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Blackness receded in a rush as air filled her lungs, pushing the heavy water up Lungs too full, strangling -
She opened her eyes Malkom&039;s mouth was pressed to hers? She knocked hi over to hack up the seawater
As he rubbed her back with his big hand, she wheezed on the stone-laden beach Sand gritted in her eyes, her teeth chattered around rattling breaths, but she was alive "R-ruby? Wh-where is she?"
Ruby rushed into Carrow&039;s arirl was conscious, safe
"Are you okay, Crow?"
Carrow held her tight, shuddering with relief Over the girl&039;s shoulder, Carrow aze "Malkom, you kept her s-safe" Sheunco black and fangs lengthening
The surviving ghouls had begun loping ashore
Malko at thely, they cowered, scuttling back into the waves She rehouls in Oblivion had been afraid of him, too Never in her life had she hten them
The aped up at him Ruby whispered loudly, "He scared &039;em away, Crow"
"I-I saw that, honey"
Ruby was shaking, soaked through Though Carrow could scarcely i to her feet, she knew she had to They had to keep irl to protect
But where to take her? Carroiped her forearh the persistent rain at their surroundings The rocky beach was part of a small cove The forest bordered it Mountain peaks soared in the background
"She n-needs shelter and a fire," Carrow told Malkoain?"
A sharp nod
As ever with things concerning the witch, Malkohts were in turet the about these lands Falling back on habit, he&039;d begun heading for higher ground, had led thelanced over at her now She was petting the girl&039;s daly to her The child looked like a tiny Carrow, a doll in her ih he&039;d offered to carry both her and the girl, Carrow insisted on holding her, saying that she would be shaken
Shaken? He was still shaken fro lifeless, with her face so pale Her heart had been still in her chest She hadn&039;t been breathing, until he&039;d given her breath
The least he could do, since she&039;d first given it to him
Earlier, when he&039;d realized that Carrow hadn&039;t wanted to betray hie had been like a noose around his neck, easing its bite
But now that he&039;d had ti, he wondered how he could ever trust her again Although he understood why she&039;d done what she did, the fact remained that she&039;d led him to what could have been his death And his rancor over that had begun to grow
A drop of water splatted him in the face This place she&039;d taken hireen and water The stories had been true Yet even faced with all these neonders, Malko from the witch
She looked exhausted, but she was putting on a sirl "Do you think your posse will believe that there were sharks?"
Sharks Those powerful beasts in the water He&039;d asked Carrow if there were creatures that strong on land, and she&039;d told hies When she&039;d added that he would be reement
He could protect the titches fros - unless those creatures joined forces
The girl whispered at Carrow&039;s ear, "Why can&039;t he swim? Everybody can swi he could hear a whisper from a mile away, much less from three feet "Um, he comes from a place where there&039;s very little water So no need to learn"
The girl yawned, the subject forgotten "Are we going to go ho we can to get back I promise you"
Home Back to the child&039;s father? It struck hi
&039;Twas one thing to know that she&039;d been with another male, but this reminder that one had planted his seed within her was too much
Jealousy scalded Malkom, and his claws drew blood froet
But couldn&039;t The child re
Have I rescued them only to turn them over to some other man? One who hadn&039;t protected theiven Carrow the baby she obviously adored?
The s sharpened Thecold of the water had worn off, Carrow&039;s battered body and injured fingertips had grown agonizing Her waterlogged boots eights on her feet and her legs were like jelly Still, Carrow carried Ruby while trying to keep up with Malkoainst her shoulder, waking up in a rush, then falling back asleep
In the distance, the war continued with explosions of light and sound, the ground still vibrating beneath their feet Bands of creatures passed too close for co
They&039;d passed none of the witches&039; allies
The air around the The air between Carrow and Malko about all this?
His shoulder ed with tension beneath his black T-shirt Earlier, she&039;d noticed that he was dressed in new clothes, and his horns had alrown back Now his injuries had faded
Beautiful, heroic male
He&039;d ht?
Carro that she and the deo back to the way they&039;d been But she&039;d hoped that once he understood why she&039;d had to betray him, his resentment would ease
It see beneath the surface
Ruby finally fell asleep and remained that way Her arainst Carrow&039;s shoulder
Carroaited a few ain, Malkolish, "You should have told me"
"How? Besides, I had no idea how you&039;d react If you&039;d refused "
"You kne I felt About you Likely, I would have done anything at that time"
Felt At that time Past tense "I never wanted to hurt you, but Ruby&039;s life was on the line Sos you just can&039;t risk If it makes any difference, they&039;d promised to release us" She met his eyes "And I&039;d vowed to come back for you"
"Should I believe that?" He looked like he wanted to
"Believe it or not, I wouldn&039;t have stopped until I&039;d gotten you free"
He gazed away "Why did those uess because you&039;re uni"ue in the Lore"
"And their aim?"
"They want to ith our kind, to stamp out immortals We know very little about theo"
"You told the child you would try to take her home Where is it?"
"A place called New Orleans Which must be very far frohtfully "Water all round How big is the water to cross?"
"Thousands of tier than yourlook
"It&039;s true " Hearing what sounded like a s her hand over her forehead to shield her eyes froht of a prop plane, and her heart fell There goes a way hoed demons attacked it in the air Dozens of thee The craft nosedived, crashing in the distance into a ball of flames
"Well, scratch that escape route" She worried her lip And they absolutely had to escape