Читать книгу The Blood She Betrayed - Cheryse Durrant - Страница 8

Not today! Shahkara rammed her knee into the attacker's groin. He loosened his grip as he grunted out a growl. Her talons gouged his face and blood pelted the air. His clawed hands lashed at her but she leapt away.

I refuse to die today. Her breathing ragged, she blinked at her adversary's grey hair and craggy face. Max's bodyguard!

`You're a Taloner?' Jack laughed. `The Master would love it! I'll make you a deal. Kill him and you can have his heart. All I need is his head.'

`No!' Blood dripped down her arm, tickling her flesh even as her skin started to heal.

`You can feed on him — or whatever else. I just need him dead by the end of the night.'

`I want him alive.'

`But you're a Taloner. You can't possibly—'

Her talons whipped towards his carotid artery but he deflected. She was forced to retreat. `I am half-human.'

`You're half-Taloner? So you don't want to feed?' He laughed again. `You're keen on him! Oh, this is rich, especially when you've practically served him up on a plate to me. I've been trying to kill Max for weeks but there's always been another guard around. You flash your long lashes and bingo!'

She edged closer towards the kitchen. `You are his bodyguard. Slaying him negates your code.'

`Our creed is to our own kind, not humans. They are prey. Or pawns, like Max. Why aren't you part of the coven and why do you betray your blood? Were you raised by a woman who had no idea what she'd slept with?'

Had her mother lain elsewhere? She knew nothing except that her father the King had not been a Taloner.

`Not very chatty, are you?' His gaze was menacing as he approached. `Join our coven.'

`No.' Her fingers scaled the edge of the kitchen bench.

`Let me have the boy. You can't protect him as a half-blood. You're too weak.'

Shahkara snatched the chicken knife from the bench and hurled it at him. His taloned-hands flew upwards to shield his head, as she dived forward and sank her claws into his belly.

He roared like a lion and stumbled backwards, dragging her with him to the floor.

Pain ripped through her shoulder. The knife! He'd caught it and thrust it into her collarbone. Blood slicked her skin as she struggled against him on the tiles. She twisted her hand inside his gut and clutched for his heart.

He tried stabbing her again, but her other hand snapped hold of his wrist, holding him and the blade firm.

`If I die, someone else will kill him.'

`Not if I kill them first!'

Sweat licked her brow as she strained to overpower him. Her hand trembled against his greater strength. She was caving. She had to be strong! Jada…

Her hand faltered, he broke free.

The blade surged towards her. No! Heart pounding, she grappled to free her hand from his insides, but it was trapped by his labyrinth of gut.

Crack! Steel against bone. A grunt escaped his lips, his blade dropped to the floor, and his lifeless body collapsed against her. Praise Danu!

And there, standing over them, was Max — gripping a large frypan. He'd saved her!

His lips parted to speak but the words froze on his tongue.

Shahkara dragged her bloodied hand from Jack's innards, rolled his body off hers, and struggled to her feet. `You are more resourceful than you appear.'

Pain gripped her as she retrieved her sword and, with one stroke, beheaded the bodyguard. Bile tainted her mouth. Despite the horrors her people had faced, killing Taloners still cut her to the quick. Was it because they look human or because she shared their blood?

Max dropped the frypan. `He was probably dead already. You didn't need to decapitate him!'

`There are only two ways to kill a Taloner — chop off its head or rip out its heart. You would rather I let him live?'

`No, it's not that, it's just… He was so nice.'

`Until he tried to kill you. He was waiting for the right moment to strike — like tonight when you dismissed the other man.' It was impossible to differentiate between human and Taloner unless their claws were exposed. Even the dead man's blood on her hands smelt human.

`What are you? And what are those?' Max's hand shook as he pointed.

Shahkara held her hands out, to show her talons, spurring his backward retreat. `I will not hurt you.'

`Because you're a girl?'

`Because I am a half-blood. Half-human.'

`Half-human? And half-?

`Half-Taloner,' she said.

`Taloner? I thought they were a Celtic myth.'

`You have never been attacked by a coven?'

Max waved at Jack's bloody body. `Do you think I'd still be alive if I had?'

`But Taloners exist in your world. Do they live here in secret?'

`Well, obviously. Because until ten minutes ago I had no idea they were real. But you talk as if you're not...' he frowned. `As if you're not from my world! That's why you've been acting all weird! Who are you really? Where are you from?'

`It is safer not to say.'

`Great! That excuse again! Good to know that this,' he waved at the corpse, `was the safe alternative!'

`I did not know the Taloners were targeting you. There must be a price on your head. You must disappear.'

`That's ridiculous! It's my final month of school and I have exams. If I don't take them, I don't finish senior.'

`You would prefer to be an educated dead man?'

`Dad will be furious.'

`Your father cannot help you.'

`He can hire me twelve bodyguards and a bulletproof car!'

`One of your bodyguards was a Taloner, Max.'

His eyes widened. `A Taloner must've killed Ethan! His heart was ripped out! But no, there's a serial killer out there. Ethan was a victim of the Rip`n'Stitch! And others have been found with missing hearts just like him.'

He paled and suspicion flickered in his eyes. `Were they all Taloner victims? Why am I a target? If you're a Taloner, how can I trust you?' Max must have realised he was babbling as he stopped, and just stared at her.

`I saved your life.'

`Yes, but you still have those... those talons.'

`They are the price I pay for this blood, which also gives me enhanced strength and sensory perception.'

`That's how you broke my fall from the balcony — you're stronger than a human.'

`Precisely.'

`You came here for a reason though, didn't you? Why did you stop to save me?'

`I saw you falling to probable death as I arrived on your world. Is that not reason enough?'

Max shook his head. `Who knew Darryn's place was the door to another world.'

`I will not hurt you, Max. I abhor Taloners and will do everything in my power to destroy them.'

`But you are them, at least, one of them.'

`I was raised human. I do not eat human hearts.'

`They eat hearts? That's why they rip them out?'

`It is their most pure energy source and prolongs their life, often for centuries.'

`What about you?'

Jada's dead body, his blood on her sheets, stirred her conscience, but she bit her lip. She could not risk revealing her past. `I only consume animals.' Even if she still hungered for humans.

`Is your shoulder okay?' His fingers brushed her collarbone, sending ripples of awareness through her. He blinked. `There's no wound! But I saw him knife you! You were bleeding!'

`My body heals rapidly.'

`That's an understatement!'

`It is another Taloner trait.'

His hand jerked away. `I need a drink. What do we do with this?' Jack's decapitated head stared up at them.

`Do not concern yourself. The body will crumble to dust.'

`Like vampires after they've been staked?'

`Where do you think that myth stemmed from?'

`But a corpse turning to dust defies every science known to man.'

`Taloners are not scientific beings. They were born of demon magic, conjured by the dark arts of Balor. When they die, they become dust.'

`What about you?'

Dread gripped her heart like a fistful of nails. Her mission depended on activating the death lantern and destroying all Taloners simultaneously. Even as a half-blood, she would not survive the blast. She had to die to ensure no Taloners remained. `You ask too many questions.'

`But you can't die like that. You saved my life twice tonight. You're far more an angel than a demon.'

`I am no heavenly creature, but I will help you escape. You must pack food, clothes and currency — whatever you can carry comfortably.'

`Huh? I can't leave! I told you: I have exams next week.'

`Taloners are trying to kill you. They know where you live. If you stay here, you risk death.'

`But you have talons — you could protect me.'

`I have a pressing mission and must depart within a handful of days. I cannot protect you.'

`Then stay here until you go. You said you needed food and shelter. You can be my über-guard and, in exchange, I will, um—'

`Help me interpret this world?'

`Sure, whatever you need: history, stats, maps. I'll even buy you an iPhone.'

An iPhone? `Agreed. We will remain here until I am prepared for my mission but we must safeguard your house. How did Jack gain entry?'

`He has a key, like all my bodyguards. I have six of them. Well, five now. Bodyguards, not keys. I have more keys than that. Sorry, I'll shut up.'

`I would be grateful if you did. I need to think.'

`You've got to admit, all this fighting and the dead body, it's no wonder I'm blurting stuff out off the top of my head.'

She waited.

He closed his mouth.

The building was large. There would be numerous access points. `How many entries are there into this house?'

`Five, six counting the garage.'

`We will block them with heavy furniture. A Taloner may still enter, but not silently. I will sleep here,' she nodded at the long padded seat, `where I will hear any intrusion. Come. We will shift the furniture now.' She strode towards the front door.

`What about your hands?'

She glanced at her bloody palms. `What is your concern?'

`Don't you want to wash first?'

Did he genuinely mean that or was he attempting humour? `Are you asking me to wash my hands so you can take clean furniture with you to the afterlife?'

A muscle jerked at his jaw. `When you put it like that, bloodied hands are fine. A little bit of finger paint always adds to a home's décor.'

`You can procure me a jug and basin once we are secure.'

`That's what you use on your world?' He flanked her as they walked. `A basin?'

`Naturally we have baths but they are time consuming to fill when there are no servants on hand.'

The flecks in his tawny eyes darkened. `You really are from another world!'

`You doubted me?'

`No,' Max smiled. `Just wait until you have a shower!'

`We have storms on our kingdom, but your sky was cloud-free tonight.'

`Not that sort of shower.'

`This will do, but I need your assistance.' Shahkara indicated the large solid oak bookshelf that graced the foyer.

`I thought you had super strength.' He took one side and inefficiently helped her to slide it across the entrance.

`I am not as strong as a full-blooded Taloner, but even they have limits. They can toss human bodies around but cannot cut steel. The shelf looks secure. They will not be able to move it without creating noise. Max, what is a pawn?'

`It's part of a board game, called chess.'

`My world does not have this game, yet I am curious. Why did Jack describe you as this pawn?'

`They're lesser pieces, the ones you sacrifice to win the game. It's used in war talk too, to refer to expendable soldiers.'

`But why do the Taloners wish to eliminate you as part of their battle strategy? Why are you important?'

`I'm not. That I know of. As I said, I didn't even know Taloners existed until tonight!'

`Then to find out who wants you dead, you need to find out why.'

`How?'

`You are the son of a nobleman—'

`Businessman.'

`A merchant's son has money and connections. You must investigate.'

`As long as I don't end up dead!'

`That is why you must know your enemy.'

Know your enemy. The words clung to Max long after they'd blocked all entry points and he'd taken a shower. The hot water had done little to wash away the cloying feeling of dread. How could he investigate this Brisbane coven? Why did they want him dead?

Oh, god...Mum! He sat down heavily on the edge of his bed as shock pushed against his ribs. His mother's ex-bodyguard had known about the Taloners, even if he'd not known what they were. All those years ago Nick had been laughed out of court when he claimed she'd been killed by a man with claws, but tonight's revelations proved his story.

Taloners must have killed Mum, like they killed Ethan.

Max felt cold to his bones. They obviously killed all the `serial' victims. And now they apparently wanted to kill him.

Why? What had he done?

Hair damp from his shower, he wandered out to the kitchen but stopped short when he saw how the blood had congealed around the decapitated head on the tiles. Nausea gripped him as he sidestepped the corpse. He reached into the cupboard for a glass and poured a rum and cola, cursing as his shaking hand spilt liquor on his sleeve.

Why would anyone want to destroy his family?

His pulse quickened as he tumbled upon the answer.

His father. Loathing ate at his insides. Liam McCalden wouldn't have wanted his wife or sons dead, but he had enemies. A lot of them. Could the Taloners be targeting Max to get back at his dad? After all, he had wealth, power and a supercilious disregard for anyone but himself.

`Your bathing facilities are impressive,' Shahkara announced as she too entered the kitchen, rubbing a towel through her wet hair. Her intricate armour was wiped clean of blood and almost mocked the informality of her shapely calves, and bare feet.

`Earth showers are better than a thunderstorm, huh?'

`I wish I could take your shower back to my kingdom.' The smile vanished as her gaze latched upon the corpse. `Jack's body is still on the floor. How can this be?'

`You think he's taking too long to crumble?' They sounded as macabre as undertakers chatting over morning tea.

`Yes. Taloners fall to dust moments after they are killed. When that did not happen I thought things might work more slowly here, but this is too long. Some part of him is still alive. We must destroy the body.'

Shahkara's cool indifference was hard to take. How often did she slay people and remove dead bodies? Was it Taloner temperament that underpinned her detachment or just that their situation required a cool head?

From the moment she'd slammed into him, an arrow had pierced his heart. He didn't believe in destiny or kismet, but for some reason he believed in her. He felt a connection that was deeper than physical attraction. But what if his thudding pulse was deceiving him? Was he only a part of her very detached plans? She had sunk her talons into Jack. Would she do the same with him, if the need arose? I will not hurt you, she'd said. But could he trust her?

`Do you burn dead bodies on this world?' She tugged boots on to her feet.

`What?'

`How do you eliminate corpses?'

`We burn some, bury others.'

She examined her torn belt which Jack had ripped away with her scabbard. `Do you have a replacement strap?'

`A belt? I've a spare one that might fit you.'

`Bring it to me. Now, please.'

`Uh, sure.' Wandering into his room, he grasped the sliding door of his built-in robe as if it were his only grip on reality. They were talking about dead bodies and how to get rid of one and then `bring me your strap'. How did this all happen? He found the belt amongst a pile of clothes and clutched it in his hands. I can do this. I have to! He sucked in a few deep breaths and returned to the lounge.

`I am most grateful.' Shahkara strapped the belt around her cuirass. `We must burn the body to char to give him no possibility of returning.'

`But he's dead. You chopped off his head.'

`If Jack were completely dead, he would have disintegrated. Sometimes a Taloner's life-force remains. They are not biological animals, but creatures of black magic. They can return to life. That is why we must burn the body straight away.'

`Return? Without his head? You are freaking me out here. And we can't just take a body out and burn it. That's illegal.'

`You said your city burns corpses.'

`Yes, but we can't sneak one into a crematorium in the dead of night! Excuse the pun.'

`Then we will burn the body at the back of your house. I saw your yard through the bathroom window. It will be suitable.'

`We have a law against fires in the summer.'

`How do you cook without a flame?'

`Electricity — that technology you pretended to know about.' His hand gestured towards the overhead chandelier. No wonder she'd jumped when he hit the switch.

Colour spotted her cheeks. `Nevertheless, we must burn the body, even if we take it outside the city where the authorities will not find us. Do you have beasts or demons in your forests?'

`What?'

`If we journey outside your city boundaries, are there creatures lurking in wait for us?'

`Only traffic cops, I suppose.'

`Are they a threat? Do they cluster in large numbers?'

`Not often. I think we can handle them.'

`We need transportation.'

`I have a car but there's alcohol in my system. I can't drive until morning.'

`Do you want Jack re-awakening during the night and sinking his talons into your heart?'

His chest tightened. `I'll get the car.' He flip-flopped. `No, I can't. It's illegal.'

`Because you have consumed alcohol?'

`Yes!'

`I will drive instead.'

`You don't have a licence so that's illegal, too.'

`Is there a law for every action in this kingdom?'

`Pretty much — and every reaction.'

`Then you must procure a licence for me. Immediately.'

`It would be faster for me to sober up, trust me.'

`Very well, but just this once.' She grasped the side of his face and a tingling warmth spread from her fingertips, across his cheeks, down his throat to his chest and limbs until every nerve-ending fractured with energy. The buzzing in his ears faded and his mind cleared. `There.' She removed her hands. `The alcohol has left your bloodstream. You are sober and now legal.'

`How did you do that?'

`You have your magic, I have mine.'

`Shahkara, we are still in trouble. As soon as Dad or Ike realises Jack's disappeared, they'll file a missing person's report. There'll be an investigation and they'll find blood in the house. We'll be suspects.'

`Jack's blood will disintegrate once we burn him, but your concerns are not unfounded. As I said, you will only be safe when you're in hiding. The Taloners will try again.'

She bent over Jack's body and held her fingers above his ripped abdomen. The torn flesh rippled to `life', crept over the gaping wound and fused. Only a slight, criss-cross scar was left in its wake. `This will reduce the blood loss in transit.'

`You're like a superhero-wizard.'

`We must go.' She bundled the corpse over her shoulder and gripped its head in her free hand.

`There's blood running out of the…oh, yuck.' Max cringed as fluids dribbled to the floor. Nausea cramped his stomach and he yearned to run. Instead, he led the way to his Alfa Romeo coupe.

`This is your carriage?' she asked as they reached the adjoining garage.

`Well, it was Ethan's but, yes, it's mine.' Now.

`Where is the beast that pulls it?'

`It doesn't need a horse.'

Fascination illuminated her face, easing his nerves, which made him wonder how she could touch him so completely with a beautiful but rarely-given smile.

`Then what powers it?'

He dug the car key from his pocket and clicked once. When the headlights blinked, he smiled at her. `You have your magic, I have mine.'

Shahkara pushed, pulled and finally squeezed the cooling corpse into the boot. She wiped the blood from her hands before easing herself into the confined, front capsule next to Max. She glanced at him. How did he get beneath her skin so easily? He was like a spell cast by a runic mage.

He was fiddling with a mirror above the broad front window but said,`Put your seatbelt on.'

`I do not understand.'

`Let me,' he said, reaching across her for something.

She could sense his heart as it throbbed in time with hers, sending a skitter through her veins. And then alarm lashed her, as he bound her to the seat.

`Release me!'

Max raised his hands. `It's okay, I'm not tying you up! Look!' He pressed a button and the strap released her. `You can lock and unlock it yourself. See? We use them to keep safe while travelling. I'm wearing one, too.'

Her head thrummed with confusion. `How do they protect us? Is danger common in these carriages?'

`Not usually, it's just a precaution. It's a law. And it's a car, not a carriage.' He waved a tiny black box and the wide wall in front of them tilted upwards to reveal a large entrance way.

What made the wall move? Magic or technology? On Gorias, they still relied on working animals to pull their carriages. She knew that had been Earth's dominant mode of transport three hundred years ago. Had the Taloner wars starved them of the progress that this world enjoyed?

She shuddered as the carriage, car, roared to life and the panel in front of them lit up. Quivering vibrations rumbled through her. She gripped the seat. Only in the Twilight Mists had she experienced a similar rawness of energy and such throbbing power. The roar settled to a lusty purr as the car rolled smoothly through the open entrance and out on to the driveway. `What sort of magic is this?'

`It's science.' He flicked at a rod and a small light clicked repeatedly as they turned on to the road they had walked along earlier. `Basically, the motor converts fuel to power.'

`Fascinating.' She feared her tired body would be lulled to sleep by the soft humming vibrations, although the motion also caused a queasiness in her stomach which should keep her alert.

He flicked at the clicking rod again and they turned on to another road. `Tell me about your world's magic.'

`What do you wish to know?'

`How did you remove the alcohol from my body?'

`That was not magic but my Ainefire. It is a Taloner trait, an extension of my self-healing abilities. I can only use magic if it has been given to me, like the translation spell that allows me to know your Earthern languages.'

`You can't speak English?'

`I could not before arriving here. English does not exist on our world. It is one of your evolved tongues.'

`What if the spell breaks? Will we be able to communicate?'

`The magic vanished once the languages were embedded in my mind. They are now part of my consciousness, like any knowledge learnt at school.'

`Magic is real! That's unreal.'

She wondered again at this odd language, or his use of it, but only for a moment. As they entered a very wide road and their speed increased, she felt the need to give her full attention to gripping the seatbelt, particularly as many other fast-moving cars weaved this way and that around them.

Not wishing to show fear, she kept talking. `But your world has magic, Max. There are lights that come on with a flick of your finger, and walls showing visions of far-away lands.'

`That's really not magic, Shahkara. Again, it's science.'

`They are the same — tricks that enhance human existence, though I suspect your science has been a greater ally against the Taloners. If they tormented your people openly like they did on our world, you could use your inventions to hamper them. For my people, the Elnara is our only hope.'

`Elnara? What's that?'

She bit her lip. Blast her loose tongue — and blast him for loosening her defences. `Nothing.'

`Which means it's something.' He turned on to another road. `You can trust me.'

She had little choice.

`Is the Elnara a place or a force or thing that could be used against them?'

`I cannot say.'

`Is it a person or an object? You wouldn't say it's your only hope unless it could somehow thwart the Taloners.'

`The Elnara is an ancient artefact, a death lantern crafted from the magic of Danu. It is foretold that once activated it will destroy all Taloners.' He already had parts of the puzzle; maybe telling him the truth was safer than letting him jump to conclusions. Or was that merely her justification for confiding in him?

`Taloners everywhere? Your world and mine?'

`I do not know, but I must activate it on my world to ensure the coven's destruction there.'

`But if this artefact belongs to Earth, shouldn't it be activated here?'

Regret nipped at her. `Our prophecies foretell of it saving our world — and our need is greater.'

`But I've been attacked by a Taloner, and my mum and brother are buried in the Mount Gravatt Cemetery, most likely because of them. The media keeps going on about this Rip`n'Stitch serial killer who rips out teenagers' hearts and leaves a criss-cross scar.'

He shivered. `The Rip`n'Stitch has to be a Taloner, right? He leaves the same mark as you did when you melded Jack's skin. This coven is murdering people on our world, too.'

`In my kingdom, crops lie rotting in the fields after the coven slayed the farmers who used to till them. Many of our best warriors were murdered as they travelled between cities. Our population is dying. We are without future, without hope.'

`Oh, no!'

`I assure you, I speak the truth.'

`No, I mean uh-oh oh no!' Max grimaced and pointed ahead at some bright lights, flashing blue and red. He slowed the car and came to a halt.

`What is the predicament?'

`Cops. Police.' He pointed to the group of people garbed in luminous vests, talking to other drivers parked ahead of them.

`Do they know we have a dead body in the boot?'

`Shh! Do you want the whole city to hear you? Of course they don't know, how could they? They'll be doing a random breath test.'

`That is nonsensical. Why implement a test to check if we can breathe or not? Is your city plagued by wraiths?'

`No.' Max glanced at her. `Well, I don't think so. But who would know. After tonight, I'd say nearly anything is possible.'

He touched a button and his window sank scientifically into the door.

`The police check to see if drivers have been drinking alcohol. Don't say anything. You'll make them suspicious. I hope that healing spell of yours worked.'

`It was not a spell.'

`Same difference.'

She blinked. How could the same be different?

`Well, I'll be!' Max's eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched the policeman who was approaching their car. `It's Ryan.'

`Do you know this man?' she asked.

`Ryan Tanner. Old family friend, ex-bodyguard, now cop.'

Dark eyes met theirs as the cop bent down to face them through the open window. `Hey Max. I thought you'd be at your Dad's big party by now. Did you chicken out?'

`No, we're on our way there now.'

`Is this a new girlfriend?'

Shahkara tried a smile as Ryan assessed her. He would not be so friendly if he knew about the dead body.

`No, we're just friends.' He waved his hands between them. `Shahkara, Detective Constable Ryan Tanner.'

`Nice costume for the ball, Shahkara,' Ryan said. `Max, where are your bodyguards?'

`I ditched them.'

`Your dad pays them for a good reason.'

`Yeah. But what gives with you? RBTs aren't your beat.'

`This isn't an RBT. We got a tip-off about a missing person. The uniforms will check your car in a minute. It won't take long.'

A blonde-haired policewoman now approached their car.

`Is there a problem, Tanner?' Despite her clipped tone, her vowels were softer than those of Max and his friend. Shahkara guessed she was raised far away from this city.

`Sorry, Detective Sergeant O'Neal. This is Liam McCalden's son, Max. I was just saying hello.'

`We don't have time for caramel lattes, Detective Constable. Friends or not, check their car. No sense waiting for Constable Parker to amble along and do it.'

She sniffed. `What's that smell? Have you been drinking, Mr McCalden?'

`No,' Max lied.

The woman, obviously Ryan's superior, pulled a box-like packet, with a white straw, from her pocket. She handed it to Max but spoke to Ryan. `He reeks of rum and I've heard he has a reputation for it. Give him a breath test.'

`But that's not why we're out here.'

`We are always out for RBTs, Tanner, especially when a driver smells like he's taken a bath in Bundy. I'm sure Mr McCalden doesn't think he's above the law. Do it.'

`You know the routine Max,' Ryan said. `Blow until it beeps.' Max did as he was told and handed the packet back to Ryan who peered at it and said, `Zero. All clear.'

`What?' O'Neal took the packet from him. `But I can smell the booze! What did you do, take a swim in it?'

`One of my friends spilt a drink on me earlier tonight.' Max held out his arm to her.

`Check the back seat and boot, Tanner.'

Max did not move a muscle but Shahkara could hear the acceleration of his heart. She reached out and touched his elbow reassuringly, even though her own insides clenched with worry.

`Do you have to?' Max's voice barely wavered. `We're already late.'

O'Neal glared at him. `We're searching vehicles for a missing teenager. So unless you have him or drugs or dead bodies in your boot, it not going to take long.'

Oh no! Max had warned her this might occur and she had refused to listen, too intent on eradicating Jack before any part of him could return to destroy them.

Beg Danu! The woman seemed to be joking about dead bodies, so what would they do when Ryan opened the back of the car?

Every conceivable scenario was fraught with flaws. She and Max were ill-equipped to escape on foot without her being forced to use the talons she wished to conceal. Their best chance, also not good, was to accelerate through the crowd and hope the cars with flashing lights were slower. Her spirits plummeted.

She straightened her back, already as stiff as a newly-forged sword, sucked in a breath and waited.