don’t think about the other hand. Stupid motherfuckers.” He shook his head and toed at the body, looking it over for any possible signs of life. It never hurt to double check.
“K, but you killed our only shot at knowing how they found me.” She said it patiently, like he was simple. “No wizard has ever managed to follow me before, and we’re like a thousand miles from home.”
Closer to eight hundred, but he was smart enough not to correct her hyperbole.
“Kinda doesn’t matter now. Killing that thing was too damn easy, which means either he was a stupid cowboy or there are more on the way, and it’s better if we don’t stick around to find out. Besides, we’ll get another shot. If it was you they tracked, they’ll find you again.” He jerked his head toward Alexia, ignoring Tyra’s answering eye roll. “She’s hurt pretty bad.”
Tyra nodded. “Grab her.”
First, Lee got down on his haunches and looked over the dead wizard. Typically, vampires would slice and dice vanquished wizards a little, and then relieve the bastards of their stupid robe getup. Once the body drained, it would crumble to dust like a vampire left out in the day. Short on time, Lee settled for a quick vertical slice on each wrist and hoped for the best.
A tug on the wizard’s finger netted one fugly signet ring, embossed with a small heart. Lee stowed it in his pocket before turning to Alexia. She was definitely still breathing, and he detected a pulse, but it was very faint. Shock, maybe.
Even as deadweight the girl couldn’t have been more than a buck ten, and lifting her was child’s play. “Wait.” He yanked a fleece throw from a nearby futon and tossed it over her before propping her face-forward against his shoulder. Not a chance in hell he was gonna get wizard blood on her.
Tyra gasped. Unseen while Alexia had been lying like a rag doll on the carpet, a deep, inflamed wound crossed her back and shoulder blade. Whatever the wizard had hit her with seemed to have cauterized on impact, so at least she hadn’t lost a ton of blood. But that didn’t explain why she was unconscious, and that was a bigger worry.
“All right,” Lee growled. “Let’s just get home.” He wanted to put Alexia down as soon as possible. That disgusting, fetid wizard blood was seeping into the blanket.
Tyra gripped Lee’s shoulder gently, wrapping her opposite arm around Alexia’s body. He glanced around at the sparse furnishings. White walls, red futon. Small cheapo desk with one of those tiny netbook things on it. The only other furniture was a giant industrial shelving-unit packed full of books that the girl would never read again.
Lee braced for the inevitable loss of control as Tyra turned all of their bodies into nothing more than vapor. Damn, but he hated to travel this way. Tyra closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, gathering the power and strength she would need to move so much weight a second time. Alexia’s blonde hair faded before his eyes.
Then they were gone.
Chapter 11
Thad sat next to Isabel on a pristine white padded bench in the pristine front hall of what was now his pristine home, wondering how things had gotten so messy so fast. The foyer’s large, glittery chandelier cast the kind of elegant glow one would expect to see at a dinner party, and Thad couldn’t figure out how the light could be so bright when their moods were so dark.
It probably had been Isabel’s first time seeing a wizard. That alone would be a shock, even without the added head fuck of seeing her roommate in a heap on the carpet and then teleporting across the East Coast. She was wide eyed and slack jawed, with a healthy dose of this-is-not-happening all over her face.
Thad grasped her palm and gently interlaced his fingers with hers. Her hands were the softest things he’d ever touched, and they shook like crazy. He struggled with how best to care for her. How could he reassure her when he wasn’t entirely sure how it would all
“K, but you killed our only shot at knowing how they found me.” She said it patiently, like he was simple. “No wizard has ever managed to follow me before, and we’re like a thousand miles from home.”
Closer to eight hundred, but he was smart enough not to correct her hyperbole.
“Kinda doesn’t matter now. Killing that thing was too damn easy, which means either he was a stupid cowboy or there are more on the way, and it’s better if we don’t stick around to find out. Besides, we’ll get another shot. If it was you they tracked, they’ll find you again.” He jerked his head toward Alexia, ignoring Tyra’s answering eye roll. “She’s hurt pretty bad.”
Tyra nodded. “Grab her.”
First, Lee got down on his haunches and looked over the dead wizard. Typically, vampires would slice and dice vanquished wizards a little, and then relieve the bastards of their stupid robe getup. Once the body drained, it would crumble to dust like a vampire left out in the day. Short on time, Lee settled for a quick vertical slice on each wrist and hoped for the best.
A tug on the wizard’s finger netted one fugly signet ring, embossed with a small heart. Lee stowed it in his pocket before turning to Alexia. She was definitely still breathing, and he detected a pulse, but it was very faint. Shock, maybe.
Even as deadweight the girl couldn’t have been more than a buck ten, and lifting her was child’s play. “Wait.” He yanked a fleece throw from a nearby futon and tossed it over her before propping her face-forward against his shoulder. Not a chance in hell he was gonna get wizard blood on her.
Tyra gasped. Unseen while Alexia had been lying like a rag doll on the carpet, a deep, inflamed wound crossed her back and shoulder blade. Whatever the wizard had hit her with seemed to have cauterized on impact, so at least she hadn’t lost a ton of blood. But that didn’t explain why she was unconscious, and that was a bigger worry.
“All right,” Lee growled. “Let’s just get home.” He wanted to put Alexia down as soon as possible. That disgusting, fetid wizard blood was seeping into the blanket.
Tyra gripped Lee’s shoulder gently, wrapping her opposite arm around Alexia’s body. He glanced around at the sparse furnishings. White walls, red futon. Small cheapo desk with one of those tiny netbook things on it. The only other furniture was a giant industrial shelving-unit packed full of books that the girl would never read again.
Lee braced for the inevitable loss of control as Tyra turned all of their bodies into nothing more than vapor. Damn, but he hated to travel this way. Tyra closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, gathering the power and strength she would need to move so much weight a second time. Alexia’s blonde hair faded before his eyes.
Then they were gone.
Chapter 11
Thad sat next to Isabel on a pristine white padded bench in the pristine front hall of what was now his pristine home, wondering how things had gotten so messy so fast. The foyer’s large, glittery chandelier cast the kind of elegant glow one would expect to see at a dinner party, and Thad couldn’t figure out how the light could be so bright when their moods were so dark.
It probably had been Isabel’s first time seeing a wizard. That alone would be a shock, even without the added head fuck of seeing her roommate in a heap on the carpet and then teleporting across the East Coast. She was wide eyed and slack jawed, with a healthy dose of this-is-not-happening all over her face.
Thad grasped her palm and gently interlaced his fingers with hers. Her hands were the softest things he’d ever touched, and they shook like crazy. He struggled with how best to care for her. How could he reassure her when he wasn’t entirely sure how it would all
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