Page 6 of The Dark Hiss of Magic
I curled my hand into a fist, lashed out underwater and connected with something hard and slimy. I had no idea what part of this new beast I’d hit but I knew we only had seconds to get out of the Tweed.
‘Swim,’ I told Thane as a silvery fin advanced from the left. It wouldn’t be a shark. Not here. It would be something far scarier. ‘Now!’
We reached the bank in record time. Thane pulled himself out easily but my fingers couldn’t get a handhold in the mud. With every second that passed, I expected to feel another set of jaws sinking into my flesh.
Thane, who’d rolled clear of the river’s edge, pulled me out. Thank fuck for that. I pushed myself away from the water and collapsed on my back, my chest heaving as I gulped in mouthfuls of blessed air. ‘Remind me never to try anything like that ever again,’ I gasped.
‘If I thought you’d listen to my advice, Kit, I’d have told you never to try anything like this in the first place.’
That was fair. ‘At least tell me that QuentinHightower is alright.’
Thane didn’t answer and my belly tightened as I heaved myself up into a sitting position. There was no sign of the witch. ‘Where is he?’
Thane pointed to the path that led to the market. Somewhat belatedly, I spotted the muddy footprints leading away from us. ‘He went that way.’
‘Without saying thank you?’
His lip curled. ‘Without saying anything.’
Chapter
Three
Thane ripped off a section of his shirt to bandage the wound on my ankle. There was a lot of blood; I would need more than the contents of my magical medication cupboard to tend to it properly. Still, the worst of the pain had subsided to a dull throb and I hobbled along the path without Thane’s help. We were both dripping wet, however, and I was shivering.
‘How did you know?’ he asked as we trudged back. ‘How did you know he had drifted all the way to that spot?’
That was easy. ‘The other witches assumed his powers kicked in the moment he fell in the water and that he’d have used magic to anchor himself in place. They weren’t thinking about the shock that you feel when you hit cold water even when you’re expecting it. The currents there are strong. While the witches were concentrating on holding back the monsters, Hightower would already have been dragged away by the river.’
Thane frowned. ‘But how did you know to go to that spot in particular?’
When I didn’t answer immediately his frown deepened, then his expression cleared. ‘Oh. I see.’
‘I only ever had two assassination contracts in Danksville,’ I said quietly. ‘I won’t tell you who I killed there, so don’t ask. The first one was a simple stabbing in the street and her corpse was meant to be discovered. The second one was supposed to disappear without a trace.’
‘So you threw him into the Tweed.’
‘I killed him first.’ My tone of voice was matter of fact rather than proud. ‘I made it swiftthenI threw him in the Tweed. I had to ensure his body wouldn’t reappear because I couldn’t rely on the river monsters – their behaviour was out of my control. First I ran a series of tests on the currents, then I placed a tracker on his corpse to double-check his location.’
‘He ended up in the same spot as Quentin Hightower?’
‘He did.’ I wrapped my arms around myself. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel warm again. ‘There wasn’t much of him left after the bloodthirsty denizens of the Tweed had done what they were supposed to do. But I had to be sure.’
I waited for the next questions:Did he deserve to die? Did I feel any guilt about what I’d done? Would I do it again if I had to?But Thane only nodded and lapsed into silence. I sneaked a glance at his face. He didn’t look judgmental; he didn’t look anything other than wet and cold.
Normal service hadn’t yet resumed at the market, and the stalls were still devoid of vendors and shoppers. Everyone was gathered in the centre while Quentin Hightower stood on a wooden crate and addressed the crowd. Huh.
‘I have faced death this day!’ he bellowed with all the verve of an evangelical preacher. ‘I faced death and,’ he paused for dramatic effect, ‘I kicked its arse!’
We stopped at the edge of the crowd. ‘He’s not lost for words now,’ I muttered to Thane.
His mouth flattened. ‘Apparently not.’
Hightower’s dark eyes roved the crowd as if searching forsomething – or someone. A vague itch was bothering the back of my mind; there was something odd about him that I couldn’t identify, a tension in his voice that didn’t appear related to his near-death experience.
‘Several of the river monsters came for me with their teeth gnashing and their fins flapping,’ the wet witch shouted. ‘They were hungry for my blood – they wanted to rip the flesh from my bones.’
His gaze landed on me but his expression didn’t alter a jot. ‘I was determined they wouldn’t touch me. I fought them every inch of the way and I emerged victorious!’ He pumped the air with his fist. ‘Nobody can match the strength and power of a Hightower witch! Not even a bottom-feeding monster with teeth the size of an ogre’s skull can defeat me!’
