Page 50 (1/2)

Chapter TWENTY-SIX

JADEN DRIFTED, as he always did when the sun rose, in a place soher, he would sink deeper, so in his own darkness before the ain

His body relaxed as his an

He heard the, scuffling A snarl Lyra’s voice crying out

Lyra’s voice

Jaden struggled upward, fighting the currents his body had beco to his consciousness by a thin thread, using it to pull hi after he should have let go--the sun had to be in the sky by now Beads of sweat appeared on his brow… he could feel each cool bead forrew louder

"I’ll never let you take me, you son of a bitch!"

His eyes flew open in the darkness of his rooish, like trying to walk through et one foot down, then the other, and push onto his feet He stood there for a hed a thousand pounds

There was a crash, then aer sparked and began to work its way though his blood like wildfire, warhted hian to move more quickly Still, he opened the door to his room cautiously There weren’t many s here, only at the end of the hall, but he would have to be careful not to step into a pool of sunlight

Sunlight How the hell was he even up?

Jaden didn’t have time to ponder There was another crash on the floor below And as he thought of her, Jaden could feel the adrenaline pu of fear on his own tongue She was scared for her life

"Don’t hter "You can’t hurt ainst the rest of us And especially not me I know you too well"

"You don’t know shit aboutin this collar oryour father’s life, you’ll take the collar"

Then Jaden was running, his feet barely touching the floor as he leaped down the stairs, barely registering the light strea in the s on the east side, the halls illuminated in a way his eyes had not seen in well over two hundred years

All he could think of was Lyra And as though she had felt hi of her, she cried out his name

"Jaden! Can you hearher, laughing

"Like calling a va for you Nice one"

"It was, actually," Jaden growled, and both heads whipped toward hier, long and smeared with cri to keep between Simon and her father

The relief on her beautiful face was all he needed to see Though the sheer terror on Simon’s was a bonus

"Would you like to take him out, or shall I?" Jaden asked

Lyra sank to the floor, and he finally noticed the spreading red stain on her shirt She shook her head "You’re going to have to take it"

Siht: a pair of feral cat’s eyes lighting with a bloodlust so dark and eleainst it He flung up his hands and screamed as the cat leaped

And Simon Dale knew no more

It seemed to take days instead of hours, but by late afternoon, Lyra stood in the place she’d never thought she would see again: home And in the basement where Jaden had spent so many days was Eric Black, tied and beaten, but with a fire in his eyes that told her he’d be all right