Master of Dragons Read Online Free PDF Page B

a deeper, harder throb than before. A throb of warning.
    Nineva froze as her elation began to give way to dawning terror.
    Ansgar. Ansgar was coming. Somehow he’d sensed her spell.
    She had to get out of here before her cousin could get a solid fix. She definitely didn’t want a death squad showing up at Brandy’s party. All these little girls would make inviting targets.
    Nineva cautiously extended her magical senses and sensed…nothing.
    When she’d healed the heart attack victim, she’d detected the king’s hungry attention almost at once, which was why she’d fled. This time, though, there was none of that sense of evil. Apparently the Sidhe king was asleep at the switch.
    God, she hoped so. After two solid years of work, Nineva was finally beginning to get good bookings as a magician again, and the tips were generous at Carlos’s Cantina, where she worked as a bartender. If she had to run, she’d lose all that. She’d have to start over at square one, struggling to get by on her savings until the money began coming in again.
    Should she run anyway, just to be safe?
    It was a question she’d become familiar with over the years. One of the ugly ironies of her life was that, despite Eirnin’s and Sarah’s sacrifices, Ansgar seemed to somehow know they’d had a child.
    Eirnin had told her once he feared the king had sensed her birth. She’d slid from her mother’s womb with the Mark glowing on her tiny chest, magic blooming around her like a star. Her father had tried to shield her, but he’d always suspected he’d been too late.
    And he must have been. Why else would Ansgar have searched for them all so doggedly? Living on Mortal Earth, Eirnin was no threat to Ansgar’s throne, but the prophecy said Nineva would overthrow the usurper. Ansgar couldn’t afford to ignore the threat she represented.
    The thought of what her cousin would do if he got his hands on her had forced Nineva to live her entire life in hiding. If she allowed herself to be captured, not only would she pay the price, but the goddess would remain trapped in the sword.
    Frowning in worry, she watched Joyce Clark write a check for her performance. The frown lifted as she thought of what a bargain the woman was getting.
    Seventy-five dollars for her child’s life.
    It was worth it, Nineva told herself fiercely. No matter what happens next.
    After collecting Snowball and tucking the kitten back in her magic box, she kissed Brandy on the cheek and said her good-byes to the other little girls. As she carried the box to her car, she reached out again with her magical awareness. And caught her breath.
    Something was looking back.
    Â 
    Nineva shot a worried look at the Honda’s fuel gauge. The needle was far too close to E. She didn’t want to stop, but if she ran out of gas, she really would be screwed.
    In theory, of course, she could simply gate wherever she wanted to go. Her father had taught her the technique years ago, but he’d also told her the resulting energy flare would draw Ansgar’s attention like a bonfire on a dark night. As a result, she’d never actually conjured a dimensional gate, and the idea of stepping through one gave her the willies.
    No, she’d stick to old-fashioned horsepower. The Honda might be a ten-year-old rust bucket, but it wouldn’t land her in the middle of a lava field, either. Or, worse, in the homicidal hands of Cousin Ansgar.
    Of the two, Nineva would prefer the lava.
    She spotted a convenience store and whipped in to park beside one of the pumps. Scooping her purse off the seat, she rooted around for her debit card, then got out to fill up.
    After using the card, she plugged the nozzle into the Honda’s tank. As gas began whooshing into it, she felt eyes on her. She whipped her head around.
    To meet the dark, surprised gaze of a middle-aged black man filling his own tank on the other side of the pump. He