SpringFire Read Online Free PDF Page B

took advantage of the pause to pounce. He grabbed the person from behind, one arm across their chest and the other hand holding a knife to their throat.
    I gasped in surprise; I’d never seen Grey like this—dangerous, lethal even, toward another person. The air tightened with tension, but Xyla slept on, oblivious to it.
    “Ya! Let go! I haven’t done anything to you.”
    “Move,” Grey growled. “Toward the fire. But don’t try anything.”
    They both came into the firelight, and I got a good look at the person.
    A very dark-skinned young woman just a few years older than I stood there, her eyes sparkling with anger. She had long hair that was brown or black, I couldn’t tell for sure in the firelight, and was braided into many tiny braids. She was dressed much as we were, in buckskin trousers and tunic though she wore a jacket instead of a cloak. Like Grey, she had a knife hanging from her belt, giving her a dangerous air.
    “I’m going to let you go now,” he said, still speaking in a low, threatening voice, “but if you make a false move or try to get away, I’ll kill you.” And I believed he would.
    “Why would I leave? I was trying to find you, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
    Grey let her go, and she brushed off her clothes and rearranged them a bit. His eyes glittered as her hand strayed to her hip. She looked down and found the knife sheath empty, and when she looked back at Grey, he pulled a hand from behind his back and held up a wicked-looking knife.
    With a shriek of outrage, she leapt at him, reaching for the weapon. Grey flicked it away, far out of her reach, but she didn’t pay attention to that as she closed on him, fists flying.
    His sardonic grin changed to a look of surprise at the ferocity of her attack. She landed one blow in his stomach and another on his chin before he quite realized what was happening.
    Traz and I exchanged glances. He wore a delighted smile, just as one would expect from a boy watching a fight. I grabbed his shoulder.
    “You’re staying out of it,” I hissed, not trusting him enough to let him go. He tried to shrug out of my grip, but I held on tighter. I knew Grey would win this fight, but I didn’t want Traz to get hurt in the process.
    By now, Grey had grasped the young woman’s left wrist and was holding it over her head. But despite her awkward stance, she was still managing to keep her right arm free and get in a few more punches.
    Her high-pitched screeches were punctuated by Grey’s intermittent grunts as he tried to get her under control.
    Their struggle moved them closer to the fire, and I cried out a warning to Grey. That broke his concentration, and she got him square on the jaw. I winced as if she’d actually struck me instead of him.
    Now Grey got serious, using his greater height and weight to advantage. He swung her round by her left arm, pulling down abruptly to knock her off balance. Her scream of rage was cut off with an “oopf” as she tumbled to the ground. Grey scrambled to pin her down. She kicked at him, and Traz let out an indignant squawk when she almost got Grey where it counted.
    But it was over a moment later. The woman lay beneath Grey, who used his weight to hold her down. They both were breathing heavily. She spit in Grey’s face, and he shook it off.
    “That’s enough,” he said in a loud, stern voice I scarcely recognized. “Donavah, get something to tie her hands.”
    She spit at him again.
    I knew I didn’t have any rope in my pack. “Traz, lend me your sling.”
    With a grin that suggested he was enjoying this far too much, he dug it out of his pocket and handed it to me.
    The woman was still struggling against Grey, and I rushed over. He forced her wrists together, and I hesitantly started wrapping the thongs around them. Once satisfied she couldn’t slip her hands out, Grey took over and bound her securely, then wiped off his face with a revolted expression. When she made a motion with her jaw as if she were