Page 110 of Heartsong
It nearly stopped when Glendower leaned toward her, his smile broad and too white, to say, “You touched him that night, didn’t you? And it brought him to life.”
She refused to acknowledge what he said, but something in her face must have satisfied him. He straightened back into his seat, his smug grin insufferable.
“I have a feeling you know plenty, Miss Anna, yet not nearly enough. I’m afraid you’ve been pulled into something far beyond your depth. Here’s what’s going to happen—at sundown, we’ll call your guardian and let him know we’re bringing you home. Then all of us will go to your apartment and have a civilized conversation.”
Cold sweat trickled down Anna’s neck. Who the hell was this man? How did they know Frey wouldn’t be awake until the sun went down?
She dared to glance away from Glendower out the windshield. According to the clock and long shadows, evening was rapidly approaching. They could’ve been on her block by now but instead seemed to be driving aimlessly, though keeping near her neighborhood and to a safe, inconspicuous speed.
“I don’t suppose you’d tell me his name?”
Don’t suppose I would.The idea of being used to lure Frey out made her feel sick to her stomach, but on the heels of that, a violent and vicious desire to lash out at anyone who’d harm him.
Again the odd desire to tell him tickled her tongue, but she bit on it.Magick.Fucking magick. He was trying to influence her with it, had done it before when he came into the museum.
The Tree of Life ring, the Welsh name and phrases, magick. Was Glendower some sort of druid?
It didn’t fit with the common conception of druids—though modern Druidry was far different from its ancient counterpart. What was known was far darker, though some suspected it was bad PR from the Romans. Whatever the druids knew and practiced, it’d been enough to forge Frey’s kind—and nearly strangle her.
Fuck fuck fuck.
She pushed her aching head to go over escape scenarios, but nothing seemed plausible or hopeful. Every idea ended in recapture or worse, that cold magick slithering around her throat again.
The SUV lapsed into silence, which was somehow much worse than Glendower’s monologuing. Her stomach clenched painfully every time the digital clock on the dash ticked another minute.
As the sky flushed with darker shades of blue and lilac, the guards got fidgety, weapons clicking in and out of holsters. She thought there were at least six of them crammed in there with her and Glendower, not including the driver.
By the time the sun disappeared, a frenetic excitement permeated the cramped cabin.
“Time to head over,” Glendower told the driver.
As the SUV turned to drive the last few blocks to her apartment, Glendower held the phone in front of him, waiting. “We’ll give him a few minutes to—”
Her phone buzzed, Frey’s number andBFFtaking up the screen.
“Ah, well, speak of the devil.” Accepting the call, Glendower put it on speaker. “Is this the guardian?”
A thick pause greeted him, and Anna bit her cheek until it bled, wanting to cry out.
The phone buzzed again, not with a call but the rumble of Frey’s furious growl on the other end.
“Who is this?” hissed down the line.
Tears she’d held back since getting snatched stung her eyes at hearing his voice. The need to call out to him choked her.
“A friend,” said Glendower. “I’m here with Anna now. We’ll be arriving at your home shortly. I’d like to speak with you about a few things.”
“Where is Anna?” The words were hardly audible through Frey’s bestial growl.
“Right here with me. I’m bringing her home to you.”
“I would speak with her.”
Glendower’s icy gaze flicked up to Anna, and she felt that cold magick slither around her again. She recoiled into the seat, but the magick held her tight.
“Of course,” said the professor, holding the phone nearer to her.
Anna leaned forward, the magick pressing threateningly around her throat.
