Sarafina whispered. "Take her. She needs to see."

Will swallowed hard but he did as she asked, easing Sarafina onto the floor of the boat, where she could lie as flat as possible. He climbed out, and walked with Amber.

The two of them stood on the rocks, right where Stiles had fallen. There was blood. Even bits of flesh and hair on the rocks. But no sign of Stiles.

"His boat was still there," Amber said. "Just a few yards from ours, tied to a rock." Then she blinked. "But the rowboat you took wasn't. Did you tie it to the other side, Will?"

He met her eyes, thought about lying to the girl, then decided against it. "No. I left it just over there." He pointed. But of course there was no boat in sight.

"He knows more about me than I do."

"You have his notes," Will told her. "You can find out everything he learned by..."

"By killing me over and over again." She lowered her eyes. "And now maybe he can't be killed, either. Maybe he's even more of a danger to us now."

"Or maybe the waves just washed him out to sea," he said softly. "And maybe I forgot to tie my boat in my hurry to get to Sarafina."

Amber sighed, lowering her head. Her voice breaking, she said, "I don't know what I am, Will."

He slid an arm around her shoulders and turning, began walking her back to the boat and the others. "You think you've got problems? I'm in love with a vampire." That made her laugh, just a little. He was glad to hear it. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Sorry about almost getting you killed."

"I've been almost getting killed my entire adult life, kid. Think nothing of it."

The boat came into sight, and he helped her in, let her have the seat, then wedged himself onto the floor with Sarafina.

Fina searched his eyes, a question in hers. He gave his head a slight shake, left, then right.

Then Rhiannon caught his eyes, her own guiding them to follow her gaze to a small speck far out in the water.

He narrowed his. It looked like...a man, in a rowboat.

Rhiannon looked at him again. Her brows furrowed. Will thought he knew what she was thinking.

Sarafina looked from one of them to the other. "You didn't find him?" she asked. "You didn't find Stiles?"

Will said softly, "No."

"But...that means he could have survived the fall. That means..."

"It means we didn't find the body," Will said. "And that's all it means, Fina."

But he could see by the look in her eyes that she thought it might mean more, and he couldn't quite keep himself from wondering if it did.