Zinnia by Christina Bauer

Author:Christina Bauer [Bauer, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945723865
Publisher: Monster House Books
Published: 2019-07-30T04:00:00+00:00

24

Rhodes

Hand in hand, Ves and I march out of the diner. My thoughts spin through everything I just learned.

Ves knows Killian.

No, she more than knows him.

Killian kept Ves in some kind of fake training program in a goddamn cave. And that evil Master Dragon has clouded her mind with spells. Ves doesn’t even know her own past. And Killian’s got something on her. Blackmail of some kind. There’s a magical promise that keeps Ves tied to him.

Well, I’ll smash that memory spell to bits, one way or another. Ves will not return to a cave with Killian of all dragons.

We step out the door and onto the parking lot. Mewling sounds reverberate from behind the bus. Pausing, I turn to Ves. “Are those…”

“Blood lion demons?” she finishes. “Yes. They start off as cat-sized and then expand from there.” She shivers, as if remembering a past battle. “Killian likes to summon them for fights.”

I crack my neck from side to side. “Blood lion demons. This will be interesting.”

Ves pauses. “Oh, no.”

“What?”

“Blood lions like to take a human hostage.” She whirls around, scanning the front windows of the diner. “Where is Nikki?”

Mother of Hell. Not Nikki.

Grasping Ves’ hand more tightly, I march around to the back of the bus. There lies Nikki, bound and gagged on the gravel. Killian has chosen a spot behind a line of rusted-out cars, so no one can see her.

The blood lions pace behind Nikki. Both have red fur, long fangs, and bat-style wings. The pair tower over me and Ves.

They’re mammoth.

Actually, these two blood lions could probably eat a wooly mammoth and cough out a fur ball afterwards, complete with tusks.

Killian stands between the two monsters. “You really shouldn’t have gotten involved, Rhodes. This is none of your affair.”

I look down at poor Nikki. She writhes on the ground, trying to break free from the ropes on her wrists and feet. There’s fire in her eyes as she tries to yell through her gag. If I get her out of this, I’m not sure there’s enough money in the world to make this right.

I kneel beside her. “We’ll rescue you, Nik.” Her reply is a long and muffled tirade from behind the gag.

I get it. She’s pissed.

“Our girl here,” Killian gestures to Ves. “She knows what blood lion demons can do. So I’ll give you a chance to end this peacefully without needlessly shedding more human blood.”

Ves’ chin wobbles. “You knew. You sent those other demons after Gracie.”

My heart cracks. I’m not sure who Gracie is, but it’s obviously someone Ves cares about. Yet another reason to hate Killian.

Killian shrugs. “You got too attached. That cost Grace her life. And you know what else?” He stares pointedly at me. “Forming more attachments is a good way to get others killed.” Killian rounds on Ves once again. “Why do you think your precious family is still alive? If you recalled them in detail, you’d do something stupid. By erasing your memories, I’m doing you a favor.”

A low growl erupts from Ves’ chest as she changes into half-dragon form.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.