Driven Read Online Free Page B

similar to Aly. The similarities had been a blessing at
the start of his relationship with Aly, but as time had gone on
they'd become a curse. Their relationship had progressed to the point
where Keith should have told her about the other girl, the girl Aly
reminded him of, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to tell her
precisely because of how much she reminded him of what he'd lost.
    Geoffrey
placed one more construct inside of Keith's mind. He created a
certainty inside of Keith that he could talk to Aly about anything.
Once again there wasn't any guarantee when Geoffrey started the
construct that it was what was required, but when he saw the way that
it settled down over the very start of the damage, the way that it
seemed to join core supporting threads of Keith's personality
together, the fact that it seemed to have tiny tendrils already
growing further into the damaged area, Geoffrey knew it would do what
he wanted it to do.
    Keith
wasn't cured any more than a single session of therapy would have
cured him, but the foundation had been built. If Keith talked to Aly,
and if he could avoid any serious shocks to his life for a few
months, then things should heal completely. Even after he healed he'd
still be just as vulnerable to loss and damage as anyone else, but at
least he'd have a chance at happiness.
    Geoffrey
created another construct, a fragile one that started fraying away as
soon as he set it down, and then launched himself out of the
protective bubble and into the full fury of Keith's conscious mind.
The final construct did its job, creating a fissure of calm that ran
all of the way out to the furthermost edge of Keith's mind.
    Geoffrey
expertly followed that fissure, racing along it at the mental
equivalent of a sprint, but even so he barely made it all of the way
free before the thoughts closed back together. Geoffrey came back to
himself with a gasping breath that was unlike anything he'd ever
before experienced.
    "Are
you okay?"
    It
took Geoffrey a few seconds to get his breathing under control enough
to respond. "Yes, I think so."
    Aly
looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure? I think you stopped
breathing for a minute there."
    Geoffrey
had known that his strength was running out, but he hadn't realized
that he'd pushed things that close to the edge of disaster. Even now
he could feel that his mental strength was exhausted, that it was
pulling against the reserves of physical strength that were keeping
his heart beating and his lungs working.
    "Did
you save him?"
    "I
think so. I've done all I can, right now at least. Are you ready to
make your payment?"
    Aly
was obviously scared, but she didn't let that stop her from nodding,
and if the nod was the tiny movement a small animal might make when
in the sights of a large predator, well, she could hardly be blamed.
    "It's
important that this remain a secret, Aly. That's part of the price I
need from you."
    "I'll
never tell anyone."
    Geoffrey
felt the hallucinations dancing just outside the edge of his field of
vision. He was running out of time. He reached over and gently took
her by the wrist.
    "I'm
not human. I need to feed on your blood, but I promise not to take so
much that you'll die."
    Geoffrey
didn't have any tendrils out probing her mind, but her emotions were
so powerful that they seemed to pour into his mind of their own
accord. She was relieved that he wasn't going to demand what she'd
feared he wanted, but she was also terrified. There was no doubt
inside of her but that he'd just told her the truth.
    For
the briefest of seconds she resisted the gentle pull of his hand, but
it only took one look at Keith, who was already resting more
peacefully than he'd been when they'd brought him into the room, for
her to remember her promise.
    "You
really did everything you could for him?"
    Geoffrey's
nod seemed to reassure her, but she still needed something else.
    "Is
there anything else you can do to help? Not now, but later?"
    "It's
possible, but I can't