MAGIC BURNED ACROSS DOYLE’S SKIN, A TOUCH AS warm as her fingers were cold. Fear flitted briefly through the vibrant depths of her eyes, though whether it was fear of him or the situation, he couldn’t say. Maybe it was both.
Right now, though, it didn’t matter. It was more important that they got out of here. Manarei usually traveled in pairs. There would be another out there in the darkness, and it would have felt the death of its mate.
Somehow, he had to get Kirby into the car without alarming her any further—no easy task, he suspected. Especially if she noticed the manarei was beginning to melt away.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the creature. “You need those wounds tended to.”
It sounded rather lame, but he couldn’t think of anything else. He certainly couldn’t force her into the car—not when the thrum of magic pulsed between them. Light danced across her fingertips, a gentle play of energy that lit the night with miniature thrusts of lightning. Though he’d never come across anything like it before, one thing was clear: one wrong move and that energy would be aimed at him. And that, he suspected, would not be pretty.
“So you’re offering to drive me to the nearest hospital?” She pulled her arm from his grasp and wavered on one leg. “Why?”
“Because you’re going to bleed to death if you don’t get help soon.” The emergency room was actually the last place he wanted to take her. There were too many people—and too many forms the manarei could assume.
“And you’re what? The local neighborhood watch out on evening patrol? And I suppose you just happened to have a gun handy in the glove compartment?”
Implying, no doubt, that he was up to no good. Once upon a time that might have been true, but not these days. Not since he’d joined the Circle. “Listen, all I’m trying to do is save your ass.” Irritation bit through his words. He thrust a hand through his hair and tried to remain calm.
She snorted softly. “Why the hell would you have any interest in saving my ass? You don’t even know me.”
“But I know a fine ass when I see one, an
d yours certainly deserves to be saved.” His irritation was more obvious this time, and he took a deep breath. Damn it, why was her distrust affecting him? Although, in her shoes, he probably would have used his magic first and asked questions later.
A startled look crossed her face and, for a moment, a smile touched her lips. It transformed her features, changing them from pretty to extraordinary.
“Compliments aren’t going to get you anywhere, chum.”
Her tone was still tart, despite the lingering warmth on her lips. Lips he suddenly had difficulty tearing his gaze away from.
“Tell me how you know my name, and why you’re really here,” she said, a slight flush invading her cheeks.
Before he could answer, a howl ran across the night. It was a high-pitched wail of distress that sounded more human than animal. The manarei’s mate giving voice to its grief.
Time was running out. Though he still had four silver bullets in the gun, facing a grief-stricken manarei was an entirely different proposition from facing one in a feeding frenzy. Given the option, he preferred to run.
Her gaze searched the night, and her voice was soft, edged with fear. “That creature had a mate?”
Doyle raised his eyebrows, wondering how she knew. “Yeah. And it’s going to be a little pissed that we killed him. We have to get out of here.”
“Why didn’t you just say that earlier, instead of rambling on about the hospital?”
Her gaze met his. It seemed to delve right to his soul, tasting secrets he’d rather keep hidden. “I didn’t want to alarm you more than necessary.”
She snorted again. “Like my night hasn’t been one huge, monster-filled nightmare already.”
And she was counting him as one of those monsters, at least until she knew who and what he was—something he was in no hurry to tell her. “Can we just get in the car?”
He touched her elbow. Warmth flared, washing electricity between them. Not her magic but something deeper, something more basic. Her gaze flicked to his, startled, but she didn’t pull away, didn’t run. Though only, he suspected, because the other manarei was still out there hunting her.
He helped her over to the car and opened the door. The lightning still danced across her fingers, stronger now than it had been before. He wondered what her magic was, and why she hadn’t used it against the manarei.
Another scream cut across the night, closer than before. Doyle slammed the door shut and hurried around to the driver’s side. The wind whipped around him, bringing with it the scent of death. Their death, if they didn’t get out of here.
He started the engine, switched on the lights and threw the car into gear. The wheels spun on the wet road for several seconds before the car lurched forward.
“You know, you neatly avoided answering my question before.”
She was leaning against the door, as far away from him as she could possibly get. Her arms were crossed, hands hidden, but he sensed this was less a defensive gesture and more an effort to keep warm. She must have been out in the rain for some time, because she looked soaked.