Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

just stopped where he was, like a windup toy that had been suddenly turned off.
    â€œI can’t get a good view from here,” Littleton said. “Come upstairs. You can play in the chapel while I watch from the loft.”
    He turned and strode off toward the doors that we’d left hanging open. He didn’t turn to make sure that the others followed him—though they did. Andre walked a few feet behind the sorcerer, Ben’s blood dripping from his fingertips. Ben was less obedient.
    He stopped to snarl at Adam and Samuel who growled and snarled in return. Samuel hit his cage with a full force blow that turned out the light for a count of three.
    When the light turned back on, Ben was standing in front of me.
    â€œWolf,” said Littleton impatiently from outside the room.
    Ben took one step closer to me and licked his lips.
    â€œCome, Wolf.” There was power in that voice, I could feel it myself.
    Ben’s lips lifted off his fangs, then he turned and ran out of the room. I heard the sound of his claws on the steps.
    â€œMercy, can you come to me?” asked Stefan in an urgent whisper.
    Good question. I tried to move, but there was something wrong with my shoulder joint. My left arm didn’t move at all. I tried moving my legs and saw stars. Hastily I dropped my head back to the floor and concentrated on breathing in and out. Cold sweat dampened my back.
    After a count of twenty I tried again. This time I think I actually did pass out, but not for more than an instant.
    â€œNope,” I said. “Not moving anytime soon. Something’s wrong with my shoulder and neither of my legs is very excited about moving either.”
    â€œI see,” said Stefan after a moment. “Can you look at me then?”
    I tilted my chin and left my head on the floor where it wanted to stay. He was facing me, his eyes shimmering like a river of fire.
    â€œYes,” I said—and that was all the invitation he needed.
    â€œMercy,” he said, and his voice filtered through the cells of my body, filling me with purpose. “Come to me.”
    It didn’t matter that my arm didn’t work or that I couldn’t get to my feet. Stefan wanted me and I needed to go to him.
    Someone was snarling and the light was flickering crazily. Vaguely I noticed that Adam was throwing himself against his cage over and over again.
    My breath came out in pained grunts as I pulled my uncooperative body over the cool floor using the elbow of my good arm, because I still had the stake in my hand.
    â€œShut up, wolf,” Stefan’s voice was soft. “Do you want him down here? I have a plan, but if he comes down here too soon, we’ll all be dead—including Mercy.”
    When his voice stopped calling me, I rested, keeping my gaze on Stefan’s. When he asked me to, I started moving again.
    It took a long time, and it hurt a lot, but at last my cheek pressed against Stefan’s cage.
    â€œGood girl,” he said. “Now put your fingers through the bars. No. You’ll have to set the stake down for now. Good. Good. That’s it. Rest now.”
    While Adam growled quietly, something sharp cut into my index finger. The pain was over too fast to worry about—just one small pain among many. But when Stefan’s mouth closed around it I felt a sudden euphoria and all the pain went away.

Chapter 13
    Cold and bitter, something dripped into my mouth. I would have spit it out but it was too much effort. Gentle fingers, chill as ice, touched my cheek and someone whispered words of love against my ears.
    A snarl wove its way into my world as the freezing liquid turned to fire and slipped down my throat into my stomach, forcing me back into awareness. The wild anger in that wolf ’s tone called an adrenaline rush of fear that brought me fully awake.
    I lay curled around Stefan’s cage. The stake had rolled under me and lodged uncomfortably between my ribs and the floor. The light was off again and I could smell burning flesh, even over the scent of demon.
    Part of me knew I shouldn’t be able to see anything this clearly, but for some reason my night vision was even better than usual. I could see Adam staring over my head, his muzzle wrinkled and his eyes brilliant yellow lit with rage that promised death.
    I rolled my head a little so I could see what Adam was looking at. All I saw was Stefan.
    The vampire had threaded his fingers through the bars a