Bitten in Two by Rardin Jennifer

Author:Rardin, Jennifer [Rardin, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: FIC009010
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2010-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Cole’s shot cracked across the square like the signal for a set of kickass fireworks. The pack leader fell back in his chair, his Luureken and the people at the surrounding tables staring dumbly as they tried to figure out what had happened.

At ground level, a few people looked for fire in the sky. And they got it. Bergman released four of his missiles at the junction box. They didn’t want to go up, however. They were made to seek the warmth of bodies, and the street below was packed with them. Which was where Sterling’s wooden seedpod came into play.

He whirled it above his head, chanting, “Up draft. Up breeze. Up current. Fly!” The seedpods broke off the stem, formed a carpet of white that sped after the missiles, caught them, carried them high over the heads of the crowd, and slammed them straight into their target.

Sparks flew. Blue threads exploded from them, reached over the screaming crowd and slammed into two more junction boxes, throwing the square into darkness.

Panic, both in the restaurant, where they’d just figured out the man on the floor was bleeding from a massive head wound and his “kid” had been shot as well, and on the ground, where a fire had started in one of the mobile food stalls when someone accidentally tipped over a pot full of boiling oil.

I saw Vayl cast his eyes around at the rising chaos before separating himself from cart eleven and heading toward the downed Were. I wanted to follow him. But his memory still rested back with Ahmed.

“Cole?” I asked. In my earpiece I heard another shot. Then another. He didn’t speak until he’d taken six altogether.

“Three pairs down,” he said professionally. “I’ve got men moving on my position. I’m relocating. If I can, I’ll do the rest after I lose these chasers.”

“Roger that,” I replied. We both knew he’d try like hell to even our odds, but time was not our friend.

I tossed Vayl’s cane to my left hand, jerked my right wrist, and felt my staff slide into my palm, its cool handle reminding me to take deeper breaths as it stretched to full length. Following my lead, Bergman pulled my knife. He stared at it doubtfully, like he thought it might leap out of his hand and stab him while he wasn’t looking. In the end he took a tighter grip and checked his missiles. Four still nestled in the sheath he’d created for them. Encouraged, he pulled out the wallet-sized tracking unit that would allow us to find Ahmed again.

Sterling watched Kyphas transform her scarf into the flyssa that would, hopefully, stick to Weres this evening. But he didn’t prepare anything extra for our trip back to the mage. Just followed at his easy pace as Bergman led us back to the bill Cole had left with Ahmed earlier.

We shoved our way through the yelling, panicked crowd toward one of the streets that led away from the square and finally found Ahmed trying to make his escape with his arms full of half-hat boxes.

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