Reluctant Prince (6 page)

Mia sprang from the darkness, swinging a large, dead branch as she pounced. She couldn’t move quickly enough to land a damaging blow, but forced Kai to release Ryleigh’s chin to block the impact.

Ryleigh flung her body to the side, revealing just enough of Kai’s chest to make a target.

Jackson attacked. He plunged the knife deep, but avoided Kai’s heart. Maybe the crazy bastard didn’t have one. Jackson pulled back.

Kai swung his arm, flinging Ryleigh aside.

“You would dare attack me?” Spit flew from the warrior’s mouth as he screamed. Rage colored his face. “Over a girl? A human? Do you forget I taught you everything you know? This is how you repay me for all the years I’ve spent training you? For that I will see you tortured before you’re executed.”

Jackson let him rant. He tried to keep track of the girls from the corner of his eye as he and Kai circled one another.

Ryleigh grabbed Mia and dragged her beneath the cover of the bushes.

Kai and Jackson circled around.

With Ryleigh and Mia out of the way, Jackson turned his full attention on his mentor.

“Why would you kill me, Kai?” Jackson tilted his head, teased his tormentor. “As punishment for my sins? Or, perhaps…” His voice and expression hardened. “You are not willing to relinquish your position as second in command.”

“Don’t be a fool. I’ve been training you for that role since you were a child, but I should have realized your cowardice before now.” Kai appeared thoughtful, but Jackson knew him too well to be fooled. “Hmm…Perhaps your brother would be better suited to stand beside your father.”

Jackson stepped forward, dagger raised.

A bolt of pure energy exploded from Kai’s fingers.

The fireball slammed into Jackson’s chest and catapulted him into the wall. His head smashed into the bricks. Hard.

The sisters crouched beneath the bushes, submerging themselves deep in the shadows. Mia buried her face in Ryleigh’s back.

Ryleigh didn’t dare breathe. Tremors surged through her body, and she fought to suppress them, praying fervently the younger girl’s teeth would stop chattering so loudly.

Jackson lay in a heap on the concrete walkway. He didn’t move.

His attacker stood perfectly still, his back to her, head cocked to the side. He waited an eternity before he lifted his hands over his head, fisted them together then ripped them apart, tearing an enormous hole in the darkness.

The world as she knew it ended. For just an instant, another world existed. A barren world, filled with shadows. Then the darkness swallowed both the killer and the universe he’d unveiled.

Holy crap.
She had to get out of there. Now. But no amount of coaxing would move her feet from the spot where they’d rooted. What had happened? Where did he go? Was he still out there? Would he find them? Her heart pounded hard enough to rock her back and forth. Bile gushed toward her throat. The blood rushing through her ears drowned out all other sound.

Mia gripped her arm tighter, nails digging into her skin, and sobbed.

Clamping her mouth shut, Ryleigh lifted a finger to her lips.

Mia nodded.

Ryleigh gestured for her to slip out the back of the bushes.

Mia shook her head.

With her eyebrows drawn together and her fiercest scowl firmly in place, Ryleigh gestured again for the younger girl to move.

Again, she shook her head no. This time, Mia pointed to something behind Ryleigh.

Fear clenched Ryleigh’s stomach, and she whirled to face her attacker. Something sharp scratched her face, and she threw her arm up to ward off the ambush. The branch caught her arm, tore through her sleeve, and drew blood.

The alley stood empty, save for Jackson’s crumpled body.

“What were you pointing at?” The harsh whisper barely made a sound.

“We can’t leave him,” Mia whispered back, voice trembling, tears running down her cheeks.

“I mean it, Mia. You’d better listen. Get over to that wall behind you and crawl toward the walkway. Now.” Ryleigh pressed her mouth against Mia’s ear as her whispers grew more urgent. Anger replaced some of the fear holding her paralyzed, and she gritted her teeth even tighter, grinding them together. Pain burst through her temples. Great.

“We can’t leave him.” The plea in Mia’s eyes touched Ryleigh’s heart, but no way was she going out into that courtyard.

“We’ll send help as soon as we get somewhere safe. Please, Mia. Please. We have to get out of here, before it comes back.”

“Jackson saved your life. What if it comes back and gets him before we get help?” Sobs wracked her fragile body. She still spoke softly, but her volume increased with every word.

“Mia, please. I have to get you out of here.”

Mia shook her head.

Why does this child have to be so stubborn?
Ryleigh massaged her temples.
Damn.
She lay on her belly, pressing her body flat against the cold, damp ground. Dodging the branches and prickers clawing at her, she crept toward the edge of the bushes, peered out from her hiding place, and searched the alley for the lunatic. Nothing.

Mia moved up beside her. “Do you think he’s all right?”

“I don’t know.”

She struggled to see the rise and fall of his chest, or any movement. That thing shot fire from its fingers, hurled the flames into Jackson’s body, and threw him all the way across the courtyard and into the alley wall. For all she knew the fireball had killed him. Maybe he’d already been dead when his body had hit the wall. Was she supposed to risk their lives for someone she didn’t know, a stranger who was most likely dead…a man who’d saved her life and probably Mia’s as well?

Ugh.
“Stay here.” She turned a glare on her sister and lifted a finger in warning. “I’m not kidding, Mia. You stay hidden. If anything happens, you wait until it’s safe and then run for help. Do you understand?”

Mia chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Ryleigh. You don’t have to go.”

Exasperation and fear shortened her temper. “Make up your mind already, will you.”

Mia threw herself against Ryleigh and wept. “I’m scared. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“It’s okay, Mia. It’ll be all right.” She rubbed Mia’s back in an effort to soothe them both. “All right.” She inhaled, and the rich smell of dirt mixed with the smoke from Mia’s hair scratched her raw throat. She swallowed the urge to cough. “I have to go. You’re right. We can’t leave him. I have to check and see if he’s alive. If he’s unconscious, he’s too vulnerable lying there like that. I have to hurry, though, so we can get out of here. Promise me you’ll stay put.”

Mia nodded.

Ryleigh crawled deeper into the shadows beneath the bushes and positioned herself against the wall. Her heart raced erratically, pain throbbed through her body, and tears blocked her vision as she crawled quickly toward the alley. Stray branches grabbed her hair and clothing. Claustrophobia threatened to suffocate her. Until she reached the edge of the bushes and had to leave their protection then she wished fiercely to remain beneath their cover.

With a quick glance in each direction, Ryleigh launched herself from the illusion of a safe haven. Crouching low, she raced awkwardly toward the alley. Though her feet were bandaged, the local anesthetic had begun to wear off and each step sent a million shards of glass stabbing into her feet. When she reached the wall of the alley, she pressed her back against it, resisting the urge to slide down the wall and sit, to rest her feet for even the briefest moment, knowing she’d never get back up.

Squinting into the darkness, she strained to see if Jackson appeared to be breathing.

He lay curled in a ball on his side.

All right. She was going to have to get closer. With one last, anxious glance around, she headed for his lifeless form. She used the wall for support, tried to ease some of the pressure off her feet. Was he alive? She really, really didn’t want to find a corpse.

Images of his crooked smile and his mischievous eyes filled her mind.

Hesitation warred with impatience as she edged closer.

When she finally reached him, the coppery scent of blood assailed her. She knelt beside him, restraining a small sigh of relief at finally getting off her feet and alleviating the worst of the pain.

She held her breath and placed her hand against his chest. A heartbeat. A new flood of tears and a small sob escaped before she wrestled her emotions under control. He was alive. Now, how would she get him out of there?

She gingerly shook his shoulder. “Jackson.” The fierce whisper did nothing to elicit a response. She shook him again, a little harder this time. “Jackson. Wake up.” Still nothing. She thought of screaming for help but dismissed the idea just as quickly.

If his attacker realized he’d left Jackson alive, he might return.

Her blood ran cold, and a shiver coursed through her. All right, enough of this. She grabbed Jackson’s arm and shook him ruthlessly back and forth. When she called to him this time, it was no whisper. “Jackson, you have to wake up. Now.”

No response.

She hobbled to his head, turned him on his back, and grabbed him under both armpits. By the time she turned him around so his head faced the desired direction, she was soaked with sweat, breathing in short, harsh gasps that burned her throat, and bent at the waist with a stitch in her side. “I can’t do this, Jackson. You’re going to have to wake up. Please.” She bent to grab him again.

“Here, let me help.”

Mia. “I thought I told you to stay hidden.”

“You did, and later we can argue about it. Right now, let’s just get out of here.”

Ryleigh didn’t have the strength left to argue. Instead, she grabbed Jackson with both of her hands beneath one of his arms.

Mia did the same on his other side.

Together they dragged him to the bushes. They pulled, shoved, and pushed until they managed to conceal him beneath the cover.

They crawled in beside him. “We can’t pull him any farther. We’ll have to leave him hidden here and hope for the best until we can send help.” Ryleigh worked to slow her breathing. Tried to swallow, to soothe her parched throat, to no avail.

“Should we go back into the hospital for help?” Fear shone in Mia’s eyes.

“No. I won’t risk anyone asking questions about why we left in the first place.” She bent to examine Jackson’s head. “He bled a lot.” The memory of the blood pooled around his head sent a shiver rushing through her. “But it seems to have mostly stopped now.”

She ripped the tattered sleeves from her blouse folded one in a square, placed it against the wound at the back of his head, and used the other to tie it firmly in place. “There. I’ll make an anonymous 911 call as soon as we can and tell them I saw someone getting attacked and tossed in the bushes behind the hospital. Hopefully, he’ll be all right until then.”

She studied his face one last time, remembering the way his eyes had glimmered with humor, his smile had held a hint of mischief.

Something deep within her stirred, protective instincts clawed their way to the surface. She brushed his hair off his forehead and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. “I’ll send help. I promise.” One tear dripped onto his cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her finger. Then she tore her gaze from him. “Come on, Mia. We have to go.”

They moved to the wall and headed toward the walkway.

Mia was a mess. Soot still covered her face and clothes. Her puffy, red eyes sunk into deep, black circles. Hair stuck out in every direction, and scratches and cuts crisscrossed every bit of exposed skin, thanks to the sticks and branches they’d had to battle their way through.

Ryleigh probably looked even worse.

Any form of public transportation was out of the question. Talk about drawing attention to themselves. They would have to stay to the shadows as much as possible and walk back to the building where she’d had her job interview, what seemed like a hundred years ago. Then they could retrieve the car and go home.

Her feet screamed in agony at the thought of walking all those miles. It would be worth it, though. Her breath hitched. Home.

When they reached the end of the row of bushes, she grabbed Mia’s arm and gestured for her to wait.

Chances were their attacker wouldn’t return after this amount of time, but who knew? She had no idea how much time had actually passed. It seemed like hours but was probably not more than fifteen minutes, give or take a few. Seeing no one in the immediate area, she left the cover of the bushes and stood. She scanned the walkway and the side of the building it led to then waved a hand for Mia to follow. She brushed at her clothing and hair, hoping to at least get some of the dirt off. Then she tried to clean Mia off.

A groan brought her up short.

She paused, strained her ears to listen for a repeat of the sound. It came again. She bit her lip. Indecision paralyzed her.

“Ryleigh.” The voice was faint but unmistakable.

She took Mia’s hand, limped around the bushes to the spot where they’d left him, and sat on the ground with Mia beside her. “Jackson? Can you hear me?”

The bushes rustled, and he emerged on his hands and knees. “Are you two all right?” He tried to move toward her, but winced, grabbed the back of his head, and sat where he was.

“We’re all right, just scared.” Pain pierced her brain, and she longed for a hot bath and her soft bed. “What was that thing?” Her voice shook, but she lacked the energy to try to steady it. A memory struck her. “You knew it.”

“Yes.” He held her stare.

Her thoughts churned frantically. Jackson knew that bizarre creature, had called it by name, conversed with it, stabbed it. Was he one of those things?

She maintained eye contact as she began to back away, didn’t dare break it. Grabbing Mia’s arm, she dragged her back too.

“Ryleigh, wait.” Jackson reached for her hand.

“Get away from us.”

“Please, Ryleigh. You have to listen to me.” He held both hands up in front of him.

She got to her feet, hauled Mia up with her.

Jackson stood as well, but didn’t lower his hands. “Ryleigh.”