Ambushed by Dean Murray Page A

of people's dreams. The red hybrid dodged to one
side, but his attempted evasion was cut short as thick, cable-like
plants wrapped themselves around his legs.
    That
would have sent me crashing to the ground, but the new hybrid not
only kept his feet, he managed to get his claws up and deflect most
of Taggart's attack away from him. He still ended up with some deep
gashes across the side of his chest, but based on his expression it
wasn't anything life threatening.
    "You're
new. I didn't know that the Coun'hij had started another recruiting
drive."
    Even
as Taggart spoke, another set of vines appeared, this time wrapping
themselves around Eric's neck, but the new hybrid made no effort to
go help his supposed ally.
    "They
brought me in specially, just to deal with you."
    The
two hybrids blurred towards each other again and when they staggered
back apart they were each bleeding from new wounds. I was pretty sure
that Taggart had hardened his skin at the last second to stop one of
the attacks from striking home. The plants were gone from around
Eric's neck, and the wound across his stomach didn't seem to be
bleeding as much as it should have been.
    "Should
I be flattered? I thought the Coun'hij had finally realized that
every time they bring someone new in there is a chance that they are
bringing one of my agents into their inner circle. If I've got them
nervous enough to start recruiting again, it's only a matter of time
before they make an even bigger mistake."
    The
bigger hybrid bared his fangs in something that couldn't really be
called a smile. "Let's just say that other developments
necessitated a more proactive stance where you're concerned. Alec
Graves' recent rebellion against his father means that the Coun'hij
ran out of room on their dance card, so they've decided to eliminate
some of their old partners. Your name was towards the top of the
list."
    More
blood spattered the ground as both hybrids tried once again to get
past each other's guards. Eric was slowly pulling himself back to his
feet, but I was having a hard time concentrating on the fight.
    Alec
Graves was the biggest remaining point of contention between Taggart
and me. The single dream that I'd shared with Alec remained etched in
my memory as the one and only time I'd felt truly safe during the
weeks leading up to my rescue by Taggart.
    There
hadn't been much to the dream—a few minutes' worth of talking
followed up by an epic kiss. Alec hadn't even been able to offer me
any protection, but his advice had been what had ultimately caused me
to trust Taggart enough to call on him for help.
    Even
so, interacting with Alec had changed me in ways that I couldn't
really explain. It was like I'd spent my entire life in darkness. I
hadn't known what I'd been missing, but I'd still been unable to
escape the nagging suspicion that there was something more to the
world.
    Meeting
Alec had flipped on a light. I couldn't go back to a life of
blindness after that. Taggart didn't trust Alec because he thought
anyone related to Kaleb Graves had to be a worthless snake, but I
knew that Alec and I were meant to be together. It didn't make any
sense, especially for someone who didn't believe in soul mates, but
that didn't change the fact that I knew it was true. If Alec had
really run away from home and was working against his father then
Taggart would eventually relax his prohibition against me trying to
make contact with Alec again.
    In
the grand scheme of things maybe it wasn't that important, especially
not with the fight that was currently raging just a few yards away
from me, but it was incredibly important to me.
    As
much as I wanted to dwell on the possibilities that being able to
talk to Alec again raised, I forced my attention back to what was
going on around me as Taggart slapped the other hybrid's hand out
wide to one side and raked his own claws down the inside of the other
man's arm.
    The
red hybrid seemed to be bleeding from more places than Taggart now,
but