Page 25 (1/2)

Crack!

A bullet whined out of the trees, kicking up the snow at Finn’s feet This tiiant who’d been about to swing at irl, apprentice, or whoever the hell she was, hidden farther back in the trees with that rifle of hers

"The next one will go in your head," Gentry said

She spoke to Finn, but the old wonized me from the Pork Pit I could tell by the way that her pale eyes narrowed and her lips puckered with thought So like sympathy flashed in her face, and she nodded her head atrespectful, the way that you would to an enemy you admired, to someone who maybe wasn’t all that different but was on the opposite side from you

"I’ll take care of her as best I can until you co at ht Now, co"

Take care of Bria? What did she ainst my sister’s temple, Gentry eased my baby sister back into the woods All around hted, excited shoutsin triumph

But I only had eyes for Bria, and she for azesblue

"Go, Gin!" Bria screamed the words at me "Leave me!"

Never

The word burned intoever had before, including Mabmy spider runeto hell with Sydney, her rifle, and the fact that she iant blocked ed his blows, then brought my knives up, then down, just as I’d done a thousand times before But even as I cut into hih-that I just wouldn’t be fast enough

The giant had just started to fall when Gentry and Bria disappeared froiant "Bria!"

I wasn’t quick enough Even as I reached for my baby sister,toward Finn andht have been liht illuminated the rune necklace Bria alore A delicate primrose Bria’s rune The syain

Then the falling snoirled and fell like a curtain between us, and she vanished

Chapter 22

I don’t really reotand start running Finn covered our backs, exchanging enough shots with the pursuing bounty hunters to keep the us, while I took care of any ere unlucky enough to step into our path Cut, cut, cut I went through the motions automatically, my limbs heavy andcould penetrate the fear that cloaked one, and it was allthat I could kill Mab Right now, at this verydelivered into the Fire elemental’s cruel clutches I’d lost my baby sister to that bitch for the second time in my life I wanted to curl into a ball and weep at my miserable, miserable failure

But there was no ti but cut and run, and cut and run soh, Finn and I e and back to the sedan that I’d boosted earlier I was just-out of it, so Finn took charge He tucked his gun in his waistband alongside his other gun, opened the door, and shoved er’s seat At this point, ue that it was all I could do to pull the door shut My bloody knives slipped froers and clattered to the floorboard I just stared dully at them

Finn ran around to the other side of the car, slid into the driver’s seat, and reached underneath the dash "Coether "Start for ine roared to life Finn threw the car in gear, put his foot all the way down on the gas, and swerved back out onto the road

Not a ures run out into the road behind us

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Bullets sla out the back windshield and spraying us with sharp splinters of glass Finn hunched down over the wheel, et, but I didn’t even have the energy to do that Didn’tus out of sight and out of range of the bounty hunters and their guns

Finn took the first side road he came to, then another, then another When he was sure that none of the bounty hunters was on our tail, he made a final turn, one that would take us to the safe house where the others should be waiting We rode in silence, with one I’d vowed to keep h to let her be captured by a bounty hunter, by Ruth Gentry-a wo Bria to Mab this very second, with Sydney and her rifle along for backup And when Mab got her hands on Bria

Hot, sour, bitter bile rose in ht of what the Fire elemental would do to my sister, of how she would torture her Just because she could My stoth I had left to keep fro sorry This is all hts on Bria, if I hadn’t tried to seduce her tonight, if I hadn’t baited her, if I’d just answered my damn phone when you first called"

Finn sed the rest of his words, but I could hear the anguish in his voice Despite his woenuinely cared for Bria Even more than that, she was part of our makeshift family now He would have felt the same way if Jo-Jo had been kidnapped or Sophia or er of blame at Finn too much We all made o, one ofkilled in the Ashland Rock Quarry No, I couldn’t fault Finn for being hi as in his nature I just couldn’t I’d already lost Bria tonight-I wasn’t losing hih to lean over and squeeze his cold hand "If you’d answered ht have run into the bounty hunters co up the driveway and been captured iet her back Bria will be fine You’ll see"

Finn nodded, but we could both hear the hollow echo in my weak, mumbled words