after he hit the ground and Cyrus stayed staring up at the sky, blinking at the clouds. Someone had saved him. He rolled to his knees, his hand going to his shoulder, feeling the flesh flapping free, his fingers soaked in warm wetness. He had a brief moment of dizziness when he staggered to his feet and looked around.
There were piles of bloodstained clothing, discarded shoes, a few swords lying glinting in the grass. They had to have killed three dozen or more of the things. How had they managed to survive this?
Ash and Vero were standing back to back, their weapons still raised, breathing hard and fast. Vero was covered head to toe in blood, like she’d taken a shower in the stuff, though the fact she was still standing told Cyrus it wasn’t her own.
Selena was on her knees, panting. There was no sign of the Mixen she’d been fighting off. Victor was grunting as he tried to tug his sword out of the writhing body of another Mixen. He pulled it free with a shout and rammed it through the its chest, finishing it off.
Flic stood on the other side of the garden, wiping sweat from her brow as Evie fired her last bullet into the head of a Scorpio lying on the ground still groaning. For a brief moment, as he watched them both, Cyrus pondered the sheer luck that the two of them had shown up just when they had.
He was distracted from the thought by the sight of Evie’s legs. She was wearing a dress and her legs were all he could focus on – the lithe, pale length of them, the point where they disappeared under the skirt … but then little black dots started to dance in front of his eyes.
Evie turned just then, bringing the gun slowly down to her side. For a second he saw the worry in her face.
And then he pitched forward and fell into blackness.
Chapter 47
Evie dropped to her knees in front of him, catching him before he could land face flat.
‘Cyrus!’ she called, her hands immediately coated in blood from his shoulder wound.
He groaned in response, mumbled her name. She took the corner of his T-shirt in her hands and ripped it clean off his back.
‘If you want me naked, you only need to ask,’ he hissed between gritted teeth.
‘Ha ha,’ she answered as she started binding the scrap of material tight around his arm.
When she was done she looked up at him. He was staring at her. His face was drawn, his jaw clenched, but his eyes were still glimmering with amusement.
‘It’s going to need stitches,’ she said.
‘It’ll be fine,’ he answered, his gaze holding hers. ‘Thanks,’ he added.
She stood up and held out a hand to help him up. He staggered to his feet with a grunt, trying not to show just how much his arm hurt.
Victor was helping Selena off the ground. She shrugged off Victor’s hand though and tossed her chin in the air, her eyes darting to the pile of clothing in front of her. She grinned as Victor slapped her on the back.
She must have made her first kill, Evie thought. That changed things ,she supposed, evened things out a little. She watched Victor disappear inside the house.
Ash was holding onto Vero. She was completely drenched in blood and for a moment Evie’s legs threatened to give way until she realised, from the way Vero was smiling and had started kissing Ash, that it wasn’t either of theirs.
Flic was busy scanning the garden, checking there were no more unhumans around.
The sound of a zipper made Evie whip around. Cyrus was fumbling with his one good hand inside his boxer shorts.
‘What are you doing?’ she shrieked.
‘You got any better suggestions?’ Cyrus asked, taking hold of himself. ‘These burns are stinging like – well, like acid rain. I either piss on them or you can.’
‘Here. Use this.’
It was Victor. He handed Cyrus a jar of bicarbonate of soda mixed with water. Evie smiled as Cyrus did up his zipper.
‘That got you off the hook,’ he grinned at Evie as he took the jar from Victor and started pouring it liberally over his arms and hands.
Evie winced in sympathy. She knew exactly how Mixen burns felt.
In the distance the high-pitched wail of sirens brought her reeling back to the moment.
‘Let’s go.’
It was Victor. He tipped his head at Selena who was still standing on the veranda staring at the spot where the Mixen