Sin City by Jennifer Martucci & Christopher Martucci

Author:Jennifer Martucci & Christopher Martucci
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Published: 2017-01-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

A loud rapping snaps me from slumber. Bolting upright, my eyes pop open. The room is flooded in light so bright it pours through the window like molten steel, blanching everything it touches. I squint against it and my eyes water. Heart battering my ribcage, I freeze, unsure for a moment whether I really heard the sound or dreamed it.

Beside me, Pike’s head pokes up. He scans the room, bleary-eyed and with a tuft of hair standing up on end. “You hear that?” he asks, his voice thick with sleep.

“What was that?” Ara springs out of bed and is on her feet. Eyes wide and as wild as her curly, blonde hair, her gaze bounces from me to Pike to Reyna.

“It’s the door.” Reyna clips her chin toward the door just as knocking resumes.

Gripping the hilt of my sword, I tear it from its sheath. The sheath, which leaned against the bed while I slept, falls to the floor. Mind racing as quickly as my heart, I wait until everyone else is armed before I make my way across the room. With my hand on the doorknob, I turn to nod to Ara, Pike and Reyna. When they return the gesture, I yank open the door.

Garan’s puzzled face greets me. His head rears, his obsidian eyes narrowing. He studies each of us before shaking his head, an act that causes his long, rope-like locks of hair to sway. He flashes a crooked smile. “Uh, were you expecting an ambush or something?”

“What?” I look at him, taking in the strange expression he wears.

His brow lifts and his eyes dart from my face to my blade. I hold the handle tightly in my left hand, keeping it at waist-height. “Is that how you always answer the door?”

My gaze toggles from Garan to my sword then back to him. “Oh, this,” I say and smile sheepishly.

He peers beyond me. “And that,” he points to Ara, bow pulled taut and loaded with an arrow, then to Pike, who’s similarly positioned, and Reyna, who clutches her sword between two hands. “You guys are ready to attack.”

Pike and Ara lower their bows. Reyna lowers her sword, as well.

“We’re not really used to having a door to answer,” Ara says.

“And anytime anyone’s ever come knocking, it’s never been good news,” Pike ads.

“So there’s your answer I guess.” I shrug and clear my throat. “We try to always be ready.”

“Okay then.” Garan claps his hands loudly. “Can’t blame you for that.” He sweeps his hair back, wrapping a single cord around the others so that it’s off his shoulders.

“I like your hair,” Ara says unexpectedly. Her voice is a bit hoarse from sleeping.

“Thanks. I do, too.” He smiles again, rocking back and forth for a bit from the balls of his feet to his heels. He stops and an expression clouds his features. His eyes sweep the room. “Hey, did I wake you guys?”

“Uh, yeah.” I smooth my hand down the front of my head to flatten any hairs that stand up.

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