Circle of Fire (Damask Circle 1)
He bent next to the second teenager and wrapped the blankets around her.
“Shapeshifter!” Hank’s harsh voice grated across the silence.
Jon cursed softly under his breath but didn’t answer. Maybe Hank would believe he wasn’t there.
“I know you’re here, shapeshifter. Come out.”
He swore again. Five minutes more—that was all he’d needed. Five lousy minutes.
“If you don’t want to see your girlfriend’s pretty neck sliced open, I suggest you come out real soon.”
For a moment, Jon froze. Maybe Hank was bluffing …
“She’s bleeding as you wait, shapeshifter.”
Rage rose, so deep and powerful it shook him to the core. Maybe he wasn’t as uncertain of his feelings for Maddie as he’d first thought.
He took a deep breath, then quickly rearranged the blankets to make it look like there were still two bodies carefully wrapped inside. Maddie’s chances of survival now depended on making Hank believe he hadn’t had the chance to rescue the teenagers. He moved back to the window and climbed out, then slid it shut and walked around the far end of the building.
“What do you want?” he said, turning the corner.
Hank stood in the middle of the clearing, a knife held to Maddie’s neck. Even from where he stood, Jon coul
d see the slight trickle of blood down her throat.
His gaze met hers. Deep in the amber depths of her frightened eyes he saw the fires burning. She was close to losing control, and if she did, she’d kill not only Hank, but also the remaining teen.
Hank’s smile was slick and victorious, but the relief in the fiend’s eyes was unmistakable. Maybe, just maybe, his bluff had worked.
“What I want, shapeshifter, is you dead.”
Jon flexed his fingers. “Then why don’t you release Maddie and attempt to make your wish come true?”
Hank grinned. “I’m not that foolish, shifter. I’ve seen your type fight before. Until I have got a better weapon, I’ll settle for you leaving this area and not coming back.”
Jon kept his gaze on Maddie, watching her struggle for control. If she lost, he’d have to move quickly to stop the fires from consuming her too. If he could stop them.
“And what about Maddie?”
Hank grinned—a lizard enjoying its brief time in the sun. “She’s my insurance against your return.”
Hank obviously didn’t suspect Evan was gone, or he wouldn’t have been so keen to get rid of Jon before he’d gotten the teenager back. If Jon left now, he could still ensure the teenager’s safety. And that, he thought, studying Maddie’s frightened eyes, was all she’d care about.
“Then you’d better take real good care of her, hadn’t you?” he suggested softly. “Because your insurance will only work for as long as she’s alive.”
Hank’s smile faded, and his knuckles went white against the knife. Maddie gasped slightly, and another trickle of blood ran down her neck. Leave, her eyes seemed to plead. Leave and be safe.
He had no other choice. He couldn’t risk any sort of attack with the knife held so close to her neck—and he had to get Evan to safety. She’d never forgive him if something happened to her nephew now that he was so close to freedom.
He caught her gaze again. “Don’t do anything foolish,” he warned softly. Just hold on until I can get some help.
Hank merely smiled. “I hold your queen, shapeshifter, so don’t you dare threaten me.”
“That wasn’t a threat, my friend,” he said softly, then leaped skyward on gold-brown wings.
MADDIE WATCHED THE HAWK UNTIL IT DISAPPEARED FROM sight. Maybe because of all the old werewolf movies she’d watched over the years, she’d half expected his shapeshifting to be an event of both power and pain. It was powerful, yes, but also very beautiful.
“First time you’ve seen him change, huh?” Hank whispered into her ear. “Exciting, isn’t it?”