at his head. Swearing, he dove to the right. The arrow skimmed the side of his head, cleaving a small furrow in his flesh. By the time he was on his feet, there was already another arrow in her bow and she was pulling back the string.
"Hey!" he shouted as he called out his sai with a crack and a flash of black light. "I'm not here to hurt you!"
Not even hesitating, she released the arrow again. This time, he managed to get behind a tree. Somehow, she had anticipated his move and the arrow seemed to follow him as if it were tracking directly to his heart. It went straight through the trunk of the tree and out the other side. He leapt back as the tip of it emerged out of the wood. It came to a stop with more than eighteen inches of it protruding from the backside of the tree, the tip less than a millimeter from his throat.
Damn. She was good. He liked that. All the better to have on his team.
Adrenaline pounded through him as he dove silently to the right, sliding behind a bush as he readied his sai. But when he came up, she was gone.
He went still, searching with his preternatural senses, trying to find her. There was silence, too much silence. The birds had gone quiet. The animals had stopped moving. Even the wind seemed to have stilled. His skin prickled in awareness and he went down on one knee, poised to attack as he searched the woods around him for the cause of the forest's reaction.
There was a heavy weight in the air, the same malevolence that he'd felt the night before around the campfire. He knew without a doubt that the evil wasn't coming from the woman. She had fought him out of fear and desperation, not out of evil. Something else had joined them in these woods.
Something that might have been hunting her.
The thought that this evil had grabbed her made something inside him clench, a gut wrenching tension that actually hurt. His instinct was to leap to his feet and race after her, even though he had no idea which way she'd gone. Instead, he eased up, keeping his mind utterly quiet as he reached out in all directions, searching for the sound, the scent, or the movement that would tell him what he needed to know.
For a moment, he sensed nothing but the void that the jungle had become. And still he didn't move. He was too seasoned to react prematurely, and he knew that whatever it was still had to be close by. It would have to move eventually, and then he'd track it.
After what felt like an eternity of agonizing wait, but was probably less than five seconds, he heard a faint grunt of pain from his right. It was a masculine grunt, the sound of a man. Zach was on the move within a millisecond, sprinting almost silently through the forest as he hurtled toward his prey.
Chapter 8
Rhiannon gasped as she was grabbed from behind. This time, it wasn't simply a hand on her shoulder. This time, she was torn ruthlessly off her feet and jerked backward. She fought for balance as she fell, and then saw who had grabbed her. One of José's Calydons. Luther.
Fear leapt through her, but she didn't freeze this time, unlike when she'd been attacked in her apartment and been momentarily paralyzed with terror. She felt different in these woods, and old instincts rose fast. She slammed her palm into his throat with as much force as she could summon, even as her other hand went to her hip for her dagger. He let out a grunt of pain as her fingers closed over the hilt of her weapon. She whipped it free and drove it upward—
He slammed his fist down on the back of her hand, knocking the dagger from her grasp. She lunged for it as it fell toward the earth, but he jerked her back and threw her over his shoulder. She gasped as she landed on his muscular shoulder, his rock-hard body knocking the breath out of her.
For a moment, all she could do was hang onto him as she fought for air. Her hand was numb where he'd hit it, her fingers throbbing uselessly.
That one moment of her recovery was all he needed. His arms locked around her
"Hey!" he shouted as he called out his sai with a crack and a flash of black light. "I'm not here to hurt you!"
Not even hesitating, she released the arrow again. This time, he managed to get behind a tree. Somehow, she had anticipated his move and the arrow seemed to follow him as if it were tracking directly to his heart. It went straight through the trunk of the tree and out the other side. He leapt back as the tip of it emerged out of the wood. It came to a stop with more than eighteen inches of it protruding from the backside of the tree, the tip less than a millimeter from his throat.
Damn. She was good. He liked that. All the better to have on his team.
Adrenaline pounded through him as he dove silently to the right, sliding behind a bush as he readied his sai. But when he came up, she was gone.
He went still, searching with his preternatural senses, trying to find her. There was silence, too much silence. The birds had gone quiet. The animals had stopped moving. Even the wind seemed to have stilled. His skin prickled in awareness and he went down on one knee, poised to attack as he searched the woods around him for the cause of the forest's reaction.
There was a heavy weight in the air, the same malevolence that he'd felt the night before around the campfire. He knew without a doubt that the evil wasn't coming from the woman. She had fought him out of fear and desperation, not out of evil. Something else had joined them in these woods.
Something that might have been hunting her.
The thought that this evil had grabbed her made something inside him clench, a gut wrenching tension that actually hurt. His instinct was to leap to his feet and race after her, even though he had no idea which way she'd gone. Instead, he eased up, keeping his mind utterly quiet as he reached out in all directions, searching for the sound, the scent, or the movement that would tell him what he needed to know.
For a moment, he sensed nothing but the void that the jungle had become. And still he didn't move. He was too seasoned to react prematurely, and he knew that whatever it was still had to be close by. It would have to move eventually, and then he'd track it.
After what felt like an eternity of agonizing wait, but was probably less than five seconds, he heard a faint grunt of pain from his right. It was a masculine grunt, the sound of a man. Zach was on the move within a millisecond, sprinting almost silently through the forest as he hurtled toward his prey.
Chapter 8
Rhiannon gasped as she was grabbed from behind. This time, it wasn't simply a hand on her shoulder. This time, she was torn ruthlessly off her feet and jerked backward. She fought for balance as she fell, and then saw who had grabbed her. One of José's Calydons. Luther.
Fear leapt through her, but she didn't freeze this time, unlike when she'd been attacked in her apartment and been momentarily paralyzed with terror. She felt different in these woods, and old instincts rose fast. She slammed her palm into his throat with as much force as she could summon, even as her other hand went to her hip for her dagger. He let out a grunt of pain as her fingers closed over the hilt of her weapon. She whipped it free and drove it upward—
He slammed his fist down on the back of her hand, knocking the dagger from her grasp. She lunged for it as it fell toward the earth, but he jerked her back and threw her over his shoulder. She gasped as she landed on his muscular shoulder, his rock-hard body knocking the breath out of her.
For a moment, all she could do was hang onto him as she fought for air. Her hand was numb where he'd hit it, her fingers throbbing uselessly.
That one moment of her recovery was all he needed. His arms locked around her
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