Obsidian Wings by Laken Cane Read Free Book Online Page A

“Leave her alone,” he said, as though they were bothering her.
    She stiffened immediately as Ellie gave her a quick hug from
behind and the fang pressed against the back of her head. He kept it inside his
shirt, but the fabric was too thin to fully protect her from its effects.
    She leaned gently away from him. “Guys. I apologize. I
realize I’m behaving like a…” She shook her head, unable to find the right
word. She reached up to squeeze Ellie’s hands when he rested them once more on
her shoulders. “Bill, I’d like to go to Spikemoss Mountain and question the
birds.” She didn’t look at Strad but heard him blow out a tired breath.
    “I’ll go with her,” he said.
    Finally, she looked at him. “No. You’re too close to the
birds and can’t be objective.”
    He smiled, but it was not a nice smile. “I will go with
you.”
    Bill cleared his throat. “Not yet, Rune. I don’t want to
antagonize the scepters when we have nothing more to go on than your sense of
smell.”
     “Then what do you think we should do, Rice? Wait for
the killer to nail another body to a fucking wall?”
    “We have to tread carefully with the birds. They live in
their own world. They don’t cause trouble for the humans or the rest of the
Others. They maintain their own law and order. If we change that, we’ll have to
have an extremely good reason to make it worth the trouble that will follow.”
    She snorted and sat back in her chair. “There aren’t that
many of them, Bill. And even if there were…they might think they live in
their own world, but they don’t. They live in this world with the rest of us.”
    He said nothing.
    She shook her head, mystified. “Are you that afraid of them?
I haven’t seen you back down from any group. You’re going to back down from the
birds?”
    “You don’t understand.” Bill’s voice was firm but he darted
his eyes, as though unable to find a place to settle his gaze, and his face
reddened.
    “No, she doesn’t,” Strad said.
    Bill stood. “You need to make her understand.” He started to
stride from the room, but at the door he stopped and turned back. He pointed at
Rune. “Stay away from the fucking birds.”
    For a moment she was too stunned to speak. “What the hell is
going on here? I’ve faced Damascus and mad vampires and a fucking bomb that nearly destroyed me.” She stared at Strad. “You expect me to believe the
birds are more badass than that?”
    He stood. “Yes, Rune. That’s exactly what I expect you to
believe.”
     
     

Chapter
Twelve
    She held up her hands. “Well, I’m terribly sorry, but that’s
a ridiculous fucking notion.” She looked around at her crew. “Do any of you
know anything about the birds?”
    “Only what I told you,” Owen said.
    Jack shook his head. “I never felt they were a threat.”
    “They keep their secrets,” Ellis said.
    Raze stood. “I’m going to call the clinic and check on Lex.”
    “If the birds are so mean,” Rune asked, “how did one of them
manage to get tortured and nailed to a wall?”
    “I don’t know,” Strad replied.
    She stared up at him. “I don’t believe you.”
    He softened his voice, despite his obvious and lingering
anger. “I don’t know, Rune.”
    “Then why the hell won’t you consider that they know
something about what’s going on with the twins?”
    “Because I know them. The scepters won’t keep secrets for
COS.”
    For a second, the bleakness overwhelmed her. She wanted life
to go back to the way it was. The crew had taken too many hits.
    “ You look better.” Ellie pulled her away from Strad,
his gaze going to her growing hair. It hung past her shoulders. Only the ends
remained white as the natural black chased away the snowy color. “How do you
feel? Physically, I mean.”
    “I’m fine, baby.” She allowed him to distract her. “I’m
worried about you.”
    “Don’t. I’m stronger than people believe.”
    “No one knows that better than I do.”
    He leaned