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There’s no stain of her presence or magic attached, Belle said softly.
I closed my eyes against the sting of tears. While I knew his death wasn’t my fault, guilt nevertheless swirled. If I’d only known more…
You wouldn’t have been able to save him, Belle said. If his soul moves on rather than linger, it was his time.
Knowing that doesn’t ease the guilt, Belle. Out loud, I said, “It doesn’t matter. He’s dead.”
“That doesn’t alter the existing problem—the explosive device in his stomach. Where are Aiden and Monty?”
“Going after the ghoul. I think we need to call Ashworth in—given how long he’s worked for the RWA, he’s more than likely dealt with something like this.”
Tala immediately pulled her phone out of her pocket and made the call. “He’ll be here in twenty—will you be okay while I go meet him?”
I smiled faintly. “A dead man holds no fears for me.”
“Maybe, but this dead man is primed to explode.”
She offered no further objections, however, just turned and disappeared back into the forest. I heard a brief conversation a few minutes later—she was obviously updating the ambulance crew—then silence fell. I had no idea if the crew remained; the stranger’s body would have to be taken to the morgue once it was rendered safe, but it seemed impractical for them to be waiting around here when they could be tending to other emergencies.
I returned my gaze to the stranger and the magic that still resided within him… and noticed it had changed. The spell’s tendrils no longer restricted his heart, and the ones that had bound his mind were also in retreat. The main mass had also altered; it was now longer—thinner—than it had been only minutes ago.
Then it hit me—she would have felt the stranger’s death, given she’d still been connected to his mind when he’d died.
She also might have been aware that I was here given our tenuous connection. If the magic was altering rather than simply deactivating, there could only be one reason.
She was pulling the pin.
I thrust to my feet, grabbed the backpack, and ran like hell for the trees.
I had no idea how long it took for a grenade to explode after the pin was pulled, but it surely couldn’t be more than four or five seconds. A silent countdown began in my head; I hit the tree line at three.
The grenade went off at four.
Chapter Eleven
The blast wave hit and briefly sent me flying. Bits of metal tore through the leaves and branches of the shrubs above, sending a rain of green all around me. I hit the ground with a grunt of pain and tumbled into some sort of depression—the hollow caused by an uprooted gum tree, I realized, spotting the huge root ball looming above me. I curled close to the edge of the hollow, trying to present as small a target as possible, waiting for the destruction to end. Waiting for bits of flesh and body parts to stop splashing wetly onto the ground only meters away.
Heightened senses, I thought grimly, weren’t always a bonus.
“Lizzie?” came a shout. “You okay?”
Tala, not Aiden.
“Here.” I uncurled and sat up. I hadn’t entirely missed the destruction—blood stained my left calf, and there was wetness seeping into my shoe. I carefully rolled up my jeans and had a look—the wound was long, but only one small section of it was deep. Whatever had caused the cut had also sliced into my boot; while my foot didn’t feel injured or cut in any way, I left the boot right where it was. Just because it didn’t feel injured didn’t mean it wasn’t—the boot might be the only thing holding my foot together.
I glanced up as Tala appeared. “Those medics still nearby?”
“On the way back.” She squatted at the edge of the depression, her nostrils flaring as her gaze scanned me. “Any other wounds?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Good.” Her gaze moved to the right, and her expression became grim. “What happened?”
“At a guess, she felt him die. Either that, or the spell was primed to react once he was dead.” I hesitated but felt obliged to add, “If we had taken him to the ambulance, the blast would have killed us all. It was the right call.”
A faint smile touched her lips. “Of course it was—but thank you. Is it safe to go out there?”
“As safe as it ever can be with a ghoul hellbent on killing loose on the reservation.”
