Lillian Holmes and the Leaping Man
Page 16
With a deep exhalation she ran a few steps and then took a giant leap, all the while looking up.
“Go there,” she said aloud.
At first it felt like a fall, only one that made you go up instead of down. Within moments she found control and guided herself to land a yard away from George. Her limbs sang with energy and she hurled herself into his arms. As he lifted her from the roof and spun her around, she laughed.
“Again! I would do it again, right away!”
He laughed and set her down. “I told you so. What great times we’ll be having, hopping about town together. But first—”
“What is happening there?” Across the street, in a dark corner against a building, a woman struggled as a ruffian pulled her back, one arm around her waist, the other over her mouth. She pointed so that George could find the troubling scene.
“Blazes! I will take care of him!”
But Lillian was already off, without a word to George. While she didn’t experience the same enjoyment in her second flight, she felt triumphant when she landed on the ruffian with her feet, knocking his head to the cobbles. He looked up in horror as she growled and bared her teeth. Overflowing with rage, she lifted him up by the collar with one hand and landed a strong punch to his cheek with the other. The bone made a sickening crack under her fist, and she reveled in the discovery of strength pouring through her. “You will never hurt anyone again!”
She heard George calming the frantic woman behind her, urging her to run off. Still not satisfied, Lillian lifted the would-be attacker by the collar again and pounded his head to the cobbles. His eyes rolled up and he passed into unconsciousness.
“Love, be quick. He is no use to you dead.”
She looked over her shoulder at George, who stared at her curiously and with a bit of admiration. She turned and leaned into her victim, exposing his neck.
“What fun,” George said with a chuckle. “Another protector of Baltimore’s downtrodden. Won’t Phillip and Kitty be pleased.”
EPILOGUE
“Who is the chit?” Marie de Bourbon snarled as she and her companion looked down on the feeding that played out far below.
“No one of consequence,” Annaluisa mumbled, then winced when Marie turned and scratched her cheek with razor-sharp nails. What was the use of lying, of trying to protect George? Her efforts had already backfired badly, and having been forced to lead Marie to the Orleanses’ door, she knew her usefulness to this she-devil was coming to a quick end. How much longer would she be tortured, body and spirit?
“Try answering again.”
“She is a newborn, created by George only recently.”
“His tastes have not improved. Does she…mean something to him?”
Anna noticed a twitch of Marie’s lips, and she gulped. This would not go over well, but her resistance had worn down completely. “I am afraid to say she means a great deal to him.”
“Ah.” Marie quietly watched the pair below for a few moments, and Anna knew her guess had been right. Marie had loved George at one time.
“And she loves her maker?”
“She was dying, and he saved her.”
“George saved a dying woman? The George I remember would have barely been tempted to save a dying child, even when he was mortal. I knew him then, you see.”
Anna backed up a few steps; then her limbs froze, as Marie would not allow her to flee.
“This is really a boon. George can watch those he cares about suffer greatly before I feed on him.” Marie turned to Anna with a broad smile. “Why not begin with you, dear?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ciar Cullen hails from Baltimore and resides in New Jersey with her husband and a few cats. She started adult life as an archaeologist, worked in publishing, and eventually became a bureaucrat at a college. She loves reading nonfiction, traveling, and—sometimes—writing. This is her fifteenth book.
LILLIAN HOLMES
AND THE LEAPING MAN
Tormented by a tragic past, Miss Lillian Holmes nonetheless found the strength to go on, to become the greatest female detective of her time. To make her uncle proud. Except…he was not truly her uncle. Sherlock was a fictional character, and Lil was less a true detective than a sheltered twenty-six year old heiress with taste for mystery…and morphine. But then she saw him. Leaping from her neighbor’s second-story window, a beautiful stranger. With the recent murders plaguing Baltimore, here was a chance to reveal the truth.
Except, the Leaping Man was far more than he seemed. A wanton creature of darkness, an entry point to a realm of deception and evil, and to a Truth she had waited countless years to uncover, he would threaten far more than Lillian’s life. He would take both her heart and soul. And she would rejoice in it.
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