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Another second ticked by, and it finally registered in everyone’s brain what had happened That someone had just taken a shot at Mab-in her ownlike normal businessmen and businesswomen would have, the majority of the people inside dropped to the floor A few reached for the silverware that they’d been eyeing earlier, their hands curving around the knives, spoons, and forks with surprising familiarity I also noticed that Ruth Gentry, the wo girl she ith, protecting her from potential harm How considerate

I took all this in on theevenout of here My hands were already slapping another silverstone bolt into the crossbow, even as I scrambled to my feet

"The !" soh the "

"Of course it cah the ," Mab’s muffled voice juiant’s body on top of her "Get her, you fools!"

Everyone froze for anotherfirst at each other, then at theA breeze gusted through the hole that I’d cut into the glass, ether like a bat’s delicate wings

"Now!" Mab roared

My cue to leave With one collective thought, the guests in the dining room scrambled to their feet and raced toward theThere was a bit of a logja for position, knives and forks slashing like daggers across whoever was in range

The infighting gave e The crossbow still in my hands, I sprinted across the snow-covered roof My boots slipped on the ice, but instead of fighting the wicked slide, I leaned into it, using ht and momentum to propelrooet, even if it was only a few measly inches

The roof stretched out flat for about thirty feet before it dropped away into the darkness I paused at the edge, twisted around, and fired my crossbow back up at thehook with two hundred feet of clih a stone balcony two stories above s

I dropped the crossbow, unlooped the rest of the rope from its position around my waist, and threw it over the side of the roof The thin, black ribbon of it drowned in the darkness below I gave a quick tug on the rope, checking to see if the grappling hook was anchored securely Didn’t h, because I didn’t have ti behindroorabbed hold of the rope, drew in a breath, and stepped off the roof

The wind screamed in my ears as I fell the hundred feet to the earth below There was no time to be subtle or cautious, not now, so I letthe cool power up throughmy skin there so that the thin rope wouldn’t shred round, I reached for eventhe power outward intothem all as hard and solid as the stones of the mansion around me

I didn’t have tih the layers of icy snow before sla iic, e I was already rolling, rolling, rolling, churning through the snow, before using my momentum to pull myself back up onto my feet

I’d taken only two steps when a thin screa louder and sharper with each second, like a train’s whiny whistle I looked up just in ti toward round where I’d been standing Looked like soet to me and had paid the price for it The blood and brains splashed across the snow reirl’s prolance as I rolled back up onto my feet once more

Because noas ti for the alarm to be raised I wasn’t even halfway across the wide, white expanse of the lawn before lights snapped on inside theover each other, each bright blaze taking more and more of the precious darkness with it Footsteps scraped, scratched, and scuffled on the mansion’s stairs and balconies above my head, but I was more concerned with the ones that crunched into the snow on the ground behind -et out of here

"Security alert! Security alert!" a mechanized voice boomed

The alarm sounded five more times before someone shut it off, but hoarse shouts iiants who made up the bulk of Mab’s security force had been alerted to my presence and were on the hunt I could hear their startled, angry bellows even above the thump-thump-thump of my quick footsteps in the snow

"She’s here! The Spider’s here!"

"She tried to kill Mab!"

"Find the bitch! No et away this time!"

I’d at least hoped to le one of her giants after me, but luck had never, ever been my friend

Still, I didn’t slon, not even for an instant Now that they kneas here, the giants would rush in fro to trap htened around ht now, speed was preferable to stealth-

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Bullets thunked into the snow behind s and back, but I kept running, my eyes locked onto the shadow-strewn tree line up ahead

Since it had been snowing for the last week, and Mab’s mansion was as frozen and frosted as the rest of Ashland, I’d forgone my usual black assassin clothes-boots, pants, sweater, vest, ski ray ones to help me blend in better with the soft shadows Butat anything bigger than a squirrel skittering through the snow tonight<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>