Free Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews Page A

and kicked her. He just kicked her right in the face!” Tulip’s voice squeaked. “She fell and yelled at me to run, so I ran—”
    The scarred blond man pulled Daisy forward.
    â€œHush now,” Éléonore whispered.
    â€œDo it,” he barked.
    Daisy reached for the nearest stone with a shaking hand. Her cheek was bleeding. She touched the stone and tried to lift it. Magic pulsed. Daisy yelped, jerking her hand back. The slaver sank a kick into her stomach. Daisy screamed and curled into a ball. Tulip cried out, and Éléonore clamped her hand over the girl’s mouth.
    The leader’s voice carried over, harsh and grating. “We don’t want you. We don’t care about you. We want the man you’re hiding inside. Daisy here says she can’t open the ward, and given as she tried, I’m inclined to believe her. It’s up to you, then. Give me what I want, and I’ll go away. It’s that simple.”
    Sixteen men. Far too many. One or two, even four, she could deal with. She’d let them in and curse them, but sixteen was just too many. Thoughts skittered around in Éléonore’s head. She had to get help.
    â€œDo you have a phone?” she whispered.
    Tulip pulled a cell phone out of her pocket.
    â€œCall Charlotte,” Éléonore whispered. “Two-two-seven twenty-one thirty.”
    Tulips dialed the number with shaking fingers and thrust the phone at her.
    â€œThis is Charlotte,” Charlotte said, her voice calm.
    â€œWhere are you?” Éléonore whispered.
    â€œAt the end of the road. Luke was running late, and I just got the blood.”
    â€œDon’t come back to the house!”
    â€œWhy? Éléonore, what’s wrong?”
    â€œI need you to go down to the Rooneys’. Take the second fork left, then go to the end of the road. Tell Malcolm Rooney there are slavers at our house. There are sixteen of them, and they want Richard. Tell him he owes me, and that he’s got a pretty daughter and he doesn’t want them showing up at his house next. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll get the militia together and run them out of the Edge. Go, Charlotte. Go now.”
    The phone beeped, and she thrust it back at Tulip.
    â€œAll you have to do is walk down and move one of these ward stones.” The slaver called out. Éléonore looked through the gap. He had pulled a knife out. The large curved blade caught the sunlight. “You know how this goes,” he called out. “I’m a peaceful man. Don’t make me do this.”
    *   *   *
    CHARLOTTE took a turn at breakneck speed. Slavers? It made no sense. Slavery had been outlawed in both Adrianglia and the Broken for centuries. But the fear in Éléonore’s voice was vivid and real.
    She had to get to the Rooneys’. East Laporte had no police force, but when something threatened the entire town, the Edgers sometimes came together into a militia to meet it.
    Trees flashed by her. Come on, she willed. Go faster, truck. Go faster.
    *   *   *
    â€œLISTEN to me.” Éléonore grasped Tulip’s bony shoulders. “They will hurt Daisy now. There’s nothing we can do about it. The ward keeps me from using magic on them, and if we try to shoot them, they’ll kill her.”
    â€œShe’s my sister!” Tulip whispered back. “If we give the guy to them—”
    â€œThey’ll murder us all. They’re lying, dear heart. They’re lying, bad, awful bastards. We have to wait until help comes.” Éléonore hugged her, wrapping her arms around the girl’s bony shoulders. “No matter what you hear, no matter what you see, you can’t go out there. We have to wait it out.”
    â€œHold her,” the slaver said.
    Daisy whimpered.
    Ã‰léonore clamped Tulip to her. “Don’t listen. Cover your ears.”
    â€œLast