Page 6 of Horn of Winter

I scrambled upright and dove toward a nearby larger tomb, hunkering behind it as I scanned the night. I couldn’t see the shooter and there was no sense of movement on the still air, but he was out there. I could feel it. Feel his tension and desperation.

That latter emotion was definitely odd.

Mathi knelt beside me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “You?”

“I’m fine, but my coat is utterly ruined.” His tone suggested the shooter would pay forthatthoughtlessness.

“Have you any idea where the shot came from?”

While I could feel his presence, the stillness of the night and the lack of wind was making it difficult to sense a direction. I could gather the air and send it on a quest, of course, but that might well take more time than we had.

“From the highest point of the tree line near Grosvenor’s Road,” he replied.

I carefully peered past the edge of the tomb and scanned that area, though I was unlikely to see anything when it was so far away. My night sight was pretty good—and well beyond that of a human—but it wasn’t as sharp as Mathi’s. He might not beMyrkálfar—who could see in the darkness as easily as they did daylight—but a light elf’s night sight remained far sharper than most other fae.

Air stirred briefly, and I jerked back sharply. A second later, something hit the edge of the tomb, and stone chips flew. “Well, he’s definitely still there. How do you want to play this?”

“I don’t suppose you can call down a bolt of lightning or two, can you?”

I half smiled. “If there was a cloud in the sky, maybe, but there’s not even a scrap of wind.”

“What about gathering the air and using it as a weapon? You’ve done that before.”

“Yes, but I need to at leastseethe person I’m attacking. It’d take too long to gather enough air for a broad blanket attack.”

“Then we do it the hard way.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not liking the note of anticipation in your voice.”

He smiled. “I’m a Dhar-val. We do relish the odd bit of danger. Gets the blood moving.”

I snorted softly. “What’s odd aboutthatstatement is the fact I never sensed that predilection in all the years we were together.”

“That’s because you got my blood moving in other ways.” He motioned to my left. “It’s pretty simple—you run out and head into the trees, drawing his attention from me.”

“I’m bait, in other words.”

“As the old saying goes, what is good for the gander is good for the goose.”

I half smiled. “That’s presuming Iamthe target. There’s no certainty?—”

“Yeah, there is.” He lightly touched my right arm, and it was only then I noticed the hole in my jacket’s sleeve. “If not forme seeing the brief flash of movementandthe puffiness of this godawful jacket, you’d now be dead.”

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“I haven’t very many close friends, Bethany, and I’m not about to let one of those few be taken from me. Not if I can at all help it.” His hand slid down to mine, squeezing lightly before releasing. “So, we get this bastard, and we squeeze every little bit of information from him. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“Then go. But please, keep in mind that whole ‘me not losing a friend’ comment, and don’t get shot.”

I smiled and kissed his cheek again. “Promise.”

“Then I shall meet you at the top of that hill.”

I nodded, took a deep breath, then thrust upright and charged out, running hell for leather across the path and up the hill. A bullet pinged into the ground beside me, spraying dirt across the side of my calves; a heartbeat later, grass and dirt flew up from the ground inches from my toes.

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