No one could know what she could do to either species. A spark in just the right places, and even the dead woke, pulled right from their grave. Images of decomposing corpses shuffling toward her flashed in her mind, and her throat closed tight.
A shadow fell over her, blocking the light. “You haven’t heard a word I said, have you?”
She jumped, and the streetlamps burst like fireworks, raining sparks and glass over them. The big Ogre arched over her, pushing her low, covering her. She scrambled away, unfeeling of the glass digging into her flesh.
Beneath the pavement, the dirt rippled. Current worked its way through the packed ground, through the road, then arched into her body. Fire burned along her nerve endings. Electricity funneled into her system faster than she could control the burn, preparing her body to fight.
“What the hell.”
The world around them went dark. Not gradually, not one light at a time, but completely black from one second to the next. When she glanced up, the big man was searching the shadows for a threat. The boy was on all fours, balanced on the tips of his hands and feet, his eyes gone neon green, his whole focus centered on her.
Knowledge danced in his eyes.
She didn’t know how, but he knew she’d caused this.
Tires squealed. Headlights raced toward her, gaining speed. The Ogre moved, and she scuttled backwards, crablike on her ass. The car swerved around her, slid sideways, settling between her and the beast of a man and the boy.
The back door popped open. “Get in.”
Chapter Three
Dominic. “Thank God.”
Her car forgotten, Raven scrambled forward and dove inside. Even before her butt hit the seat, he took off. One glance out the rear window showed the boy sprinting after them, his face illuminated in the red taillights. There was no fear, no anger or pain, just sheer determination to follow her.
“I see you’ve made some friends.” Humor danced in Dominic’s dark green eyes when their gazes clashed in the rearview mirror.
“Shut up.” The voice in the back of her head urged her to turn around. If she left without the boy, they’d kill him.
Fool that she was, she couldn’t do it. She’d seen too much death to leave him. She’d find a way to keep him safe.
“Stop.”
When the car continued, she cursed Dominic and his protectiveness. She yanked up the corner of the carpeting, revealing some loose gravel and scuffed sheet metal. The floorboard quickly warmed under her hand. She closed her eyes, allowed her mind to stretch along the frame of the car, seeking the source of the power.
A spark danced at her touch as she located the cable between the alternator and the battery. She drew down hard. Current jumped at her command, streaking through the metal. Her fingers eagerly soaked up the charge.
The engine clunked ominously, then died altogether when the battery drained.
The car instantly slowed, fishtailing as it rolled to an abrupt stop. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She pushed the door open and stepped out. Even with the distance between them, the kid continued to run at a steady pace toward her. A little part of her wondered if he would’ve eventually found her anyway if they hadn’t stopped. When he drew abreast, he didn’t say a word, but slipped inside the car.
In the distance, a truck took the corner on two wheels and jumped the curb, the engine screaming. The Ogre. Damn, but the man was relentless. Without another word, she jumped into the backseat.
“A little help here.” Dominic’s fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel, his focus centered on the mirror and the truck rapidly closing the distance between them.
Her hand settled against the metal. Electricity leapt from her body, slithering along the frame and hit the cable, feeding it just enough to turn over the engine. “Now.”
The car revved to life. Gears shifted. She hit the back seat hard enough to knock the air from her. Headlights grew brighter, lighting up the interior of the car. When she worried the Ogre would force them off the road, the car slowly pulled away.
“How’d you know where to find me?”
He didn’t spare her a glance, his dark head bent as he concentrated on navigating the streets. “Trish and Dina returned without you. Something about a slave auction. They assumed you’d return home. When you didn’t, I grew worried.”
Raven tossed her trashed cell on the front seat in silent explanation and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his overprotectiveness. “You were the one who ordered me to go out in the first place.”
“Not with some ridiculous plan they concocted.”
Ouch, that stung, but hindsight proved to be true. “So you came to rescue me.”