Page 138 of A Touch of Poison
My blood ran cold.
This was a deliberate attack, using Horrors as weapons, just like the Wars of Succession.
“Get him to Asher or the Hall of Healing. I need him kept alive. I’ll speak to him later.”
Once the city was safe.
And—my gaze skimmed up into the orange sky and I froze.
The sun was setting and we hadn’t touched today. Once it hit the horizon…
I needed to find Kat.
52
Kat
Iworked my way uphill, aiming for the palace. Bastian might not be there, but they had to know where he was. If he realised the time and came looking for me, it seemed the most likely place he’d start.
My calves burned as I pushed up and up, one eye on the road, one on the setting sun.
Questioning clicks echoed from a lane to my left, and I hurried the opposite way, taking a winding alley that cut through to another street. I hugged the walls, gripping my bow.
My touch hadn’t worked, so an arrow to the eye was my best hope. If I was lucky enough to get a clear shot on both, the monster would be blinded. Would that make a difference when they could sniff out magic? I tugged the cuffs of my gloves like they might stifle my scent.
The palace grew larger and larger, and my hope unfurled. Another ten minutes.
I turned a corner and stopped dead. A gasp caught in my throat.
Ahead, perhaps forty feet away, stood a Horror.
Maybe it hadn’t seen me.
Swallowing, I eased back a step.
The thing’s clicking increased as it rose, front legs coiling as if ready to grasp.
Oh, it had seen me.
It haddefinitelyseen me.
I turned to run, but more clicks skittered off the walls of the alley behind me.
Shit.
Head low, the Horror that stood between me and the palace prowled closer, its eight legs moving with hypnotic slowness. It was like a sabrecat approaching its prey—slowly, slowly, then in an instant, it would explode into movement.
My stomach roiled.
No turning back.
But no going forward.
Closer, the Horror came, void-black eyes locked on me.
I nocked an arrow.
Pure desperation drove me. There was nothing else. Well, I could curl into a ball, I supposed, but… No. That wasn’t an option.
