Considine watched her impassively, seemingly waiting for… I didn’t know what.
“She’s after me,” I said. “Though I don’t know why—I’m just one member of the task force. Even if she killed me, they’d still come for her.”
“She’s trying to minimize threats,” Considine said. “You’re the biggest, so you are the lucky recipient of her attention. Until now.” He continued watching her scrabble as if she were a bug and didn’t react even when she tried to claw at his leg with her sharpened nails.
Gisila’s lips turned blue from lack of oxygen and her skin was almost a grayish hue.She’s getting close to suffocating—how far is he going to push this? I thought the plan was just to bait her.
Considine’s expression was nonchalant, but his red eyes had a murderous glint I hadn’t seen in them before. (Admittedly, he might have been flashing that look around during his nightly rounds as Ruin and I’d have never known thanks to his enchanted hood.)
I swapped my dagger from my right to my left hand, then grabbed the left sleeve of Considine’s spelled shirt. “Considine, you can’t kill her,” I said. “Her bloodline would be furious.”
“I already thought of that, yes.” Considine’s murderous gaze remained locked on Gisila. “But it also occurred to me that there might be a few ways around that.” He smiled, and Gisila kicked her legs—struggling for air.
“You’re going to put one into plan, right? Andnot kill her?” I asked, my worry starting to grow.
I wanted Gisila caught and arrested but that didn’t mean I wanted her dead, especially since we still had no idea what her aim was.
Considine didn’t answer me. Instead, he waited, his red eyes glowing as he studied Gisila—whose gaze was becoming unfocused, her movements more frantic flops than anything useful.
Just before she passed out, Considine lifted his booted foot enough to give Gisila enough room to take a shallow breath.
“Listen carefully, lizard.” Considine’s voice was dark and raspy.
Gisila, still struggling to breathe as coughs were mixed in with her shallow gasps, looked up at Considine—her eyes wide with fear.
“Touch even a hair on Jade O’Neil, and I will come after you with all the power I possess. She ismine. Understood?”
Gisila made a wheezing noise—the very same sound I would have made if I had less control over myself.
That is your “way around” killing her? By staking a claim on me?!
I couldn’t react—that’d be giving away free information to Gisila—so all I allowed myself was a slow blink.
Considine had essentially declared that going for me would unleash his wrath. Warning her like this gave him a sort of brutal, semi-recognized form of claim, so if she attacked me it would be well within his right to attack her back—and it didn’t need to be stated that when Considine attacked, he’d kill.
“You haven’t answered me, lizard.Understood?” Considine started to put more pressure on Gisila’s throat again.
“Y-yes,” Gisila managed to squeeze out.
“Good.” Considine pressed down harder on her throat, then abruptly backed off. “Then leave.”
Gisila gasped for air for a few moments as she peeled herself off the ground—not looking nearly as gorgeous in her ripped and bloodied dress, her hair full of fly-aways from her struggles against Considine. She glanced up at Considine, then shifted her gaze to me and her eyes darkened with anger.
It looks like she’s going to internalize her embarrassment over Considine handing her rear to her and blame me. How standard for the supernatural community.
Gisila managed to gracefully stand up, her poise returning. She pressed a hand to her bleeding side and rushed through the open door, her footsteps speeding up as she retreated.
Considine was unnaturally still until her footsteps faded entirely. Then he relaxed, the darkness fading away from him as his usual nonchalant attitude returned. “Nicely done,” he said.
I studied him, struggling to balance the threat he posed with what I knew of Connor and his actions as Ruin.
I don’t get him. I thought it was because he was just a weird vampire, but it was probably his age. But vampires as old as Considine don’t care about individuals, much less humans likeme. There must be something I’m missing… unless was our relationship as friends real?
That would practically go against the law of nature—a slayer and a vampire?
“Thank you,” I said, slowly.
Considine turned towards me, his expression was amused but almost mask-like. “For warning Gisila off?”
