Read Online Kodiak Chained by Doranna Durgin - Free Book Online

amulet grab—and Ruger said, “Ah, hell, ” and threw himself down on the minion.
    “No, no, no! ” Not when there was no way to tell what the amulet would do if it made contact, what it would do even if it didn’t.
    The dull snap of bone stopped her short. Ruger rolled away from the man, ending up on his hands and knees and already poised to thrust up and away. A big man, nimble on his feet.
    But then, she already knew that.
    Amulet corruption shredded the air, far thicker than carrion; the man had time for only a faint gargle of horror, a quick and spastic thrash toward death before he subsided.
    After a moment, Ruger climbed to his feet, nothing of haste about it.
    ::Ruger?:: Ian said, obscured by terrain and structure. ::What the hell?::
    ::We’re good,:: Ruger said, an absent sending that didn’t distract him from circling in as he brushed himself off. ::Back with you in a moment.::
    “Good?” Mariska said, aghast at the shrill note in her voice. “We’re good? ” By then she was close enough to reach him—she punched him solidly on the arm. “This is what you call good? ” She looked down at the minion—the former minion—and discovered his elbow bent the wrong way, his hand stuck in his pocket as it clutched the amulet...and his body as mummified as any creature left dead and undisturbed in the desert sun. “What were you even thinking? ” and she threw another punch into his arm, full of frustration and fury.
    Ruger turned with a quickness belying his size, his hand closing around her wrist—closing hard. His eyes, so matter-of-factly amiable— so filled with heat —had gone hard, hard enough to make her gasp. And he said nothing, but she heard the growl rumbling deep in his chest.
    She responded without thinking, offering the quiet sound in her throat that meant a bear’s acquiescence—but only for the instant before she managed to cut it short. Then she yanked her wrist free and glared at him. “You should have let him go. I would have had him—that’s why I’m here. ” And when he said nothing, she found herself flinging out words, rushing to fill that void, wanting something— anything —from him in response. “Last night in that parking lot, you would have let him past. You would have worked as a team. You should have known—”
    “Last night,” Ruger interrupted, “we were a team.”
    She blinked back unexpected emotion, and made her voice hard. “We’re still a team. You have your job, and I have mine. Don’t get them mixed up again.”
    ::Guys?:: Ian said. ::Hate to break up your little whatever-it-is, but have I mentioned I want to know what the hell is going on? ::
    “We had company,” Ruger said, out loud as much as through his mind’s voice. “Our company accidentally fried himself with his own amulet.”
    ::Purely by coincidence, I’m sure. Keep sharp, then. We’re just about through here; come on over and we’ll get a look inside.::
    ::Coming,:: Mariska said—but when she lifted her head, she discovered that Ruger was already on his way.
    * * *
    The brief, acrid stench of stolen Core power burst through the underground workshop, making Ciobaka sneeze. “Wowoww.”
    “What are you complaining about now?” Tarras slammed the door of the recently emptied cage nearest to Ciobaka’s.
    “No,” Ehwoord said, the snap of annoyance in his voice. “He’s right. Yoske triggered one of his defense amulets.”
    Ciobaka tilted his head, studying Tarras as his mouth clamped shut and his body stiffened in anticipation of repercussion. But Ehwoord continued quietly grooming amulets for the next round of impressions, no more prepossessing than he ever was with his slight stature, his belly going round, his hair gray and his skin lined with wrinkles of a strangely stiff nature—as if parts of him had forgotten they were old and the rest of him was ancient. Sometimes Ciobaka thought his mind worked in that same pattern, shifting from coldly efficient to something just