Free Bladed Magic by J.C. Daniels Page B

tucked me into bed at night, how she sang to me.
    I love you …
    I kept my surface thoughts focused on that, just that.
    And vaguely, that crawling, probing touch eased away.
    Oh. He was going to hurt for that.
    As he started to rise, I straightened my arm and dropped one of my daggers into it.
    He was striding my way now, head bent. Come on…come on…
    I was about ready to do something desperate just to make him look up so I could make sure it was him when the roar of the engine came from off in the distance.
    I shot a look over my shoulder. Instinctively, I whirled back around as he came rushing for me.
    Satisfaction tore through me.
    I wouldn’t find him, huh?
    I let the dagger fly and it buried itself in his gut. He screamed, his doughy white hands going to clutch at his belly as he went to his knees.
    Rising, I let the dead flowers fall from my hands as I moved toward him.
    Wracking my brain for his name, I stood over him. Had Justin give me his name—Oh. Yeah.
    “Larry White?”
    He blinked at me, eyes milky-blue and vague. “Who are you?”
    I shot another quick look over my shoulder as the roar of that motor came to a sudden, screeching halt.
    Justin.
    The son of a bitch.
    Had he followed me?
    Looking back at the bloody mess at my feet, I frowned.
    What did I do now?
    “You kidnapped and raped children,” I told him. “You killed them.”
    He just stared. “They aren’t children. Not really. Better them than…” he started to cough.
    Justin was getting closer.
    I didn’t bother to look this time.
    “Better them than what?” I asked.
    When he didn’t answer, I bent low and snagged the front of his shirt, jerked him up. With my other hand, I twisted the blade and wrenched it. I’d never realized I could do that—I’d had so much pain heaped on me as a child. How could I do it to another?
    But there was a monster in his eyes. Staring out at me.
    “Better than what?” I asked again, letting my disgust shine out of my eyes. I could kill him, I realized. I’d fought before, but it was for my own life. I’d even killed before, but only to save myself. This creature didn’t deserve the life he had.
    “Better little monsters than real…children…” he choked again, blood bubbling out of his lips.
    Letting him go, I spun away and put some distance between us before I stepped over a line. I wasn’t ready to cross it yet.
    Justin stood just a few feet away.
    But for once, there was no smile on his face.
    There was no wicked, wild pleasure, no violent delight on his face.
    He just watched me with sadness.
    “It’s not easier to ignore the monsters, Kit,” he said, his voice soft, heavy with knowledge.
    Then he brushed past me.
    I’d ignored the monsters for so many years. I’d lived with them most of my life, then I’d fled from them, pretended they didn’t matter.
    They did, though. This one had hunted children.
    How could I live with myself if I turned my back on that knowledge?

 
     
     
Chapter Seven
     
     
    Worrying the knife at my side, I stared at my mostly empty room.
    I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
    It was a chance, the biggest I’d ever taken.
    “You’re gonna be fine.”
    Looking over at TJ, I tried to ignore the twisting, pitching nausea. Nothing said confidence, after all, like going to your knees and puking up your guts. “Sure.” I gave her an easy smile and then looked back into my empty room.
    Home . It had been home for so long. My first home, really.
    But not now.
    “Kit?”
    I looked up and met Goliath’s eyes. He stood at the far end of the hall, his massive girth taking almost the entire space. “Hey, big guy.”
    He smiled at me, his watery eyes sad. “Gonna miss you.” Then he sighed and nodded his head down the stairs. “You got somebody waiting for you down in the gym.”
    “In the gym?”
    He nodded and headed back down the steps. They creaked and groaned under his weight. If they ever gave out under him, it wouldn’t surprise me. I just hoped