Knights of Light (The Conjurors Series Book 2) by Kristen Pham Read Free Book Online

while blocking a blow from the woman’s fist with her
upper arm. The woman moved supernaturally fast, springing to the hood of the
car. A swift kick caught Valerie’s shoulder and sent her reeling. She would
have been pushed into traffic if Thai hadn’t caught her arm.
    She used the momentum of
the pull and kicked against the side of the car, jumping in the air to sweep
her foot in an arc that hit her attacker’s ankles. The woman fell, crashing onto
the hood and then to the ground.
    A screech of tires broke
Valerie’s focus, and she saw that the white convertible had pulled in front of
their car. Thai raced toward the driver, but the woman on the ground leaped up
and into the car, and they sped back into traffic, several drivers honking
angrily as they nearly caused an accident getting away.
    With her burst of power ebbing, Valerie’s vision shrank
to a tiny point. Cyrus’s blue eyes stared anxiously into hers as her knees
buckled beneath her and the world went black.

Chapter
5
    When she came to, Valerie was sitting in
the front passenger seat of the SUV, which was parked in a garage. Thai was
pressing a bottle of water to her lips.
    “Sorry,” she said to
him.
    He shook his head. “Don’t
try to talk yet. Zaki is still passed out in the back seat—from chloroform, I
think. But once he wakes up, he can get some of those herbs.”
    “I shouldn’t have done
that. Stupid.”
    “Yeah, it was,” he said.
“But you can’t help yourself; I know that.”
    “You get me,” she said
with a smile.
    Zaki stirred and
groaned. He sat up, his hand pressed against his head.
    “Surely, James Bond
never had to deal with this kind of amateur tomfoolery,” Zaki said indignantly.
His comment had the intended effect, making Thai smile grudgingly. “My bag of
herbs, if you please.”
    Thai handed Zaki his pouch,
and he expertly mixed some powders. He put some on his own tongue, and then
gave some to Valerie. They didn’t work as well as they had the day before, but
a measure of energy returned to her.
    “Where are we?” she
asked.
    “The airport. I didn’t
want to miss meeting up with Chisisi and Henry. And the sooner we get out of
here, the better.”
    “Are you sure you
weren’t followed?” Zaki asked.
    “I think so. Not that
I’m an expert at eluding people,” Thai replied.
    Inside the bustling
airport, Valerie held Thai’s hand tightly as she automatically scanned the
faces of the passersby.
    Henry and Chisisi
appeared through one of the sliding doors. Henry was pale with worry, and she
made the effort to smile. When they were close enough, she hugged him.
    “It’s okay. We got away.”
    “I know. Cy told us
everything. He got a good look at the woman who attacked you, and he and Kanti
are back on the Globe trying to find out more.”
    “We must move quickly,”
Chisisi said, hustling them toward a ticket counter.
    The rest of the trip was
a blur for Valerie as they bought tickets and boarded the plane to Colorado.
She couldn’t even appreciate her time in the clouds, because she was fast
asleep before they took off and woke up in Thai’s arms, being carried through a
rental car parking lot.
    “Put me down,” she said,
embarrassed. He gently set her on her feet.
    “You didn’t even wake up
when we landed, and it was really bumpy,” Henry said. His anxiety for her
leaked through their bond.
    “It was worth it. I’m much
better,” she said, and it was true. She had barely touched her magic that
afternoon, and if it hadn’t been for her connection with Henry the day before,
she probably would have been fine, she assured herself.
    Henry’s face relaxed,
but Thai eyed her skeptically. She hoped she hadn’t drooled on him.
    They approached a
nondescript blue van, and Zaki pulled out some keys. “I had originally reserved
something a bit faster and sleeker. Also red. But Chisisi nixed it.”
    “This will be much less
memorable for anyone who sees us,” Chisisi said.
    “But much less fun,”
Zaki