LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

his skin like static energy. She could almost taste it tingling through his veins, scouring away the alcohol, as his fleeting hopes and vulnerabilities also prickled her awareness.

      The alcohol evaporated. She whipped her hand away.

      `Thanks.'

      `That was the last time.' She flexed her hand, as if it had been burnt. `You can drive now. We leave immediately.'

      She maintained her distance as they left the mansion. Outside, while they waited for the valet to retrieve their car, she took time to inhale fresh, cool air.

      Three days. She could tolerate the effect he had on her for that long. She could distance herself and still remain in control. She must. She had no choice.

      They glided through intersections of all green traffic lights towards the Ipswich Motorway. Some cars that crept up alongside them reverberated with jarring music and her hunger stirred as whiffs of fried meat and burnt rubber drifted through her window. Compared to her royal city, Brisbane was a firestorm of random smells, sounds and sights and she had never felt so alive.

      Max shared information on laws, culture and technology as they journeyed west. Eventually, unable to keep up with her questions, he pulled over and showed her how to use his wondrous iPhone. She hungrily flicked through `webpages', finding hundreds of references about the supposedly mythological Taloners. She already knew they had been created by the evil god Balor three thousand years ago as a dark army set against Danu's Tuatha Dé Danann. But she also discovered old newspaper files documenting murder victims with missing hearts, or criss-cross scars marking their chest. The Taloners had been hunting this world too for a long time. How odd that humans had not yet exposed them or their secrets.

      She grew worried though when she could find no reference to the Elnara. What if the Keeper was wrong and the lantern did not exist? Her journey would be for naught.

      But if the compass key existed, surely the Elnara did, too.

      She rubbed tired eyes and glanced at Max. `Tell me about that blonde-haired officer who commanded Ryan tonight.'

      `Detective Sergeant O'Neal? What about her?'

      `Her enunciation was different.'

      `I think she's Irish, but she's been in Australia for quite a while. Her accent's not overtly foreign.'

      `Unlike mine.'

      `Yours is stronger, yes, but I think it's cute.

      `Cute is unacceptable. I must work on my inflections. I do not wish to stand out.'

      `I'd be more worried about what you say, than how you say it — and how you dress.'

      `Is my garb not appropriate?'

      `For a costume party, like tonight, it's perfect. We'll get you some real clothes tomorrow, something that'll blend in.'

      `Only if you consider it necessary.' Precious minutes were ticking away. She did not wish to waste time on finding new garments, unless it aided her safety or her mission. `I have brought gems to pay for any necessary goods or services.'

      `No one's going to exchange jewels for jeans in Brisbane. We'll need to visit a broker.'

      `Will this take time?'

      `Probably, but I have cash and plastic. I'll lend you whatever you need and once we find the Elnara, we can visit a broker then, if we still have time.'

      `Agreed.'

      `Actually, I think it's kind of funny that my Dad's money is helping fund your quest.'

      `I do not share your amusement.' She loathed being indebted to anyone, but time was shrinking away. `Do you believe we can find the Elnara in three days?'

      `Depends on where it is, but we've a good chance, Shah. We'll give it all we've got.'

      She bit her lip. That was the second time he had shortened her name. Hugh, whose friends branded him Max, was now calling her Shah. He had initiated her into his circle.

      Nothing today had scared her more.

      Only the steady rise and fall of Shahkara's chest in the passenger seat stopped Max's heavy eyes from snapping shut during the stretch of their journey to Gatton.

      Sleep added a tender innocence to her cheeks and lips that stirred his protective instincts. She was too young to be traipsing foreign worlds and hunting demons. She should be hanging at cinemas and shopping malls — not that she had those where she came from.

      He eyed his fuel gauge as he parked at Gatton's Golden Arches and was wondering how best to wake her when her dark eyes fluttered open.

      `Where are we?' Her fingers touched the sunroof as she stretched within her seat.

      `An hour west of Brisbane. Can we check the compass to see if it's made a dint?'

      She scooped her pendant over her head and slipped it into his hand.

      Max checked the miniscule change in the needle's angle. `I think the Elnara is a long way south. If we fly west tomorrow, we'll get the southern coordinates more quickly.'

      `Can we not fly tonight?'

      `It's too late to hire anything now. We'll drive back to my place and organise the plane first thing in the morning. I need to fuel up. Do you want a burger or drink?'

      `I am hungry, yes please. But I need to take a walk.'

      `At this time of night?'

      `The car travel is restrictive. Besides, this town has interesting views and fresh air. Is there anything I should be wary of?'

      `I don't think so.' Her talons and strength would be protection enough. `Oh, be careful crossing the roads. Cars drive fast.' Great. Now I sound like a school teacher. `I'll meet you back here in fifteen minutes.'

      `I will take your phone to determine the time.'

      `What burger do you want?'

      `You choose. I do not know what a burger is, but I am sure I will eat it.'

      He worried for a moment as she wandered off, that she was tired of his company and needed space rather than needed to stretch her legs. But she'd slept for the past half hour and couldn't think of anything he'd done to rile her.

       Oh. She was hungry, she needed to hunt. That's why she wanted to walk. Would she be safe? Would others?

      A shiver crept up his spine, but he was hungry too so he went in search of fries and a Mac. By the time she returned to the car, all that remained of his meal deal was a scrunched up paper bag, but her eyes were brighter than amethysts and her skin glowed like sunlight on snow.

       She had fed.

      Max wondered if she'd caught a wild animal, or a local farmer was going to find a dead cow in the morning.

      `I got you a burger but you probably won't want it since you,' — what was the polite term? — `hunted.'

      Her cheeks flushed. `That is not your concern.' She slammed the door, cutting the automatic interior light and darkening the cabin.

      `I'm sorry if that came out wrong. I just wanted you to know that I understand.'

      `I do not need your sympathy, Max.' Her chilled voice cut him to the bone.

      `Sympathy? I wasn't… Did I say something wrong?'

      `Please drive your car and let us discuss this no further.'

      He would have left it there if he didn't sense hurt amidst her haughtiness. `Did something happen during your hunt?'

      She turned and the reflected light of the servo illuminated her scowl. `What gives you permission to be so familiar with me? First it was the pendant, then your persistence in joining me on the quest. Now you want to know about my feeding habits? For an unexceptional male, you are exceptionally annoying!'

      Unexceptional! `Wow! Do you morph into a violet-eyed,

Скачать книгу