The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Author:Sunyi Dean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

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The inside of the little gray Ford smelled like the outside of a farm. A few miles in, and Devon felt compelled to roll down the window and hang her head out. The balm of snow and woodland soothed her offended nose. In the driver’s seat next to her, Hester hummed as she steered them toward a twisting country road. Avoiding the motorway. She’d insisted on driving, since she had shoes and knew where they were going. Fine by Devon.

Haggling had been straightforward enough, and if the farm owners found it odd that Hester paid in cash, they hadn’t complained. Likewise, neither Devon nor Hester complained when they charged far more than the car was worth. As with the room last night, money solved a host of quibbles.

As they’d pulled away, she’d glanced in the rearview mirror; the farm owners were staring after them with hands on hips, heads leaned together. Devon had wondered briefly if the pair would end up filing a police tip-off, then decided she didn’t really care.

The miles drifted by and Devon leaned her head against the rest, oddly tired despite a good night’s sleep. Too much cumulative exhaustion. She was just starting to doze off when Cai’s voice jerked her to wakefulness.

“Do you hear that?” He peered through the back passenger window, craning his neck. “Sounds like a motorcycle coming down the road.”

Devon sat up, instantly alert. “Where?”

“Which direction?” Hester said. “Are you sure?”

“Ahead of us!” He pointed.

Hester hit the brakes abruptly, throwing all three of them against their seat belts, and stuck her head out of the window to listen.

Devon also peered out. The narrow country road lay empty, couched between grayish-green fields and speckled with sheep. And cutting through that domestic silence was the unmistakable burr of a bike engine. Too far to be seen yet, on that twisting road.

“From the front,” she said. “Coming toward us.”

Hester revved the car back into motion. “The two of you duck down and he likely will just pass us by. Hurry!”

Cai hunkered down, eyes squeezed shut. The speck blossomed into a lumpy squidge of black, growing bigger as the two vehicles streamed toward each other. The knight was clearly visible on his black bike, ironically helmetless, smart suit obscured by an expensive bomber jacket.

One of Ramsey’s knights, out scouting for them. Here to have a flashy car chase, just as she’d requested. His voice floated up from her memory: Keep this one alive, please. I’m tired of cleaning up the bodies of my men, and knights are not infinitely expendable.

Fuck that. Every knight she could kill in advance improved her chances of getting out of this mess alive, and even better if it made her look good in Ravenscar eyes.

“What are you doing?” Hester hissed, eyes on the road. “Duck down!”

“No.” Devon lunged across and wrenched the wheel to the right, ramming the knight at sixty miles an hour with their little gray Ford.

Bike hit car at a skewed angle with a brassy clang. Hester swore and stomped the brakes.

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