Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,29

the earth in the process. The evening instantly felt a lot colder and definitely more dangerous. I shivered and tightened my grip on the top cable—to counter the bounce, I told myself fiercely, not the fear.

When I reached the halfway point, I stopped and shouted, “I go no further until I see Mia.”

For several—very tense—minutes, there was no response. Then the man from behind the rocks up ahead rose, his outline almost indistinguishable from the shadows that gathered around him. “Go no further, and she dies.”

“Kill her, and you lose your ace.” Despite the turmoil deep inside, my voice remained even. “You want me; I want her free. One hostage for another is a pretty fair exchange—and it’s one we both know your dark masters would agree to. But feel free to check—they should be coming out to play any minute now.”

There were a few more seconds of silence, then he said, “Take off that sweater. We want to be sure you didn’t bring your knives.”

Which was exactly what we’d hoped they’d say. I needed a good percentage of bare skin to hear the wind’s whispers, but given how damn cold it was, if I hadn’t come appropriately dressed, they would have been suspicious. Although I wasn’t wearing shoes, so suspicion would no doubt be stirring anyway.

I stripped off the sweater and dropped it onto the boards near my feet. The air immediately swirled around me, its cold, crisp touch raising goose bumps even as whispers filled my mind. As I’d suspected, winged demons were patrolling the shoreline. Four of them, to be exact.

The wind’s whispers only vaguely mentioned the demon waiting just outside the stone circle; maybe she couldn’t see past whatever magic he was using to conceal himself. But she was oddly specific about the other concealed man who stood inside the stone circle.

Luc.

My heart lifted, even if the inner tension didn’t. He was here, just as he’d promised. And while it was ridiculous to think one man could make any real difference if things went sour, his presence nevertheless made me feel safer. Aside from the fact I was no longer alone on the island, between his battle skill and my own unrefined powers, there was now a good chance I’d survive this trap.

But first, I had to get Mia out of harm’s way.

I raised my arms so that the watcher ahead could see the full silhouette of my body. “No knives, as ordered.”

“Turn around.”

I did so. “Show me Mia.”

Another pause, then a scrape of sound and a soft gasp had my gaze jumping back up to the ridge. Three figures appeared, their forms silhouetted against the fading glory of the sky. Mia was one of them—I knew that even without the wind telling me. And in even better news, there was no immediate sign of major injury, even if the wind spoke of a multitude of minor cuts and bruises.

Whether she’d escaped without mental trauma—or god help us, being inhabited by a wraith—was another matter entirely.

Rising above the three of them, their outspread wings glowing like fresh blood, were the red demons. They were big bastards, too, bigger even than the one I’d confronted here on the day of the blessing. They really were taking no chance of me escaping this time.

I clenched my hands and fought the urge to unleash. I had no choice but to play their game until Mia was well and truly safe.

“There’s a boat waiting on the shore below,” I said. “I want her in it—alone—before I go any further.”

“Oh, I think your time of making demands has come to an abrupt end” came a guttural comment from behind me.

I turned. The couple who’d been hiding under the bridge now stood at its end, both holding guns that were pointed at my body. I smiled benignly, though my heart hammered and my mouth felt drier than a desert. “On that we’ll have to disagree. But feel free to shoot, because we both know your masters want me alive and won’t be pleased if the opposite happens.”

“Alive, yes,” she said, cold amusement evident. “That doesn’t mean we can’t shoot a limb or two.”

As if to demonstrate, she lowered her gun a fraction and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore into the wooden plank inches from my bare toes and sent splinters flying.

A heartbeat later, another shot carved a chunk out of the plank closest to their feet. They jumped back, the man cursing loudly.

“You might have banned any sort of magical backup,”