Dark Possession - Aja James Page 0,64
Dark King. He’s in grave danger!”
The female behind the…eagle-man—yes, he looked rather like an eagle with his hawk-like eyes—leaned to the side so that she could be seen beyond the edge of the man’s massive folded wings.
“We’re just about to head out actually. Maximus called for backup and we got here as soon as we could. I’m Anastasia, by the way.”
“Chat later, leave now!” Eveline commanded.
Distantly, she was rather alarmed and amazed at her own nerve. She wasn’t the type of female to order others around. She also seldom (close to never) raised her voice. And yet, here she was, being all commanding and impatient, and she’d shouted quite a bit already this night.
“Walk and talk,” the eagle-man said, grabbing Eveline by the arm and charging down the hallway in long-legged strides that made her run to keep up.
“I’m Rhys, temporary Keeper. Why are you in such a tizzy? What danger is Ramses in? It’s a Challenge, as far as I know. And our king is a bloody awesome fighter. Maximus in his tiger form might put up a contest, but the rest of us don’t stand a chance. He’ll defeat any opponent that—”
“Not if the opponent uses magic!” Eveline interrupted frantically, making Rhys glance at her sharply.
“I know. I am a sorceress. Witch, if you want to use a more pedantic term. I’m the Seer of the Pure Ones for a reason. I see things. I interpret prophesies. I know how to wield magic. And I know that your king is in danger!”
“We’ll never catch up to them in time,” Anastasia said from behind them, easily keeping pace with Rhys’ brisk strides. “They left over an hour ago.”
“I can catch them if I take to the skies,” Rhys returned. “Go with Devlin in the SU—”
“Take me with you! I need to go with you!” Eveline interrupted again, as Anastasia took a right sharp turn down a different hallway to presumably round up the Hunter.
“I might be able to help him,” Eveline said.
Rhys looked down at her as they rode the elevator to the Chrysler Building’s rooftop.
“What can you do? You cannot interfere with whatever magic you wield. It’s against the Challenge rules.”
Eveline shook her head with frustration.
“I know. But I might think of something if things get out of hand. See, I have these. They could tell me something important at the right time.”
She held up her armful of scrolls.
“Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo,” Rhys said, frowning. “I’d fly much faster without extra weight.”
“Can you still get there in time if you took me?” Eveline persisted. “I’m barely one hundred pounds.”
They burst through the double doors to the roof all at once. Rhys raised his head to the night air, testing the breeze.
“The easterly wind is in our favor,” he allowed. “Yes, I can still make it in time if I take you.”
What he left unsaid was that he really didn’t want to. He doubted what she could possibly add to the occasion, other than being a nuisance and potential collateral damage if things went south.
“I need to be there,” she whispered, her eyes beseeching. “I have to help him. Please.”
Visibly suppressing whatever he wanted to say, Rhys reached into a metal cabinet tucked behind a tall concrete ledge and withdrew what looked to be a utility bag with a shoulder harness.
“Put those scrolls in here and tighten the belts. If needed, pull the cord on the side. There’s a small, built-in parachute. Depending on the height, it might not totally break your fall, but at least the plummet won’t kill you.”
“Good to know,” Eveline murmured, her preternatural calm taking that moment to reassert itself.
“But you don’t plan on dropping me, right?” she asked, just to be sure.
He grinned at her a second before transforming into a giant Golden Eagle.
Eveline barely tightened the clasps of the backpack before talons twice the size of her head dug into her shoulders and lifted her straight off the rooftop.
With a muffled shriek, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but not before she suffered the vertigo of looking down.
Way down.
When she volunteered for this little flight, she’d forgotten about her fear of heights. At least her shoulders didn’t bear giant puncture wounds from the eagle’s sharp talons. He’d somehow curled them into the backpack straps, holding her in place with the fleshly part of his claws.
Eveline suppressed a slight shudder of revulsion. This was probably also not the time to dwell on the fact that she wasn’t overly fond of birds.
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