I spat and caught my breath before straightening. Swiping at my lips with the back of my hand, I stared hard at Rune. He shook his head. I glared.
“He didn't,” Rune whispered. “Those wounds were from the blast, Lora. Brax probably got him a block away and then Kaleo died so he brought him back.”
“Are you sure?”
“We aren't allowed to kill humans. It's Olympian law.”
I blinked. “What?”
“We are guardians, sweetheart. Not murderers. Definitely not assassins. We may deliver a fatal blow by accident while protecting ourselves or someone else, but we will never purposefully kill a human.”
“Oh.” A wave of relief swept through me.
Then Rune added, “Torture, now, that we can do.”
I glared at him, and his lips twitched.
“Are you seriously about to smile right now?” I snapped.
“No.” Rune's expression went somber. “No, of course not.”
“I should tell the police about what Kaleo did. They need to know about the Host.”
He grabbed my arm before I could move. “No, sweetheart. We'll handle the host.”
“But wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to? Having the police and you after them will make things harder on them. And if they get locked up for terrorism, all the better.”
Rune blinked as if the thought of humans helping him had never occurred to him. “Well, uh.” His hand fell away.
“I'm telling them.” I marched over to the same policeman we'd been speaking to, and Rune didn't try to stop me.
The policeman was interviewing Elaine. She looked over at me and cleared her throat.
“Yes, Ma'am?” the officer asked.
“There's something I think you need to know.”
He turned to face me, his expression going interested. “Go on.”
“That man, there, his name is Kaleo Chang. It was the second time he had been in the gallery.”
“Really?” He asked as he wrote things down.
“Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't mention it sooner, but . . .” I waved at my mouth.
“No, of course. I understand. Can you tell me anything more about him?”
“Yes, actually. We went on a date not too long ago.”
“You dated the bomber?!” His eyebrows shot up.
“One date. And we weren't compatible.”
“Maybe you thought you weren't compatible, but he wanted more.”
“No, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Mr. Chang was a decent man. He was visiting from Hawaii to look into purchasing a restaurant.”
The officer's hand flew over his notebook. “This is great info, Ma'am. This will help immensely.”
