Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 31
Tyche
Being carried out over the shoulder of a dragon like a sack of turnips might not have been dignified, but it gave Tyche a glorious last view of Ruben’s house as the whole thing went up in flames. Ruben had at least a dozen security guards on the premises, but it looked like they were all dead now, thanks to Adrian and Shey. He hoped, though, that the servants had gotten out before the place went up.
“Couldn’t we just pause and enjoy it?” Tyche called out, waving his free hand at the house while the other one clutched the bag filled with the tablet, shards, and other stolen goods.
“Nope. Time to go!” Adrian called, racing ahead of them.
“But we need to appreciate—”
“Next time, Ty!” Shey cut him off.
Well, if there was going to be a next time, he guessed he could wait.
As they reached the car, Haru put him on his feet, and they all dove inside. Adrian whipped the vehicle around in the circular drive with a squeal of tires and smoke. They barreled down the winding path, picking up speed. Tyche wrestled with the seat belt, trying to secure himself in the event that Adrian had to plow through the metal gate.
But a bit of good luck shone on them. As they made the last turn, they found the gate open as another car raced through ahead of them. It was a beat-up clunker that rattled and belched black smoke. At least some servants had gotten out in time.
“Whoo-hoo!” Tyche shouted as they shot out of the driveway and made a hard, tire-shredding turn onto the main road.
“Holy shit!” Adrian moaned, slumping in his seat. Despite the obvious relief in his voice, he didn’t let up on the gas as he continued to race through the quiet streets, heading for the heart of Bellcairn.
“But do you think we acted too hastily?” Haru inquired. “Should we have tried to torture him more to get the name of his boss?”
Shey shook his head. “He would never have willingly given it up. He would have weaseled and blustered until help arrived. I could see it in his eyes. Ruben had no intention of telling us the truth.”
“I’m sure we’ll get something out of all this.” Tyche pulled the strap of the messenger bag from his shoulder and held the bag out to Shey.
“Fuck! That’s right! Did you get the shard? Please tell me you found the Firestone shard. Caelan will have my ass if we left that behind.”
“My cousin may not have anything to do with your ass,” Haru grumbled.
“Haru!”
“We got that shard along with another box of what feels like smaller shards,” Tyche reassured him. As he spoke, Shey pulled the flat case out of the bag and opened the lid a crack to peer inside. Tyche winced reflexively but was relieved to discover that the sharp magical stabbing he’d felt with the shard from the Isle of Stone Godstone wasn’t nearly as strong with these tiny slivers of green, purple, red, and gold.
All the same, he reached a hand toward Shey and waved at the box. “Shut that. You’re making me carsick.”
“I have a feeling that’s Adrian’s driving,” Shey teased, but he closed the lid anyway and stuffed the case into the bag. “It looks like you two grabbed a lot more than a tablet and the shards.”
“Really?” Adrian said, perking up.
“I found his phone. His laptop was already in the bag. Haru snatched up all the papers out of the safe where we found the shards.” Tyche peeked into the bag that Shey was digging through and lifted his gaze to Shey’s face. “We’ll find something helpful in all that, right?”
Shey paused in his sifting through the bag’s contents and glanced over at Tyche, a warm smile spreading across his lips. “I’m sure we will.”
His heart fluttered.
Tyche jerked back and whipped his head around to stare out the window without seeing a damn thing.
What the fuck was that?
When had his heart learned to do that? And for Shey?
The human had grinned at him plenty of times—usually while teasing him—and his heart had never done that.
That…that wasn’t anything. Indigestion. Stress. They’d killed people and burned down an enormous house. They were escaping.
Yes, they were escaping.
Those were excited, escaping heart flutters. They had nothing to do with Shey’s amazing smile.
“Where are we going? To the hotel?” Adrian asked as he slowed at last for a red light.
“It should be safe.” Shey twisted in his seat and glanced behind them. “I don’t think anyone is following us, and there have been no police sirens.”
“That’s a little frightening that we could slaughter all those security guards and set the house on fire, but no one called the police,” Adrian mumbled.
“Did Ruben strike you as someone you’d want to save?” Tyche countered.
“Good point.”