Elemental Assassin 04 - Tangled Threads

about twenty nerve-racking minutes, I reached the railcar that was Finn’s perch. I let out a soft whistle, our long-standing, prearranged signal. About five seconds later, a black shadow dropped to the ground in front of us. Finn straightened, and Natasha jerked back at his sudden appearance.
    “It’s okay,” I whispered, squeezing her cold hand. “This is Finn. He’s with me. He knows your daddy too, and he’s going to help me take you to him.”
    Finn’s eyes swept over the girl, and he gave me a questioning look.
    “She’s in good shape, all things considered,” I said in a low voice. “It’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. Now, let’s get the hell out of here before they find the two giants that I just killed—”
    Shouts rang up through the night. Fuck. All I’d neededhad been five more minutes, but luck had decided not to smile on me tonight.
    I looked over my shoulder. Sure enough, someone had discovered the two dead giants in the railcar. The door was fully open now, and more and more men circled around that area, like bloodhounds treeing a raccoon. It wouldn’t be long before they started looking for whoever had killed their buddies. Already I could see heads swiveling around in this direction.
    If it had just been Finn and me, I wouldn’t have been concerned. We could have melted into the shadows and gotten back to our cars before the construction workers even thought about searching the train yard. But now I had Natasha to think about too. The girl didn’t have the shoes for a sprint, not to mention the fact that the giants would easily see her blue pajamas standing out against the blackness of the night. Finn or I could have carried her but not with the speed or furtiveness necessary to make a quick, clean escape. Mab’s men would be all over us before we even reached the top of the hill above our heads.
    Unless I did something to distract them. Unless I got them all to focus on me instead.
    I took Natasha’s hand and put it in Finn’s. “Go with this man. Do what he says, and he’ll take you back to your daddy. Do you understand me?”
    Natasha stared at me a moment with her big blue eyes, then nodded.
    “Good girl.”
    I palmed another one of my silverstone knives.
    “Gin!” Finn hissed. “What the hell are you doing? We need to leave. Right this second!”
    “Don’t worry about me,” I said, already backing up. “Just get the girl out of here.”
    Finn saw what I was planning and opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.
    “Just do it, Finn. Now!”
    Without waiting for an answer, I turned and ran back into the train yard.

18
     
    Still keeping to the shadows as much as I could, I ran back the way I’d just come. By this point, more and more of the construction workers clustered around the open railcar, staring at and chattering about the two dead bodies inside.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door on the next car open—and Mab Monroe and Elektra LaFleur stick their heads outside, wondering what had caused all the sudden noise. Fuck. Things had just gone from bad to worse.
    The two women stepped down out of their car and hurried over to the other one to see what all the fuss was about. Even as they approached, more and more hoarse shouts filled the air.
    “It’s her! It’s the Spider! She’s struck again!”
    A grim smile tightened my face. I hadn’t had time to draw my rune in the giants’ blood, but it looked asthough I didn’t need to. They already knew my name. If nothing else, this little incident tonight might make some of Mab’s men think twice about working for her.
    Provided, of course, that I got out of the train yard alive.
    My eyes scanned over everything as I sprinted forward, searching for something that I could use as a distraction to give Finn enough time to get Natasha to safety. Something that I could make noise or a fire or perhaps even an explosion with. Finally, next to the old depot, I saw something useful—an old-fashioned kerosene lantern that someone had brought along tonight for light, warmth, or both. Even better, not too far away from the lantern was a large red plastic container that I was willing to bet was filled with something flammable.
    Before I could snatch up the lantern and the container, a dwarf rounded the side of the depot and moved in between me and the objects. He rubbed his stubby fingers together, then held them over the lantern, trying to get what little warmth he could from the meager fire