with you more than she wanted to go to the Sanctum, so she’s all yours. I’d just kill her anyway for helping you escape.”
My heart stuttered with fear at his words, but Sil’s grip on me tightened. “Liar. You’ve already given yourself away, Captain. If that were true, she’d already be dead. And so would I. Mazikin are not as stupid as you think.”
I moaned quietly. Malachi probably
would
want to kill me as soon as he saw his beheaded friend, who had died with the bashful blush still on his cheeks.
“Come, girl. You’ll feel like a brand-new person once you join my family. Don’t worry. Let’s get out of here.” Sil walked backward, pulling me along. He seemed to know exactly wherehe was going and dragged me, stumbling, past several doors in the endless stone corridor. I half expected Malachi’s knives to embed themselves in my chest at any moment, but he remained frozen in place, watching us go, his eyes alight with both fury and concern.
Sil stopped in front of a door, one that looked identical to every single door I’d seen in the building. He took the set of keys from Lutfi’s belt and tried each one while managing to keep his eyes on Malachi. The seventh key turned easily. With a rush of stale air, the door opened onto an alley. Just as Sil tugged me through it, I leaned forward against his hand, which constricted painfully around my throat.
“I’m sorry,” I tried to yell, but it came out as a strangled whisper. Malachi didn’t move. The look in his eyes made me want to run. Away from him. Toward him. I was completely unsure of which.
Sil jerked me into the alley and sprinted away, towing me in his wake.
TEN
I TRIED TO COUNT blocks, but Sil took turn after turn and pulled me through several buildings to make it to our present position. I wasn’t even sure how long we’d been running. “Please,” I gasped, “can we rest for a while?”
“You’re in luck,” he cackled. “Some of my family will be waiting just up here. We’ll get something to eat before we move on.”
I wiped away a tear with my free hand. My other was clutched in his sweaty, clawed grasp. The back of my hand was bleeding and throbbing from the bite of his fingernails. I’d been trying to find a way to escape, but he hadn’t let me go since we’d left the Guard Station. For a while I’d hoped Malachi wouldchase after us, would swoop down and rescue me. He certainly seemed capable of it. As the time passed, though, it seemed more and more probable that Malachi had simply let me go. It made my chest ache in an odd way, but I ignored that—this was no different from when I’d been alive. The only person I could depend on was me. And I needed to get myself out of here. I was certain I didn’t want to go wherever Sil was taking me. His family didn’t sound very hospitable.
An enormous, Samoan-looking man sat on a stoop outside a row of townhouses in the next block. “Chimola!” Sil called, a smile revealing his glistening teeth. “Where are the others?”
The man looked up and waved. He gave me a once-over that made me wish I was invisible. He pointed across the street as two women emerged from a high-rise apartment building hand in hand. One of them was young and frail looking. Most of her long, blonde hair cascaded in tiny braids around her face. It reminded me of those white girls who come back from their Jamaican spring breaks with cornrows, thinking they actually look good.
The other woman was older. Much older. Her iron-gray hair was in rollers; it looked as if the two women had been styling each other’s hair. The older one stroked the young woman’s shoulder and crooned to her as she helped the girl strap on a too-large sword belt. From a Guard, no doubt. The young woman was so petite that, from its sheath at her waist, the bladedragged against the ground. Interesting. I wondered if the girl’s arm was even long enough to draw the scimitar. Maybe if I could get that girl alone…
A chuffing,
My heart stuttered with fear at his words, but Sil’s grip on me tightened. “Liar. You’ve already given yourself away, Captain. If that were true, she’d already be dead. And so would I. Mazikin are not as stupid as you think.”
I moaned quietly. Malachi probably
would
want to kill me as soon as he saw his beheaded friend, who had died with the bashful blush still on his cheeks.
“Come, girl. You’ll feel like a brand-new person once you join my family. Don’t worry. Let’s get out of here.” Sil walked backward, pulling me along. He seemed to know exactly wherehe was going and dragged me, stumbling, past several doors in the endless stone corridor. I half expected Malachi’s knives to embed themselves in my chest at any moment, but he remained frozen in place, watching us go, his eyes alight with both fury and concern.
Sil stopped in front of a door, one that looked identical to every single door I’d seen in the building. He took the set of keys from Lutfi’s belt and tried each one while managing to keep his eyes on Malachi. The seventh key turned easily. With a rush of stale air, the door opened onto an alley. Just as Sil tugged me through it, I leaned forward against his hand, which constricted painfully around my throat.
“I’m sorry,” I tried to yell, but it came out as a strangled whisper. Malachi didn’t move. The look in his eyes made me want to run. Away from him. Toward him. I was completely unsure of which.
Sil jerked me into the alley and sprinted away, towing me in his wake.
TEN
I TRIED TO COUNT blocks, but Sil took turn after turn and pulled me through several buildings to make it to our present position. I wasn’t even sure how long we’d been running. “Please,” I gasped, “can we rest for a while?”
“You’re in luck,” he cackled. “Some of my family will be waiting just up here. We’ll get something to eat before we move on.”
I wiped away a tear with my free hand. My other was clutched in his sweaty, clawed grasp. The back of my hand was bleeding and throbbing from the bite of his fingernails. I’d been trying to find a way to escape, but he hadn’t let me go since we’d left the Guard Station. For a while I’d hoped Malachi wouldchase after us, would swoop down and rescue me. He certainly seemed capable of it. As the time passed, though, it seemed more and more probable that Malachi had simply let me go. It made my chest ache in an odd way, but I ignored that—this was no different from when I’d been alive. The only person I could depend on was me. And I needed to get myself out of here. I was certain I didn’t want to go wherever Sil was taking me. His family didn’t sound very hospitable.
An enormous, Samoan-looking man sat on a stoop outside a row of townhouses in the next block. “Chimola!” Sil called, a smile revealing his glistening teeth. “Where are the others?”
The man looked up and waved. He gave me a once-over that made me wish I was invisible. He pointed across the street as two women emerged from a high-rise apartment building hand in hand. One of them was young and frail looking. Most of her long, blonde hair cascaded in tiny braids around her face. It reminded me of those white girls who come back from their Jamaican spring breaks with cornrows, thinking they actually look good.
The other woman was older. Much older. Her iron-gray hair was in rollers; it looked as if the two women had been styling each other’s hair. The older one stroked the young woman’s shoulder and crooned to her as she helped the girl strap on a too-large sword belt. From a Guard, no doubt. The young woman was so petite that, from its sheath at her waist, the bladedragged against the ground. Interesting. I wondered if the girl’s arm was even long enough to draw the scimitar. Maybe if I could get that girl alone…
A chuffing,
Similar Books
