Read The Last Dark for Free Online Page B

yourself.
    A fresh rush of emotion made her awkward. “Then you’ve probably already figured out most of the questions I want to ask.”
    “Maybe.” He cocked his head to one side, considering. “Let’s see.
    “That
croyel
”—he made a spitting noise—“used me to say all kinds of things. You want to know how many of them are true.”
    Linden nodded mutely. Everything about Jeremiah seemed to have the power to astound her.
    “Well,” he continued slowly, “a lot of them were. True, I mean.” His voice held a note of caution, as if there were details that he wanted to avoid. “Mom, you tried hard to take care of me. I know that. It wasn’t your fault you couldn’t reach me. I just hurt too much. But giving me those racetrack pieces was like a miracle. I don’t know how you came up with the idea, but it was perfect.
    “Using those bones”—he gestured behind him—“was the second time I managed to make a—I don’t know what else to call it—a door for my mind. That racetrack was the first. I couldn’t do anything with my body except build. I wanted to. I just couldn’t. But with my mind—
    “Most of what the
croyel
said about that was true. When I went through my door, I was here. I mean, not
here
.” He indicated the arid landscape. “I mean in the Land. In this world. But I was still just a mind. I was just kind of floating around. In one time or another. One place or another. I couldn’t touch anything, or talk to anybody.
    “But there were people that noticed me anyway. Powers. Beings. And if they noticed me, they could talk to me. The Vizard was one, like the
croyel
said. He wanted to use me. The Viles once, but they weren’t interested. I think I met a Demimage, but he couldn’t figure out what I was. A couple of Ravers. They
wanted
me.” Jeremiah shuddered. “A few
Elohim
, but mostly they tried to convince me to go away and not come back.” With a snort of derision, he added, “Like that was going to happen. It was the only escape I had. I couldn’t give it up.”
    “And Covenant?” Linden asked carefully. “Did the
croyel
tell the truth about him?”
    “As much as that monster could stand,” Jeremiah replied without hesitation. She heard gratitude in his voice, saw affection in the brown warmth of his eyes. “I mean about the real Covenant. Not about Roger. The real Covenant talked to me more than all the rest put together.
    “He talked like he actually cared about me.”
    Treading as cautiously as she could, Linden probed for more. “What did he say?”
    The boy grinned at her again. “He told me I could count on you. Like I didn’t know that already. If I needed you, you would do anything to help me, even if it was impossible. He said you have no idea how strong you really are. He said it makes you wonderful.”
    Wonderful—? That idea stunned Linden once more. It closed her throat; almost brought her back to tears. For long, terrible days, she had been tormented by the fear that her son secretly belonged to the Despiser; that he had acquiesced to the
croyel
; that he had been forever marked and marred by Lord Foul’s bonfire, Lord Foul’s malice. Yet Covenant had spent years of Jeremiah’s childhood telling him that his mother was wonderful. And Jeremiah had believed the Unbeliever. Even in his dissociation, he had recognized something in Linden that she herself could not see—
    While she tried to master her emotions, Jeremiah looked away. Frowning with concentration, he scanned the beaten terrain. “And he talked about the
Elohim
. I didn’t really understand, but I think he was trying to explain why they’re important. They’re like a metaphor?” He sounded uncertain. “A symbol? They represent the stars. Or maybe they
are
the stars. Or maybe the stars and the
Elohim
are like shadows of each other. The shadows of the Creator’s children.”
    He shrugged, flexing easily with the beat of Khelen’s strides. “He wanted me to get it, but it didn’t