The Golden Bell by Autumn Dawn Page A

Whoever it was, they hadn’t bothered her
yet.
    Breathing deeply to ward off panic, paced
toward her garden. Now that her senses were attuned, she could tell
there was more than one following her, to her right, left and
behind. Brilliant. She’d have to sprint for it if they moved in,
and she’d already used up precious adrenaline.
    Reaching into her pocket, she casually
removed a little toy of hers and closed her eyes as she held it up.
A brilliant flash lit up the darkness as she broke the modified
glow stick, wiping out the night vision of those following her.
Opening her eyes, she sprinted the distance to the garden, leaping
obstacles as she ran. Vaulting up, she grabbed the top of the wall
and swung over, hitting the ground running. She threw open her
patio door and dashed in…and muffled a shriek as the lights turned
on.
    “You do realize that you just blinded your
security detail.”
    “Fallon,” she gasped, blinking at him
warily.
    “I can tolerate your sneaking out at night if
you really must, but not your incapacitating your protection. What
did you use on them?”
    She looked at her hand dumbly, then recovered
and shoved it behind her back. “Just a little glow stick.”
    “Give it here.” He held out his hand.
    “No. It’s used up, anyway.”
    One minute she had the stick behind her back,
the next he had it, leaving her blinking with his speed. “Hey!”
    He examined the glow stick and stuck it in
his pocket. “You said you didn’t make weapons.”
    “That’s an overgrown flashlight.”
    “You just blinded three of my men with it.
Had they been human, it would have been permanent. As it is,
they’ll be days healing.”
    “Lucky them,” she said flippantly. “How was I
to know I wasn’t running for my life?”
    He regarded her steadily. “Let’s get some
ground rules straight. When you want to go out at night, you tell
me or my head of security; I’ll introduce you. That way we can
avoid your panicking and doing something rash. How many of these
things do you have?” He raised the hand holding the spent glow
stick.
    She shrugged. “I can make as many as I
want.”
    Fallon sighed. “If we didn’t already have
similar technology, I’d tell you to patent it. In another
situation, I would applaud your quick thinking. As it is, take care
not to hurt the people who care for you. You’re not an island
anymore.” He left.
    Disconcerted by his quiet words, she sat down
in a chair. Great. Now she felt bad. Well, how was she supposed to
know it hadn’t been the bad guys chasing her? Those poor sods
probably had families.
    Disgruntled, knowing she’d sleep poorly
anyway, she sat around and tried to think of something to make
amends.
     
    Fallon paused in drinking his coffee, one
brow raised. Malian had just delivered a piece of paper with a
complex schematic. He had to smile as he read the messy handwriting
across the top. Rain had designed a night vision goggle to protect
his Haunt’s eyes from sudden flashes.
    So that was how geniuses apologized. A simple
‘I’m sorry’ would have done. Apparently her mind worked
differently. A point to remember.
    “Something funny, my lord?”
    Fallon smirked at his head of security and
handed over the paper.
    Rykarr studied it, and laughed. “Interesting
apology. I’d hire her, if I were you.”
    Fallon slanted him a glance and went back to
his coffee. “You would, wouldn’t you? She’s a handful.”
    “Beauty, though.”
    That earned him another look. “You’re looking
for me to fall in love and settle down, aren’t you? I plan to take
her on, but I’m not in love yet.”
    “Matter of time with that one.” To look at
him, you wouldn’t think Rykarr was a romantic. He looked like a
mercenary with his gunmetal gray hair and black eye patch. Even a
Haunt couldn’t heal all injuries.
    “A bottomless well of interesting turns, I’ll
admit. That’s largely her appeal.”
    “Not her fetching hazel eyes. I understand.
Her mind is exactly