Silence, but not an I’m-injured-and-unconscious kind of silence. He was still shutting me out. He wouldn’t be out here with a gun, either. For one thing, it wasn’t his style. Plus, he wouldn’t risk hitting Eugenie.
Zrakovi wasn’t the shooting type. He’d send someone else to do it. Like Alex. Alex wouldn’t be out here shooting blindly, though.
Lennox crossed my mind, but why? Letting us all escape would make Zrakovi look bad, opening the door for my uncle to ride in on his white Bentley and save the day.
No point in worrying about the shooter’s identity, only his location. “Let’s try to go toward the transport,” I whispered. “Rene’s out here somewhere, too. I lost him when the lights went out.”
Which worried me. He hadn’t been that far away, so what if the shooter got him? Of course, like vampires, shifters healed from most things. “D’you know if the bullet was silver?” I asked Adrian.
“I don’t think so.” He shuffled alongside me, also crawling. “You think the transport is this way?”
Hell, I wasn’t sure anymore. I could have crawled around in circles. “Let’s try it. We can’t do anything except freeze sitting here.”
He stood up, and I tried, but my left leg kept giving way on me. “Here, try this.” Adrian bent down and pulled my left arm around his shoulder. “I’ll help you.”
We moved slowly toward the direction I thought the transport lay, each with one hand on the staff for warmth.
“I think we’ve walked too far.” Adrian stopped. “We’ve got to have some light.”
“Don’t start up the whole park again. I’ll use the staff.” I held Charlie up and asked for light. Again, he understood, flooding the area around us with a golden light.
“Oh, bloody hell.” Adrian let go of me, my leg gave way, and I crumpled back into the snow.
The distinctive sound of a gun chambering a round sounded, and I sat up, holding Charlie out in front of me, ready to confront our shooter.
CHAPTER 35
Betony Stoneman, the newest council member, stood there with his gun pointed toward us, and gestured for us to stand.
“What are you doing?” I struggled to my feet and held on to Adrian for a second to make sure my leg was going to hold me up.
“Part of my deal with Rand is I help him get the mother of his child. You’ll lead me to her.”
Betony was a short, stout, swarthy man who’d had little to say during the great elf kidnapping and torture session, although he had participated in it. Rand had told me once that he was a weak leader of the earth elves, and had always been easily swayed to follow in Mace’s wake. Guess now he followed in Rand’s wake.
“I can’t believe you shot me,” I said. “Just wait until Rand hears about this. I’m his bond-mate, you know.”
“He won’t care—it’s just a leg wound. Now walk to the transport,” Betony said, gesturing with the gun.
With Charlie lit up like Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, I got my bearings and stumbled toward the transport. We’d gone really far afield, and between the heavy snow and yet another gunshot wound, I couldn’t move fast.
“Damn it, Betony. You know Rand won’t like you having a drawn gun around the mother of his child. Eugenie could be hurt with you out here firing into the dark.”
“Would you shut the hell up?” Adrian hissed. “You’re just pissing him off more.”
“Keep walking, you stupid wizards.”
I glanced back at the gun-toting elf, who raised the weapon and pantomimed taking a shot. He poked me in the back with the barrel to hurry me along.
“You touch me with that thing one more time, buddy, and we are going to have a talk.” But I kept walking and, even with Charlie’s warmth, I felt the makings of a hibernation threatening.
Finally, I saw the tree with Rene’s scarf flapping from it. “Just past that tree,” I said, and was relieved to see a small group of people gathered there. Jean and Eugenie and Jake. “Where’s Rene? Damn it. Was he hit?”
I saw a figure on the ground—Rene—when I stumbled closer, and another, taller figure in the shadows behind. A figure with a gun.
He stepped out of the shadows. “Stop there.”
I fell again, only partially because of my injury. The rest was confusion. “Alex?” Where’d he come from? And was he trying to help us or stop us?
“DJ, are you hurt?”
He walked toward me as I stumbled to my feet again.
“Another council meeting, another building destroyed, another gunshot wound.” I wanted to hug him, but more than that, I wanted his gun focused on Betony.
“Betony’s here on Rand’s behalf, to take Eugenie,” I said. “I am not letting that happen.”
“I think you’re wrong, DJ. You should let her go.”
I stared at Alex. He couldn’t mean that, not after all we’d gone through to make this happen. He gestured with his gun. “All of you get over there together, and you”—he jerked his head toward Betony—“throw your gun down or join me, whichever you want. I think we’re on the same side.”
“Very well.” Betony lowered his gun and went to stand next to Alex.