Page 11 of Crown of Death

Loud.

Utterlyterrified.

And I look toward the street, just in time to see…something.

Amotion.

Ablur.

One figure. And thenanother.

“No,” Elibreathes.

And I see every muscle in his body tighten. Constrict.Prepare.

“Get inside,” hesays.

The entire moment plays out in slowmotion.

His eyes slide back to mine. Filled with terror. Filled withfight.

And for just a fraction of a second, I swear I see the faintest flecks of yellow in his darkeyes.

“Get inside, Logan,” he says as a second scream pierces thenight.

And then he’srunning.

Through the parking lot. Around thecorner.

And despite how utterly pissed off I am with him right now, I still chase after him into thenight.

Another scream rips through the night, only it’s cutoff.

I race past the vape shop. Around the gasstation.

And there ahead, between an apartment building and a Mexican grocery store, I see Eli slip into the darkness. He hides in the shadows,watching.

And there’syelling.

Shouts.

A cry—not ascream.

And aroar.

Something inhuman. It reverberates off thewalls.

I step into view of the dark, narrow space in time to see brilliant red glowing eyes fix onme.

A man, tall, muscular, backs away from two other figures, leaving a motionless female figure lying at hisfeet.

“You’ve had your fun these past two months, Rhys,” a female voice says. “But you know how the Houses and Court feel aboutexposure.”

The man with the glowing eyes laughs. “You and your Houses. Don’t you ever get tired of being on the leash? Don’t you ever get tired of holding it,Edmond?”

“I don’t know,” a male voice says. “Don’t you think it suitsme?”

Rhys laughs again. And I don’t even see it, have no idea how he does it, but suddenly he lunges at a wall. He uses his momentum, kicking off the brick. He launches over the twofigures.