When he came at her, she put out her hand to stop him, like that would have done her a bit of good. The surge of power that ran up her arm to her fist astounded her, and the kid, apparently, because he stopped moving toward her and actually took a step in retreat. But he went flying back when she pushed her hand at him, the knowledge that it would get rid of him pounding at her head.
She was glad then that the door had been left open, or he might have broken it down and she'd have no way of closing herself in while she thought. The furniture hadn't done as well. It looked as if it had been smashed, like a large fist had pounded it to splinters. Sitting down hard on the bed, she felt drained and sick to her stomach. The dragon spoke to her then.
They're coming. She asked him who. The McCades. They're on their way to help you. Stay in the room and they'll be here soon. You must be safe.
"I don't need help. What the fuck was that? That unholy power that came out of my hand? And how the hell did I know how to use it?" He didn't answer her. "For days now all you've done is talk, talk, talk. And now you shut up? What's going on?"
That man, he tried to kill you. The second one. You did well to rid yourself of him. She told him no shit. You are unharmed then? The babe, he's all right?
"Yes. Do you know what that was about? He said that he was going to cut my arms off. Why? And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer me about the power, either." He told her because of the jewelry that she wore. "You mean the one that you told me to put on? The same jewelry that you said would keep me safe? That jewelry? For fuck sake, are you trying to get me killed?"
He started to explain things to her, to tell her what was going on. But she told him to shut up. To leave her alone. He begged her over the next hour to talk to him, but she shut him out. Her mind hadn't really shut down, but it was like it was dealing with too much and turned to things that were easier to see. Like designs for pottery she wanted to make. What she was going to get to eat when she was hungry.
But no matter what she thought of, the fact that she had no idea how she'd done that kept coming back. As for the dragon, he'd nearly gotten her killed and she was done with him. And now here she was, in a stranger's house, about to put on someone else's clothing, and she was no closer to figuring this shit out than she'd been before. Plus, her sister was still after her.
The water felt good running over her body. She had been on the run for a few weeks now, ever since her sister had put out a warrant for her arrest and the dragon had told her to take the jewelry to Ohio. So taking a long hot shower hadn't been an option. Not when she had to listen for every little sound. Be aware of every voice she heard, in her head and surrounding her.
Harper could have paid her sister off, she supposed, but she didn't think any of this was her doing and thought that Winnie should be paying her. Harper was nearly nine months pregnant and she'd not even had sex with the guy. Laughing, she washed up her body and hair, and finished her bath thinking that sleeping with Jake would be the last thing on her mind, even before all this shit. It was time to talk to the McCades, she supposed, and figure out what the hell was going on with them.
The outfit was beautiful, and it fit over her growing frame very nicely. The blue of the top was what she might have picked out for herself; the cut of it, like a man's dress shirt, felt good on her. Even the pants were a soft stretchy like cloth that fit over her legs and belly like a glove. And for the first time in a while, her feet weren't aching from being too swollen.
The underthings, a bra that was the same violet color as the panties, also fit. They were new with the tags still on them, so she wasn't worried about pulling them on. She moved out into the bedroom to find an elderly lady sitting on the chair by the fireplace. Her smile was reassuring and looked just like Grady's, only a softer version.
"Don't be alarmed. I'm Grady's mom, Aisha." Harper sat on the bed and put her feet up when the woman pushed a stool to her. "Kenton guesses that you're about in your last month. He also noticed that your ankles are swollen. He'd like to check you out soon."
"His wife, Emma, told me that. Why?" Aisha asked her what she meant. "Why do you care that I have fat ankles and if I'm close to term? I am, by the way. About three weeks to go. But to be honest, I've not had a lot of prenatal care, other than what I can find on the Internet. I've been running for a couple of months now, just to keep one step ahead of Winnie and this mad group of people after me for some jewelry. My sister wants my money, and I have this annoying dragon pestering me about coming here."