Page 70 of The General's Captive
“I was sent to protect you,” he stated openly, shocking me and making me question why.
“To protect me?”
He looked toward the dead Myth and said, “And a good job too, wouldn’t you say?”
I didn’t answer, instead my eyes went to the creature that had nearly taken my life.
“And that thing? What was it?” I asked.
“A Manticore,” he replied, making me shake my head a little.
“I haven’t seen one of those before,” I confessed, foolishly thinking that I had seen it all by now.
“Not many of them made it through,” he told me, and I was surprised he was being so forthcoming with this information. But then again, I hadn’t ever talked to a Myth about this before. The most information I had received had been from The General and he hadn’t exactly been enamored by all my questions. Most of them just looked like they pissed him off.
“The Rift, you mean?”
“The gateway,” he corrected, and I could still barely believe that I was having a conversation with one of these things.
“I don’t understand… who sent you?” I asked, having a feeling that I already knew.
“I think you know the answer to that.” He leaned down, his whole body bending so he could reach my bag from the floor. One he dusted off before handing it to me like a gesture of goodwill or something. I took it and looked inside.
“Trust me, there is nothing in there that would kill me, but you’re willing to try, if you like. But all it will achieve is pissing me off,” he stated, folding his colossal arms over the vast expanse of his chest.
I gulped again before making a point of zipping it back up and putting it over my shoulder.
“Wise choice,” he said, before turning his back on me and walking over to the damaged truck that I knew Riley would be pissed about.
He loved that truck. Something that made me wince when the giant ripped the door clean off and tossed it behind him, making me jump. Jesus, he had made it look as easy as tearing cardboard.
“You got a first aid kit in here?” he asked, making me frown.
“Why?”
“Because you’re bleeding and he won’t like that,” he told me, making me step closer despite my fear.
I reached up to feel that he was right, there was blood trickling down the side of my face. The sting made me hiss when I felt the gash on my forehead.
“Who won’t like it?” I asked, making him look over his huge shoulder.
His horns twisted and cast long shadows on the ground as the sun was setting, bathing the sky in hues of oranges, pinks, and purples.
“You know the answer to that too,” he replied, and went back to rummaging in the truck.
“You mean The General.”
“Bingo,” he said, walking to the back of the truck after finding nothing useful in the back seats. I winced again when he tore off the door to the trunk. Christ, didn’t this guy know how to open a door without tearing the thing off its hinges?
“So, you were sent to make sure I kept to my side of the bargain,” I said when he pulled the first aid kit free of the wreckage and grunted at my question.
“And what bargain was that?” he asked, making me grit my teeth.
“I thought you work for The General,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, emphasis on the word, work… which means he doesn’t tell me what he doesn’t need to… and that includes private conversations between the two of you,” he replied, before stomping his big body back toward me and at the sight, I couldn’t help but back away.
“Did I just save your life?” he asked abruptly, and I gave a little jerk of my head before answering.
