Page 74 of Elven Shadow

And the Azyyt Ra’al just so happened to be a particularly fearsome enemy well known to Rebecca.

One of the bigger, badder enemies she’d hoped to avoid altogether by hiding on Earth.

What the hell were thralls of the Azyyt Ra’al doing all the way out here in Chicago, of all places?

Shit.

She slowly stood from her crouch and moved as little as possible, realizing now how significantly quieter everything was now that the magical firefight had been won and Purse Lady had run off into the night.

Almost too quiet.

She scanned the darkness, waiting for some other sign to prove she still wasn’t alone here.

There had been no way of knowing these five idiots sprawled across the parking lot had belonged to a much more dangerous master. But she knewnow.

She absolutely couldnotleave them here like this.

There was always a chance this small sign of the Azyyt Ra’al’s presence in Chicago was purely coincidental.

Rebecca had been so careful. She’d plotted out every step since leaving the old world, staying ahead of both herself and her past, thinking three, four, five moves ahead of both the enemies who claimed to be her enemies and the enemies who claimed to be her allies.

She always moved on from a place, a new identity, a new life before she could ever get too comfortable with it. Before anyone could ever figure out who she was and what she could do and what it all meant for hundreds of thousands of Xaharí on a broader scale.

And, of course, what it meant for Elves in particular.

Where had she gone wrong? Where had she screwed up?

There had to be something in the last few years, maybe, but she couldn’t think of a single instance that might have tipped off the wrong people wanting to get their hands on her. And that was a rather long list.

Hell, she’d even jumped ship and booked it across the country from Colorado the moment the Order of Laenmúr had returned to this world and whispers of the Gateway finally opening again had traveled on the wind like scattered seeds.

She’d wanted no part in that—in either the ancient passageway between her home world and this one, or the battles breaking out in its name.

No, bumping into thralls of the Azyyt Ra’al had to be a coincidence. This Cruorcian and his little gang hadn’t even known Rebecca was here. They hadn’t been expecting her, and they certainly hadn’t recognized her. They’d ganged up on a human walking through an alley alone at night, for crying out loud.

Was she being paranoid? Probably. But a high level of alert awareness and hyper-vigilance had kept her alive all this time.

It had kept her from being found.

After all, the Bloodshadow Heir never could be too careful.

With her mind made up, Rebecca backed away from the bodies heaped across the parking lot and prepared herself for slightly more damage control than she’d anticipated tonight.

Blazing silver flames struck through with angry crimson sparks erupted in both her hands, hissing furiously, leaping into the air, flickering toward her face like two tiny, flaming lapdogs.

It would be one hell of a mistake to leave any evidence behind now. She had to get rid of it all.

A quickly scuffling clack-clack-clack across the asphalt made her pause.

Rebecca looked over her shoulder, searching for the source of the sound.

No motion in the darkness. No shadows flickering in the weak puddles of dull lamplight.

Right now, the only movement came from the flickering unlight of the silver fire in her hands.

With a grimace, she returned her attention to the bodies.

She couldn’t let the paranoia of not quite being alone stop her from this next chore. It had to be done now.

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