chance.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the woman pulled the covers down and leaned over, presumably to begin undressing and redressing Claire. In one fluid motion, the phoenix pulled her knees as close to her chest as she could get them, rolled over, and pushed the heels of her hands into the woman’s chest at the same time she kicked the griffin in the stomach with all her might.
Claire heard the crack of the woman’s ribs as the griffin stumbled backward, her arms cartwheeling in an attempt to catch her balance before crashing into the dresser and crumbling into a heap on the floor. No sooner had the phoenix made it to her feet than three small explosions, one right after the other, shook the house, throwing her into total darkness. Thanking the Heavens for her ability to see in the dark, Claire jumped when the Hulk yelled through the door.
“Everything okay in there, Lydia?”
So that’s her name...
“Sorry, Lydia. Nothing personal, but there’s no way in hell I’m mating Slade,” Claire whispered as she covered the fallen griffin with the quilt from the bed and took cover behind the thick oak footboard a split second before Hulk burst through the door with two other griffins on his heels.
Squinting against the darkness, the Hulk roared when he spotted the blanket-covered Lydia. “Oh my God! What have you done? Lydia!”
Guess they were close...
Turning toward Claire with murder in his eyes, Hulk threw himself at her head while screaming like a banshee. The phoenix within took over. Fire flew from Claire’s fingertips. The behemoth of a griffin, who seconds before had been plotting her demise, howled as fire danced over his bald head and down his spine, setting his expensive black suit ablaze with him still in it.
Flipping in midair to avoid Claire’s second burst of fire, Hulk collided with the dressing table. Wood splintered and glass shattered as the huge griffin rolled over and over, trying to extinguish the fire eating at his clothes and skin. Unfortunately for him, phoenix fire was magical. He could roll all he wanted but it wouldn’t go out until there was nothing left to burn or Claire commanded it to extinguish.
The shock of seeing one of their own in flames caused the other two thugs to rethink their plan. Stopping dead in their tracks, the tall, bulky men looked at one another, then at Claire, then back at one another before turning tail and running out the door.
Shouting voices and pounding footsteps headed in her direction as she tried to think of her next move. Standing in the middle of the room, an image of her cousins flashed through her mind at the same time she felt their presence. Close on the heels of that recognition came the knowledge that Rory, as well as his Force, was with them. Preparing to fight her way to her family and the man she knew the Universe had made for her, Claire ran to the door, leaned against the wall by the doorframe, and reached out with her enhanced senses to see if the coast was clear.
She could tell there were four griffins coming up the front staircase from the second floor, with six more advancing from the ground floor. Malick’s bellowed instructions that she not be allowed to escape or they would all die for their incompetence came from somewhere in the middle of the house, and he was surrounded by more heartbeats than she could count.
Figures the bastard would cover his own ass.
Taking a deep breath, she braced her right hand on the doorframe, counted to three, and propelled herself into the hall. Running faster than she ever had, Claire made it to the back staircase a second before the first set of griffins stepped onto the third floor. They screamed in unison for her to stop. She could feel their fear and desperation to do as they were commanded simply to avoid punishment. They didn’t give a flip about her; it was their own hides they were worried about. It hurt her heart to think they would be punished but she was in the
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the woman pulled the covers down and leaned over, presumably to begin undressing and redressing Claire. In one fluid motion, the phoenix pulled her knees as close to her chest as she could get them, rolled over, and pushed the heels of her hands into the woman’s chest at the same time she kicked the griffin in the stomach with all her might.
Claire heard the crack of the woman’s ribs as the griffin stumbled backward, her arms cartwheeling in an attempt to catch her balance before crashing into the dresser and crumbling into a heap on the floor. No sooner had the phoenix made it to her feet than three small explosions, one right after the other, shook the house, throwing her into total darkness. Thanking the Heavens for her ability to see in the dark, Claire jumped when the Hulk yelled through the door.
“Everything okay in there, Lydia?”
So that’s her name...
“Sorry, Lydia. Nothing personal, but there’s no way in hell I’m mating Slade,” Claire whispered as she covered the fallen griffin with the quilt from the bed and took cover behind the thick oak footboard a split second before Hulk burst through the door with two other griffins on his heels.
Squinting against the darkness, the Hulk roared when he spotted the blanket-covered Lydia. “Oh my God! What have you done? Lydia!”
Guess they were close...
Turning toward Claire with murder in his eyes, Hulk threw himself at her head while screaming like a banshee. The phoenix within took over. Fire flew from Claire’s fingertips. The behemoth of a griffin, who seconds before had been plotting her demise, howled as fire danced over his bald head and down his spine, setting his expensive black suit ablaze with him still in it.
Flipping in midair to avoid Claire’s second burst of fire, Hulk collided with the dressing table. Wood splintered and glass shattered as the huge griffin rolled over and over, trying to extinguish the fire eating at his clothes and skin. Unfortunately for him, phoenix fire was magical. He could roll all he wanted but it wouldn’t go out until there was nothing left to burn or Claire commanded it to extinguish.
The shock of seeing one of their own in flames caused the other two thugs to rethink their plan. Stopping dead in their tracks, the tall, bulky men looked at one another, then at Claire, then back at one another before turning tail and running out the door.
Shouting voices and pounding footsteps headed in her direction as she tried to think of her next move. Standing in the middle of the room, an image of her cousins flashed through her mind at the same time she felt their presence. Close on the heels of that recognition came the knowledge that Rory, as well as his Force, was with them. Preparing to fight her way to her family and the man she knew the Universe had made for her, Claire ran to the door, leaned against the wall by the doorframe, and reached out with her enhanced senses to see if the coast was clear.
She could tell there were four griffins coming up the front staircase from the second floor, with six more advancing from the ground floor. Malick’s bellowed instructions that she not be allowed to escape or they would all die for their incompetence came from somewhere in the middle of the house, and he was surrounded by more heartbeats than she could count.
Figures the bastard would cover his own ass.
Taking a deep breath, she braced her right hand on the doorframe, counted to three, and propelled herself into the hall. Running faster than she ever had, Claire made it to the back staircase a second before the first set of griffins stepped onto the third floor. They screamed in unison for her to stop. She could feel their fear and desperation to do as they were commanded simply to avoid punishment. They didn’t give a flip about her; it was their own hides they were worried about. It hurt her heart to think they would be punished but she was in the
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