Blood Lust - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,44

was impressed. He’d neatly disposed of four guards and now he was carrying her out of the cottage and jogging toward the thick line of trees.

And he wasn’t even breathing hard.

Keeping a watch over his shoulder, Myst could see several humans seated around a large campfire while others were cheering on two males who were taking pleasure in punching each other in the face.

None of them seemed aware that their prize was slipping from their grasp.

She waited until she and Bas had become lost in the darkness of the trees before she broke the silence.

“I can walk,” she said in soft tones.

“Not as fast as I can,” he countered, his body stiffening as there was the sudden sound of footsteps behind them. “Shit,” he growled, tightening his arms around her. “Hold on.”

Darting forward, Bas weaved his way through the trees with a liquid grace that the humans could never hope to duplicate. Unfortunately, they had the benefit of weapons they didn’t hesitate to use.

“Bas,” she cried out as the peaceful night was shattered in an explosion of gunfire.

“Keep your head down,” he commanded, leaping over a narrow stream as the bullets whizzed past them.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, burrowing close as she sent up a silent prayer he wouldn’t be hit. A bullet might not kill him, but he could bleed to death like any mortal in this remote area.

Her prayer was answered only seconds later.

“Stop shooting, you idiots,” Roy ordered in a pissed-off voice. “He has the clairvoyant. We need her alive.”

For the first time in fifteen years, Myst was happy the stupid Brotherhood needed her.

* * *

After running through the woods for over an hour, Bas knew he was nearing his limit.

Despite his formidable strength, the drugs in his system were taking their toll, not to mention his intense fury as he’d followed Myst’s trail into the Brotherhood camp.

He’d wanted to destroy each of them with his bare hands. To rip them apart for daring to attack his female. Not at all the calm, cool, and collected assassin he’d trained to be.

As if sensing his weariness, Myst lifted her head from his chest to study him with a concerned frown.

“We have to stop, Bas.”

He nodded his head toward the distant lights he could see through the tree trunks.

“There’s a town just ahead,” he assured her, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

Despite the danger they’d been in, he’d taken a savage pride in carrying her in his arms as they’d escaped. Idiotic, of course. He wasn’t a teenage human with the childish need to prove his manhood. Or even a self-sacrificing Sentinel who’d sworn to serve and protect.

He was a killer. Pure and simple.

But with Myst he wanted . . . what?

He gave a sharp shake of his head as he cautiously made his way down a steep slope and followed the bank of a river toward the sleepy village. He wasn’t going to worry about his illogical responses when it came to this female. Not until the danger had passed and he could return to his life as a ruthless mercenary.

Keeping to the shadows, he easily spotted the three-story house that had been transformed into a bed and breakfast. Entering the side garden, he lowered Myst to her feet and briefly closed his eyes, using his finely honed senses to assure him that no one was near.

Not that he could fully trust his instincts. He’d only sensed a vague disturbance in the air as a warning before he was attacked at the farmhouse.

Still, he didn’t have any choice but to hope they were alone.

“I need you to stay here and wait for me,” he murmured softly.

She tilted back her head, the moonlight playing over her pale, perfect face.

“Why?”

He was abruptly seized by an almost uncontrollable urge to lean down and capture her lips in a searing kiss. As if to assure himself she was safe and once again in his care.

Madness.

Myst was clearly still weakened from the drugs she’d been given and in need of a bath and a warm place to sleep. Not to mention the fact that there was the smell of impending rain in the air.

The sooner he had a room the better.

Taking a step back, he forced himself to concentrate on his magic, weaving a spell of illusion. With practiced ease he altered his features, making them pleasantly plump and lined with age. He thinned his hair and turned his eyes to a pale blue. His body was equally