Page 30 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

He stops and turns to me. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“So what if I’m not?” I challenge.

His lips pull into a smile.

“Perhaps it’s better if you’re not,” he finally says.

Then he turns and walks again.

I increase my pace to keep up.

“You need to tend to your injuries,” I tell him.

Why am I still here? I’ve done my duty—though it wasn’t really my duty, was it? I should be gone. Back to my cozy little place on the outskirts of London, where there aren’t any buildings on fire and people to save.

He blinks, then looks down at his bloody hands as if it just dawns on him that he was injured.

He’s quiet for a few moments before he nods.

“I suppose I should.”

“Good. Then have a good night.”

There, I did my seconddutyof the night. Maybetoomany duties. Alas, now I can return home and sleep. I am quite sleepy. I should probably wash, too, though the water in this world doesn’t suit my skin very well. But I have some leftover cookies from yesterday. And I’m quite hungry.

Yes, that sounds like a perfect plan. I can eat my sorrows away since I clearly did not meet my demon quota for the night, and I also did something I wasn’t supposed to.

Now I can only hope that my involvement did not mess with those people’s fatestoomuch. Perhaps I can get away with it.

Deep in my thoughts—mostly about the cookies, to be honest—I barely realize when soldier boy grabs my arm and pulls me after him.

He’s getting his blood all over me! Never mind that he’s alsotouchingme. Unacceptable.

I open my mouth to tell him exactly that but find myself stunned into silence when I realize he’s pulling me toward the riverbank.

I’ll blame my non-reaction on curiosity. Yes, I should have left already, but it’s not as if this human male can harm me.

I am stronger, faster, and entirely superior to him and his kind.

Perhaps I can wait a little longer to see what he has in mind.

I must admit that after seeing how hard he worked to save those people, I have a renewed respect for him. He might bejusta human, but he’s an honorable one.

We walk down some stairs toward the river.

The moon is high up in the sky, and its reflection in the water affords some type of lighting.

Everything looks so peaceful now. One could almost forget that people are dying everywhere, that people just died a small distance away.

The water is so tranquil, innocently flowing from one side to the other, entirely ignorant of all the bloodshed around—bloodshed that sometimes makes its way into its depths.

The soldier finds a spot near the banks and plops himself on the floor.

I raise a brow at him, unsure of what he wants me to do.

The navy blue skirt and blazer set I’m wearing are new. I just bought them the other day. It’s not seemly to sit down on the damp ground and get them dirty. So what if they’re alreadystained with soot and dust? That’s not too hard to clean—I’ve experienced it before. The wet, slimy earth, however, might stain the material for good.

I might have an allowance, as every warrior does when we are stranded fighting in another world, but it is not a big sum. It is just enough to pay for my accommodation, buy food, clothes, some trinkets here and there, and go three times a week to the moving pictures. I’ve already exhausted my clothes budget for this month and the one thing I will not do is dig into my movie theater budget. Or my sweets budget.

---