The Lost Prince (47 page)
Authors: Julie Kagawa
“Where are you going?” Stick asked as I opened the door and strode back down the hall, keeping a wary eye out for Rat. “Allie? Wait, where are you going? Take me with you. I can help.”
“No, Stick.” I turned on him and shook my head. “I’m not hitting the regular spots this time. There are too many guards, and the pet is still out there making everyone twitchy.” I sighed and shielded my eyes from the sun, gazing over the empty lot. “I’m going to have to try the ruins.”
He squeaked. “You’re leaving the city?”
“I’ll be back before sundown. Don’t worry.”
“If they catch you…”
“They won’t.” I leaned back and smirked at him. “When have they ever caught me? They don’t even know those tunnels exist.”
“You sound like Patrick and Geoffrey.”
I blinked, stung. “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” He shrugged, and I crossed my arms. “If that’s how you feel, maybe I won’t bother sharing anything I bring back. Maybe you should hunt for your own food for a change.”
“Sorry,” he said quickly, giving me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Allie. I just worry about you, that’s all. I get scared that you’ll leave me here, alone. Promise you’ll come back?”
“You know I will.”
“Okay, then.” He backed away into the hall, the shadows closing over his face. “Good luck.”
Maybe it was just me, but his tone almost implied that he was hoping I’d run into trouble. That I would see how dangerous it really was out there, and that he’d been right all along. But that was silly, I told myself, sprinting across the empty lot, back toward the fence and the city streets. Stick needed me; I was his only friend. He wasn’t so vindictive that he’d wish me harm just because he was pissed about Marc and Gracie.
Right?
I pushed the thought from my mind as I squeezed through the chain-link fence and slipped into the quiet city. I could worry about Stick some other time; my priority was finding food to keep us both alive.
The sun teetered directly above the skeletal buildings, bathing the streets in light.
Just hang up there a little longer,
I thought, glancing at the sky.
Stay put, for a few more hours at least. Actually, feel free to stop moving, if you want.
Vindictively, it seemed to drop a little lower in the sky, taunting me as it slid behind a cloud. The shadows lengthened like grasping fingers, sliding over the ground. I shivered and hurried into the streets.
ISBN: 9781459244511
Copyright © 2012 by Julie Kagawa
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,
now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
