The Golden Bell by Autumn Dawn

you were pursued by
more than members of the Cult.” He let that statement hang, then
added, “I think whatever this thing was, you either hid it…or you
still have it.”
    Her eyes widened.
    He shook his head slowly. “You’ve got to work
on those tells, sweetheart. You’re a book. It’s a weapon, isn’t
it?”
    “It’s not a…” She could have swallowed her
tongue, she was so chagrined by her mistake.
    White teeth flashed in a predator’s smile.
“Not a weapon. Are you sure? Men do kill for them.”
    A growl of vexation vibrated in her throat.
“Not your business, Fallon.”
    “Things that can be used against my people
are my business. So?”
    “You’ve been trying to gain my trust. That’s
what this has been about. That’s why you seduced me.” If she
couldn’t dodge him, she’d go on the attack.
    He shook his head, but remained relaxed.
“While I’m not above those kind of tactics, no. I wanted to see
what it would be like. Happily, it was all I expected.” His teeth
flashed again.
    She snarled. “If I wanted to make a weapon,
I’d test it on you first. I haven’t made any…yet.”
    He shrugged. “Why don’t you just show it to
me and end the battle? Why all the secrecy?”
    “Because it’s mine. Because it’s none of your
business! Not the council’s, not yours. Got it? It’s mine.” She
didn’t like his pushing, didn’t want to think about giving up the
Bell. It wouldn’t help anything.
    Fallon was relentless. “Is the secrecy worth
risking your father’s murderers going free?”
    “If I knew anything about that, I’d come
clean. I don’t. You werewolves all look alike to me.” She was going
to lose her temper, so she left. Oddly, he didn’t follow her to her
room. Maybe he knew she would be easy enough to find when he was
ready to interrogate her again. This reprieve couldn’t last.
    Anxiety made her restless, and pacing her
small room didn’t help. She needed out, so she threw on some jeans,
a navy sports bra and a long sleeved, black shirt. Dressed for
success, she scaled her garden wall.
    She wasn’t trying to escape the Dark Lands.
It was freezing cold on the other side of the gate, assuming she
could even find it. Her sense of direction sucked. Even if she
could follow the snow machine tracks back, she’d freeze long before
she reached civilization.
    No, she just needed a break from company,
especially Fallon’s. Crossing the grassy spot behind the wall, she
took a straight line toward the looming shape of an obstacle course
she’d seen in the distance that morning. At the time it had been
swarming with Haunt, but now it stood abandoned at the edge of the
park.
    Rolling her neck, she jumped up and grabbed
one of the dangling ropes. Wrapping the rope around one leg and
holding it with her heels, she climbed up hand over hand to the top
beam. Walking across was easy, she’d always had excellent balance
and no fear of heights. She climbed down the cargo net and then
sprinted over to the pole at the end, climbing it like a palm tree.
The next bit was harder, a series of poles spaced at two-foot
intervals, and not in a straight line. Pretending they were
stepping stones, she paced across them, her carriage straight and
confident. To dismount, she grabbed the hand bar and slid down the
line, over an open pit filled with water.
    Enjoying the challenge, she slithered,
shinnied and hopped at full speed, then sprinted back to the
beginning of the course and did it all again.
    About the fourth run through, she started to
tire. It was late and she’d been running a marathon of sorts for
the better part of a year. She turned back toward the garden, and
froze. She scented Haunt on the air. There, to her right.
    Her nose and ears were keener in human form
than when she changed, oddly enough. Unfortunately, it wasn’t keen
enough to distinguish individual Haunt scents. She looked in the
direction of the smell, but couldn’t see anything, even with her
superior night vision.