Free The Kyriakis Curse by Eve Vaughn Page B

nostrils, and another odor she couldn’t quite put her fingers on. Then her body was suddenly slammed into a brick wall by an invisible force, sending a streak of pain up her spine unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
    She fell to the ground moments later, stunned. When Sarah tried to stand up, barely
    aware that she could move now, a wing-tipped boot connected with her ribs, spinning her onto her back and smashing the wind from her lungs.
    “That’s for making us chase after you, cunt!” a deep voice said over her. Someone
    grabbed her ponytail, lifting her head to meet pitch-black eyes. She stared at his harsh and swarthy face; there was a cruel tilt to his mouth. And was that some sort of a tattoo on his neck?
    Somehow, she knew this man wasn’t a shifter, but he was something else -- another
    nonhuman. The man sneered. “Gage will be pleased that we’ve finally caught up with you.”
    It took Sarah a few more seconds to fully realize she was no longer frozen. She swung at him, her fist connecting with his stomach. Gasping out a startled oomph!, he released her.
    “You’ll pay for that, you half-breed whore.” The man shot his hand out, and Sarah flew through the air, her body crashing against the wall again. This time she hit head first.
    Dazed, aching more than she’d ever felt, she gingerly held her head as stars danced
    before her eyes, thankful that her neck hadn’t snapped. But her enemy wasn’t through with her yet, because she found herself hurled again. This time she remembered to put an arm out to cushion herself. The sickening crunch of broken bone assailed her ears before more jagged shards of pain shot from her fingertips to her shoulder. She vaguely heard another voice.
    Her attacker’s companion spoke gruffly. “Neyo, stop this now. Gage said to keep her alive.”
    “Shut up, you stupid mutt. You take orders from me when we’re on mission and not
    the other way around. Have you forgotten you live only due to our sufferance? Gage may want this one alive, but he didn’t specify what condition she had to be in. He could always heal her once we get her back at the lab.”
    “I don’t think--”
    “I didn’t bring you here to think, only to track her scent. Now, shut the hell up, or you’re next!”
    Sarah was in agony, but she managed to lift her head slightly to see who the other man was. She saw a tall blond with a full beard... and what seemed to be a touch of sadness in his hazel eyes. It was almost as if he didn’t want to be there. He shot her a sympathetic look.

    Kyriakis 1: Kyriakis Curse

    45

    Gritting her teeth, Sarah struggled to raise herself by using her good arm to steady herself and shoved her legs and back against the alley wall, inching her way up. Her left arm ached like a son of a bitch, as did her head and ribs.
    The one called Neyo chuckled. “So, the half-breed has spirit. I’m going to enjoy
    breaking it, and I won’t even use my powers. When he approached her and would have
    punched her in the face, Sarah managed to dodge the blow and found the strength to swing a foot up to kick Neyo directly in the balls. Hard.
    He went to his knees. “You... fucking... c-cunt,” he managed to wheeze out. He glared at his partner. “Wh-what are you... standing there... for, you idiot!... Grab her!... The whore...
    needs to be taught... a lesson.”
    Sarah looked to her left -- a dead end -- and realized she’d have to run past the large shifter to get out of the alley. If this was the day she was going to die, Sarah figured she wouldn’t leave this earth without a fight. For insurance, she dealt Neyo another kick, this time to the face. The stomach-turning sound of bone being crushed accompanied her foot connecting with his nose.
    Cradling her injured arm, she attempted to dash past the shifter, but he was much
    quicker than her and wrapped his powerful arms around her. Sarah screamed from the
    excruciating pain to her broken limb. It hurt so much that she felt like