Lasting Fury (Hexing House Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

relinquish. The feeling of being locked in by all those sweaty limbs and hot, breathing mouths had brought on one of the worst panic attacks she’d ever had.
    Thea knew this situation was nothing like that one, and the power of being able to fly away from them was not lost on her. But she still felt some of that old panic surging in her chest. For a second, it was almost like being human again.
    And for that second, the feeling was a relief. It brought fear, yes, but it also brought a certain welcome sense of smallness that she hadn’t felt in what seemed like ages, now.
    Smallness? You mean weakness. How can you welcome that feeling, and now, of all times?
    Because it’s familiar. It feels like me.
    That is not you anymore.
    Ignoring the conflicting thoughts in her head, Thea searched the mob below for Mr. Fanatic, and found him standing again, beside Mr. Caulfield. He didn’t look hurt, except for a shallow scrape on his neck, the kind a kid might get in a fall.
    But it didn’t seem to matter that he was fine, or that Thea had only knocked him over by accident. The shouting back and forth only escalated. None of the protesters appeared to have brought weapons—at least, none they’d brought out yet—but several of them picked up rocks.
    It would have been easy enough for the furies to diffuse the situation by simply flying away. The humans couldn’t get onto the campus. But retreat was not the fury way.
    Instead, they all had their claws out. Beside Thea, Cora was shouting about trespassers and persecutors, and defending her home.
    At her other side, Thea felt a sort of vibration, a humming from Alecto, and knew her boss was gathering power. For what, Thea couldn’t guess, and did not want to know.
    She put a hand on Alecto’s arm. “Don’t.”
    “Don’t what?” Alecto asked.
    “Whatever you’re going to do,” said Thea. “Please don’t make this worse.”
    Alecto’s hands were gripping the fence tightly, but she flicked a wing, gesturing at a man holding a particularly large rock. “He throws that, and it’ll be worse for him than he can imagine.”
    Thea scrambled to think of an answer, for some way to make everyone back off. But she was saved—not by a bell, but by a siren. A police car came up the road, lights flashing. A second, unmarked car followed.
    Two uniformed officers got out of the first car and started talking to Mr. Caulfield. They seemed to know each other already. Only one man—short, blond, and dressed in plain clothes—got out of the other car.
    Like all the other humans gathered there, if any of the police officers were surprised to see winged creatures among them, they didn’t show it.
    Alecto flew down to meet the short man as he turned to the crowd and started to shout. After a few seconds, they quieted to listen.
    “Some of you know me, I’m Detective Holgersen,” he said. “As the officers here are explaining to Mr. Caulfield, we’ve done a little digging this morning, and it would appear that this is indeed private property.”
    He waited out a few grumbles before he went on. “Now, I want to assure you all that the incident at Hemlock Heights is being thoroughly investigated, and we are following several leads, including those that have brought you all here today. But for the moment, I’m going to have to be honest. It would be a lot easier for me to do that, and get my job done, if you would do me a favor and disperse.”
    One of the protesters pointed at Thea and shouted, “But she assaulted Mr. Agnew!”
    Detective Holgersen glanced at Thea, did a double take, then gestured for her to come to him. It made her feel like a little kid being called forward for punishment, but she flew down, Cora beside her.
    “I didn’t assault anyone,” Thea said. “Mr. Fan— Mr. Agnew was standing too close to me when I opened my wings, and one of them bumped him, is all.” She gestured at Mr. Fanatic, who was glowering at her. “You can see he’s fine.”
    “I was