Page 48 of Malice
“Really? Shakespeare?” Grim said, his annoyance bleeding through the words.
Merri snickered. “It was hard to find the movie star beneath all the grunge of rockstar, but I see it now.”
“A rose by any other name...” Sin intoned, adopting a foppish stance, the wind and rain only making him appear more ridiculous.
“Okay, Romeo. You know that’s a tragedy and not a romance, right?”
“I write sins, not tragedies,” he said with a wink.
“Wow,” I said in disbelief, stopping dead in my tracks. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“How does anything that comes out of his mouth surprise you after all these years?” Chaos asked after a loud clap of thunder.
“I keep thinking he’s hit the bottom of the barrel, and then he manages to outdo himself.”
Sin smiled so hard his dimples flashed, and I’d have sworn there was a twinkle on his front tooth. He could not look more pleased by my assessment. Which was completely in character for the self-obsessed playboy.
“There’s nowhere for me to go but up.”
“Oh my God,” Merri gasped.
“I know. He’s insuffera—” I stopped in my tracks, following Merri’s gaze to where Christian was slumped over against a tree, clearly unconscious.
“Is he dead?” Merri asked, eyes darting to Grim.
“No,” he said firmly, his shadow seeming to triple in size behind him. “He’s... not entirely connected to this plane at the moment, though. His soul is weak. Close to death.”
“What happened to him?” She attempted to rush to his side, but I snatched her wrist and tugged her until she crashed against my chest, her drenched hair slapping me as the long ponytail fell down her back.
“No. Don’t touch him. Not until we know it’s safe. This could be a well-laid trap.”
“Wouldn’t the wards have warned us?”
“Quiet,” Chaos snapped. His expression was fierce as he surveyed the scene, taking a few steps one way, inspecting some crushed leaves, standing and repeating his investigation a fewfeet in the opposite direction. He paused beside the smoking generator, pointing to an area that had clear scorch marks. “I think either he or it was struck by lightning.”
“He’s lucky to be alive.” Grim joined Chaos at the generator, sniffing the air near the marks. “It smells like ozone. The marks are still warm. I believe you’re correct, Chaos.”
Another clap of thunder boomed, lightning striking nearby and raising the hairs on the nape of my neck.
“We need to get him and Merri inside. It’s not safe out here,” Sin said.
Chaos stalked across to my fallen groundskeeper and made to pick him up, but Merri stopped him with a cry of protest.
“Careful! You can’t just throw him over your shoulder. He was electrocuted. He’s all but human and Grim said it himself, Christian is near death. Be gentle.”
Grumbling, Chaos gently readjusted Christian’s position, laying him on the wet ground before jerking his chin at Sinclair. “Help me. You get his feet, I’ll get his shoulders.”
Sin was clearly about to debate the issue.
“It has to be you. I’m going to look over the generator, and it can’t be Grim.”
“Unless you want me to accidentally help him along,” Grim offered. He never had forgiven Christian for assuming he was Merri’s father.
“Take Merri inside with you?” I asked Grim. “I won’t be a minute. She can’t stay out here and risk a lightning strike.”
“Come on, wildflower,” Grim said, offering her his elbow.
Merri gave the rest of us a worried look before acquiescing.
