The doorman tried to pull away, but Jason’s grip was like a vice.
“Now I won’t ask again,” said Jason menacingly. “Which room?”
“I’m not telling you,” repeated the doorman.
Releasing one hand Jason slapped the boy so hard on the cheek that his head recoiled backwards.
The boy turned his head back, a big red mark appearing on the side of his face. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Jason let go of him and let him fall back down onto his chair. He stared back sullenly, his hands trembling as they reached up and gingerly touched his face.
“Do I have to ask again?”
The boy’s shoulders visibly sagged as he replied in a small voice.
“She’s in room twenty-two.”
“There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
The doorman shook his head, ashamed of himself for giving in so easily.
“Is she there now?”
“Yes,” Michael replied in a defeated voice. “But she had a friend. A young man. He won’t be happy if you go up there.”
Jason paused. This was something different now. Who was the man? He decided it didn’t matter.
“You are a mine of information, aren’t you?” he said as he pulled out his phone. He stared at the screen as his stomach twisted itself into a knot of dread. He dialled the number. After one ring it was answered.
“Do you have news for us Jason?”
Jason swallowed hard trying to wet this throat.
“Err, yes. I think I’ve found her.”
“You think? We don’t want you to think Jason, we want you to know.”
Jason felt his bowels constricting.
“It has to be her. No one else has seen anyone fitting the description.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
The line went quiet for a moment. Jason didn’t dare say anything.
“Are you with her now?”
“No,” Jason replied. “She’s in a hotel, I’m in the lobby. The doorman says she had someone with her.”
“You better not be wasting our time Jason.”
Jason felt a sticky, prickling sensation crawl up his spine.
“I can go and check but I thought…”
The voice interrupted him.
“No, stay there and wait for us.”
The line went dead. Jason stared down at his phone. They hadn’t even asked him where he was. He turned to see the doorman staring at him wide-eyed.
“I think you should go home,” Jason said.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Rider stood poised above Falk. His hands gripped the hilt of the sword, his muscles contracting and expanding in unison as they carried the blade effortlessly downwards. He had won easily, his power absolute. He was the Rider. Hunter of Warders. Destroyer of the Light. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment. Then, like a knife piercing his skin, the awareness came. Other memories and knowing began to rise within him and as they did so the gravity of what he could sense opened him up and shocked him to the core of his being.
The wolves were moving.
They had found Nicola.
Now everything had changed. He could not kill Falk. He needed his help.
Falk’s blow caught him unaware, knocking him sideways onto the floor. As his sword flew out of his hand he found himself sprawled on the ice with Falk upon him, the blade of a knife gleaming as the man swung his hand forward. Desperately Paul raised his forearm narrowly blocking Falk’s attack. He followed through with the elbow of his other arm but Falk twisted his head away avoiding the blow and then punching down. Falk’s fist impacted with Paul’s temple and for a moment all Paul could see were stars. Blindly he kicked upwards with all his might. He heard Falk grunt with pain and fall away to the right. Rolling left Paul picked himself up shouting as he did so.
“They’ve found Nicola.”
Falk came at him but Paul could see the sudden confusion on the man’s face. Paul sidestepped the flashing blade with an inch to spare and brought his fist down towards Falk’s knife arm but the warrior had already moved out of the way and was flowing into his next strike. In desperation Paul cried out again.
“They’ll end the awakening.”
Falk let the knife run wide, his elbow connecting with the side of Paul’s head with a satisfying crunch sending him back down onto the floor. Falk knelt over him the tip of his knife resting against the side of Paul’s throat. His brain had registered the Rider’s words and now he was trying to comprehend them. At the same time he knew he had won. He had beaten the Rider and could end it now, destroy him before he found and killed Nicola