Free Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies by authors_sort Page A

Hmm. I moved off gers, torso, toes, and everything in between, to turn my Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 62-63
    12/17/09 9:32 PM
    64 JENNIFER ESTEP
    Web of Lies 65
    body into a rock-hard shell. As long as I held onto my west stairs, staying to the shadows. The building smelled magic, kept concentrating on it, even my hair would stop like bleach mixed with garlic and urine.
    a bullet.
    I reached the second-floor landing and another empty Then I yanked open the door and stepped outside. hallway. The walk across the street and up the stairs had I stood by the front door a few seconds, my eyes scancooled my anger. My skin might be as hard as stone, but ning the block again. Nothing. No runners, no parked all it took was one moment, one waver, one second I let cars, no flash of light from a rifle scope in the window my magic slip to get dead. Fletcher Lane had drilled that across the street.
    into me. Jake McAllister might be a punk, but that didn’t After another thirty seconds, when no more bullets mean he couldn’t get lucky and kill me. I wasn’t going to zipped through the air, the people who’d been on the give him that chance, so I paused to listen and evaluate. street when the shooting started slowly raised their heads. Muted quiet. Most of the building’s tenants were out one by one, they eased out from behind the parked cars working at their day jobs, trying to come up with enough and metal mailboxes that they’d ducked behind, got to cash for next month’s rent. My fingers tightened around their feet, and hurried on about their business. the knives in my hands, and I crept forward. Since he Since the gunman hadn’t taken the easy shot I’d ofhadn’t taken a shot at me when I’d crossed the street, there fered him, I marched across the street to the apartment was a very slim chance Jake McAllister was still in the building, an older structure with small, dingy windows apartment. But I continued to move cautiously, quietly. and chipped façade that hadn’t been upgraded or renoThree apartments on this floor faced the street. I tipvated since it had been built forty years ago. I pressed my toed past the first two doors to the third one—the one hand against the stone that framed the entrance, listenI wanted. ing to the murmur of the cold, wet brick underneath my I paused in front of the beige-painted door, waiting bare fingers. A mishmash of emotions greeted me. Childand listening. More silence. I put my hand on the stone ish shrieks of glee. older, adult grumbles. Sharp, worried that framed the door, but its murmur was low and muted. murmurs. A babble of English and Spanish. It all added Nobody lived here, judging from the lack of emotions up to the noises of a typical apartment building. Nothing and vibrations, which was probably why Jake McAllister unusual so far.
    had picked this apartment to fire from.
    older buildings often lacked good security features, I closed my hand around the knob. The cold metal and this one was no different. There wasn’t even a lock tickled the spider rune scar on my palm. The knob on the glass door to keep out the homeless stragglers. The turned, and the door opened.
    door led to a small hallway with stairs branching off eiI nudged the door inward with my boot, careful to ther side, and an elevator lying at the end. I headed up the stay to one side of the door frame. It didn’t even creak as Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 64-65
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    66 JENNIFER ESTEP
    Web of Lies 67
    it swung open. I stayed in the hall and waited, counting gusting in through the open window. Not bleach, not off the seconds in my head. Ten . . . twenty . . . thirty . . food, nothing. I frowned. Not what I’d expected. Jake
    . Noises from the other apartments farther down the hall McAllister didn’t strike me as a patient person—much leaked out to me. A television blaring out some children’s less the kind to pick up after himself. If the Fire elemental cartoon. Another one tuned to a soap opera.