13 Secrets by Michelle Harrison Read Free Book Online Page A

hands hauled Tanya up by the shoulder, forcing her to turn around. A hulk of a man held her effortlessly, unaffected by her struggles. Beside her, another man, similar in size to her captor, held Fabian tightly. Tanya’s knees buckled as she saw a huge sword at his side. Both of the men were fey.
    A slight girl with white-blond hair stood a little way back.
    “They’re only kids, Suki,” the man holding Tanya told her. His voice sounded unusual, and when Tanya looked up she saw that he was missing some of his front teeth. “What are we going to do with them?”
    “I don’t care if they’re just kids,” Suki answered abruptly. “They were spying on us and we need to know why.” She jerked her head toward Fabian. “I recognize him—he was with Red when I delivered the message—but it doesn’t explain why he’s here now. Samson, bring them both in. Victor, you go and get the mutt. In a moment or two, it’ll recover its courage, so watch yourself.”
    Victor obediently handed Fabian to Samson, who proceeded to drag both captives toward the stone building.
    “Who are you?” Fabian said to the girl, but he was shaken silent.
    Twisting in Samson’s grip, Tanya saw Victor heading toward the trees, where, sure enough, Oberon had emerged, snarling.
    “Don’t you touch my dog!” she yelled just as Samson’s hand shifted from her shoulder to her mouth, cutting her voice off. She managed to catch a glimpse of Oberon bolting toward Victor before Samson steered her in the opposite direction. They stumbled over the uneven field until they reached the door of the barn.
    “I’ve got them,” Samson announced.

     
    The door swung open, pushed from within, and Tanya and Fabian were herded through, with Suki close behind. Inside, Tanya saw four others: a man,two boys… and Rowan. She stared at them, plainly horrified.
    The door closed behind them as Victor came in last, holding a snapping, growling Oberon at arm’s length on his leash. He handed him to Tanya.
    “Calm the dog down.”
    “Why should I?” Tanya demanded.
    She caught Rowan’s subtle nod and grudgingly took the leash, crouching to put her arms around Oberon. He stopped growling immediately and pressed himself into her, quivering.
    Samson guffawed. “After all that—his bark’s worse than his bite!”
    The man with the mismatched eyes next to Rowan stepped closer, not joining in with the laughter.
    “Who are you? Why were you out there?”
    Tanya hesitated. She had no idea what to tell him. Whatever she said could endanger them all—including Rowan.
    “They’re with Red,” Suki said, folding her arms.
    “They’re my friends, Tino,” said Rowan. “They must have followed me. We can trust them. Just let them go.” She faced Tanya and Fabian and spoke urgently. “You don’t want to get involved in this. Don’t ask me to explain. Go home.”
    “I don’t think so,” said Tino. “They’re not going anywhere until we find out what they’re doing here.”
    “And we’re not going anywhere until we find out what you want with Red!” said Fabian through clenched teeth.
    Tanya glanced at Rowan. Her lack of reaction to being called by her old alias told Tanya that these people knew her as “Red,” and she guessed that Fabian’s use of it had been intentional. Given that the group members were making no effort to conceal their names, she quickly concluded that all of them were using aliases and decided that, for now, it was safer not to use Rowan’s real name.
    Tino’s eyes slid over them in assessment.
    “At least we agree on one thing.” He turned toward Rowan. “What have you told them?”
    “Nothing,” she replied curtly. “I know the rules.”
    “Seems you’re not too good at keeping them, though,” Suki put in.
    Rowan bristled but continued to direct her words at Tino. “I’ve done my best. But it’s not exactly easy when you send messengers in broad daylight—
noticeable
messengers. You were asking for