Page 36 of Kiss of Light

“Dammit, I should have known when he didn’t take the deal,” scowled Tala. “He’s partnered up with the sodding fae twins.”

“Who the fuck are the fae twins?”

“Elven. Couple of Aelfric’s lot. You’ve come across elven before, haven’t you? Bunch of crazies, most of them.”

“How do you know it’s them?”

Tala picked up an arrow that had landed near her foot.

“See this tip? Migratory silver. Elven trick.”

Lemar raised an eyebrow.

“Migratory?”

“No matter where it hits you, it will move through your body towards your heart. For Vetali, that’s a death sentence.”

“Demons too, if I’m not mistaken.”

“It takes more than silver. Incantations and so on. And they aren’t after me, are they?”

Another shower of arrows thudded into the car at their backs. The vehicle shook under the impact and both passenger side tyres were punctured.

“I hate to point out the obvious, but they don’t seem very discriminating. Are yousurethey’re not after you?”

“Why would they want to kill me?”

“They’ve met you, haven’t they?”

“You’re very funny for someone half-dead.”

There was a lull in the onslaught. The twins were reloading.

Tala had seen their armoury close up and it was a marvel of elven engineering. Rapid-fire multiple-release weapons, capable of sending a hail of arrows simultaneously.

“Why the fuck can’t they have simple bows and arrows, like bloody Legolas?” she muttered.

She chanced a quick look round the car. The arrows had come from two different directions. She couldn’t see either of the twins but judging by the angle of some of the arrows, one of them had a vantage point.

“I think one’s on the motel roof. I’ve got a clear line of sight up there so I can even the odds a little.”

“The other one’s on the far side of the parking lot. I can smell it.” Lemar was peering into the dark like a bloodhound. “Behind the garbage bins.”

“Really? All I smell is decomposing food and used nappies.”

“That’s why they’re there. Trying to disguise the elven scent.”

“Okay. I’ll take them both out. You wait here and…”

Lemar grinned and his teeth looked very white and very sharp.

“I don’t think so. You take the high road and I’ll take the low road.”

“Hey, no, you have to stay…”

But he was gone.

Shit.

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