Free Refuge by Karen Lynch Page A

perfect eyebrow. “Would you
rather we had you face the entire pack to make it feel more
dangerous to you? This is how we train. Think of it as a
sport.”
    My nostrils flared, and I shook my head. “I
don’t kill for sport.”
    The other trainees had joined us again,
holding their weapons, and they quieted when they heard my
declaration.
    Celine’s lip curled. “How do you expect to be
a warrior if you can’t kill? Do you think vampires will cut you a
break because you won’t kill them?”
    “I have no problem killing in self-defense.
I’ve already killed two vampires.” I ignored the whispers around
me. “But these creatures are not vampires. They’re not even
malicious.”
    “You’ll change your tune when you face a
couple of them with no bars between you. In fact . . . ” She put a
manicured finger to her chin. “Why don’t you go first?”
    “Fine by me.” I saw a flicker of surprise in
her eyes. Did she expect me to refuse, to run away? I started for
the door of the building, but stopped when someone grabbed my
arm.
    Terrence pushed a knife into my hand. “Don’t
be stupid,” he said when I tried to refuse it. “You don’t have to
use it if you don’t need to, but don’t go in there without some
protection.”
    Nodding, I gave him a small smile and took
the knife, immediately noticing that it felt different in my hand
than the one Nikolas had given me. This one was larger and heavier,
and the blade had a jagged edge instead of a smooth one. I held it
flat against my thigh as I pulled the door open and stepped
inside.
    The door shut behind me with a loud click,
and I found myself in a short hallway that opened into a large
room. It was much darker inside the building and the only light
came from the windows, but it was enough for me to make out the
bleacher-style seats on three sides of the room and the polished
wooden floor beneath my feet. The floor in the middle of the room
was roughly thirty feet long and wide, and in the very center sat
two empty crates.
    “Great,” I muttered, scanning the room for
the bazerats. It was difficult to see anything in the deep shadows
beneath the seats, so I stood still listening for movement. All I
could hear was my own breathing. There was a shuffling sound as
something moved beneath the seats to my left. I looked that way,
but it was impossible to distinguish between shadows and the dark
shapes of the bazerats.
    From the other side of the room came the
scratch of claws on wood, and I caught a glimpse of two glowing
yellow eyes beneath a seat. How the hell did he get over there so fast?
    I jumped when I heard a sound on my right
again, and I whipped my head around in time to see a second pair of
eyes peering out of the shadows. The hair stood up on the back of
my neck as my heart sped up.
    I clenched the knife in my fist, glad now
that I had taken it from Terrence, and walked slowly toward the
center of the room where the crates sat. There was nothing to be
afraid of. If they attacked, there were only two of them and I had
a very sharp blade. I would just rather not kill something if I
could avoid it.
    Hell, maybe I wouldn’t even need to use the
knife. I’d used my power to calm a crazed werewolf and two
hellhounds, so surely it would work on these little creatures. I
hoped so, because if I had to rely on my fighting skills, I might
as well serve myself up to them on a platter.
    That’s not true, a little voice inside me argued. You fought off a
crocotta and killed Eli. You are not weak or helpless.
    I stood up straighter. For some reason,
Celine didn’t like me, and she was out there waiting for me to
fail. But I wasn’t weak, and I certainly wasn’t a coward. She
wanted these things neutralized, and that is exactly what she was
going to get.
    “All right, guys, I really don’t want to hurt
you and I know you’d probably rather be in home in the jungle, but
none of us can change that right now. So what do you say we make a
truce so we can all get