Page 61 of Into Darkness (Night Prowler 6)
“Don’t be so sure. Overconfidence is an excellent way to screw up. Because if you get too complacent and they do catch you, you’ll be spending the rest of eternity in a sealed cell!”
In one swift, smooth motion, Honor unsheathed a small knife she had hidden at her waist, pulled Lu’s braid taut, and sliced it cleanly off only an inch away from her exposed neck. Her shorn hair fell forward around her face in a short, perfect bob.
Lu leapt from the chair and whirled around, her hands lifting to her head, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Honor just stood there with her long, severed braid dangling from her hand like a beheaded snake. She was breathing hard, eyes glittering, hands trembling at her sides.
“Don’t get caught,” she said, the words ragged, harsh. “I only just found you. I can’t lose you again.”
Then she dropped both the knife and the severed braid, and pulled Lu into a hard hug, sobbing.
Lu couldn’t help it. She started to laugh.
She wrapped her arms around her crying sister and laughed. “You crazy, unstable, psycho witch!”
Honor sobbed harder, hugging Lu so tight she could hardly breathe.
Morgan’s voice, hesitant, came from behind the drawn entrance curtains. “Ducks? Everything all right?”
Honor pushed Lu away, angrily wiping tears from her face, and left Lu by the vanity while she began to pace like a caged animal in front of the smoldering fire in the sitting area in the adjacent room. “Fine!” she yelled. “Everything’s just peachy friggin’ keen!”
You really don’t deal with emotions well, sweetie, Lu thought. Honor’s answering shout reverberated inside her head.
SHUT! UP!
“Morgan, come in,” said Lu, hurrying to the other room. When Morgan stepped through the curtains and saw her, she clapped a hand over her mouth, staring.
“I know, right?” Lu fingered a lock of her hair. Without all the weight, her head felt as if it were floating above her shoulders, light as air. She had to admit she liked the feeling, though she felt unduly exposed, her neck bare to the cool air, her nape naked. She also had to admit she wanted to be angry with Honor for doing something so drastic, but wasn’t.
She got it now. She had her sister’s number. That hardcore, badass act wasn’t fooling her anymore. Beneath that icy façade was just a girl who felt everything a little too much, and didn’t know how to handle it.
Morgan’s gaze flicked to the floor in front of the vanity. She saw the knife and the braid, glanced over at Honor, then looked back at Lu. “Well,” she said, her composure recovered, “it suits you. Now you look like Princess Di.”
“Who?”
Morgan waved a hand, stepping into the room. “Never mind. Listen, I came to talk to you about something.” She hesitated, then amended, “Actually I came to offer you something.”
“Let’s sit,” suggested Lu, her curiosity piqued by the tone of Morgan’s voice. She gestured toward the sofa and chairs Honor still paced around, but Morgan shook her head.
“I’ll only stay a moment, I know you’re getting ready to leave. There’s just . . .”
Her lovely face clouded, and Lu’s heart rate spiked. “What? What’s wrong?”
“No,” she said gently, taking Lu’s hands. “Pet, there’s nothing wrong.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Besides everything, of course.” She glanced down at their joined hands, inhaled a deliberate breath, then quietly said, “I want you to have it.”
“Have what?” asked Lu, perplexed.
Morgan lifted her eyes and fixed Lu in her green, green stare. “My Gift.”
A beat of astonished silence followed this declaration as Lu and Honor stared at Morgan, processing what she’d said.
“No,” Lu said, but Morgan was already shaking her head.
“You don’t even know what it is yet. And believe me when I say it can come in incredibly handy.”
Lu withdrew her hands, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s kind of you to offer, really, but—”
“Take it,” Honor cut in suddenly. Lu turned, and found Honor staring at her with fierce, frozen intent, her cheeks still wet. “Morgan’s right: Her Gift is amazing. And much more subtle than ours. It’s perfect for what you’re about to do. Take it. Drain her.”
Drain her? Lu felt vaguely insulted. “I’m not some kind of vampire—”
