Page 42 of Kiss of Light

She hit the parapet at waist height and flipped backwards. There was a gruesome thud, the sound of bones breaking, and her screams were cut short.

Seventeen

In the silence that followed, Tala sagged in sudden exhaustion. A wave of fatigue enveloped her, leaving her muscles trembling. Lemar’s weight was almost too much to bear.

Her bones hurt. Even her toenails ached. It was all she could do not to curl up on the floor and go to sleep.

She gritted her teeth. Lemar needed her,

“Hey.” Mustering her strength, Tala lifted his head gently. “I’m going to lie you down. Nice and slowly. Here we go.” She supported his weight as she moved out from beneath him and lowered him to the ground. The effort it took almost wiped her out.

Lemar felt her arms shaking.

“What’s… wrong?”

“Nothing to worry about. Lie still, let me look.”

The arrow had hit him just below his waist to the right of his spine. It had penetrated by several inches, and Tala could see the shaft quivering as the point tried to wriggle its way slowly but surely towards the heart.

Maybe she could just pull it out. She grasped the protruding metal and tugged gently.

Bad idea.

Lemar cried out as it broke off in her hands, leaving the tip in his body.

“I’m sorry. Shit. I’m going to have to cut this thing out of you.”

“Not here.” His voice was strained. “Need to put some distance between us and this place.”

He was right. The motel seemed deserted and the night clerk was deaf as a post, but they couldn’t take any chances.

She hauled him to his feet, wincing as he stifled a groan. For the first time she saw the bloodstains on his leg.

“What happened?”

“Bear trap. It’s okay. Healed.”

She bent to look. The skin had knitted together and it looked almost normal, though from the knee down his leg was devoid of any hair. Her heart lifted. If she could get the tip out of Lemar’s back, his healing power would kick in.

She supported his weight as they made their way slowly down the stairs. At first she could barely hold him. She was as weak as a kitten. Mama Xiaoling hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the light-bringer would extract a price.

It crossed her mind that this could be long-term. Maybe the damned thing had disabled her permanently. The thought terrified her.

But as they made their way down the stairs she felt her strength slowly start to seep back. Her legs stopped shaking. By the time they reached the ground floor, she was able to hold Lemar up easily.

Thank fuck for that.

They passed Seraefa’s body lying crumpled in the parking lot, sightless eyes staring up at the night sky. Her head had hit the ground first and split like a melon. Tala turned away from the mess of brains and gore.

She looked at the SUV. It was a goner. Arrows were stuck into every available surface and the tyres were shredded.

They definitely weren’t getting their deposit back

The only other car in the lot was Blake’s. She recognised it immediately. He called it his ‘babe magnet’. A Dodge Charger Hellcat in red. Hardly subtle. But at least it was arrow-free, unlike everything else in the immediate vicinity.

She laid Lemar across the back seat on his stomach, taking care not to touch his wound.

“I have to go clear up a couple of things. I’ll be two minutes.”

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