subsequently losing his grip on said branch, and a very solid-sounding thud, as of aforementioned person hitting the ground.
I really didn’t like people spying on me. I couldn’t do much about Hakon and Lily, but normal eavesdroppers were another matter. And so, first thing in the evening, I’d spent some quality time in the back garden with theoak tree and a large reel of rusty barbed wire.
“Explain later!” I yelled to Dad, and zoomed out the back door. Sure enough, a guy had just fallen out of the oak tree. The busted crossbow lying on the ground nearby suggested that he’d had more on his mind than creepy staring. At the sound of the back door, he rolled to his feet, his long leather coat flaring around his broad form.
“You!” God, did everyone want to stalk me? Were they taking it in shifts? “Okay, hold it right—”
A shower of paper clips hit me right in the face.
“You are really starting to piss me off!” I yelled at his retreating back. He never broke stride, disappearing round the side of the house at a dead run. But it was only normal human speed—I could moonwalk faster than that. My hands blurred as I grabbed paper clips as fast as I could. “You aren’t getting away that easily!”
“Xanthe?” Mum’s head appeared in her bedroom window. “What’s—?”
“Stay inside!” My anger and frustration felt like a storm cloud pressing against the inside of my skull. Shoving the last few paper clips into my pocket, I sprinted round the house and down the driveway like a dog after a rabbit. I burst out onto the road—just intime to hear the roar of an engine and see an enormous white van barreling toward me. Only vampiric reflexes saved me; without thinking, I leaped straight upward. I caught a brief glimpse of my nemesis’s startled face through the glass, before the arc of my leap took me up onto the roof of the van itself.
I promptly discovered that keeping your balance on top of a moving vehicle was a lot more difficult than the movies made it out to be, and fell off. The van fishtailed around the corner with a smell of burning rubber.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I put my head down, and ran . Fire flooded through my veins, spiraling out from my heart until every fiber of my flesh felt incandescent with strength. My shoes were smoking, but I didn’t care if my feet wore down to the ankles. We were still in the quiet Lancing backstreets with speed bumps stopping him from accelerating too fast. And there was no one to see me—
Someone darted into my path, far too late for me to do anything about it. I went sprawling, rolling head over heels a good ten feet along the road before I managed to stop myself. I staggered back to my feet to see the van’s mocking red taillights disappear into the distance, joining the main road.
“ Damn it!” My scrapes and bruises were already fading back into my skin, but my head still felt like someone was pulling at my brain. Furious, I spun round to see who had tripped me up.
“Don’t move,” growled the very large man carrying a gun and a stake.
“Uh …” The weird tension in my head had intensified to a distracting white-noise buzz, and the skin between my shoulder blades crawled. I risked a quick glance back, and found that another man had stepped out from behind a Range Rover to block my escape route. From the enormous pistol in his fist, I didn’t think he was out for a nice evening stroll. I was guessing I’d run straight into a trap.
I promptly put my hands in the air. “I surrender.”
“We don’t want you to surrender,” said the first guy in a deep, vicious snarl. His eyes were narrowed with hatred above the black scarf hiding most of his face. “We want you to die.”
“No, really, let’s talk about this!” I gabbled, trying to circle around to get both of them in view at once. They flanked me like wolves, the guns never wavering. “I, um, I know Lily’s secret plan! Take me to Hakon, and I’ll tell him
I really didn’t like people spying on me. I couldn’t do much about Hakon and Lily, but normal eavesdroppers were another matter. And so, first thing in the evening, I’d spent some quality time in the back garden with theoak tree and a large reel of rusty barbed wire.
“Explain later!” I yelled to Dad, and zoomed out the back door. Sure enough, a guy had just fallen out of the oak tree. The busted crossbow lying on the ground nearby suggested that he’d had more on his mind than creepy staring. At the sound of the back door, he rolled to his feet, his long leather coat flaring around his broad form.
“You!” God, did everyone want to stalk me? Were they taking it in shifts? “Okay, hold it right—”
A shower of paper clips hit me right in the face.
“You are really starting to piss me off!” I yelled at his retreating back. He never broke stride, disappearing round the side of the house at a dead run. But it was only normal human speed—I could moonwalk faster than that. My hands blurred as I grabbed paper clips as fast as I could. “You aren’t getting away that easily!”
“Xanthe?” Mum’s head appeared in her bedroom window. “What’s—?”
“Stay inside!” My anger and frustration felt like a storm cloud pressing against the inside of my skull. Shoving the last few paper clips into my pocket, I sprinted round the house and down the driveway like a dog after a rabbit. I burst out onto the road—just intime to hear the roar of an engine and see an enormous white van barreling toward me. Only vampiric reflexes saved me; without thinking, I leaped straight upward. I caught a brief glimpse of my nemesis’s startled face through the glass, before the arc of my leap took me up onto the roof of the van itself.
I promptly discovered that keeping your balance on top of a moving vehicle was a lot more difficult than the movies made it out to be, and fell off. The van fishtailed around the corner with a smell of burning rubber.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I put my head down, and ran . Fire flooded through my veins, spiraling out from my heart until every fiber of my flesh felt incandescent with strength. My shoes were smoking, but I didn’t care if my feet wore down to the ankles. We were still in the quiet Lancing backstreets with speed bumps stopping him from accelerating too fast. And there was no one to see me—
Someone darted into my path, far too late for me to do anything about it. I went sprawling, rolling head over heels a good ten feet along the road before I managed to stop myself. I staggered back to my feet to see the van’s mocking red taillights disappear into the distance, joining the main road.
“ Damn it!” My scrapes and bruises were already fading back into my skin, but my head still felt like someone was pulling at my brain. Furious, I spun round to see who had tripped me up.
“Don’t move,” growled the very large man carrying a gun and a stake.
“Uh …” The weird tension in my head had intensified to a distracting white-noise buzz, and the skin between my shoulder blades crawled. I risked a quick glance back, and found that another man had stepped out from behind a Range Rover to block my escape route. From the enormous pistol in his fist, I didn’t think he was out for a nice evening stroll. I was guessing I’d run straight into a trap.
I promptly put my hands in the air. “I surrender.”
“We don’t want you to surrender,” said the first guy in a deep, vicious snarl. His eyes were narrowed with hatred above the black scarf hiding most of his face. “We want you to die.”
“No, really, let’s talk about this!” I gabbled, trying to circle around to get both of them in view at once. They flanked me like wolves, the guns never wavering. “I, um, I know Lily’s secret plan! Take me to Hakon, and I’ll tell him
Similar Books
