Free Sinners of Magic by Lynette Creswell

you
want.’
    Crystal knew he was being
perfectly reasonable, but it annoyed the hell out of her all the
same.
    ‘ No, of
course not, silly, leaving me isn’t the answer. It’s hard to
explain, truly; just give me a minute to pull myself together.’
After a moment Crystal looked as though the pieces of the puzzle
were finally falling into place.
    ‘ It’s all
getting clearer,’ she said, putting her fingertips to her temple,
‘I can see a picture in my mind ... I can just make out the faint
outline of a male figure. He’s small, with blood-red eyes, and he’s
extremely anxious. His natural movement is strange, quite jerky and
I believe he’s neither human nor animal, I just can’t quite see his
face ...’
    She closed her eyes and then
blinked them open, turning her attention back towards the dove.
Unexpectedly, she dived onto the bench. For a moment, she thought
her legs would turn to water and flow away like a broken raft when
a strange feeling zapped her energy. With sweating palms, she
grabbed hold of the bird; it was clear it had been taken by
surprise and when she tightened her grip, it tried in desperation
to get away from her grasp. The terrified bird pecked fiercely at
her fingers, but Crystal refused to let go.
    ‘ What are you
doing?’ Matt gasped, unable to keep the shock from his
voice.
    Crystal glanced over at him,
but her attention was snatched by the strange black mark on the
dove’s wing. She drew a shuddering breath before letting go of the
bird with one of her hands and she placed her own thumb over the
black mark and pressed down, hard. There came a guttural cry. A
blaze of green and red light erupted like a flame from a faulty
firework, followed by a rich, stimulating aroma, which no one could
later identify. A breathless enchantment darted through the smoky
atmosphere, causing a shiver of uncertainty to descend between
everyone in the room.
    Crystal felt herself dragged to
the ground by a sudden heavy weight and lost her balance. Her eyes
were blinded by the intense blur of colour, but her fear of the
unknown only tightened her grip. The hazy glow faded away and in
its place sat a figure with Crystal’s hands clasped around a bare
throat. They both lay there, stunned, for what seemed like eternity
until a voice rasped in Crystal’s ear.
    ‘ Would you
mind letting me go?’
    Crystal was scared, unsure of
what she’d done and refused, until she felt the intruder surge to
his feet, forcing her to follow, both of them white faced. She
stared at the strange-looking man for several seconds without
releasing her hold and she saw that fright competed with fury in
his eyes. She absorbed the dark hair, his unremarkable face and his
rather pointy ears. Her eyes ran over his sallow complexion and
stopped at his eyes, for they were as red as blood. He looked
almost human, but it was clear he was not, even though he was
dressed in simple clothes, a plain linen shirt and dark woven
trousers. From his belt hung a small silver dagger intricately
carved with a complicated design. The hilt flashed when he moved
his hip, a warning of its potential to kill.
    ‘ Who are
you?’ Crystal mouthed, unable to stop trembling.
    ‘ Isn’t it
obvious?’ the creature replied, pulling a grim
expression.
    ‘ Well, no, it
isn’t actually, but the main question is, are you going to hurt
us?’ she asked, suddenly tightening her grip.
    ‘ Hardly, and
anyway, aren’t you the one with your hand around my neck?’ the creature
hissed, flashing his hard eyes at her. He flicked his gaze to Matt
and Alfie and saw only their cold stare in return.
    ‘ Why is
someone like you here in our world?’ Crystal asked, her lips drawn
tight. ‘What do you want with us?’
    ‘ Well, if you
let me go I will try to explain,’ the half-human shot back. ‘Of
course, we could always stay like this,’ he added, placing his cold
hand over hers. ‘It’s your choice.’
    She felt his cool fingers touch
her skin, but she was too