City of Halves Read Free

the date 1650 was sandwiched between two recent pulp thrillers. A book on folklore rested on top of A Brief History of Time .
    There was an empty fireplace, a desk and an oil lamp, the plaster around it blackened in a neat ring. Through a doorway, Lily could see the end of an iron bedstead, the paint badly chipped. She looked down and flinched from the pain in her neck and shoulder, then lifted her good hand to feel the damage. She struggled to sit up.
    â€˜Keep still,’ he said, catching her hand. ‘It needs more time to work.’ Reaching out, he picked up one of her earbuds, which still hung at her collar. ‘These things? Very bad idea. Anything could creep up on you.’
    â€˜What was it?’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜That thing?’
    He looked at her bare shoulder. Lily tried to look too, and winced at the pain in her stomach. Her T-shirts sagged, heavy with blood. Soaked and shredded cotton lay over the flesh of her midriff.
    â€˜Bandogge.’ He took a cool, damp cloth from the table and wiped her throat.
    â€˜A . . . bandogge? It had two heads.’
    He nodded. ‘They usually do. The pain should go off soon.’
    Lily grabbed his wrist. ‘There’s no such thing as a dog with two heads.’
    He sat back on his heels, letting her hold on to him. ‘What was it, then? And you should wait for it to kick in properly. You’ll feel stronger soon, Caitlin Hilyard.’
    She stared at him. ‘Why did you call me that?’
    He pulled the engraved disc of her mother’s medical alert necklace from his pocket and held it up. Its chain was broken.
    Lily snatched it back. ‘That’s my mother’s. I’m Lily.’
    He watched her for a second. The pump clicked. He looked at it, then cycled the lever a few times. His hands looked strong and capable. A strange black tattoo of what looked like flames sneaked from the cuff at his wrist and down the edge of his right hand.
    â€˜Regan Lupescar.’
    That’s so not a real name .
    Confused, and suddenly afraid again, Lily tried to stand. Her knees buckled, and he caught her. He was so tall she had to look up, head spinning, to see his face. Over six feet to her five foot one.
    â€˜Thanks.’
    â€˜You’re welcome, but like I said, I think you should give it a minute. Let me disconnect us, at least.’
    Lily looked down quickly, then glanced up under her lashes and saw that beneath the open collar of his well-washed Henley the same tattoo also curled across Regan’s right collarbone, licking up his chest towards the hollow at the base of his throat. She realised she was staring and a blush stained her pale cheeks, the flush deepening as she registered him holding her body upagainst his.
    The pump whirred again and she slackened as the pressure in her bicep increased, the rush through her veins making her dizzy. He let her down slowly, and dropped back to his knees in front of her. The silence was awkward, only the noise from the pump breaking the air.
    â€˜You live here?’
    Regan nodded.
    â€˜It’s amazing,’ she said truthfully, as she looked around.
    â€˜It’s called the Rookery. I inherited it. Along with the family business.’
    â€˜What do you do?’ No electricity? No computer. Nothing .
    He stilled the pump and slid the needle from Lily’s arm, then his own. ‘Security. I work nights, mainly. What do you do?’
    â€˜I’m still at school, you know.’
    He shook his head and pushed up from the floor, perfectly graceful. ‘Never went. How do you feel now?’ He disappeared into a tiny kitchen, the equipment in his hands.
    Lily got up slowly, hearing it clatter into the sink. ‘Better, thank you,’ she called after him. ‘Maybe I should—’ She looked down at her injured shoulder. The pain in her neck was gone. She looked, cautiously, beneath her clothes. Her eyes widened as she saw the massive