You Bet Your Banshee by Danica Avet Read Free Book Online Page B

awe. They were gigantic, nearly twice the size of her body. Arching over her head in a thick waterfall of glossy, blue-black feathers, Sable’s wings were gorgeous.
    “I have to back up to get momentum. When I grab you, just relax, okay?”
    Staring at the reaper I outweighed by at least fifty pounds, I bit back a sarcastic reply. If she could get us out of here before the Host figured out where we were, I’d owe her my life. If she couldn’t lift my big ass off the ground, I’d send her away and face the Host myself. I might not be powerful magic wise and I might be weaponless, but I’ve got a set of lungs that would make Mariah Carey jealous.
    “Remember, relax,” she whispered as she backed down the alley.
    I nodded. She started running at me, her wings spread. They brushed the buildings on either side of the alley. A spray of sparks flew behind her. I didn’t understand that and tried not think about it. No, I concentrated on my new mantra.
    Light as a feather.
    Light as a feather.
    I’m light as a feather.
    I’m light as a feather.
    Something snagged me around the waist hard enough to force the air from my lungs. In the next second, my feet left the ground as great wings on either side of me made deep whooshing sounds. More sparks flew, but we steadily gained altitude until I was looking down on St. Andrew Street. Sable circled around to the front of Phineas’s shop.
    The storefront was completely black. Not with shadows, or soot, but with ooze. Several feet above the street, I could feel the evil coating the building, taking it over. My skin crawled at the howls and grunts as the Host feasted.
    “Don’t look,” Sable ordered too late. “You can’t do anything for him.” Her grip tightened around my waist as she swooped away from the devastation. “Now tell me where we’re going and why the Host is after you.”

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Chapter Seven
     
    The trip to my apartment was filled with brittle cold air and curses as I explained my predicament to Sable. When she found out about the big, fat target on my back, I thought for sure she’d drop me on my head. I wouldn’t have blamed her. I was carting a whole shitload of trouble and anyone who came in contact with me would be coated in it.
    When she landed on the fire escape outside my window, her wings retreating, she gave me a hard look. She didn’t have to tell me what she was thinking because it was on my mind as well. I was a lame duck in a game against powerful players. I had no magic of my own. She didn’t know about my skill with swords, but even that wouldn’t help against the Host. I was outnumbered and outmagicked.
    I started to apologize for getting her involved, but the window of my apartment flew open. A big hand reached out, grabbed my arm, and jerked me into my home. I screeched, letting loose with the kind of banshee scream that could make ears bleed. It didn’t faze the big male shaking me like he wanted to rattle my brains right out of my head.
    “You little fool!” Ryvan roared at me. His eyes sparked hotter than a flame. “Why did you run from me?”
    “You must be the big, bad elf,” Sable said in a voice heavy with sarcasm.
    Ryvan finally stopped shaking me. I fully expected him to thrust me away because of the trouble I’d caused, but he dragged me into his arms, holding me like he’d been truly scared for me. That’s when I realized he was trembling. Unable to help myself, I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes. After everything that had happened in the last three hours, he felt like an island of peace and security.
    His big hands stroked up and down my back. His hot breath feathered my hair for long minutes. “I thought they got you,” he whispered in a hoarse voice.
    A lump formed in my throat. I wish I could have gone back to that moment I was safely ensconced in his lap at the club and redo the entire night. Maybe then Phineas wouldn’t be dead and Sable wouldn’t be caught in this mess with me. Gods,