So maybe it was just as well that my companion was more like Mulder. A coked-out Mulder with a lot of weapons, who knew that the monsters under the bed were real and would gut you.
Karen ChanceI looked up to find a slim blond figure standing in the doorway to the kitchen. For a frozen second, I looked at him and he looked at me, and then I screamed and threw my coffee, which hit him square in the groin.
Karen ChancePritkin gave me a little shake and I eyed him without favor. The only other occasions when I had been dragged back in time, the trip had been triggered by proximity to a person whose past was being threatened. I have to tell you,โ I said frankly, โif someone is trying to mess with your conception or something, Iโm not feeling a pressing need to intervene.
Karen ChanceIโm driving,โ Louis-Cesare said, sliding into the low seat as easily as if heโd done it a hundred times. โYouโre drunk.โ I wished. โI had all of two beers, mostly for the water content.โ โIf you needed water, why didnโt you drink water?โ โI donโt like water.
Karen ChanceMy new 9mm didnโt fit my hand as well as my old one, but it was rapidly becoming a familiar weight. At first Iโd decided it was okay to wear as long as I shot only at supernatural bad guys who were already shooting at me. Lately, Iโd had to broaden that definition to anytime my life was in danger. I was currently leaning toward a slightly more comprehensive rule somewhere between proactive self-defense and the-bastards-had-it-coming, which, if I survived long enough, I intended to blame on my deranged partner rubbing off on me.
Karen ChancePritkin kissed like he did everything else, straightforward, accepting no prisoners and with an intensity that left me breathless. It was hot and hard and desperate, like he was starving for it, and I opened my mouth and took it, because, God.
Karen ChanceThe worst part was the silence. Death was supposed to be loud โ gunshots, explosions, screams and thunder. Not this eerie quiet that wrapped around me like a shroud.
Karen ChanceMy name is Cassie Palmer and Iโve cheated death more times than anyone has a right to expect. In the last two months, Iโve been shot, stabbed, beaten and blown up a few dozen times, and that doesnโt count all the magical ways Iโve almost been killed. Iโd have been dead a long time ago if not for my friends, one of whom had just jumped off the cliff after me. Iโd have been a lot more appreciative if he hadnโt pushed me first.
Karen ChanceI dodged behind Mac for cover and refused to take the bait. I glanced at my nonexistent watch. 'Oops, look at the time. Guess I have to be going now. Let's not do this again sometime, okay?' Before I could move, Pritkin was there, jamming the medallion into the skin of my upper arm.'Ow!'He looked at me expectantly. I glared at him. 'That hurt!' What do you see?' A big red mark.
Karen ChanceNot really hungry." "Sheโll eat." Pritkin said curtly. "I said โ" "If you starve to death it would damage my professional reputation." "I eat plenty." "The same does not apply should I strangle you in understandable irritation, however." "Iโll have a sandwich," I told Nick. "No meat.
Karen ChanceI felt betrayed and absolutely livid, but my body wasnโt smart enough to know it. It had liked the feel of his hands, wanted more of it, wanted it now. It was almost like there were two of me, one who heartily approved of the mage and one who would have dearly loved to see him dead.
Karen ChanceYou know, dulceata, there are times when I truly believe you are the most frightening person I know. Thank you?
Karen ChanceThere are things we want, and things we may have.... Sanity lies in knowing the difference.
Karen ChanceCan we just do this?โ Ray asked tightly, clinging to Zhengโs already slightly elongated arm. Because Louis-Cesare wasnโt the only one with a master power around here. โLet go,โ Zheng told him. โIโm the rubber band; youโre the spitball. And spitballs donโt hold on to rubber bands.โ โDie in a fire,โ Ray told him savagely. But he let go.
Karen ChanceI barely heard him, I was too busy watching Pritkin, who had slumped over with his head on the sofa arm, shoulders shaking helplessly, and what looked suspiciously like tears leaking out from under his closed eyes. "Not that bad," he muttered, and then he was off again.
Karen ChanceI'm fine," I told him tersely. "Of course you are. You're one of the strongest people I know." It took me a second to process that, because he'd said it so casually. Like he was talking about the weather or what time it was. Only Pritkin didn't say things like that. His idea of a compliment was a nod and to tell me to do whatever it was I'd just done over again. Like that was usually possible. But that had sounded suspiciously like a compliment to me.
Karen Chanceyou gotta think itโs a waste ofโโ โRay!โ I glanced around, but there was nobody within earshot. โWell, excuse me if Iโm not used to buying condoms for aliens,โ he said more softly. โTheyโre not aliens.โ โWell, theyโre not human. I mean, they could have anything under those tunics, you know?
Karen ChanceYou will die a worse death if you do not leave my domain,โ a voice thundered down from the third story of the old tenement. โI am a servant of the Sacred Fire, the wielder of the flame of Arnorโโ โSo I should call you Gandalf?
Karen Chance