Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman

Author:Sharon Kay Penman [Penman, Sharon Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Historical, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), Great Britain, Historical Fiction, Great Britain - History - Henry III; 1216-1272
ISBN: 9780312382469
Google: ykVgZGqPqEgC
Amazon: 0312382464
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 1988-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Rules to the Game

“Wake up.”

Jaxon’s voice is quiet, muffled by the pillow I’ve got wrapped around my head. I don’t open my eyes right away. I want it to be a dream, like it always was before, like all the times I drifted off in class and daydreamed about him softly calling my name.

Because he’s calling it now. But it’s not the same. His tone is all wrong. Fear edges his voice, and I feel that same fear in his touch a second later when he grabs my shoulder and gently shakes me until I sit up to face him.

It takes only a quick glance at him to tell me that I was right. Something’s wrong.

“There’s someone in the hotel,” he says.

“Who?”

“Someone from Huxley—a half dozen of them, actually. I saw their trucks, and more were pulling up as I came back inside. Apparently, we didn’t have as much time as we thought.”

“How many trucks, exactly?”

He doesn’t answer, but that look in his eyes tells me that we’re in trouble.

I jump up from the bed, grab the nearest bag, and start throwing things inside it. My body is still weak, still sore, and some of the bumps from earlier have turned into ugly, discolored bruises; but I don’t have time to baby my injuries right now. After this first bag is filled, though, the next one I grab is the one with medical supplies. I take the pain pills out of it, swallow a couple, then throw both bags over my shoulder. Jaxon glances over his shoulder at me and almost smiles.

“I wish Seth was as enthusiastic as you in the morning,” he says. He’s got his brother propped up with one of his arms around his shoulder, but the second Jaxon tries to pull him to his feet, Seth collapses to the ground with a thud.

“You’re going to have to carry him,” I say. “He’s still too out of it.”

He nods, and while he lifts Seth onto his back, I scurry around the room, collecting everything else in sight.

A minute later, we’re in the doorway, breath held, bodies tense, eyes scanning the hallway on either side of us.

“Why are you carrying me?” Seth groans, “I can walk. I can walk . . . so good . . . I can . . . so good—you don’t even know, man. . . .”

I bring my face very close to where his rests limply against Jaxon’s shoulder. “Shut. Up,” I whisper. I hate to be mean to him right now, because he looks awful—his normally tan skin is pale and glistening with sweat, his chocolate eyes dull and lifeless—but he’s being entirely too loud. And I swear I just heard footsteps.

I lean farther out into the hallway, listening.

My sister’s words from last night crash into my head: everything she said about Huxley, about how they would probably be coming for me even sooner than they’d planned on.

As soon as now?

“Your girlfriend’s rude,” Seth mumbles behind me. “And I think you should dump her.

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