Part 50 (1/2)

She reached into the pocket of her skirt for the little bag of burdock she had gotten from Fallon earlier in the day. Still doubting her own sanity, she managed to pinch a few pieces from the bag and throw them at his eyes.

He frowned, looking down at her as if she were crazy. Either burdock really had no effect on evil spirits, or this was just a regular guy with some superhuman strength.

”What are you doing?”

The angle of his face was just right. Unfortunately, she was right-handed, but she still did her best to deliver at least a painful blow to his jaw.

He swore; his grip didn't lessen in the least.

He came to a dead stop, staring at her. ”I'm trying to save your life, you idiot!”

”Don't save my life; let me get back to the hotel.”

”Megan, I can't do that. You're in danger there.”

”Let me be the judge.”

”You have to come with me. I'm a friend.”

”Like h.e.l.l you are.”

He wasn't going to release her. He was an oddly striking man, six feet, maybe six-one, sandy-haired... cleanshaven. Respectable looking.

Ted Bundy had been charming, so history reported.

She stared at him another moment, then cast her head back and started screaming at the top of her lungs.

He swore again, telling her to stop.To add to his dilemma, she dropped. Just dropped. Dead weight, she went to the ground.

He swore again.

But this time, he bent down and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Her nose crashed into the wool of the coat.

She opened her mouth to scream again but he had started running.

Fast... like the wind. They might have been loping, as if she had been tossed over the back of a thoroughbred, or a greyhound.

There was no way she would go down without a fight.

She kept trying to scream.

To claw at his back. But through the wool, her nails couldn't begin to reach flesh to rip. The wind rushed by her.

She tried to see.

But now, a cloud had covered the moon. The fog was thicker than ever.

She was flying at a steady pace...

Into an ebony h.e.l.l.

”Wait!” Lucian told him firmly. He caught Finn's arm, since Finn was ready to start running again.

”What! Megan is in danger!” Finn shouted, his sense of urgency rising.

”You can't go back to the hotel; Sam Tartan will just have you arrested for arson.”

”Arson!”

”The fire began on the stage-with your equipment.”

”But that's bull!”

”Of course, it's bull. But Tartan will have you arrested. Finn, think. They want you and Megan separated. Get the police in on it, and you're in a jail cell and Megan's... out there. Somewhere. Vulnerable.”

”I have to find her!”

”We'll find her. But you have to listen to me.”

Finn stood still, teeth grating so hard they could have snapped. ”Who the h.e.l.l are you?” He demanded furiously. ”What are you?

How can you keep knowing any of this. s.h.i.+t! How the h.e.l.l do I know that you're not a major part of it? How did you throw people around like that? Yeah, you're right. I know something of what I'm doing, but that was a crowd against us. d.a.m.n it, tell me now just who-or what-you are.”

Lucian stared back at him. ”You don't want to know,” he said quietly. ”But this is the truth before any G.o.d every honored-you have to trust me now. We're the only friends you've got.”

”Megan-”

”I know where Megan is.””Take me to her-now!”

They were going deeper and deeper into the woods. They'd followed the road-to exactly where, Megan didn't know-and then turned off.

Her captor came to a halt, drawing her back over his shoulder, and setting her down in front of a tree. She would have stood, except that her limbs didn't seem to be working, and so she sank against the bark as he set her down.

He hunkered down before her. She stiffened, ready to fight again. She eyed him carefully, ready to fight with her mind. He was one of them. He was a liar; he had been held in reserve. She was to be some kind of a sacrifice to Bac-Dal, and this man was going to see that she was kept prisoner until tomorrow at the midnight hour. But that meant she had time to get away.

”Are you all right?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed. ”Oh, yeah, I'm just fine, you a.s.shole. You've abducted me like a sack of meat, thrown me all over, forced me here against my will, but I'm just fine.”

”Look, you haven't met me, so you won't believe this. I am your friend. And you have to trust me for a few minutes now. We're almost at what we believe to be a safe house. I need to make sure that there's no one around the area. Can you stay here, please- I'm begging you-for just a few minutes?”

She looked at him. There was something about him. She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust him.