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“Where the hell have you been?” Lamia comes out of nowhere, grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me against the wall as soon as I come out of the elevator on my floor at Whitehouse’s building. Her voice is an angry, rumbling whisper. A puff of air escapes past my lips as my back slams against the wall. She presses her muscular forearm along the length of my clavicle and leans into me. I wince. She feels like five hundred pounds of brick, ready to crush me.
Lamia sticks her nose right up to mine, her breath smelling of garlic. Has she been waiting for me here? Ready to pounce as if I were a helpless mouse? That seems hard to believe, considering that I’ve been gone for over a day. Except it’s late, and she should be sleeping—not harassing me. I try to shrug out of her grasp, but she’s got me pinned like a bug.
I’m about to demand that she let me go when I remember who I’m supposed to be. In a snap, I change my challenging expression into one of submission.
“I was just repurposing, repurposing. Have to find just the ride, the perfect ride.” I lay my Azrael-crazy really thick and stick to my previous story, the one I gave Lyra and Onyx. I despise the sniveling act, but it’s necessary. Lamia is a mean beast. Antagonizing her could get me killed in a snap. There’s no need to be reckless—especially now that someone cares about what happens to me.
“Bullshit! You’re up to something. I don’t trust you.”
Lamia’s reptilian gaze pierces mine unrelentingly. Her eyes used to be normal, but she’s been busy making them match her tail. A wicked smile spreads over her lips and her long, barbed tail swings from side to side as if in pleasure.
“You don’t fool me,” she says. “I’ll find out what you’re up to, and then Elliot won’t be so grateful to you for saving his life. I bet you’d love to visit Dr. Sting again, ‘cause that’s where you’re headed. Count on that.”
An icy shiver climbs up my spine as an image of Dr. Sting’s torture chair rises inside my mind. In an effort not to give away my fear, I say, “Repurpose. Need to repurpose. Came back just to sleep, rest for a while. Need energy to repurpose. Have to find the perfect ride, just for me. Unique,” I ramble on, not trying to deny the fact that I’ve been gone, but owning it instead.
“Shut the fuck up!” Lamia’s tail rises straight up in the air, stiff as her tone of voice. Her eyes flash with anger, and I’m sure she’s about to tear into me when a sound from the barracks startles us. Our heads snap in that direction. She snarls in displeasure.
Reluctantly, she pulls away, releasing me. I take a hand to my chest, dare to think I’ve gotten away with little more than a sore pride, when, suddenly, Lamia’s tail coils, snaps, and lands a stinging lash across my left cheek. I yelp, both in surprise and pain. My hand flies to my face. Warm blood seeps from the wound and wets my fingers.
It takes every ounce of restraint I possess to hold back and simply hunch over, holding my cheek. This is the second time I’ve been smacked only to find that grinning and bearing it is my best option. Blare and Lamia owe me big time.
Lyra comes around the corner and finds Lamia glowering at me and enjoying my cowardly stance.
“What is going on here?” Lyra asks.
“The little bitch’s been gone again,” Lamia says. “She says she’s been repurposing, but I don’t buy it.”
Lyra lets out a tired sigh. “Don’t you have better things to do than worry about this useless piece of crap?” She gestures in my direction with a furry hand.
Useless piece of crap? Gee, thanks!
“I have many things to worry about,” Lamia says, “and I worry about all of them, thoroughly.”
“Oui. Oui.” Lyra waves a hand in the air and continues her trek toward the bathroom, which is where she was headed in the first place, I suppose.
“Pit stop. Also need a pit stop,” I say, following Lyra and throwing Lamia a dirty look over my shoulder. She snaps her tail against the floor as a reminder that has the desired effect. I put a hand to my face and wince at the sting.
Lyra pushes the bathroom door open and walks in. I follow, glad to get away from Lizard Witch, but soon find myself in the clutches of Perverse Kitty.
“Putain!” Lyra curses and whirls to face me. “Didn’t I say you couldn’t keep disappearing like this?” “This” comes out like dzees. Her French accent is thick when she loses her temper. She’s definitely lost it now. Too bad.
“There’s shit going down, Lyra. I suggest you check with your IgNiTe contacts if you haven’t heard from them yet.”
Her round eyes narrow. “Regardless, you can’t keep screwing up like this.” She leans closer and puts a hand on my shoulder. “If you blow my cover, I will kill you,” she purrs, her claws digging into my skin.
“Ow!”
She pulls away and locks herself in a stall. I rub my shoulder as I walk to the mirror. There’s a two-inch slash across my cheek and blood still pouring out of it.
“Just great.” I shake my head and run the warm water in the sink. It takes a handful of paper towels to clean the wound. When I’m done, I keep pressure on it to stop the bleeding.
Lyra comes out of the stall. “What are you talking about shit going down.” She walks to the sink to wash her hands.
“Need to know basis,” I say with a smile. “Like I said, you’d better get in touch with your people. See if they have any news for you. Any order coming down from James.”
She whirls, looking ready to jump me. We get into a staring match. I don’t blink. I have no reason to be afraid of Lyra and nothing to hide. If she thinks being a higher-up in Whitehouse’s organization gives her authority over me, she’s sorely mistaken.
“I’ll make sure to check with my cell leaders,” she says when she realizes I won’t let her intimidate me.
“Good.” I nod and turn to leave.
Before I get to the door, Lyra decides to have the last word. “You’d better watch your back. Lamia is on to you and, for my part, I’m starting to think you’re more trouble than it’s worth.”
I could sit here and argue with her, but that’d be a waste of time. She’ll get her panties on straight once orders trickle down from James to the other IgNiTe cells.
For now, I’ll try a quick meditation session, then I’ll worry about the important things I must set in motion.