He felt her hand, the one that wasn't around his neck, move. And then he heard it. A small, clear, and impossibly beautiful chiming sound.
Jingle-jingle.
It was a small, silver bell, a tiny, delicate thing, shaken right next to his ear.
The sound was not just a sound. It was a key. It slid into his brain and unlocked the full, terrifying power of the drug. The fog in his mind, which had been a confusing haze, now thickened, swirled, and changed. The room itself seemed to twist, the shadows deepening, the candlelight blurring.
He stared, his eyes wide, at the face in front of him. The face that had been Senna's.
It was blurring. The features were softening, melting, and re-forming into a new, impossible, and heart-stopping image.
He was staring at Marissa.
Her sharp, intelligent eyes. Her strong, proud jaw. The small, perfect, dark mole just under her right eye. She was here.
"Derek," the vision of his wife whispered, her voice a soft, intimate sound.
