Fifth Ave 02 - Running of the Bulls (73 page)

I’d slipped into thought.
 
I’d imagined her shining like the Virgin Mary.
 
I’d said to myself that she should be lit from within.
 
And then she was.

I pressed my hand to my shirt and could feel the amulet’s warmth.
 
I didn’t understand it, but I couldn’t deny it.
 
I was me.
 
I was responsible.
 
I caused this even though I hadn't intended to.
 
And there was something else I couldn’t deny.
 
The light she emitted only had grown in strength.
 
If I hadn’t shaken myself out of that moment, something terrible would have happened to her.
 
She could have combusted.

And here's the dirty truth--whether I liked it or not, knowing I was the catalyst for what just happened made me feel something I’d never felt in my life.
 
Power.
 
For the first time ever, I felt invincible and I liked it almost as much as I was scared of it.
 

With the exception of her new shorter hair, Sara hadn't been physically injured.
 
Maybe emotionally scarred for the rest of her life, but there are counselors for that.
 
Still, I’d been able to shut it off.
 
I’d shaken myself out of whatever haze I was in and it stopped.
 
That was something I’d need to remember--how to turn it off.

Alex looked at me.
 
"This is nuts."
 
And then he really looked at me.
 
"Are you alright?"

I shrugged.
 
Yes and no.
 
Mostly no.

What the hell had creepy Jim given me?

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