close enough that I could intervene when the men came running, I picked my place. There weren’t any others between me and them.
And fate smiled on me. One of the park rangers came driving up the rutted path. Smiling, I took aim.
My aim is true—
It landed two feet from the girl nearest to me.
She screamed and started to run.
I shot another. The boy had just thrown a football and I watched as my arrow went through it.
All five kids were screaming and running now and I heard the park ranger bellowing for them to get to his jeep even as he whipped out his radio. They didn’t waste time.
Behind me, I heard cussing, swearing.
Spinning, I took aim. I faded into view—smiled at the man who’d heard me. “Gotcha,” I whispered as he fumbled with his bow. I loosed the arrow, faded before he’d even hit the ground.
Night was coming.
The park was now crawling with cops, too.
It didn’t matter.
I felt the ominous thud of something slam against my brain and I still hadn’t managed to get to my fucking car.
It was close, but every time I almost made it, one of the hunters got in the way. I needed to avoid killing any more of them—really. Despite what they thought, I wasn’t human and unless they attacked, if I killed them without proof, I was fucked.
And Jude wasn’t going to leave a trail, I knew that.
Earlier, at least, I had them attacking me. It would go before a Banner court and one of the Banner-retained witches would question me, so I would be okay, I thought.
But if I killed one just because he got in my way, I was fucked.
So I had to dance around. Dodge.
And then I just ran out of time.
The sun wasn’t kissing the horizon, but it didn’t matter. I felt the chill dance through the air and I knew what it meant.
He was there. Jude was in the fucking park, looking for me.
How in the fuck had it come to this?
Six years ago, he’d saved my ass and now he was hunting it. I’d killed some of the men he’d set on my tail and I didn’t even know why.
Somebody screamed.
I didn’t know where it came from it—the sound bounced and danced through the air, echoing from all around me and ending far too soon. My gut went tight as I wondered just what had happened.
Jude wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t leave a body where it could be found.
But then again, there was no shortage of hiding places here. None. At all.
All he had to do was find a fucking gator. Or a snake.
My gut clenched as I continued to run. It was futile at that point, but it wouldn’t stop me. I’d keep going until—
He stepped out from behind a tree.
Elegance and beauty, a face just barely saved from being too pretty. The snapping intelligence of his eyes helped, the carved line of his jaw. Jude was a handsome bastard, I’d give him that. His hair was a darker blond than mine, pulled back from the strong, clean lines of his face and his eyes were pale green.
Other than those few minutes at my office, I hadn’t seen him in the flesh for months and I really hadn’t wanted to see him again until I had a rocket launcher. Or at least something other than just my sword. The silver in her would hurt him, but he was too fast for me and if I got close enough to cut him, he’d also be close enough to hurt me.
Can you call another weapon…?
My hand itched. The sword was in my hand, though.
In the back of my mind, I heard a song. Her tribal rhythm. Whispering in my mind, the beat of her drums, thudding in time with my heart. “Hello, Jude.”
“Darling Kit,” he murmured, the raw silk of his voice wrapping around me.
“Stop.”
Cocking his head, he smiled. “Stop what?”
“Don’t darling Kit me, don’t look at me like we’re some sort of friendly types. Just stay the fuck away.” The itching got worse.
Call me…I’m here, I’m here—
The bow.
Shit.
I couldn’t call her.
But the image of her lurked in my mind as I stared at him.
Could I?
I’d been struggling with the guard the first time my mother’s sword had come to me. I hadn’t even known I could call her, hadn’t even known she existed—
Flexing my hand, I rotated the blade, watched as his eyes dropped to it. A smile curved his lips. “Why the sword, pretty little Kit?