Rakshasa Book I, Part #3: Tigerheart by Alica Knight Read Free Book Online Page B

phone.”
    “So?” Susi seemed unconcerned with Ishan’s presence. “Eclipse’s power is unknown, but many Rakshasa have demonstrated vocal mimicry. It’s a common power.”
    “It’s a common power,” Asena said, perfectly mimicking Susi’s voice.
    That didn’t seem right to me. The Champawat Tiger had spoken over Katelyn, cut her off. And it was her: I’d known Katelyn for years, there was no way anyone could mimic the subtle inflections in her voice, the edge of terror that pervaded her every word as she tried to warn me against rescuing her. This was no impostor, this was really her.
    “Then why did she warn us not to come?” I said.
    “Because,” said Vriko, “that’s what he expects she would say. It’s a neat little bit of reverse psychology. Maybe this whole thing is a set up.”
    “But—”
    Ishan held up his hands for calm. “It’s unreasonable to speculate that Eclipse possesses vocal mimicry when he could have, simply, genuinely taken Katelyn. Nobody’s seen her since he claimed he did. It’s not unreasonable to suggest this is what’s taken place.”
    I smiled at him and he returned the gesture, the two of us exchanging a brief but electrified stare. We had barely spoken to each other outside of the dream world, but already the connection here was strong. It seemed strange to love someone primarily in my dreams, but it was what it was. I was beginning to accept it.
    “Right,” said Susi, but she didn’t seem convinced. There was a moment of awkward silence as the five Rakshasa stood around the busy Canberra streets, the noises of cars driving past and music from a nearby club pounding away in the background.
    “So we’re doing this. First things first,” Asena said, reaching into her pocket then looking to me, “you need a new phone. Catch.”
    She tossed me a small black object and I caught it with a grace that surprised me. I was usually rubbish at catching. I opened my hand, seeing another phone, just like the one I’d had soaked.
    “Thanks.” I slipped it into a pocket on my jeans.
    “Keep it on you at all times,” Asena said, “We’ve all got the number. We might need to stay in contact with you if something goes wrong.” She gave a subtle glance to Ishan. “And make sure he has the number, too.”
    “ When something goes wrong,” I clarified, “Katelyn said it was a trap.”
    “That’s the thing, isn’t it,” said Vriko, an eager grin forming over his face, “see, we know it’s a trap, and Eclipse knows that we know it’s a trap, but what Eclipse doesn’t know is that we know that he knows it’s a trap, but we’re going to spring our own trap on him.”
    Everyone was quiet for a moment.
    “Huh?” I said.
    “Don’t mind Vriko,” Ishan said, casually slipping closer to me and putting his arm around my shoulder. “He drinks too much caffeine.” I leaned in against his chest, resting my chest against him, gently breathing in his scent.
    “The point is,” said Asena, “we know we’re swimming into his net, but Eclipse is going to discover that nets snag both ways.”

    *****
    I was surprised at how little we actually purchased while we were in Canberra city. I was given a short list and when we were done we all met back at Ishan’s car, then we loaded the things into the boot. Asena carried a crate of dehydrated food to replenish supplies at the coven, Vriko produced a stack of batteries for the lanterns while Susi had boxes of numerous odds and ends.
    Most notable, though, were what I was supposed to buy: two first aid boxes. Ishan returned carrying a small, square package that was wrapped in several layers of thick cloth.
    “Hopefully we won’t need those,” I said, grunting slightly as I lifted the boxes into the boot. In was surprised by how light they were carrying them back: my body was getting stronger and stronger, but when the time came to place them into the car they both felt unnaturally heavy.
    “Those aren’t for us,” Ishan