Damn it. Why? Just then, she hated that their mind-connection didnt go both ways. Yes, she forced herself to say. We want tickets.
Glittering red eyes swept over them both. He raised his arm, fingers opening to reveal a dull, bloodstained blade in his palm. First, Ill need your hearts.
His heart isnt human, Haidee said, jabbing her thumb in Amuns direction.
The big man gave Haidee his full attention and licked his greasy lips. Yours will do. You can pay for him another way. He stroked himself. Know what I mean?
Amun stiffened, and suddenly utter menace poured from him. Take what we need from the backpack, he said. His timbre was flat, but all the more fiery for it.
She pulled the backpack forward. I need twoshe gulpedhuman hearts, she thought and reached inside. What would she do if nothing
She almost gagged when she encountered two warm, velvet-wrappedthings. Paying another way wont be necessary. She did gag when she handed both to the man, and he greedily ripped away the material to view the still-thumping organs inside. And when he tore a hunk from both with his teeth, tasting the tissue as he would a fine wine, she had to swallow a surge of bile.
He nodded in satisfaction, all three of his chins bobbing with the movement. Go ahead and pass. An evil grin split his lips, and she saw the crimsonfood stuck between his teeth. Enjoy yourselves, you hear? I have a real good feeling the performersll enjoy you.
For a moment, she could only stare at him. He loved to torture females and animalsin that order. How she knew, she couldnt have said. She just knew. And she wanted to kill him. Badly.
Why shouldnt she? she thought next, her skin chilling several degrees. She was loaded down with blades. A simple jab, jab and he would
You cant kill him, Amun told her.
Her eyes widened. How had he known what she was planning? Could he now read her thoughts? Or had his demonhis demon, she thought, nodding. Secrets. There was a warm, dark cloud whisking through her head. The same warm, dark cloud shed noticed the two times Amun had shown her bits and pieces of her past.
Thats how she knew about the man. Thats why her temperature had dropped.
When the demon claimed Amuns attention, or sought her own, his skin warmed and hers chilled, the same as when they were making love. Right now, Amun was practically on fire.
You just gonna stand there? the beefy man cackled, dragging her from her thoughts.
Shit! Shed allowed herself to be distracted. Why cant I kill him?
Come on. Amun twined their fingers and started forward, maneuvering around the manonly to twist and strike with his free hand, embedding a blade in the mans spinal cord. Crack. There was a gurgle, that beefy body convulsing, slumping, falling over. Skin turned to ash, and bone to liquid, the ash drifting away in the breeze, the liquid forming a black, oozing puddle. Oh, and to answer your question, you couldnt kill him because the privilege belonged to me.
When Amun straightened, looking anywhere but at Haidee, he once again started forward. She could only gape up at him, astonished. Whyd you get the privilege?
He planned to find you later anddo things to you.
How do you know? She knew the answer before she finished asking the question. His demon. Again.
I told you. I read all minds but yours.
I remember. She pushed out a breath. And thank you.
Thank you? You dont think me malicious? I just killed in cold blood.
Malicious? For avenging me? No. Amun must have forgotten that she had wanted to plant a blade in the man, too. I think youre sweet and maybe even went a little easy on the bastard. I would have forced him to eat his own intestines.
A warm chuckle drifted through her mind as Amuns fingers squeezed hers in thanks of his own. Hed truly expected her to balk, she realized. Later, she would have to tell him about some of the things she had done over the years, all in the name of vengeance and, foolishly, world peace.
As if the world would be a better place without Amun.
They remained on the gravel path for several minutes. Over and over Haidees attention strayed as she searched for the animals shed seen earlier. She expected them to reappear and launch at her, jaws snapping. Constantly she tripped, but Amun never let her fall. Even better, he never berated her for her lack of concentration as Micah would have done. To him, it was mission first, feelings second.
When you were stalking evil or being stalked by evil yourself, you were to think only of destroying that evil. You werent to worry about any physical pain you might suffer. You werent to consider what might happen to the innocents around you. And most assuredly, you werent to place your fate in anyone elses hands.
Come, a withered female in front of one of the tents suddenly called. I tell you what awaits. You pay me with a scream.
Haidee replied before she could think better of it. Im not screaming.
You will. Oh, you will. A gnarled finger pointed at her, and a cackling laugh sounded. Best go no farther, hateful girl. Death, death is what awaits you. And pain, so much pain. Soon. Soon you pay me.
The prediction was so close to what Haidee had endured countless times in the past, she couldnt shake a sudden sense of unease. Soon, the old crone had said, and the urge to rush over there and shake the woman, to demand answers, overwhelmed her. She would shake the bitch, she thought, starting forward.
Oh, Ill pay you all right.
Cackling.
Distantly, she thought she felt somethingsomeone, Amuntugging at her back. She didnt care. Couldnt care. When she tried to pull from Amuns hold, he tightened his grip.
I have to go to her. Have to
Dont listen to her. Remember what the angel told us? Trust no one.
It took a superhuman effort, but Haidee managed to stop and look away from that stooped body. The moment she did, the overwhelming urge left her. Thank you. Again.
Theres no need to thank me, Haidee. He stuffed a piece of paper in his pocket. Come on.
He ushered her off the pathway. He zigzagged and ducked behind the tents, always maintaining a tight grip on her. She had been chased over the years and had chased others, so she knew what he was doing. Preventing anyone from locking on them, their every move random, unpredictable.
Whats the game plan? she asked.
While you chatted with the self-professed seer, I had the pack provide instructions for successfully navigating this place.
And? she asked.
Another scroll. It said we must find the Horsemen.
Horsemen? I dont understand.
We must find the Horsemen, he repeated. Of the Apocalypse.
Oh, dear God. Youre kidding me. Please let him be kidding.
I wish I were. Through death or some other means, the scroll said they were our only way out of here.
She gulped a mouthful of what felt like sand. And what do you mean by some other means? Were supposed to ride them to safety?
To her surprise, Amun chuckled softly. I have no idea. The scroll told me nothing else. But I do know the Horsemen are in some way related to William, and
William?
You havent met him. Hes immortal, a god of some sort, I think, and on our side.
Our side. As if they were partners rather than enemies. As if he trusted her completely. As if he no longer saw her as a Hunter responsible for his friends murder, but as a woman worthy of him. Inside she glowed, tendrils of his warmth traipsing through her.
So, if the Horsemen are related to this William person, whos on our side she stressed the word the Horsemen should be on our side, as well?
We can hope.
For some reason, that wasnt promising.
A shriek sounded at her left, and she stopped to wheel in that direction.
Easy, Amun instructed, stilling beside her. Someones playing a game, thats all.
That was all? The beings here werent playing with darts, balloons or plastic ballsand the prizes werent stuffed animals. Severed heads were being tossed at boiling tubs of oil, and though the heads were bodiless, their mouths still managed to scream in pain when splashed with the oil, skin melting away.
The little boy whod just won jumped up and down, clapping, his hoofed feet clomping hard into the ground and spraying dirt in every direction. The proprietor handed him a beautiful golden bird trying desperately to escape the string around its neck, wings flapping erratically, glitter raining from them like fairy dust.
The loveliness of the bird was surprising, considering the ugliness of everything else down here.
The little boy gently held the bird in both hands, muttering soothing words. Those golden wings gradually stopped flapping. Of course, thats when the boy shoved the tiny creature into his mouth and bit off the head.
Haidee gagged and quickly looked awayright at a group of men whod locked their sights on her and Amun. Those men were striding toward them, closing the distance. Damn it. She never should have paused to watch the games.
Amun, she whispered fiercely.
I see them. He released her, gearing for a fight they both knew would happen. If I tell you to run, you run and hide and dont return. Understand?
As if. But rather than tell him she planned to stay and help, possibly distracting him, she remained silent and palmed two blades in each hand. The men were almost upon themthey were big, bigger than Amun, with paper-thin skin that draped loosely over pitted bone, their eyes merely sunken holes of blackand still they drew ever closer
Just as hed done with the ticket handler, Amun stiffened. And not in preparation for battle.
Can you read their minds? she asked.
Yes.
He said no more, but then, he didnt have to. The men intended to do something vile. To her, she was sure.
Six against two. Lets see if we can even out those odds. Haidee threw two of her weapons. The first hit the biggest of the men in the jugular, and he instantly toppled. The second hit the man next to him right in the eye socket. He screamed as he fell.
The other four paid their fallen comrades no heed, continuing forward.
Run, Amun commanded her.
She didnt.
Haidee! Now!
Okay. She had to tell him. Im not letting you fly solo on this. Im here. Ill help.
He growled.
The men reached them and formed a circle around them, effectively surrounding them with a wall of muscle and menace. Wouldnt have been so bad, except the two men shed felled suddenly rose, jerked the weapons from their bodies and took their places in the circle, far angrier than theyd been before.
Ohshit. They couldnt be killed. Dread slithered through her, choking her.
We want the girl, one of them said, and all of them gave her a once-over, lingering on her breasts, between her legs, mentally stripping her and making her shudder in revulsion.
Well, news flash. You cant have me, she snapped. She would rather die. Again.
Wasnt talking to you, bitch. The shitheads gaze never left Amun. Give her to us, and you can go on your way. Alive.
Hell pay for disrespecting you, I swear it, Amun told her, and he sounded so calm he could have been discussing his favorite type of doughnut. But first, since you refused to obey me, and yes, we will be discussing that, ask him if hes seen the Horsemen.
That, she obeyed. And as her words echoed between them, an almost visible wave of fear swept over the men. They began to tremble, their skin taking on a grayish cast. The Horsemen were so depraved they frightened even psychos, huh? Awesome. Then the fear turned to anger, and the men scowled at Amun with more fury than before, as if they blamed him for what theyd felt.
Forget those that shall not be named and tell us what you want for her, one of the men said.
Those that shall not be named?
A muscle ticked below Amuns eye as he took each guys measure.
Cant you talk, demon? another growled. We want the woman. Now.
So they recognized what he was, but they werent scared of him as they evidently were of the Horsemen. If that was the case, though, why didnt they simply attack him?
You can have her back when were done, still another said.
They laughed in eerie unison.
Course, shell be in pieces, and well probably keep the good ones, but you can have whats left.
Run, Haidee, Amun repeated into her mind. And this time, do it. He didnt wait to see if she hadshe hadntbut launched himself at the men. He moved so quickly, she registered only the blur of his slashing hands and glistening blades.
The men converged on him with the same eerie unison in which theyd laughed, kicking at him, swinging their arms like clubs. She couldnt throw herself into the fray because there was no way to tell which body parts belonged to Amun and which to the shitheads. Their positions changed too swiftly.
Blood sprayed, some red, some black. Grunts and groans resounded. Then Amun landed at her feet, wheezing, his face already sliced to ribbons. The men were on him an instant later, their momentum shoving her backward.
She righted herself, that image of Amun filling her with a rage so potent, her blood began to thicken with ice. No one hurt her man. No one. Mist formed a cloud in front of her nose each time she exhaled. She knew anyone who looked at her would see actual crystals glinting in her hair, on her skin. This strong a reaction hadnt happened in so long, shed almost forgotten she was capable of it.
Hate filled her, joining the ice. So much hate. She hated these men, hated what theyd planned. Hated that they lived.
She couldnt allow them to live.
Amun managed to throw the bundle of bodies off him and jump to his feet. His weapons had been ripped from his grip, so he used his fists now, pummeling with all his might. But every time he cracked one of those fatheads to the side, breaking the spinal cord, the men would shake off the blow and attack with new fervor. Then one of them realized Haidee was alone, seemingly unprotected and disengaged.