Lightbringer by K.D. McEntire Read Free Book Online Page A

then?”
    “Hey, hey!” Piotr moved to stand between them, holding his arms out, fingers spread. “Ladies, ladies, relax. This isn't the time for us to be bickering.”
    Disgusted, Elle slapped his hand away. “Shoulda known you'd take her side, you piker.” Scowling, she stormed over to the window again and planted hands on either side of the frame, glaring out into the murky fog.
    “Elle—”
    “These debates do nothing for us.” Within moments Lily was on her feet and at the door. Hand on the knob, she surveyed the cluttered room imperiously. “My chance to retrieve Dunn is gone now, thanks to the Lightbringer. It ate the ones who took my Lost, leaving me no beast to track. If you will give me no succor, Elle, then I'll hunt blind.”
    Elle sagged against the window at the mention of the missing child. Piotr felt for her, he really did. Things were tangled between the three of them, words left unspoken for years now, and if this crisis didn't involve the Lost, she might not have even let them through the door. Elle might hate Piotr, but she outright loathed Lily.
    “No, keep looking,” Elle finally said, words pitched low and slow. “I'll send out scouts during daylight hours and keep a watch myself at night.” She straightened and squared her shoulders, settling hands on her hips and raising her chin defiantly. “But when this thing is over we've got a conversation coming, you understand me, Pocahontas?”
    Gravely, Lily nodded. “Understood…bitch.”
    Surprisingly, Elle threw back her head and laughed. Casually she pushed away from the wall and strolled to Piotr's side, dropping gracelessly to the floor beside him. “Yeah, yeah, fine. So, Petey, gimme the skivvy on this Lightbringer's mug so my boys can keep an eye peeled.”
    “Tentacles,” Piotr replied, turning his eyes to the ceiling when Elle's skirt rode high on her hips. A soft rustle of fabric indicated Lily's return to the floor on his other side. “Tentacles of light. It was still so I could not gauge the speed, but it has—oh, I don't know what to call it. Some sort of pheromone. It makes you want to get closer to it.”
    “Phera-what now?”
    “Like a flower that sings to the bee with its sweet odor,” Lily explained. “Or the cat in heat that cries to every tom within range. That scent is difficult to resist.”
    “But you two pills managed.”
    Piotr glanced down and was glad to see that Elle had rearranged her short shift and was once again decent. “Da , but we weren't close. The Walkers were sucked in, moths to a flame. At the end, one fought, but…the call was strong.”
    “So it's a distance thing?” Elle shrugged. “I've got some spare bows. Me'n Pocahontas here can go pepper that thing full of holes right now.” She smirked. “No offense, but your aim ain't exactly ducky, flyboy. We can gather up some folks, Riders and their Lost, get ‘em all here to circle the wagons so to speak. Get a patrol going, maybe, and sort out some ammunition.”
    “A roster is needed,” Lily agreed, fired by Elle's warrior intensity. “Perhaps we could arrange for a hunting party.”
    “That's a good idea. We don't want to jump in without knowing what we're up against,” Piotr cautioned. “This thing…I've never even heard of anything like this before. I've already left my Lost here. I should be the scout.”
    Lily's hand, cool and dry, touched his. Her eyes were dark with apology. “No offense is intended, Piotr, but you are not the most reliable of sources for such matters. I do not believe you should be the one scouting. With his connections, James may be a better choice for this.”
    Offended, Piotr scowled at Lily and pulled away. “What's that supposed to mean? You think I can't handle myself, is that it? You think James might've heard something I haven't?” The words wanted to come out in Russian but he forced himself to speak slowly and form the phrases in English. “Because I know you two are friendly now, but James