Page 50 of Deadly Little Games

Two I could deal with. Sebastian had eliminated at least one, and so had Crispin and Gabriel. If I could lead these two away, hopefully they could take care of the rest. The fairies probably hadn’t bargained on facing a devil, an elven wizard, and a goblin that looked like he could probably bench press a car. At least not all at once.

I wove through the trees growing denser around me, my lungs burning with exertion. My thighs were already beginning to feel like jelly. I dared a glance back, but I didn’t see eitherof my pursuers. Then I turned around too late. I slammed right into a stranger’s arms, and he locked them tightly around me. I tried to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth.

Shift, I had to shift. I pictured Gabriel, then Sebastian, then Crispin and Elena, but my panic quickly drowned out each image. The man who had grabbed me lifted me off my feet, then hauled me deeper into the woods.

18

I fought,kicking and screaming as the man dragged me deeper into the dark woods. I vaguely sensed a strange shift as we stepped over what felt like a boundary, then he threw me onto the ground.

Fierce pale eyes looked down at me. His hair was some other pale color, difficult to tell in the moonlight. It fell neatly to his chin, framing a sharp jaw. His clothing was black, blending into the night around us. He was fae, but he didn’t seem like the others, throwing himself wildly into the chase.

No, he had calculated things perfectly. And I had run right into his waiting arms.

I realized with a start that I could no longer hear the distant fighting. Whatever strange boundary we had crossed, it blocked out all sound. I couldn’t see anything beyond the surrounding trees.

“I hope Ivan is paying you well,” I spat. “Because the rest of your people will soon be dead.”

He sneered. “I do not work for Ivan. I do not want the blade.” As if to emphasize his words, he drew a blade of his own. It was as long as his forearm, and glinted wickedly in the scant moonlight.

I started crab-crawling away, but he knelt almost too fast for my eyes to follow, grabbing onto my hair. He tugged my head to one side, bending my neck at a painful angle. Thorns and slick grass sliced across my hands as I tried to lift my neck away from the blade.

“If you kill me you’ll never find my mother.”

“I am saving your mother,” he hissed into my ear. “Your foolishness is going to get her killed.”

I went perfectly still. “What?” I winced as he pressed his blade against my throat. My heart hammered so forcefully I thought I might faint.

“So many fools believe your mother condemned us. They don’t realize shesavedus. And I will not let that sacrifice be in vain, even if it means the death of her progeny.”

Oh gods, I’d had a lot of close calls lately, but I knew this one was it. I knew I was going to die. I closed my eyes, trying to shift, but absolutely nothing happened. It was like I had been cut off from my magic entirely. Whatever barrier he had carried me across had nullifiedeverything.

Tears leaked down my face from my closed eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“I know you do not, and for that I am sorry. But the pathways must not be reopened. It would spell utter disaster for us all.” His final words were barely a whisper. The blade pressed into my throat, drawing blood.

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell when everything went dark. So dark that not a shred of light came through. For a moment, I thought it had already happened. I thought I was already dead.

Then I felt the knife fall away from my throat. The grip on my hair loosened, and the man’s body fell heavily to the earth.

I screamed when someone touched me, my renewed panic making me realize my magic was back. I pictured the guys again,preparing to shift, then someone lifted me up and a familiar voice sounded in my ear. “The idea was for you to realm jumpbeforethey caught you, not after your rescue.”

My breath whooshed out of me. I blinked my eyes, but everything was still so dark. Then the darkness cleared. It was Sebastian carrying me in his arms. It has beenhisdarkness that surrounded us.

And the one who caught me… I had no desire to look back as Sebastian carried me away. “Is he dead?”

“Yes. I had not expected a full silence charm, else I would have reached you sooner.”

My heart was still racing. I couldn’t seem to make it stop. And yet, despite all of the blood flow, my body felt cold. “What in the hells is a silence charm?”

“A charm to cut off not only noise and sight, but magic. He neutralized you, knowing you might be able to escape. What did he say to you?”

As my heart finally slowed, my body started trembling. “He… He wanted to kill me to protect my mother. He said the pathways shouldn’t be reopened. That it would mean disaster for us all.”

“I truly hadn’t expected anyone else to try to kill you, not after Lucas was set straight.”

I met his eyes as he looked down at me, and my chest constricted. There was no hint of fire in his eyes, only darkness. And his dark magic still surrounded us.

“You saved me.”

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