She went that way!”
The man looked behind his shoulder.
Her heart lurched into her knees and she gasped. They were close.
“Come now!” He shoved his hand toward her.
Did she really have a choice?
Arianna took his hand as the first gleam of a flashlight illuminated the area. “Oh my gosh, it’s too late.”
“Hold on,” he pressed her face into his chest and then a brilliant blue light exploded around them. Her mind sank into the peace oblivion of nothingness.
Chapter 11: That’s a funny joke…oh wait, you’re not kidding
Sable gripped the base of the large tree, watching the night around her like one would a horror movie, expecting at any moment that Jason or Freddy would jump out and cleave her in half. The rattling of a tree limb several stories high made her feel like she was ready to puke from the nerves. She didn’t even want to think about what was up there. A sleek, black panther—it’s green eyes locked on her neck—stalking forward on silent pads, seconds from jumping her.
She shivered, her forearms broke out in goose flesh, and she couldn’t help but glance up. “Stop it,” she reprimanded herself impatiently and for the like the thousandth time. When the hell was Hunter gonna come back?
The sky was black, dipped in diamonds and shrouded with a smoky veil of shimmering indigo. It still amazed her how well she could see. She was a predator now too. She needed to remember that. The next alarming quiver of leaves made her forget just as quickly though.
The air in front of her shivered with a pulsing blue and Hunter stepped out with a frail looking china doll of a woman gripped tight in his arms. She was passed out; actually she looked dead and cold. Her skin, which had probably been a warm shade of buttery brown, was at the present ashen with a pale gray ring around her mouth. Black hair trailed on the grass, picking up bits of bramble and pebbles.
“Lift her head,” she ordered, “trust me, she won’t appreciate all the snarls later. And what did you do to her anyway? Is that our healer?”
He shook his head, but did as she’d said. He cradled the cargo like she weighed no more than a feather. Her clothes, if you could even call it that—nothing more than a couple of well-placed strings of hide and long grass—were scorched and tattered. She was pretty much naked—a fact that obviously wasn’t escaping Hunter as he kept glancing down at her every two point five seconds with a look in his eyes that made Sable tingle. No man had ever looked at her like that before. Like he didn’t want to just touch her, but consume her.
“I didn’t do this. It’s the guerrillas after her. They’re coming here now,” there was an urgency to his words she’d never heard before. “I’ve got to get her to safety. She’s too valuable to us to let anything happen to her.”
“Okay.” She nodded, spooked by the thought of machete toting lunatics hard on their heels. “Let’s go then.”
The tip of his tongue stuck out the right side of his mouth and moving back and forth.
“What?” she asked, overcome by déjà vu. She knew that look, had seen it many times before—though it made her feel totally crazy—but she had seen it. And it had never preceded anything good.
“I have to take Arianna back.”
“ Ookay ,” she said very slowly, knowing somehow there was a but in there. He wasn’t acting like himself. “Spit it out, Hunter,” she said a moment later when he still hadn’t said anything.
He cleared his throat. “You will have to find our last piece of the puzzle.”
“What! Without you?”
He closed his eyes, his arms wrapped around Arianna’s now shivering shoulders. “Arianna needs time to heal. I cannot trek her around. Besides, Slayde is a hot head.”
“So what makes you think—”
“Because you have a bond.”
She snorted, a mix between fear and sheer incredulousness. “You are kidding, right? Tell me you’re kidding, Hunter. That bond would have been
The man looked behind his shoulder.
Her heart lurched into her knees and she gasped. They were close.
“Come now!” He shoved his hand toward her.
Did she really have a choice?
Arianna took his hand as the first gleam of a flashlight illuminated the area. “Oh my gosh, it’s too late.”
“Hold on,” he pressed her face into his chest and then a brilliant blue light exploded around them. Her mind sank into the peace oblivion of nothingness.
Chapter 11: That’s a funny joke…oh wait, you’re not kidding
Sable gripped the base of the large tree, watching the night around her like one would a horror movie, expecting at any moment that Jason or Freddy would jump out and cleave her in half. The rattling of a tree limb several stories high made her feel like she was ready to puke from the nerves. She didn’t even want to think about what was up there. A sleek, black panther—it’s green eyes locked on her neck—stalking forward on silent pads, seconds from jumping her.
She shivered, her forearms broke out in goose flesh, and she couldn’t help but glance up. “Stop it,” she reprimanded herself impatiently and for the like the thousandth time. When the hell was Hunter gonna come back?
The sky was black, dipped in diamonds and shrouded with a smoky veil of shimmering indigo. It still amazed her how well she could see. She was a predator now too. She needed to remember that. The next alarming quiver of leaves made her forget just as quickly though.
The air in front of her shivered with a pulsing blue and Hunter stepped out with a frail looking china doll of a woman gripped tight in his arms. She was passed out; actually she looked dead and cold. Her skin, which had probably been a warm shade of buttery brown, was at the present ashen with a pale gray ring around her mouth. Black hair trailed on the grass, picking up bits of bramble and pebbles.
“Lift her head,” she ordered, “trust me, she won’t appreciate all the snarls later. And what did you do to her anyway? Is that our healer?”
He shook his head, but did as she’d said. He cradled the cargo like she weighed no more than a feather. Her clothes, if you could even call it that—nothing more than a couple of well-placed strings of hide and long grass—were scorched and tattered. She was pretty much naked—a fact that obviously wasn’t escaping Hunter as he kept glancing down at her every two point five seconds with a look in his eyes that made Sable tingle. No man had ever looked at her like that before. Like he didn’t want to just touch her, but consume her.
“I didn’t do this. It’s the guerrillas after her. They’re coming here now,” there was an urgency to his words she’d never heard before. “I’ve got to get her to safety. She’s too valuable to us to let anything happen to her.”
“Okay.” She nodded, spooked by the thought of machete toting lunatics hard on their heels. “Let’s go then.”
The tip of his tongue stuck out the right side of his mouth and moving back and forth.
“What?” she asked, overcome by déjà vu. She knew that look, had seen it many times before—though it made her feel totally crazy—but she had seen it. And it had never preceded anything good.
“I have to take Arianna back.”
“ Ookay ,” she said very slowly, knowing somehow there was a but in there. He wasn’t acting like himself. “Spit it out, Hunter,” she said a moment later when he still hadn’t said anything.
He cleared his throat. “You will have to find our last piece of the puzzle.”
“What! Without you?”
He closed his eyes, his arms wrapped around Arianna’s now shivering shoulders. “Arianna needs time to heal. I cannot trek her around. Besides, Slayde is a hot head.”
“So what makes you think—”
“Because you have a bond.”
She snorted, a mix between fear and sheer incredulousness. “You are kidding, right? Tell me you’re kidding, Hunter. That bond would have been
Similar Books
