Not only was the driver cursing, so were Tony and Vincent. Her ears were filled with their rough voices, with the sound of a scream.
The horse? Had they hit it?
Metal. It was the metal from the car, screaming as if it were alive.
The world upended, then upended again, whirling outside the windows in an insane kaleidoscope. Then the ground slammed into the car with a gigantic crunch. Pain flared again as she struck her head on something, and everything went black.
Dim awareness returned as fresh, damp air blew across her skin. Traveling across the bumpy ground caused everything in her body to throb with pain. Someone was dragging her from the car. From the wreck.
Someone…
Blinking at the wetness that streamed in her eyes, she tried to squint up at the person who gripped both her wrists.
Whoever he was, he wasn’t human. He was perhaps her height or a little taller, and thin, with a narrow chest, spiky, nut-brown hair, and a thin, triangular face.
It was a feral face, and he had wild, feral eyes that burned with determination.
She coughed wetly and tried to speak. “Vince—Vincent. Tony. The d-driver.”
“Unconscious, but they’ll live,” the creature said. “So will you.”
“The horse?”
“Untouched.”
She coughed again, spat blood, and whispered, “Thank you for helping.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.” He touched her forehead with a forefinger. She focused on his hand. He had too many fingers. “Sleep now.”
Unconsciousness spread through her mind like black ink flowing over a canvas.
Pain brought her awake, the pain of bruises being rhythmically jostled, while blood pounded in her head. She was riding on the back of an immense black horse. Rather, she was lying on the back of a horse as it galloped along the countryside. She tried to make a noise, tried to move. Rough abrasion bit into the skin at her wrists. She stared down in disbelief. Her hands had been tied to a rope that looped around the horse’s neck.
That couldn’t be right. She had just been in a car accident. She couldn’t be riding on the back of a horse. It had to be a hallucination, or maybe she was dreaming.
Consciousness slid away.
When she woke again, her head still dangled at an odd angle, and her neck hurt. Everything hurt. Around her lay a quiet, cool forest wreathed in night. Someone carried her in thin, strong arms. She tried to move, but her hands and ankles were bound. A new, sharp spike of pain dug into her head, over her right eye that was gummed shut. Despite the persistent dizziness and disorientation, panicked conviction settled like ice in her bones.
She was being kidnapped.
Angling her jaw, she moved her mouth experimentally. She wasn’t gagged. If she was anywhere near London, there had to be houses… some kind of neighborhood nearby. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to scream.
The sound came out in a breathy, thin mutter. “Help me.”
The person carrying her looked down at her. She caught a shadowed glimpse of a wild, inhuman gaze as he remarked, “You just won’t stay asleep, will you?”
“You can’t get away with this,” she croaked. “Let me go.”
The creature lifted his head and looked straight ahead. He said grimly, “I’ll get away with it.”
This time when the world grayed around her, she didn’t go fully under. Cotton wool filled her head, which ached abominably.
I must have a concussion, she thought dimly as she struggled to come more alert. There was a reason why she couldn’t black out, some kind of danger. She had to remember.
As if from a great distance, she sensed when they came to a stop. Full awareness returned as the creature set her down on a hard, rough surface. Cold dampness seeped into her jeans, and she could smell rich, loamy dirt. He had laid her on the ground.
When he left her for a time, she struggled wildly against her bonds, but she was too securely tied. When he returned, he lifted her head and shoulders to wipe her face with a wet cloth that smelled dank, as if it had been dipped in a river.
As he cleaned away the gummed blood around her eyes, her vision became clear. She looked around. They were in a clearing, and over the tops of nearby trees, the darkness of the night sky had begun to lighten.
Panic skittered like mice running over Sidonie’s skin. It had been a long time since the accident. Hours. How far had they traveled by horse? Where were they?
Was she even in London anymore?
Suddenly the pain in her head lessened, and she could think again. A tingling spread through her body and other aches eased. While she might not have magic sense, she’d had magically based medical treatments before. The creature had thrown some kind of spell to heal her.
That had to be a good sign, didn’t it? He couldn’t mean to slaughter her here in the woods if he cared enough to heal her.
Looking up at his strange, shadowed face, she said, “You were the one. You were stalking me.”
“No,” he said. He set aside the cloth and gathered her into his arms. “I was stalking someone else. I found him in Glasgow and started to follow him. When he came to London, I followed him there too. He kept going to your concerts, and it was unusual. Unlike him. For some reason, you… matter to him. So I took you.”
She tried to follow what he was saying, but while he spoke English clearly enough, he sounded insane. “But why?”
His face twisted, and tears began to spill down his cheeks. He rocked her and sobbed. “Because you’re perfect. You’re so perfect I couldn’t have found a better weapon if I had tried.”
“I’m no weapon,” she whispered, staring. “I’m just a musician.”
“I’ll give you to her, and she will be horrible to you. And that will matter to him. With you, I’ll drive a wedge between them so deep it will tear them apart. And they need to be torn apart. You have no idea the damage they’ve caused or how many people they have killed over the years. You have no idea the kind of damage she did to me. If she isn’t stopped, she’ll target a friend of mine, and I will not let anything happen to my Sophie.”
Killed?
Sidonie was tired and cold, damp, and so scared that tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes as well. This creature wasn’t human. He wouldn’t think in human terms. Maybe he really was crazy. Did he even recognize he had committed a crime?
The horse? Had they hit it?
Metal. It was the metal from the car, screaming as if it were alive.
The world upended, then upended again, whirling outside the windows in an insane kaleidoscope. Then the ground slammed into the car with a gigantic crunch. Pain flared again as she struck her head on something, and everything went black.
Dim awareness returned as fresh, damp air blew across her skin. Traveling across the bumpy ground caused everything in her body to throb with pain. Someone was dragging her from the car. From the wreck.
Someone…
Blinking at the wetness that streamed in her eyes, she tried to squint up at the person who gripped both her wrists.
Whoever he was, he wasn’t human. He was perhaps her height or a little taller, and thin, with a narrow chest, spiky, nut-brown hair, and a thin, triangular face.
It was a feral face, and he had wild, feral eyes that burned with determination.
She coughed wetly and tried to speak. “Vince—Vincent. Tony. The d-driver.”
“Unconscious, but they’ll live,” the creature said. “So will you.”
“The horse?”
“Untouched.”
She coughed again, spat blood, and whispered, “Thank you for helping.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.” He touched her forehead with a forefinger. She focused on his hand. He had too many fingers. “Sleep now.”
Unconsciousness spread through her mind like black ink flowing over a canvas.
Pain brought her awake, the pain of bruises being rhythmically jostled, while blood pounded in her head. She was riding on the back of an immense black horse. Rather, she was lying on the back of a horse as it galloped along the countryside. She tried to make a noise, tried to move. Rough abrasion bit into the skin at her wrists. She stared down in disbelief. Her hands had been tied to a rope that looped around the horse’s neck.
That couldn’t be right. She had just been in a car accident. She couldn’t be riding on the back of a horse. It had to be a hallucination, or maybe she was dreaming.
Consciousness slid away.
When she woke again, her head still dangled at an odd angle, and her neck hurt. Everything hurt. Around her lay a quiet, cool forest wreathed in night. Someone carried her in thin, strong arms. She tried to move, but her hands and ankles were bound. A new, sharp spike of pain dug into her head, over her right eye that was gummed shut. Despite the persistent dizziness and disorientation, panicked conviction settled like ice in her bones.
She was being kidnapped.
Angling her jaw, she moved her mouth experimentally. She wasn’t gagged. If she was anywhere near London, there had to be houses… some kind of neighborhood nearby. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to scream.
The sound came out in a breathy, thin mutter. “Help me.”
The person carrying her looked down at her. She caught a shadowed glimpse of a wild, inhuman gaze as he remarked, “You just won’t stay asleep, will you?”
“You can’t get away with this,” she croaked. “Let me go.”
The creature lifted his head and looked straight ahead. He said grimly, “I’ll get away with it.”
This time when the world grayed around her, she didn’t go fully under. Cotton wool filled her head, which ached abominably.
I must have a concussion, she thought dimly as she struggled to come more alert. There was a reason why she couldn’t black out, some kind of danger. She had to remember.
As if from a great distance, she sensed when they came to a stop. Full awareness returned as the creature set her down on a hard, rough surface. Cold dampness seeped into her jeans, and she could smell rich, loamy dirt. He had laid her on the ground.
When he left her for a time, she struggled wildly against her bonds, but she was too securely tied. When he returned, he lifted her head and shoulders to wipe her face with a wet cloth that smelled dank, as if it had been dipped in a river.
As he cleaned away the gummed blood around her eyes, her vision became clear. She looked around. They were in a clearing, and over the tops of nearby trees, the darkness of the night sky had begun to lighten.
Panic skittered like mice running over Sidonie’s skin. It had been a long time since the accident. Hours. How far had they traveled by horse? Where were they?
Was she even in London anymore?
Suddenly the pain in her head lessened, and she could think again. A tingling spread through her body and other aches eased. While she might not have magic sense, she’d had magically based medical treatments before. The creature had thrown some kind of spell to heal her.
That had to be a good sign, didn’t it? He couldn’t mean to slaughter her here in the woods if he cared enough to heal her.
Looking up at his strange, shadowed face, she said, “You were the one. You were stalking me.”
“No,” he said. He set aside the cloth and gathered her into his arms. “I was stalking someone else. I found him in Glasgow and started to follow him. When he came to London, I followed him there too. He kept going to your concerts, and it was unusual. Unlike him. For some reason, you… matter to him. So I took you.”
She tried to follow what he was saying, but while he spoke English clearly enough, he sounded insane. “But why?”
His face twisted, and tears began to spill down his cheeks. He rocked her and sobbed. “Because you’re perfect. You’re so perfect I couldn’t have found a better weapon if I had tried.”
“I’m no weapon,” she whispered, staring. “I’m just a musician.”
“I’ll give you to her, and she will be horrible to you. And that will matter to him. With you, I’ll drive a wedge between them so deep it will tear them apart. And they need to be torn apart. You have no idea the damage they’ve caused or how many people they have killed over the years. You have no idea the kind of damage she did to me. If she isn’t stopped, she’ll target a friend of mine, and I will not let anything happen to my Sophie.”
Killed?
Sidonie was tired and cold, damp, and so scared that tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes as well. This creature wasn’t human. He wouldn’t think in human terms. Maybe he really was crazy. Did he even recognize he had committed a crime?
