Blood Price Read Online Free PDF Page A

arise. She couldn’t plan ahead well enough to anticipate what currencies she might need, since she had no idea where her travels would take her.
    He seemed unhappy with her decision but didn’t try to change her mind. He left the cubicle, presumably to collect the funds, and returned a short time later with a large manila envelope.
    Nikia took it from him and examined the contents. She didn’t take the time to count the money but judged it the right amount from the tightly bound stacks of large bills. “I would also like to access my safety-deposit box.”
    He lifted his phone, dialed a three-digit extension and spoke rapidly in German to the person on the other end. When he hung up, he said, “Ona will assist you.”
    As he spoke her name, the woman appeared. She was around Nikia’s age, with flawless pale skin, whitish-blonde hair and cheekbones that looked sharp enough to cut.
    Nikia clutched the envelope against her chest and followed the woman to the elevator. Once before, she had made this trip but it had been years ago, when Illiana decided it might be prudent to have a means of escape to fall back on, should her plans to depose Valdemeer backfire. Nikia’s memory of the route was hazy, as was her memory of the procedure for accessing a safety-deposit box.
    On the third floor, they entered a room that bore a strong resemblance to a vault. An armed guard with gleaming ebony skin nodded to Ona. Together, they accessed the lock on Nikia’s box, since she didn’t have the key with her. They turned their keys simultaneously and the door hiding the box sprang open. Ona removed it and carried it out of the room, with Nikia trailing behind.
    She didn’t have to ask for privacy. Ona led her to a small room and slipped out, saying, “Please notify the guard when you’ve finished.”
    As soon as she closed the door, Nikia opened the box and removed the identification inside. Her hand stilled when she discovered a heart-shaped emerald pendant hanging from a silver chain. She had forgotten about the necklace, but touching it brought back memories of its origins. She had never known Elsa, Illiana’s mother but knew Illiana remembered her with a combination of fear and warmth. The pendant had been a gift given on Illiana’s thirteenth birthday, just days before Elsa murdered her father and killed herself.
    Nikia stroked the gem and it tingled with power. It was beautiful and she reached out for it. About to fasten it around her neck, she sensed a sudden increase in Illiana’s influence. With a small cry, she flung it from her. The necklace skimmed across the Formica table and fell to the carpet without a sound. It no longer appeared beautiful. Now, it took on a sinister appearance.
    She closed the empty box and opened the door, not attempting to retrieve the necklace. She refused to touch it again. She must always remember her mother’s people were powerful and Illiana knew most of their ways. She was also ruthless. She would do anything to regain control of Nikia’s body.
    She nodded to the guard on her way out and returned to the elevator, where she tucked the IDs into the envelope. When the elevator opened on the ground floor, she left the bank without anyone stopping her. Near the second set of glass doors that led to the outside, she froze, clutching the bar in a death grip. Her eyes locked on the flash of dirty-blond hair that had caught her attention. She searched in the crowd milling along the sidewalk, convinced Atar was out there.
    She scanned the street and her gaze alighted on a taxi parked against the curb. She saw two men in suits hurrying toward it and knew she had to move. With a deep breath, she pushed against the door and rushed into the crowd, running from the second her feet hit the cement and making it to the door of the taxi just before the men.
    One of the men cursed and reached out to touch her arm. Nikia turned on him, hissing. He flinched and she wondered what he had seen in her eyes that