Read Online Wild Hunt by Bilinda Sheehan - Free Book Online Page B

armour.
    “Please don’t let them put me to sleep, I’m afraid of the things they do when I’m asleep!” Lily pleaded, her words striking a chord within me and stirring me forward.
    The white witch working over Lily paused mid-sentence and lifted her face to mine, recognition flashing in her eyes as soon as my foot crossed the threshold. It had never occurred to me that other witches would be capable of sensing what I was, but it made perfect sense. I watched as she opened her mouth to speak, but the pause was all Lily needed.
    Lifting her face barely a millimetre off the floor, Lily jerked her now-free hand to the left and the white witch’s neck snapped to the side as the guard slammed the needle into Lily’s arm.
    Lily’s eyes glazed over as whatever had been in the syringe took immediate effect. The other witch made a small, pathetic sound in the back of her throat, but it was more of an involuntary reaction than anything else. She was dead before her body even hit the white floor, her brown eyes wide and staring as death stole her.
    The smile on Lily’s face was nothing short of beatific as the cocktail she’d been injected with worked through her system. The moment he was certain she was out for the count, Jason lifted his accusatory gaze in my direction.
    “What did you say about her not being a monster?” he said, the rage in his voice barely held in check.
    It was my fault; I’d asked him to interject, but more than that, Lily had killed the witch to protect me. She’d been about to spill my secret to the world; I’d felt the truth ready to rip through the air like a knife but Lily had stopped her.
    Granted, her methods were not my own, but my secret was still safe for now and it was all thanks to Lily.

Chapter 11
    “ W hat did she tell you ?” Jason demanded as soon as we were clear of Lily’s cell.
    “She told me what the guards are doing to her,” I said, anger making my voice razor sharp.
    Jason’s snort of derision only drove my anger on and I turned on him with an angry growl. “You don’t believe it?” I asked.
    “I believe I’ve seen her cause them to restrain her. I know she’s a dangerous prisoner, and if anything proves that, it’s today. Even you must see that?” he said.
    I couldn’t argue with him on that point; she was dangerous prisoner but that didn’t alter the fact that it wasn’t their place to teach her lessons. They weren’t trying to rehabilitate her—really all they were doing was holding her here until a judgement could be passed down on her.
    “She’s genuinely afraid, and you said it yourself, she gave you one interview and that was it, nothing else. Don’t you think it’s possible that part of the reason for that is due to what’s going on here?” I gestured to my surroundings. “Have you seen her neck?” I asked.
    “Her neck?” he parroted the words back to me.
    “She’s covered in bite marks. How can she possibly have had contact with a vampire? I thought they were all kept separate for their own safety.”
    Jason ducked his head and for the first time since I’d met him, he had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Someone made a mistake and let her out for her exercise at the same time as one of the other prisoners….”
    “You mean they let her out with a vampire….” The words hung in the air between us. “What the hell is going on in here, Jason? That sounds a little too close to an attempt at population control for me.”
    “Mistakes are made. The guard responsible has been dealt with,” he said firmly, his tone brooking no argument. But there was no way I was going to let it go. How could I?
    “She could have been killed,” I said, “or turned….”
    Jason’s head snapped up and his angry gaze met mine. “Don’t you think I know this?”
    “I’m sorry, it’s just I didn’t know it was like this, that it was this bad…. She claims the guards are….” I trailed off, suddenly unsure if I could even get the words out