Stealer by A.M. Yates

Author:A.M. Yates [Yates, A.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A.M. Yates
Published: 2016-07-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Were her eyes bleeding? Had the top layers of her skin burned off?

Every breath was a searing exercise in torture. Next to her, Crystal was screaming as she ran.

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been the best plan.

Through her stinging, watery eyes, everything was a blur. Ahead of her, a looming, black structure—stairs?

Please?

In spite of the pain, she kept moving. Not as fast as she would’ve if she hadn’t been dragging Crystal along, but she couldn’t leave Dollface to Quell’s guards.

At the stairs, she grabbed the handrails, panting and wincing with each scalding inhale and exhale. Crystal hauled her tiny body up the first few steps and then toppled, crying out.

Dee reached for her, to urge her to her feet, when her own shoulder was seized.

She was spun around. A fist slammed into her face.

If she thought she’d been in pain before, she was wrong.

She crumpled to the ground, ears ringing, head spinning. Daggers of agony sliced into her jaw and cheekbones, underscoring the burn that was eating away at her skin.

The pack’s whistling calls were bouncing around her skull.

Her attacker—a female from the feminine tenor of her growl—caught Dee’s neck and brought her face up so close that Dee could make out the dark slits of her eyes, the blondish tint of her hair. The hunter didn’t speak, rather she squeezed Dee’s throat until it no longer mattered how painful her breaths were because she couldn’t get one in.

And then, the hunter collapsed. Her strangling grip, gone.

Dee gasped. How was it possible that it could hurt to breathe even more than it had before? She didn’t know. But unfortunately, it did.

Before she could get her bearings, she was doused with something cold, thick, and sticky-sweet.

More splattering was joined by Crystal squeaking in surprise.

Miraculously, the burning subsided. A grateful breath escaped her throat.

“I should’ve brought more.” A bulky shadow appeared in front of her, a warm hand grasped her arm gently. “We have to hurry.”

She blinked. Her vision remained blurred, eyes aching and stinging. “Who—”

“You?” Crystal said with a note of scorn.

“Can you move?” he asked Crystal as he helped Dee to her feet.

Then she recognized the long whips of hair, the earthy scent.

“Dusk?”

“We have to run,” he said. “Now.”

“I can’t ,” Crystal whimpered.

“Then I’ll carry you,” he said.

“No—”

Dee blinked rapidly, willing her eyes to focus again.

Meanwhile, her cheek throbbed, swelling painfully, like a balloon had been inserted under her skin and was rapidly inflating.

The ooze he’d splattered her with was hardening, turning her clothes stiff.

“No time to argue.” The brown blob that was Dusk stooped and snatched Crystal off her feet, throwing her over his shoulder. “Dark Star, the stick, bring it.” He rushed by her, away from the stairs.

Spotting the long black cylinder on the dark stone floor, she scooped it up and rushed after him.

“Where?” Her voice rasped, half-charred and choked.

“Ssshh,” he hissed as he hurried into the shadows ahead of her. Crystal seemed to have resolved herself to her fate of being lugged over some strange boy’s shoulder.

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