Golden Bell

“Like animals for him, I hear. Scream and scratch while he’s riding him, and beg for more, they say. Makes me wish I were the charmer. Lucky bloke.”“Shut up! And make sure that recorder is working. We want to get every name.”Blocking her view of the men with his body, Rory hunched down to her level, tracing the skin of her face with one finger. “Tell me the names, sweetheart. Tell me how to find them.”It was too much. Breathless, desperate to please him, she opened her mouth. “My father’s cousin used to live in…”An enormous blast shook the cell, oblite

“What’s wrong?”“I lost my toothbrush.”He choked, probably on a laugh. “We’ll get you another one.”“Are there any banks open? Trent and his buddies didn’t bother to check my pockets, and I’ve got a little money I’d like to exchange.” Two shillings was a little money, after all.“I’ll take care of it for you. Wouldn’t you rather shower first? You’ve had a rough day.”Debating the merits of escaping him in a bank while exhausted, nearly penni

‘Nobody’ implied more than one attacker, perhaps more than one incident. When had it happened? After her father’s death, while she was on the run? She was too tightly wound now to question further, but there would be another time.It grated that any woman would be attacked, but bit even deeper with this one. She was under his protection now, whether she cared for it or not, and he took that responsibility seriously. She couldn’t stay on the edge she was walking, one wrong step, and the knife’s edge would cut her in two.Fortunately, he was a man of many talents. Taking care of women ranked among his best.They were finishing their meal as the doorbell rang. Excusing

Fallon relaxed a little more as she stared at Kirk, comprehension emerging. Certain she was no longer going to attack, he moved off her, sitting beside her on the chaise. “Bad dreams. What were you dreaming of?”She slowly sat up, shivering. The borrowed shirt barely covered her thighs, and it was cool by the window. “The night my father died.”Fallon snagged the throw blanket and covered her. “What happened?”“We were swarmed with Haunt. My father sensed something and made me go down the emergency chute. He didn’t have time to follow without being seen. I didn’t dare go back because they were watching the house. I saw what happened through t

“Interesting revelation, but to my mind it makes little difference. You’ve got our blood. As rare and impossible as that may seem, when combined with your susceptibility to the male charmer, it makes you our responsibility. I do not believe you will be happy here. Indeed, it’s clear that you’ve been miserable for some time. I move to extradite you to the Dark Lands.” One by one, the Elders voted to send her through the gate, sealing her fate.Her lips parted on a silent protest. They were crazy! She was not about to meekly go along, dumbly complying with their stupid decree. She knew nothing about the Dark Lands, only that it had a creepy name and was inhabited by a race of beings her father had warned her wouldn’t appreciate her existence. Gritting her teeth, she fought the urge to tell them where they cou