Read Online Give the Devil His Due (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Three) by Rob Blackwell - Free Book Online Page A

threw Tim off. Although Tim seemed to hit the floor hard, he immediately popped up again and headed back towards the Horseman.
    The Horseman ignored Tim, stalking slowly toward Kieran. He didn’t try to move, just sat there waiting. Kieran couldn’t understand why the Horseman hadn’t killed him the first time.
    Perhaps he just wanted to play with you first, he thought.
    But Tim thrust himself between the Horseman and his prey.
    “If you’re going to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first,” he said.
    The Horseman hesitated. Kieran thought he was arguing internally again.
    Some part of him wants to kill Tim, too, he realized.
    Kieran didn’t have to wait long to find out which part that was. There was a flash of light and the Horseman disappeared, replaced by a human, but arguably more dangerous, enemy. Kieran recognized him from the newspaper photos as Kyle Thompson.
    Kyle smiled at Tim.
    “Excellent,” Kyle said. “That’s just what I wanted.”
    He’s going to kill you, Tim, Kieran thought.
    But Tim surprised both Kieran and Kyle by throwing the first punch. It never connected. Instead, Kyle dodged it easily and delivered his own punch to Tim’s kidney. The editor slumped to the floor.
    “She told you not to interfere, old man,” Kyle said. “You can’t say she didn’t warn you.”
    “I want to talk to her,” Tim said.
    “I don’t give a damn what you want,” Kyle responded. “I’m going to gut you right here and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I should have done this years ago.”
    “You have to stop listening to him, Kate,” Tim said, struggling to his feet again. “This isn’t you. You aren’t Kyle Thompson.”
    “Get it through your thick skull, Anderson,” Kyle said. “I own this girl now. She read my mind and I infected her. She thought she killed me, but she only gave me more power — she made me immortal.”
    Kieran watched as Kyle reached down and pulled a long, gleaming knife from a side pocket. But Tim didn’t back down, continuing to stand between Kieran and Kyle.
    “That’s a lie,” Tim said. “This is all in your head, Kate. You never became Kyle.”
    “Oh, did you miss the part where she murdered unarmed prisoners?” Kyle responded, laughing. “She murdered them in cold blood, Tim. She could have captured them; they had surrendered. But she ordered her ghosts to kill them. Do you know how much blood is on her hands?”
    Kyle advanced on Tim, flicking the knife toward him. Tim jumped to the side, out of range.
    “I want to talk to Kate,” Kieran said, trying to draw Kyle’s attention away from Tim. But Kyle ignored him.
    He flicked the knife again at Tim, giggling as his victim dodged to the other side.
    “This is going to be fun,” Kyle said.
    “I want to talk to Kate,” Kieran said louder this time.
    Kyle kept advancing on Tim, periodically feinting left and right, his eyes dancing with delight as Tim moved like a demented puppet.
    “I want to talk to Kate!” Kieran shouted.
    Kyle looked at Kieran, still sitting against the wall, with an expression of undisguised disgust.
    “Here’s a quarter,” he said. “Call someone who cares.”
    Kyle shot around Tim and aimed a kick at Kieran. But Kieran was ready for it. He caught the intended blow and lifted Kyle’s foot up, throwing his attacker off balance. Kyle fell to the floor and Kieran leapt up. He scrambled on top of Kyle before he could move with a sudden burst of ferocity. He wrenched the knife from Kyle’s hand and waved it in front of his face.
    “Is that how it’s going to be?” Kieran asked. “You’re so damn crazy you don’t even kill the man who murdered your lover? Instead you attack a defenseless old man?”
    “I’m really not that old,” Tim responded. “I wish everyone would stop saying that.”
    Kieran gave him an exasperated look before returning to Kyle, who was grinning.
    “Don’t worry, I was going to get to you,” he said.
    He kicked Kieran off and rolled to the