And what would you have done? whispered Kristof’s voice. Leapt into the nearest person, jumped into the bullet’s path, and killed your host, only to discover Savannah wasn’t even in danger? And how will you make sure you’re there if something like that ever happens again? Do you plan to follow her around every hour of every day, a spectral guard dog, always at her heels?

I shivered. I couldn’t be there all the time. I didn’t want to be there all the time. I wanted…

I squeezed my hand tight around the amulet and closed my eyes.

I wanted my own life. Here. In this world.

Eyes still closed, I put in a mental call to Trsiel. Almost immediately, I heard soft footfalls in the tunnel.

“Thank God,” I murmured.

I hurried to the door. I stepped out and saw a dim figure down the corridor—a figure far too small and too blond to be Trsiel. The Nix.

Chapter 36

36

I BACKPEDALED BEFORE SHE SAW ME. AFTER ONE MORE mental shout to Trsiel, I looked down at the amulet in my hand. If she found me, she’d better not find this. She’d heard Dantalian say it was in a drawer, so I shoved my hand into a roll of carpet and dropped the amulet inside. Then I took two steps back and cast a cover spell.

The Nix’s footsteps drew closer. They stopped outside the room.

“Someone’s made a mess in here,” she murmured. She walked to the middle of the room and looked around. “Did they find what they were looking for? Let’s hope not.”

She opened the nearest drawer, then stopped, gaze catching on the broken drawer panel on the ground…on the ground at my feet. She moved toward it. Shit! A couple more steps and she’d smack right into me, breaking my cover spell.

I waited until she was close enough to reach out and touch. Then I let loose a front kick that caught her square in the jaw, and sent her sailing across the room. Before she could recover, I slammed her with a roundhouse kick to the gut then, as she crumpled forward, an uppercut to the jaw knocked her off her feet and flipped her backward, her head cracking against a marble bust. As she staggered back up, I darted behind her and kicked her in the ass, knocking her face-first to the dirt floor.

“Come on,” I said. “Get up again. Please.”

She pushed up to all fours, then lifted her head and glared at me.

“Oh, come on,” I said. “I can’t kick you when you’re down. That’s not fair.”

When she didn’t move, I whirled and slammed a front kick into her the bottom of her jaw, toppling her over onto her back.

“Screw fair,” I said. “This is too much fun.”