Chapter FORTY-ONE
Rebecca
Max moved through the Museum at high speed, making it obvious he knew exactly where he wanted to go. I ditched my shoes and chased behind him, treading as light on my bare feet as I could, hoping that he wouldn't hear me. I didn't want to just jump him, because I couldn't be sure he wasn't trying to help.
So I followed.
We raced past dioramas, through the huge hall full of dinosaur bones, and down the stairwell into the main entrance hall. All the while I remained at least fifty feet behind him, weaving and ducking behind anything I could find. I thought I saw him look back twice, but he didn't react. Either he knew I was there and he was fine with it, or I was imagining things.
At last I heard voices. One I recognized, the other I didn't. I knew the Beast for what he was. I knew him better than most. The other speaker wasn't Landon or Charis. How many people were actually in here?
Max slowed to a stop, and I dropped to my knees and slid at an angle, coming to rest behind a pillar. I peeked out a couple of seconds later and saw him standing to the left side of the archway into the room beyond, listening.
I stayed low and made my way forward, dancing from column to column in near silence, doing everything I could to avoid detection. I didn't have any weapons, but I was me again. I held out a hand and watched my fingers grow into sharp talons. I opened my mouth and felt my fangs with my tongue. I was all the weapons I needed.
I still couldn't see what was happening, but I got within a dozen feet of Max without being noticed. Just as I reached the spot, I felt a wave of coldness flow through me, a strange feeling of an immense but silent shockwave of energy. Max had felt it too, and now he was back on the move.
I slipped to the wall where he had just been standing, and ducked my head in. Landon! I could see him now, crouched near the front of the room, behind a display case with a large golden chalice in it, a look of indecision crossing his face. I followed his eyes to a woman I didn't recognize, standing still as a statue, to a man hunched over the Beast, and then to Charis. I snapped back to Max. He was sneaking towards Landon, and now I saw he had a dagger in his hand.
There was no time to try to figure out what was happening. It was obvious Max was here to help the stranger. I swung myself around the archway and into the room, hugging the wall and trying to remain silent. Everything I had gone through over the last five months had come down to this place and this time. I needed to stop Max, but the timing had to be perfect. Otherwise I would mess everything up, instead of helping to fix it.
Max was only a dozen feet away from Landon, and I was almost the same distance from him. I watched Landon rise to his feet, a gun in his hand. A gun? He raised it and held it out, aiming it forwards.
My hands became claws, my senses sharpened.
Max stepped up behind Landon, pulling back his arm to strike.
I lunged forward, covering the remaining distance in one long leap. I came down right behind him with silent grace, digging my left hand into his back, and grabbing his right arm with my right hand. I used my momentum to pull him sideways and throw him away, stopping him from his assassination. Without looking, he locked his arm against my grip and pulled me with him as he tumbled.
I heard a gunshot.