AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A faint wince--he hadn't intended to say that in front of me.
"Where?" Griffin demanded.
"I need to follow the trail to find the source. Now, if you'll allow me to do that..."
He continued down the hall. Griffin swung into his path. He moved so fast I stumbled out of his way, but it was nothing compared to how fast Karl moved. Before I could blink, Karl had the bodyguard pinned against the wall by his shirtfront.
"You want to take a pop at me?" Griffin said. "Go right ahead."
"I know you don't plan to hit him, Karl," I said. "But in case you're provoked, I'd strongly advise against it. He's a Ferratus."
Karl glanced at me.
"A half-demon who can make his skin as hard as iron. Hit him and you'll break your hand."
Griffin smiled. "Don't take her word for it. Go ahead."
"Once I have you pinned, you're no longer a threat. But before we continue this pleasant little venture, let's come to an understanding, Griffin. I don't trust you. You clearly don't trust me. Sudden moves of any kind can be easily misinterpreted as aggression."
He released Griffin's shirtfront. "Now, let's find the source of the blood. I doubt your employer would be pleased if you let a fellow guard bleed to death because you got into a pissing contest with a werewolf."
ANOTHER TWENTY FEET down the hall, Karl veered into a room and lifted a hand to ward me off. For once, I obeyed. I'd had enough.
Then the room went dark and I remembered that there was no sense blocking my eyes. The vision began.
A man stood with his back to me as he bent over an open filing cabinet drawer.
"Right where I said they were." He pulled out a folder. "I appreciate that you're putting in some overtime for a change, but if you're going to interrupt--"
The pftt of a silenced shot. The man fell back against the cabinet. I saw his face then. William. The folder fluttered from his hand as he stared, incredulous, at his shooter.
His mouth opened, but a second shot sent him reeling. He crumpled against the filing cabinet, then slid to the floor.
When the vision ended, I didn't jolt out of it. It just...stopped. And I just stopped. Like coming to the shocking end of a movie, sitting there, staring at the blank screen, unable to think, feel, move. Even the chaos vibes didn't penetrate.
"Hope?"
Karl's voice sounded miles away. I felt him grip my arms, as if through a thick winter coat.
"It's been too much for her," he said. "I need to get her out of here."
His words floated past, disconnected, meaningless.
"You're not going anywhere."
"The hell I'm not. Get out of my way."
I recognized the rising chaos, but it was like pouring wine in front of my face--I could see it, smell it, know what it was, but it had no effect.
"Hope? Can you hear me? Can you walk, hon?"
"Hon? I should have guessed. A werewolf thief. She must love you. Just dripping with chaos."
"Get out of my way."
"You do know that's all it is, don't you? That's all her kind care about. The chaos."
"Get the fuck out of my--"
