Crestmoor offered a smile that didn’t extend to his dark eyes. “That’s very kind of you to suggest, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
The boy used his empty hand to point at me. “Pretty collar! I want to see the collar!”
My heart pounded in my chest, and sweat threatened to dribble down my forehead. I cleared the lump in my throat and smiled at the lad. “D-do you want to see it?”
Crestmoor shot me a look that promised a terrible punishment later. If I had a later.
The lad’s eyes lit up, and he hopped up and down. “I want to! I want to!”
I stepped forward, but Leech’s hand kept a tight grip on my arms. I twisted around and smiled at him. “It’s alright, Leech. I don’t think the kid’s going to hurt me.”
Leech’s eyes flickered to Crestmoor, who nodded his head almost imperceptively. My captor reluctantly opened his hands, and I strode forward as nonchalantly as I could manage. The father released his son, and the lad met me halfway. He stood on his tiptoes and studied the collar.
He cocked his head to one side. “Isn’t that a little tight?”
I winked at him. “Just a little.”
He grabbed it. “Let me take it off.”
“Wait!” Crestmoor shouted.
Chapter 40
Leech darted forward and drew out a pair of long needles. He swung his arm across his chest and made to stab the boy in the neck. I wrapped my arms around him and flung us both to the ground. The father leaped forward and drew a short sword. He used the flat part of the blade to deflect Leech’s murderous intent.
I felt something hard and scaly brush against my throat, and jerked back. “Hold still!” came the familiar voice of Ramaro. I looked down and found myself face-to-face with the agama. His tail floated in front of us and held a lockpick. “I can’t get that thing off with you squirming-behind you!”
I whipped my head around and watched Crestmoor reach for the back of my collar. A shadow shot out of the fog and grabbed his wrist. The person flung Crestmoor back with such strength that he flew off the ground and landed out of sight in the fog.
My savior turned to face me, and a smile lit up my face. “Adrien!”
The dravenkin bowed his head. “Good evening, Miss Larking. You did well to leave a trail for us to find you.”
“There!” Ramaro cried out, and I felt the collar loosen.
I tore off the offending thing, and Adrien helped me to my feet. At the same time, the father threw off Leech and kicked him hard in the gut. The Manager stumbled back out of sight, and I heard a hard thump as he hit the pavement.
I raced over to the man and wrapped him in a tight hug. “Oh, Marc! You came!”
He looped an arm around me. “Of course I did.”
“Stop wanting to kiss and start moving your feet!” Ramaro spoke up.
I swept my eyes over the intense fog. “But how do we find anything in this mess?”
“I will lead you,” Adrien offered.
A scuff of shoes on the cobblestones forced our attention to our left, and Crestmoor stumbled out of the mist. He grasped his arm, and his dark eyes were filled with a burning hatred. “You will not have her! She is mine!”
Marc grasped my hand and glared at the man. “Nobody will have her but me.”
Crestmoor drew a whisperquill and pointed it at him. “Then I will take her from you.” He fired a blast.
“No!” I screamed as I leaped between the gun and Marc.
My scream echoed around us, and the air vibrated with the force of my cry. The mist swirled too fast for me to watch, but I could see the result. The fog twisted around the quill, stopping it dead in its tracks. Crestmoor’s mouth dropped open as the mist tightened its grip on the quill until the tiny spear broke into several pieces.
Adrien took the opportunity to come around Crestmoor’s side and knock the man out. He crumpled to the ground, and his weapon shattered beside him.
