The Siren (Laments of Angels & Dark Chemistry Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

us to them.” Vladimir yanked out his sanjiegun. “Go, Lucia. I can hold them for a while. Keep going north toward the river. When you get there, discard your outfit and take a bus to Lhasa. You’ll know how to get home from Lhasa.”
    “Don’t be an idiot.”
    “I said when the situation called for it, you’d have to leave me behind. Now that’s the situation,” Vladimir said urgently. “Get away from here!”
    Lucienne stood firm, twirling her whip, and tilted her head to look at him defiantly. “Would you leave me if I asked you?”
    “The scroll is of no use to me, but it’s why you came here. Isn’t it all you care about?”
    “I need it to stop a war, but it isn’t all I care about,” Lucienne said. “I won’t leave you behind.”  
    Vladimir gazed at her. “You like me, Lucia, very much.” His eyes flowed with such tenderness that Lucienne craved to be in his arms, sharing his warmth like bathing in sunlight in her garden.
    She reached for his hand and dragged him to run with her. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Blazek, but we stick together.”
    With renewed spirit, they put more space between them and the monks. “Their age has finally caught up with them.” Vladimir laughed.
    Lucienne laughed, too. Then they both stopped. Vladimir started cursing the monks and his own bad luck. Ten yards ahead of them lay a chasm nearly thirty feet wide. Vladimir stole a glance at Lucienne. She got the meaning. The men’s world record for distance jump was over twenty-nine feet. Vladimir could manage that distance, but could she?
    Lucienne scanned the other side for something solid the grappling hook could hold onto, but all she saw was dried grass and small rocks. “At least there’s no hunting party on the other end,” she said drily, shoving her hand into her robe and pulling out the scroll holder. “Promise me you’ll get this to my grandfather.”
    Vladimir’s hand gripped hers, stopping her. “Give it to him yourself!”  
    “I can’t jump that distance, you know that. This scroll is more than my life,” she said. “Take it and go.”
    “Nothing is more than your life. Nothing will ever be more than your life!” Vladimir’s callused hand tilted up Lucienne’s chin as he gazed down at her—one of the rare occasions that the careless Vladimir looked so livid. A dark storm gathered in his eyes, tainting them shadow green. “If you ever say the scroll is more than your life again, I swear I’ll burn it!”
    “What happened to being practical? What about leaving me without a doubt when the situation calls?”
    “I changed my mind,” he said roughly. “I realized the world is more fun with you in it.”  
    “Fine. We’ll jump together.”
    “I’ll jump first and hold the hook. You catch the end of the rope.” He traced her cheek with his thumb. “I’ll never let you fall.”
    Her lips parted, catching a breath. What if she didn’t catch it? Raw fear fluttered her stomach and climbed to her throat like the ugly wings of a bat. But she didn’t let the fear show in her eyes. “Let’s do it,” she said. 
    Clasping their hands, then releasing them, Vladimir and Lucienne sprang back toward the army of the warriors. They’d need enough of a runway to make the jump. Her whip and his sanjiegun sliced the air, ready to punish anyone who didn’t give them the room they needed.   Vladimir had transformed into the god of war, about to abandon all mercy.
    The warriors held their ground, swords and spears raised. But Vladimir and Lucienne didn’t come back to fight. When they reached the spot that promised plenty of running distance, they turned.
    “Wait! We need to talk,” one of the monks called.
    Vladimir halted.
    Lucienne arched an eyebrow. “Now they demand to talk? And you’re listening?”
    “I’m good at talking. I’ll talk our way out of this—” Vladimir gestured at the chasm ahead, “—instead of risking that.”
    The assembly of monks advanced toward