Necromancer's Control (Trix SinClara) Read Free Page B

before he let go. “Not worth it.”
    “Mal.” Ali said, pushing herself up the wall next to me. I shook my head ever so slightly. No, better to wait it out. If all they had planned was a beating we could take it and go home. Knowing how to fight and knowing when to fight were two completely different things and we didn’t want to be facing those guns if we didn’t have to. I settled my shoulders a little, feeling the familiar weight in my cloak. The idiots hadn’t even thought about searching us by the look of it and my short sword rested snuggly in its scabbard between the outer layer and lining of the cloak. If I could work my hands behind me I could pull it through the flap designed for just an occurrence.
    Ali didn’t know about the sword. She knew I sometimes carried one but not that I kept it concealed on me nearly all the time. She’d seen me with my power upon me so many times she didn’t even blink at it anymore but I’d never shown her the most violent aspects of my life. Nor had I told her the full story of what happened with my ex-fiancé before he became the Wraith I’d given to the Covenant in the summer. Some things will send you to the weapons masters a lot faster than others and being held hostage at the point of a knife by someone you thought you could trust was one of them. Losing a mother from the same event had sent me even faster.
    A flash of pale colour preceded the main man turning to Ali. A cut appeared on her cheek as he struck at her. Then he started to trace the blade down her neck. I made to take a step forwards at that but Ali shook her head at me and smiled ever so slightly. Condescending child. She was playing the same game I was. She’d taken beatings before and if she thought she could take this one I wasn’t going to stop her. Not until we had a better chance of escaping anyway.
    People had started to trickle into the square. Not many , but every one of them had an air of menace and violence around them. Petty criminals most likely. The higher-ups wouldn’t interact with the riff-raff and the riff-raff never liked to miss the bloodshed. The way they milled around the perimeter set my teeth on edge. Like they were waiting for a show.
    “Fredrick , take the blood whore. We’ll show everyone what happens when you give yourself to the demon slut.” Main man flicked his blade at Ali before stepping back. Part of me hoped he was good with the knife. It would make a change from practicing my thrusts and parries in the warehouse. And my blade had such a longer reach. It had been a while since I’d gone up against anyone using a smaller blade than me. A longer sword just wouldn’t have been comfortable hidden in the cloak.
    I te nsed as number two man, presumably Fredrick, took Ali’s hat off then grabbed her by the hair. He dragged her over to the platform and threw her onto it. The sudden escalation in violence had me looking around. Something had changed in the air. The only entrance to the alleyways was blocked off by a very large man and very angry dog. That was less than ideal. Scanning the crowd, I also saw something else I hadn’t been expecting. A face I’d hoped never to see again.
    He smiled at me when I looked at him so I sneered back at him. The last time I’d seen Timothy he’d had a knife to my throat. My former would -be father-in-law had a violent streak that belied his tame appearance. At least I knew who to blame for inciting the mob against me. I stared until I had to look at Ali. I had to know that she was going to survive or all bets were off. I’d given my word to protect the girl in my world and I was nothing if not a woman of my word.
    Ali had been roughed up a bit but nothing too serious. A couple of men were landing blows but Ali knew how to protect the important bits. So far , it looked like most of the damage was superficial and she was still fully alert and conscious. I doubted they’d want to knock us out. It’s no fun torturing people when