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those times I d been standing right next to him. Could it work at such a distance? More
importantly, did I want it to? If Luke came after me he would be walking right into enemy
hands. Just the thought made panic and nausea roil in my stomach.
I estimated we d been on the move for about thirty minutes when the van slowed and
idled for a minute, and I heard a whining and metallic scraping sound that suggested
automated gates to me. The driver pulled forwards again, and stopped completely soon
after. Guessing that we d reached our destination, I breathed deeply through my nose in an
attempt to dispel the heaving sensation in my gut. My heart was hammering against my ribs,
and my pulse was racing so fast that I was beginning to feel lightheaded.
Reaching into his bag again, Buzz-cut this time withdrew a black hood and moved to
put it over my head, but I instinctively dodged out of his reach. His obsidian eyes narrowed
threateningly.  You can put this on or I can make you put it on. You don t want to test me,
boy.
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No, I really didn t. While Baldy was all naked fury and hair trigger, this guy was pure
control. His voice never rose in pitch, his expression never changed, and his eyes held no
emotion not even anger. He was the kind of terrifying that Baldy could only ever aspire to
be.
I was dragged from the van, and hustled blindly across a patch of gravel to a set of
shallow stone steps, then inside, if the rise in temperature was anything to go by. The ground
under my feet was smoother now, like marble or tile. I stumbled a couple of times,
disoriented, but didn t fall, thanks to the hands clamped around my biceps. The temperature
went up another degree or two, the air slightly humid now. With the smell of chlorine in my
nostrils, and the rougher, non-slip texture of the flooring, it didn t take genius to figure out
that I d been brought to a swimming pool.
Holy fuck, they re going to drown me.
There was silence as my arms were pulled up over my head, and something new was
secured around my wrists. The hood was removed then, and I automatically looked up. I d
been strung up like an animal carcass to a beam overhead. I glanced around at my
surroundings, and guessed that I was in a private home, in a pool house surrounded on three
sides by windows a secluded location, then.
 Good morning, Mr Paxton, said a man I immediately recognised from old newspaper
reports as Victor Doubleday. He stepped up to me and ripped the taped from my mouth.
I snorted, part amusement, mostly hysteria.  You sound like a Bond villain. Do you
expect me to die?
 Actually, I do, he replied, a small smile playing around his lips. I knew him to be in
his late sixties, but he was still a good-looking man, with a military straight posture and
steel-grey hair.  But only after you ve served your purpose.
 Which would be? I asked, testing the integrity of the rope securing my hands.
Whoever had tied me up knew their knots.
 To bring the beast to me, of course, Doubleday answered, tucking his hands into the
pockets of his trousers.
 You think he ll come for me? I asked, deciding to ignore the beast comment.  You
think he ll walk into a trap, for me?
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 I know he will. These creatures are driven by primeval urges, he said, lip curling with
obvious disgust.  You are his mate, are you not? He ll have to come for you intelligent
thought doesn t play a part in their choices.
Some of my fear made way for annoyance.  You re still hanging on to all that lesser
being bullshit, aren t you?
His mouth tightened into a thin white line, and his nostrils flared.  Have you read your
bible, Mr Paxton? God did not create shape-shifters of any kind. They are an abomination
spawned by the enemies of all things good and true.
I d heard it all before, of course, back when I d been marching at uni, and Victor
Doubleday s minions had been preaching his word. It didn t sound any less fucked up now
than it had then.
Baldy and the driver were standing near the door, matching smirks on their equally [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]