Traveller by Abigail Drake Read Free Book Online

then eat them. That’s what the Moktar wants to do to you, and he won’t give up, Emerson. Did you see the way that Moktar went after my friend’s body? And he wasn’t even tracking him. It’ll be one hundred times worse for you. The only way you’ll be safe is if we kill him first.”
    I swallowed, feeling the panic settling into my chest like a rock sinking in a lake. “I’m only here for a few months. I have to go home in December.”
    “That’s more than enough time. Trust me. I can kill him.”
    He pulled himself up to his full height. He was huge. I’d known he was tall, but hadn’t realized how broad until I stood right next to him.
    I stared at him, blinking back tears, as my whole world crumbled around me. “So my options are: Go with you or be hunted to the ends of the earth by a hairy Moktar who wants to eat me for supper?”
    Michael tried to suppress a smile as he looked at me from head to toe. “You’d barely qualify as an appetizer, but yes, those are your choices. Come with me or die.”
    Sun Tzu had written an entire chapter on evaluating the intentions of others. It had come in handy during my time on the pageant circuit, and now as well. I didn’t like my options, but remembering the Moktar’s teeth and the flash of cruelty in his yellow eyes made my decision easier. Michael might not like me, but at least he was human.
    “I guess Grandma Sugar was right.” He raised one dark eyebrow in question. “She always told me if you can’t run with the big dogs, you should stay on the porch. I should have stayed on the porch.”
    “It’s too late now.”
    “Don’t I know it.” My bottom lip started to tremble slightly, and I steadied myself. “Well, Michael Nightingale, I guess I’m going with you.”
    Sun Tzu was probably rolling in his two-thousand-year-old Chinese grave at the moment, but I was doing my best. I was twenty years old, alone in a foreign country, and scared. Surely, even a great warrior like Sun Tzu would understand those factors. He might even sympathize.
    Michael made a noise a bit like a grunt. “Very wise.”
    “Now I don’t get called that very often.” I turned and started toward my apartment. I had to pack up for what looked like an extended stay with the Travellers. I didn’t know how to explain this one to Lucinda.
    He stopped me by grabbing my hand. “I’ll keep you safe, Emerson. I promise.”
    It sounded like a vow. I looked up into his eyes, so beautifully, piercingly blue. I might be a complete fool, and Michael Nightingale was nothing but trouble, but somehow, when he told me he would keep me safe, I believed him.

Chapter Six
    Oh, Toto. I don’t think we’re in Kentucky anymore.
    ~Grandma Sugar
    Entering the dark, quiet apartment, I was relieved not to have to face Lucinda, who had already gone to bed. I showed Michael to the bathroom so he could wash off the worst of the blood, and went to my bedroom to pack.
    “Now what does one take when on the run from a Moktar beast?” I pondered.
    “Only what you need for tonight. You can come back in the morning to get anything else you require.”
    Michael leaned against the doorjamb, blotting his hands dry with a paper towel. The “Hello, Kitty!” bandage was gone, but blood still trickled slowly from his wound.
    “You need another band aid.” I pushed him out of the doorway and led him back into the bathroom. He sat on the toilet as I looked through my things.
    “You have three choices.” I held up a “Barbie” bandage, one with pink fairies on it, and a purple one covered in glitter. He gave me a rather hostile look, and pointed to the purple one. I put it on over his cut, trying to be as gentle as possible.
    “All better,” I said with a smile.
    I held his hands in mine, examining his other wounds in the bright light of the bathroom. My assessment outside had been correct. The gash on his left arm, next to his wrist, was the worst. Michael had cleaned it well, and it had stopped bleeding,