Twice Born

Chapter 12

Breathing hard, she shoves Daniel off. He lands on his chest, unmoving. He’s tough—I’ll give him that, she says to me as she fights to catch her breath. I doubt it would’ve been this easy if I hadn’t gotten the jump on him.

Fear floods me. Is he dead?

No. Stop worrying so much. He’ll be fine.

I don’t know if I should be grateful. Not yet. Not until I figure out what she intends to do with him.

“A little help here, Eve?” Tristan calls out.

He’s having a harder time with the big one, who stalks him as he darts back. A couple of hits to the Tracker’s ribs don’t bring him down; he’s like an enraged bull trying to trample Tristan, and nothing Tristan does seems to bring him down.

Eve rolls to her feet and joins him. Together, they overwhelm him with a flurry of blows to his head, chest, sides, bringing him to his knees. With a swing of her leg, Eve catches him in the head. He crumples to the ground.

“Nice work, partner,” Tristan pants. “Wish you’d just used the dagger on him. We could have spared ourselves all of that if we just killed him.”

She points at the giant’s prone body. “We’re going to use him.”

“What? What about the other one?” As he speaks, Tristan walks over to Daniel. He bends over, peering down. He emits a long whistle when he straightens. “Looks like good old Daniel leads a secret life. Fisherman by day, ruthless killer by night, is he?”

“You’re too loud,” Eve says. She grabs the big man’s arm, attempting to pull him up. “Help me get him out of here. It won’t be long before the rest of these Trackers realize they’re missing and come out here to find them.”

Which means Eve plans to leave Daniel behind. My consternation battles with my relief. I should be grateful, but I’m too confused. What I wouldn’t give to see into her mind right now.

Tristan makes an annoyed sound. “You’re not thinking straight. Why drag this one off and break our backs in the process when we’ve got Daniel here? Kill the giant and let’s take Daniel while we still can. I know how much you wanted to try out that Scarlet Blade. Don’t waste this chance, Eve.”

“You’re despicable for asking Eve to torture Daniel,” I snap angrily. Thankfully that little slip-up doesn’t give Eve access into my mind. It doesn’t put me in the forefront. Maybe it won’t.

He laughs softly. “Nice to hear from you, Bree. I was beginning to think you’d given up completely. Life as a shadow isn’t a lot of fun.”

Knowing my thoughts are still safe emboldens me to speak again. “I’m sure you’d know that well.”

His eyes narrow, but the look quickly passes. “We take Daniel,” he says firmly. “Or we take no one.”

“Sounds good to me.”

To both our surprises, Eve turns her back to them and walks away, her hands buried in her coat pockets. Tristan races after her, cutting off her path. “You can’t be serious. You went on and on about how much you wished you could pay these animals back for everything they’ve done to you. I’ve given you the best tool for revenge. How can you choose to walk away when it’s all within your reach?”

“Some things are more important than revenge.”

He opens his mouth to retort, but something stops him. Voices in the distance, heading our way. The distinct shapes of four people. And then a shout. “Capture them!”