Tithes (Ava Delaney by Claire Farrell

Author:Claire Farrell [Farrell, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Claire Farrell

12

The room descended into mayhem. Almost everyone who realised what was happening stood at once, and the sound of screeching or falling chairs joined the panicked screams and shouting.

In the wave of movement, the IAs were pushed farther back from the man with the hostage.

“Try to get behind him,” Shay murmured. “I’ll confront him while the others get that mob out of here.” He gestured to a couple of his people then moved on.

I nodded at Phoenix and slipped off my shoes. We separated. I crept around tables to the left of the protester, ducking behind the crowd trying to leave.

Cameras flashed around the room. Half the room seemed too confused to understand what was happening, while others were desperate to leave. Nobody appeared to want to help the girl caught up in the violence. I spotted Phoenix across the room, reaching into his pocket as though for a weapon.

With a rush of clarity, I realised how bad that would be. The cameras were watching our reaction, and if we harmed a human, we would only fuel the hate. There was only one solution: disarming the glass-wielding idiot without harming him or the woman. Easier said than done.

I signalled at Phoenix to wait. He frowned, but his hand dropped. We both continued to force our way through. Phoenix’s path wasn’t as clear as mine because the scuffles were drawn in his direction.

As though sensing our approach, the lone attacker backed away slowly, finding his way toward the kitchen doors as the Humans First group interfered with security, giving him a clear path. On bare feet, I hurried across the cold, sticky floor. Ducking, I managed to run across the room unnoticed until I came up behind the attacker and his hostage, narrowly avoiding being drawn into the scuffles.

Spotting a shocked-looking Áine O’Neill still seated at the closest table, I picked up her bag, which was heavier than I’d expected, then swung it at the back of the man’s head while he had his bottle safely in the air away from anyone’s neck. He went down like lead, falling face-first onto the floor.

The woman screamed and ran, and I looked over my shoulder at the reporter. “Seriously, what the hell is in that thing?”

Her eyes widened. “Look out!”

At that second, I was rugby-tackled by a group of protesters who had broken free from security. We all piled into the nearest table, upending the contents so that most of them landed on us. Something wet and sticky slid down my jacket as I squirmed out of the reach of grasping hands. The people sitting at the table were long gone, and a serenade of camera flashes almost blinded me. I managed to crawl away as Shay’s team helped sort out the brawlers.

Phoenix helped me to my feet. “Nice work.” His lips twitched.

“Not a word,” I said, shrugging off my jacket. “That’s never coming out, is it?”

I looked around and grabbed a cloth from a passing waiter to help wipe filth off my trousers.

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