Priceless

could have hidden herself from the other humans, but the fact that she didn’t told me a great deal about what was going to happen. She planned to kill us all. No witnesses, no need to hide.
    I ran around the side of the car and ducked as Eve slammed into the hood, her claws swinging straight for me. Rolling, I dodged the razor-sharp talons, feeling them slice through my leather coat, the rip of the material far too close to the sound of flesh being pulled at for my liking. A hand yanked me back toward the mineshaft as the Harpy launched a second attack.
    “Bitch, I’m going to pull you apart, one tendon at a time,” she screamed.
    There was no doubt in my mind she could do just that, and I wasn’t sticking around to watch her try. If I could free her while I got India out from under the Coven’s ‘loving’ care, then I would, otherwise I’d have no choice but to kill her. One did not control a Harpy; not even the spell the Coven had on her would last forever.
    O’Shea dragged me over to the mineshaft and we ducked down behind it.
    A wave of India’s fear hit me hard, buckling my knees. If this kept up, I was going to have to block her completely and I didn’t want to do that. Right now, I had the feeling she was only hanging on because she could sense me.
    The Harpy rose up in front of us and her body started to buck; puffs of feathers erupted out of her as arrows protruded from her body. Not that it would kill her, she needed a blow from a spelled weapon or another supernatural creature to actually kill her. But the men in the black vans didn’t know that.
    It was my turn to pull O’Shea down as Eve streaked over the top of us and into the group of—I did a quick count—ten men.
    Blood sprayed up in a fountain as an agent’s head was ripped off with a single pull from the Harpy’s powerful beak. A second followed suit, and then the real bloodbath began. O’Shea and I stood, open mouthed in horror, as the Harpy spelled the men, freezing them where they stood, then eviscerated each of them, letting them slump to the ground to die slow and painful deaths. Her voice sung a lullaby that echoed across the badlands, and the pack of wolves in the distance picked up the harmony. Creepy, beautiful, deadly, and horrifying. There was a sense of loss in her song, the words unrecognizable, but the tune made me think of someone mourning.
    O’Shea stumbled forward and I caught his arm. “Oh, no you don’t.” But it was as if he didn’t hear me. Again, he took a step, to go around me, and I put my body directly in his path. “O’Shea, stop!” He didn’t listen. I slapped him hard across the face, but there was no response.
    “Liam,” I said, and he turned to face me, his eyes full of confusion. Taking a deep breath, I slid my hands up over his face. “You can’t go to her.”
    “She’s hurting,” he whispered. “I don’t want her to hurt anymore.”
    I glanced over at the Harpy; we didn’t have much time before she would finish the gore fest and turn her attention back to us. I wasn’t so sure calling her by name would be enough to stop her, no matter what her sister said.
    I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him, and felt his arms wrap around me after a brief pause. I tried not to think about how good it felt to be held against a warm, hard male body, how much I missed just the simplicity of human contact, how much I didn’t really want to let go of him. His tongue explored the inside of my mouth, taking its time tasting me, and I returned the favour, finally pulling back to stare up into those midnight dark eyes. They were clear of her song; the hypnotic effect of her singing gone.
    “Did you just save my life by kissing me?” He didn’t let go, but held me tighter still against him.
    I wanted to believe it was some last remnant of the spell from the Coven, but the way my lower body tightened and my pulse sped up, I knew it was much simpler than that.
    I wanted him.
    “You know what they say, a kiss a day keeps the Harpy away.” I tried for humour, but my eyes slid to the bloodbath going on. If I’d thought we could have made a difference, I would’ve tried to stop her.
    “I guess I’d better keep you close then,” he said, his eyes dipping to my lips.
    I pushed him back before his arms tightened anymore.
    “We don’t have time for this.” I fought the feelings he aroused, as well as the guilt washing over me. Here we were, kissing while men were being eaten by a Harpy;