parked car. He
spun the steering wheel coming out of the turn and cursed abruptly as he hit
something with the front bumper of the truck. “Found the second Slayer,” Cirryc
announced, with the Hummer bouncing wildly as the wheels rolled over what he’d
just hit. Without slowing down, he took a corner sharp enough to send the
truck’s tires sliding across the asphalt.
Jordyn wrapped an arm around Esraina and Chloe to keep them
from tumbling to the floor. The truck leapt forward again as Cirryc pulled onto
the straightaway of an onramp and Jordyn braced his arms to keep from crushing
Esraina. Once the truck settled at a constant speed on a long stretch of
highway, he sat up and helped Esraina fasten the seatbelt around her waist as
she adjusted her daughter on her lap. There was a moment of panic when Esraina
couldn’t find the stuffed rabbit, but Jordyn located it under the seat where it
had ended up after their flight from the hotel.
Chloe had been startled awake at the commotion and started
to squirm under the layers of coat and blanket she’d been bundled in. Esraina
alternated between comforting shushing and snatches of softly sung lullabies
until the child quieted and snuggled down against her chest, one arm wrapped
around her rabbit.
Esraina waited until Chloe had sunk into the easy sleep of
innocence to ask quietly, “What hit the side of the truck?”
“A Slayer.”
Her eyes widened a little. “I thought it might have been a
Predator, but none had ever jumped at me like that.”
Something deep inside Jordyn began to burn. “How many
Predators have you encountered?”
Esraina looked away and shrugged the shoulder Chloe wasn’t
leaning against. “I’m not sure.”
“Guess.”
With a sigh, she squinted up at the Hummer’s roof. “There
were those at the River Walk and the one before that when I didn’t even know
what they were. I’m pretty sure I saw one at a bus station in Houston and maybe
the same one yesterday, but I don’t know if they were different ones or the
same one.”
“Tell me about the first one.”
A small frown puckered the skin above her nose. “Why? What
does it matter now? We’re going with you and returning to Ilyria. You guys have
won.”
Her response surprised him, but her reasons for returning
home were less important now than the fact that she was returning home.
Willingly. He focused on the one thing that might hinder them.
“I need to know how the Sleht were able to track you and
Chloe down before we did.” He didn’t mention that he and most of the heirs were
sure they had a traitor in their ranks that they hadn’t been able to identify
yet, but if Esraina was attacked before they had found her, the Sleht couldn’t
have used leaked information from their side.
“I thought it was a Predator who attacked us. Who are the
Sleht?”
“The Sleht are our enemies. They want our world as their
own. It was one of their attacks that caused your mother to leave Ilyria.
Predators are bred by the Sleht to track and return Mystics to them in Ilyria.”
“So these Sleht, they’re the bad guys, and Predators are
like what? Their evil errand boys? Why are they after Chloe and me?”
The exhaustion in her voice bled into every word. He knew
she needed to rest. “Your ancestry is Mystic.” He paused. He wasn’t the one who
should be explaining her place to her. “Esraina—”
“Amy. My name is Amy .”
He met her determined gaze. With a slow nod of acceptance,
he said, “Amy. I don’t know what Ellyna told you—”
“Apparently not enough,” she said, a low warning grumble
underscoring her words.
Jordyn recognized mine fields when he saw them and decided
to avoid that one. “We can fill you in better later,” he continued, “after
you’ve had a chance to rest.”
“Yeah, because a good night’s sleep is going to suddenly
make finding out I’m an alien who has Predators from outer space hunting me and
my daughter all better.”
“Don’t forget
spun the steering wheel coming out of the turn and cursed abruptly as he hit
something with the front bumper of the truck. “Found the second Slayer,” Cirryc
announced, with the Hummer bouncing wildly as the wheels rolled over what he’d
just hit. Without slowing down, he took a corner sharp enough to send the
truck’s tires sliding across the asphalt.
Jordyn wrapped an arm around Esraina and Chloe to keep them
from tumbling to the floor. The truck leapt forward again as Cirryc pulled onto
the straightaway of an onramp and Jordyn braced his arms to keep from crushing
Esraina. Once the truck settled at a constant speed on a long stretch of
highway, he sat up and helped Esraina fasten the seatbelt around her waist as
she adjusted her daughter on her lap. There was a moment of panic when Esraina
couldn’t find the stuffed rabbit, but Jordyn located it under the seat where it
had ended up after their flight from the hotel.
Chloe had been startled awake at the commotion and started
to squirm under the layers of coat and blanket she’d been bundled in. Esraina
alternated between comforting shushing and snatches of softly sung lullabies
until the child quieted and snuggled down against her chest, one arm wrapped
around her rabbit.
Esraina waited until Chloe had sunk into the easy sleep of
innocence to ask quietly, “What hit the side of the truck?”
“A Slayer.”
Her eyes widened a little. “I thought it might have been a
Predator, but none had ever jumped at me like that.”
Something deep inside Jordyn began to burn. “How many
Predators have you encountered?”
Esraina looked away and shrugged the shoulder Chloe wasn’t
leaning against. “I’m not sure.”
“Guess.”
With a sigh, she squinted up at the Hummer’s roof. “There
were those at the River Walk and the one before that when I didn’t even know
what they were. I’m pretty sure I saw one at a bus station in Houston and maybe
the same one yesterday, but I don’t know if they were different ones or the
same one.”
“Tell me about the first one.”
A small frown puckered the skin above her nose. “Why? What
does it matter now? We’re going with you and returning to Ilyria. You guys have
won.”
Her response surprised him, but her reasons for returning
home were less important now than the fact that she was returning home.
Willingly. He focused on the one thing that might hinder them.
“I need to know how the Sleht were able to track you and
Chloe down before we did.” He didn’t mention that he and most of the heirs were
sure they had a traitor in their ranks that they hadn’t been able to identify
yet, but if Esraina was attacked before they had found her, the Sleht couldn’t
have used leaked information from their side.
“I thought it was a Predator who attacked us. Who are the
Sleht?”
“The Sleht are our enemies. They want our world as their
own. It was one of their attacks that caused your mother to leave Ilyria.
Predators are bred by the Sleht to track and return Mystics to them in Ilyria.”
“So these Sleht, they’re the bad guys, and Predators are
like what? Their evil errand boys? Why are they after Chloe and me?”
The exhaustion in her voice bled into every word. He knew
she needed to rest. “Your ancestry is Mystic.” He paused. He wasn’t the one who
should be explaining her place to her. “Esraina—”
“Amy. My name is Amy .”
He met her determined gaze. With a slow nod of acceptance,
he said, “Amy. I don’t know what Ellyna told you—”
“Apparently not enough,” she said, a low warning grumble
underscoring her words.
Jordyn recognized mine fields when he saw them and decided
to avoid that one. “We can fill you in better later,” he continued, “after
you’ve had a chance to rest.”
“Yeah, because a good night’s sleep is going to suddenly
make finding out I’m an alien who has Predators from outer space hunting me and
my daughter all better.”
“Don’t forget
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