Free Dangerous Magic by Sullivan Clarke Page B

know you've heaped protective enchantments upon him aplenty. He'll be fine. If you stay behind they'll burn you both."
    Lark sniffed and nodded in resignation. Turning, she picked the cat up and gave him a hug. Colin could see her shoulders heave with silent sobs as she did so and watched as she took the cat to the back door, uttered a quick spell of protection over him and whispered in his ear. When she put him on the ground he ran off as if he were being chased.
    "Are you ready then?" he asked as she turned back to face him.
    "Would it matter if I were not?" she asked.
    He shook his head. "If you refused, I'd take you against your will." Their eyes locked. "I'll have no harm come to you, Lark."
    "I love you," he screamed silently, but could not bring himself to say the words aloud. Not now. He watched as she threw a few more things in the bag and then grabbed her cloak.
    She did not stop to ask where he got the horses. A very real sense of dread was growing in Larks' chest now as she let Colin throw her up on the back of one of the horses.
    "Hold on," he said, and she nodded, locking her legs around the animal as he'd taught her do when they were children. For a moment she wondered if he remembered how he taught her to ride his gray pony when he was ten and she was seven. He did, and briefly enjoyed the recollection as he stood there watching her sit astride the black horse closely matching the one he was now mounting.
    "We should follow the river upstream," she said, and he nodded, for it was a good plan. The path to the river was clear, and the brush beside it wasn't so thick that it would impede their travel. They could follow it for several miles and get back on the road only after they were safely away from town, hopefully before anyone noticed their absence.
    Turning his horse's head, Colin urged it forward, guiding the animal down the slope to the road. He turned back to see Lark on his heels, the traveling cloak pulled up to shield her face. When they were on solid surface, he spurred his mount to a gallop and Lark followed suit. The sky was even darker now, so dark in fact that it looked nearly night. It was a gloomy omen, but one Colin chose to ignore as he looked back once more to assure himself that Lark was still close by.
    But when he looked forward again, his heart leapt into his throat. Ahead of them, the road was blocked by a group of men, some with lanterns, some with guns. He pulled his horse roughly to a stop, as did Lark who had also seen the men. But when they turned to go in the opposite direction they realized there were men on the other side as well.
    The crowd of men was growing now, and surrounding them. The horses, as unnerved as their passengers, moved close together, snorting and pawing the ground. Colin turned and caught a glimpse of Lark's frightened face peeking out from under her cloak. His pistol was by his side, but he had no time to load it, not that it would have mattered. All around them, men were now brandishing already loaded weapons.
    The crowd parted now and a black-robed man stepped forward, the light of the lanterns gleaming off his black hair. His dark eyes were fixed on the couple and when he spoke his voice was deep and commanding.
    "You cannot outrun the justice of the Lord," he said. He turned to the crowd. "If someone would be so kind as to reclaim my horses?"
    Several men stepped forward to take the reins of the horses as several others reached up to pull down the riders. Colin lunged towards the ones who had removed Lark from her mount, but was restrained from reaching them and watched helplessly as Reverend Fordham moved towards her, his hand outstretched towards her hood.
    He pulled the hood from Lark's face slowly, as if unwrapping a gift he'd been given. For a moment he regarded her in appreciative silence, his lips curling into a mocking sneer. "What darkness lurks beneath this fair light?" he asked, almost to himself.
    "No darkness," Lark said coldly. "To claim such