Chapter 39

Deidre

I closed the book and rubbed my eyes, leaning back in my chair.

The room was dark; the fire had died hours ago. I glanced at the clock on my desk. It was almost 3:00 in the morning.

I had barely noticed how cold my office was, or the deep shadows along the wall that the window had cast in the moonlight. But now that I wasn’t absorbed by the book in front of me, I shuddered, not sure if I was more chilled more by the dark room or by what I had just read.

I put the book back into its compartment, unwilling to look at it again. Nyllan had indeed been a man before his time. I couldn’t have guessed at the contents of his work before I had read it, but I certainly understand now why his work would have been so threatening for his time. It was all deeply unsettling. It had the potential to be completely transformative; but I didn’t dare go there now.

But as much as I didn’t want to admit it, the book had been compelling. The data was overwhelmingly convincing; his research methods–wh