Scorched Heart (The Firebrand Series Book 4), Helen Harper [free ereaders .txt] 📗

you? You deliberately went for Patrick Lacey because of his connection to me. You made sure that everyone knew a supe was involved in his killing so that I would hear about it.’

Lazarus swept out a dramatic bow. ‘Indeed. We heard the rumours about you and what you could do. As soon as there was a whisper about a female detective in London who could resurrect, I knew it had to be little Emma Bellamy. I knew it was time to finish what I’d started.’

Lukas inched towards me and ducked his head to speak in a voice that was barely audible even to my ears. ‘There’s two of us and two of them. The bear is the danger. We hit it from the same time from both sides.’

I moved my hand and imperceptibly brushed my fingertips against Lukas’s arm. I was still worried about Miranda; she was too close to the bugbear and she was no longer in any fit state to scramble away to safety. We had to time this perfectly to keep her safe.

‘You killed me at the Bird and Bush because you wanted to check that you had the right person,’ I called to Lazarus, hoping to keep him distracted.

‘And all it took was twelve hours.’ He splayed out his hands, mimicking a strangling motion. ‘And a little squeeze.’

‘Why did you go after Julie?’

‘Who’s Julie? Do you mean the woman in the park?’ Lazarus shrugged. ‘I suppose I wanted to make sure that you were still interested, and she happened to be there when I needed her. I saw an opportunity and took it. She died quickly. It was unexpected, really. I’ve been studying death for a long time, yet there is always still more to learn.’

He was still trying to bait me by describing Julie’s passing as if it were nothing more than a curiosity. I tightened my jaw. No matter how nauseous it made me feel, I had to keep him talking. ‘So why arrange for the attack on Samuel Beswick? Why go to all the trouble of engaging someone inside the prison to attack him?’

I squinted. The bugbear needed Lazarus. If we went after his human host, who was the weaker and easier target, we might distract the beast from Miranda.

Lazarus smiled crookedly. ‘I’ve picked up several interesting contacts over the years. I could have got to Beswick at any time but I wanted to wait until you realised that he didn’t kill you or your parents. You’re with the police. You’re supposed to put away the bad guys and protect the good guys. I wanted you to appreciate how pointless the justice system is. An innocent man is imprisoned for a brutal murder and, just as the truth is revealed, he dies.’ He sighed, as if deeply contented. ‘You have to admit that the timing is delicious.’

I wanted to knock his smarmy confidence. ‘If you hadn’t organised the attack on Beswick, I wouldn’t have worked out who you are.’

Lazarus laughed again. ‘I don’t care what you think you’ve worked out. The end result will still be the same.’

I covered my mouth with my hand and coughed. ‘Not bear. Him,’ I muttered to Lukas.

He jerked his head in understanding then moved his hand to my back and pressed three fingers into my spine. The bugbear’s head raised slightly, its ears twisting. Lukas shifted; he was now pressing two fingers.

A strange expression flitted across Lazarus’s face. Satisfaction, maybe?

Lukas switched to one finger and I tensed, ready to move.

Then there was a yell from beyond the trees to my right and someone barrelled out. Albion. Oh shit.

As the boy threw himself at the bugbear, Lukas and I wasted no more time. The beast snarled, heaving itself up onto two legs rather than four, and swiped at Albion. I sprinted over, grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and threw him to the side.

Lukas continued towards Lazarus. A breath later I joined him. There was a roar of frustration from the beast. I held my breath as Lukas reached the old man, hooked one arm round his neck and bared his fangs, ready to sink them into his neck.

The bugbear huffed and I heard its paws thump as it spun round, abandoning Albion and Miranda in favour of protecting its host. As I turned to face it, I lifted up my crossbow and fired. A single bolt flew out, smacking into the bugbear and embedding itself in the centre of its heavy body – but the damned beast didn’t stop or slow down. I started to reload the crossbow. And then the bugbear was upon me.

I was thrown backwards and my spine hit the ground. Sharp pain spasmed through me. I thrust the crossbow upwards, using it both as a barrier to protect me from the bugbear’s glistening teeth and as a weapon. I fired again. This time the shot tore through the bugbear’s throat at point-blank range – but it still had no effect. It snapped its jaws and lowered its face to mine. Uh oh.

‘You can kill me,’ I said, ‘but you know I’ll come right back again. You’ll always lose.’

I couldn’t tell whether the bugbear understood me or not, but Lazarus certainly did. ‘To me,’ he croaked. ‘Kill the vampire. Not her.’

The bugbear sprang upwards, abandoning me. I jumped to my feet as it threw itself at Lukas. Its claws ripped into his skin in a desperate bid to get him to drop Lazarus.

Lukas released the old man and jerked right to throw off the bugbear, but it clung on. I saw its mouth open wide as Lukas fought it, smashing his fist into its face. The beast yanked itself away and shook out its fur, then it went for Lukas again.

Reloading the crossbow, I darted to Lazarus. A moment later I held the weapon up and pointed it at his chest. ‘Call it off,’ I ordered. ‘Call it off or I will shoot you where you stand.’

The bugbear huffed, its jaws