Page 64 of Kingdom of Chaos
Talon shakes his head in annoyance. “Let’s just get?—”
“Nobody move!”
My muscles lock and I look over to see Noah standing in the shadows, his face and the upper part of his chest covered in blood from his broken nose. He points his weapon in our direction. “If I see anyone so much as twitch a muscle, I’ll pump you full of lead.”
Lead?
“Put your hands where I can see them,” Noah orders.
I’m in the process of putting my hands up when Imogen mutters, “I’ve had enough of this,” and takes a step toward him.
“Stop!” he shouts.
Imogen smirks. “No, I don’t think I will.”
I know the exact moment she reaches out with her compulsion and touches Noah’s mind, because he twitches, and then fear transforms his face.
“Imogen, don’t!” Talon yells and starts for his cousin, but it’s too late because Noah squeezes his weapon and a loud bang comes from it.
Eighteen
Imogen jerksand then cries out in pain a moment before Talon reaches her.
With a gasp, I start for them when a muffled pop, fast and startling rings through the air. Twisting back, I watch Noah take an unsteady step before crumpling to the ground. Violet stands behind him on the stairs in a sleep tank and shorts, her eyes wide and wild. One of the weapons is grasped in her hands and pointing at where Noah stood the moment before.
“I’m bleeding,” Imogen screeches, and I snap my gaze over to her to see Talon holding her arm.
Blood seeps from a wound on Imogen’s bicep. She yanks her arm free and takes a menacing step toward Violet, murder burning in her eyes. But before she can get any closer, Talon steps in front of her, his stormy gaze fixed on Violet as he both stops and shields his cousin.
Violet scrambles back, tripping on a step and falling onto the stairs. “Wait! Please!” she says, dropping the weapon and then holding her hands up in front of her to show us she’s unarmed. “I didn’t know what they were planning. I was asleep upstairs until I heard all the noise. I wasn’t part of all this,” she says, sweepingher hand in front of her to indicate the carnage from our short battle. “I can help you. I promise.”
Talon’s gaze narrows, but something in my gut tells me she’s telling the truth. She did also just take Noah out for us.
“How can you help?” I ask, and Violet’s shoulders sag in relief.
“I can help you get to New York to look for your friend,” she says, and then pushes to her feet.
Talon lets out a low warning rumble that’s almost a growl, and Violet freezes mid-step.
“What did you do to him?” he asks, jutting his chin toward Noah.
“Oh. Tranquilizer gun,” she says. “He’ll be out for hours.”
“Gun?” I say, testing the unfamiliar word.
Violet’s eyes widen. “You don’t know what a gun is?”
I shake my head. “We don’t have them where we come from.”
“You’re probably better for it. Tranq guns aren’t so bad, but the real ones . . .” Her voice tapers off as her gaze shifts to Imogen glowering at her from behind Talon. She clears her throat. “Well, let’s just say you were lucky,” she says to Imogen, who scoffs. “If someone points one at you again, be very careful. Bullets are no joke. Someone could put a hole right through your skull by only squeezing the trigger.”
Nausea bubbles in my stomach. It sounds like an awful weapon, and I’m glad we don’t have them on our world.
Keeping a wary eye on Talon, Violet slowly descends the stairs with her hands raised. She grabs a set of keys off a hook by the door and says, “Come on,” before leading us outside.
We’re all on edge, keeping an eye on the wooded area around the house, looking for potential threats. Just as we reach the bottom of the stairs, Titus rounds the side of the house. Ensley’s arm is draped around him, and although her eyes are open, he’s basically dragging her forward.
With a gasp I run to them. Getting on the other side of Ensley, I put her other arm around me to help support her weight. When she looks over at me, her eyes are only slits.
