Symphony of Bones by L.T. Ryan (little bear else holmelund minarik .txt) 📕

their spirits behind her until she cast them out or they took her completely.

One deep breath followed another. A woman approached. The sound in Cassie’s head drowned her out. Concern lined her mouth. The shape of her words carried a heavy burden Cassie could feel rather than hear.

“My mom.” Cassie could barely make out her own voice. The pulsing of her blood was too loud. “I’m looking for my mom.”

The woman said something else. Cassie shook her head. She couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t hear what the woman was saying. The noise was crippling. It threatened to crush her skull beneath the weight. She felt her knees give way.

Strong arms kept her upright. She turned to see her father’s face inches from hers. Cassie felt the world rush back to her. Laura was there, her eyes wide and her lips parted as though she could see the ghosts, too. The grip of the spirit realm retreated, not gone but just out of reach.

“Cassie?” Her father still held her. “Are you okay?”

“Mom?”

“She’s okay. Come sit down.”

Cassie let them take her over to a corner of the waiting room where they’d made a little nest out of jackets and tissue boxes. She collapsed into a chair but refused to let go of her father’s hand. Her sister handed her a bottle of water, and Cassie felt it refresh every cell in her body, making her come alive once more.

“What’s going on?” Laura’s question held meaning only the sisters understood. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Better now. Sorry.” Cassie swallowed. Her mouth still tasted like ash. “Got a little overwhelmed.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She did her best attempt to smile. “I just need a minute.”

“Your mom is fine.” Her dad patted Cassie’s hand reassuringly. “They’re running some tests right now, but we should be able to see her soon.”

“I called you, like, six times.” Laura tried to keep the blame out of her voice, but Cassie heard it anyway. “Where were you?”

“I was with Agent Viotto. We interviewed Connor Grayson’s girlfriend. Then they brought the senator in for questioning.” She looked to her dad. “Anthony Lewis didn’t kill him.”

“Let’s wait until your mom is a little stronger before we mention that to her.”

Cassie nodded. “I’m sorry. I thought you wanted to talk about the fight, but I was still mad and upset and embarrassed—”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He patted her hand again. “You had a right to be upset.”

“But I shouldn’t have stormed out.”

“That’s in the past now.” He looked at a set of doors that Cassie presumed led to her mom. “They think she had a panic attack. She was complaining about chest pain and a racing heart. They’re just making sure she didn’t have a heart attack, but it doesn’t seem likely.”

“Oh God.” Cassie bent over and put her face in her hands. “What if I’d given her a heart attack? What if she had—”

“No.” Laura’s voice was angry enough that it made Cassie look up. “Don’t do that to yourself. You can take responsibility for the way you reacted, but you can’t take responsibility for something that didn’t happen. That’s half the reason why mom’s in here.”

“What?” Cassie looked from her sister to her father. “What are you talking about?”

“She was scared you weren’t coming back. She started freaking out. Crying and yelling.” Laura shook her head as though trying to dislodge the memories. “She convinced me to go after you. I was halfway out the door when she collapsed.”

Before Cassie could respond, a nurse came up to them. “Mr. Quinn?”

He stood immediately. “Yes?”

“Your wife is fine. You can go see her now.” When Cassie and Laura stood up, she shook her head. “One at a time for right now, okay? She’s tired and sedated. We don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Walter squeezed his daughters and kissed them each on top of their heads. “I’ll be right back.”

Laura sat back down, but Cassie watched as he walked through a pair of doors and down a hallway into the bowels of the hospital. Cassie felt stronger now—strong enough to keep the hospital’s crawling fingers at bay—but she could feel them waiting in the wings, hoping for her to let her guard down.

Laura waited until their dad disappeared before turning to Cassie. “You freaked me out earlier.”

Cassie put her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. Things got kind of intense.”

Laura lowered her voice. “Did the Senator do it?”

“I don’t think so.” Cassie sat back in her chair. “But something weird is going on. Either way, he’s going to jail.”

“Wait, really? Why?”

“Insider trading.” Cassie shook her head. “He didn’t even try to deny it. But he was adamant he didn’t kill his kid.”

“And what was that when you first got here? You looked like you were about to pass out.”

Cassie gestured to the room around them. “It’s overwhelming for me.”

Laura followed her gaze, but she would never truly know what Cassie experienced. “Will you tell me about it?”

Cassie quirked an eyebrow in her direction. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Cassie sighed. “How many people do you see?”

Laura did another quick scan of the room. “Maybe fifteen?”

“I see twice that.” She pointed to a young couple on the opposite side of the room. “That woman’s mother is sitting beside her, with her hand on her stomach. I’d say the woman is pregnant and doesn’t know it.” She pointed to an older woman and her son. “That lady’s husband follows her wherever she goes. My guess is that her time is close, and he’s just waiting.” She gestured to a young mother and a pair of kids. “There’s a man hovering around her. Not sure who he is, though. He keeps looking at the kids like all he wants is to be alive again.”

Laura took a moment to ingest everything Cassie said. “Wow.”

“But it’s so much more than that.” Cassie closed her eyes and defocused her mind. She could feel the hospital all around her. It had its own heartbeat. It