Dark Game (Merikh Book 1) by C L Walker Read Free Book Online

hurried to his deputy and tried to hold his hand still. Blood poured from a gash along his forearm where the metal had torn through his skin and into the flesh below.
    “Better than ever.” Bill put his other hand on the box and tore his arm free. He looked at the damage the same way he'd eyed the ambrosia bottle, like a thing of beauty. For a moment I thought he might lick the bloody wound.
    Instead he aimed an easy kick at the crate and sent it flying past one of Trevor's men and into the shadows of the distillery. He held his arm out to the sheriff, grinning as something changed inside. It was like he'd been reanimated, recharged, and made young again. There was a light in his eyes that was disconcerting to see, even from my vantage point.
    The wound was healing already, like sped up footage from a school biology class. First the blood stopped flowing and hardened across the cut, then skin began to knit together, slow at first before speeding up and leaving him without a mark.
    Bill turned to Trevor, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thank you, sir. I never thought I'd feel it again.”
    “You're very welcome, son,” Trevor said, despite being half the deputy’s age. He held the backpack out, offering it to the sheriff. “Do you want it now? Do you think it'll help?”
    The sheriff had taken it all in and somehow managed to remain unimpressed. “How long does the effect last?”
    “Long enough,” Trevor said, the first genuine annoyance appearing in his voice. “You get one of the calls where your boys are having trouble and you give them this and send them out. By the time it wears off everything will be alright. Guaranteed.”
    The sheriff accepted the bag and gestured for his men to leave, leading the way without any further deliberation. Deputy Matt resisted longer than the other two, but even he eventually relented. He scowled at Trevor before turning to follow his boss.
    “Deputy,” Trevor said, his voice echoing around the distillery. “I had nothing to do with the Smith girl going missing, but we all knew it was going to happen at some point, didn't we?”
    “Watch yourself,” he replied, pausing with his back to Trevor.
    “That girl never met a dick she didn't like. It was only a matter of time before someone cut her up and fed her to the wolves.”
    Matt spun around, his hands balled into fists. “What did you say?”
    “I said she deserved what probably happened to her, that's all. The way she dressed. The people she hung out with.”
    Matt stepped forward and threw a punch at Trevor's smug face, but his target simply snatched his hand out of the air and held it in place. “That was stupid,” Trevor said as he squeezed. Even from high up in the rafters I heard the bones break before the deputy cried out.
    The sheriff ran back inside and glared at Trevor, who released the deputy and allowed him to fall to the ground, cradling his broken hand.
    “He attacked me, Sheriff. I was defending myself.”
    “He said he killed her,” Matt said through the pain. “He said she deserved it.”
    “We're leaving now,” Trevor said. He started for the exit without waiting for permission. “Keep an eye on this one, Sheriff. He's got a screw loose.”
    Trevor and his men left and I heard the car pull away before the sheriff was able to get Matt back on his feet. They stumbled from the building and their cars rushed away a moment later, no doubt heading for the hospital near Littleton.
    I waited another five minutes before working out how I was getting down, eying the water bottle and the remaining ambrosia, lying on the floor, forgotten.
     
     

Chapter 5
    They were handing out magic in a bottle, and I wanted to check it out while I had the chance. It would be good to know what I was facing if I went against Trevor's goons, and it wouldn't hurt if I could salvage a little for myself.
    I ran along the beam and silently transitioned to another, working my way through the darkness and heading for an office