The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 33 [suddenly...?]

“I tried,” he said, glaring at me.

“I know,” Luke said tiredly. “She’s in shock, obviously.”

“You know?” asked Garth.

Luke sighed and unwrapped his arm, keeping a hand on my shoulder to steady me. “I’ve known Larkin all my life. He’s not exactly subtle, anyway.”

Garth looked back to the crowd and then turned his eyes to the ground. “Blood witches,” he murmured, glancing up at Luke for confirmation.

The two words switched me back on and all the information I knew of Luke’s case flooded into my mind. The fact that they kidnapped shape-changers and left behind replica bodies. But there was no way the so called blood witches could have taken Larkin from this street. The body must have been dropped here by someone. I glanced down the street to where I knew Liam’s patrol guards kept their car parked and saw a man jotting down notes as he talked with the two officers. It had been dumped here… as a gloat or a warning.

I gritted my teeth and in my mind the map to the warehouse appeared, as clear as it had been the day I’d looked it up. I could get there in an hour at a flat out run. And then I would get Larkin out, no matter what it took me.

Luke must’ve noticed me tense because his grip went from my shoulder to my arm. His conversation with Garth halted.

“I can’t let you go after him.”

“Let me?!” I exclaimed. “It’s not up to you! I am a free person!”

“You put yourself in my hands,” he said slowly, “you entrusted your safety with me. That’s not something I take lightly.”

“And now I take my safety back into my own hands,” I hissed.

I lifted the hand of the arm he wasn’t holding and went to slam down on his grip to make him let go but he caught my other wrist before I had hardly moved it. I glared at him and lashed a foot out at his shin, rotating my body under the wrist he had just captured to twist out of his hold. He was fast, faster than I’d ever predicted, and before I’d even registered he’d released me, he had me in a new hold. One of his arms pinned my arms at my sides and the other held my waist against him tightly so that I couldn’t jerk my body wildly to get away from him. I tried to get him with my feet and head, every trick I knew but he’d already dodged my blow before I’d even begun to move.

“It’s hard, I know,” he started to reassure me.

“You’ve got no idea!” I shouted. Several people in the crowd turned to look at me, nudging their neighbours to point out the spectacle I was making. I didn’t care.

“I do,” he said, even more softly spoken than before, as if to further contrast the noise I was making in order to indicate I was making unnecessary clamour.

“Then let me go!” I wriggled in his hold but hardly moved. Kicking my legs would just make me look stupid but I was sorely tempted to try it, just to make a scene.

“We need to plan this out, Dizelde, I know what you’re thinking. You can’t just barge into that warehouse and demand Larkin back.”

“Like I would even bother asking!” I scoffed loudly, kicking my leg back. Of course, I made contact with nothing.

“You said yourself that you believed their senses were enhanced like the shape-changers. What makes you think you can make it past the front door?”

“Like I would go in through the front door!” I snarled and wrenched my body around, only to remain in the same place and pull my back muscles painfully.

“We are going to plan this and you are going to stay inside the house while we do,” he stated firmly, his voice full of authority.

“And, let me guess, when you go through with this plan, I will still be forced to stay in the house, right?”

He gave me a short shake. “That depends on how you act, how you control your feelings in the meantime. Can I let you go without you running off?”

I grunted and nodded my head. He let me go carefully, his hands wide and ready to grab me again. I stood very still, not wanting him to snatch at me at the slightest movement.

“Dizelde, I want to race after those who took him as much as you do, trust me. I just know that you can’t let emotions guide you because they’re blinding and they-”

I took off, zipping past the crowd. I didn’t make it far before someone grabbed me from behind and yanked me back from around the waist so I was flung off my feet. I was saved from crashing into the ground by a quick jerk upwards and found both my arms clasped away from my body, one by Luke, the other by Garth.

“NO!” I shouted, glowering at them both furiously. The pain in my chest was back, along with a burning fire in my veins. It sent tears to my eyes and blurred my vision. I was aware only by feel that they were dragging me back to the house.

A sob escaped my throat as one of the two gathered me up into his arms, cradling me like a child. I wanted to fight, to get away and find Larkin but it seemed like energy had left me.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Garth’s voice.

“I remember how it felt when Lark did it to me. It’s a slow process but she’ll be out for the night.”

No, my mind protested. He was putting me to sleep. I fought furiously to stay conscious but the pressure of his magic was huge, forcing me under. I panicked, lashing out with my limbs as darkness spread across my vision. I was shifted in the arms that carried me and then placed gently onto a mattress. I tried to speak but a nonsensical murmur was all that I got out. My fight finally gave out and the spell overwhelmed me, putting me instantly to sleep.