Fear the Dead (Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

somewhere to prowl.
     
    When I got closer still, Lou must
have heard my footsteps. She had a book on her lap, but when she heard me
coming she turned it over, put it beside her and covered it with her bag.
     
    “Anything interesting?”
     
    “Nothing for hours,” she said. “Not
seen a peep of any stalkers.”
     
    “I don’t mean them. I mean the book.”
     
    “Oh that?” she said. She looked at me
and gave a smile. “That’s none of your fucking business.”
     
    I walked over and settled next to her
at the tree. We sat so close that our shoulders touched. I was never a fan of
physical contact, but it was good practice that if you were ever sat in the
open, you had something supporting your back. It meant that nothing could sneak
up on you.
     
    “I’m sorry I snapped at you when you
suggested I let Darla take over. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”
     
    Lou’s smile was gone now. In the
faint glow of the moonlight I could see her neck. I saw the ink of the tattoos
that covered her from her chin all the way to her chest.  The tattoos
represented the inner workings of her neck and throat, so they were all bones
and veins and sinews. It was like she was showing everyone her interior, which
was strange for someone as guarded as she was. I knew that what she displayed
on her neck had nothing to do with how she was inside. Lou was a lot softer
that she made out, but at the same time she was also a lot tougher than she
pretended. She was the kind of woman who could buy you a birthday gift when she
was feeling nice, but kill you with it if you wronged her.
     
    “Thing is Kyle, I did mean it. I
stand by what I said back then, even if it makes you pissy. You’re so stressed
and wiped out, I think you should consider delegating some responsibility. And
since Darla wants it, maybe she’s the right person to delegate to.”
     
    “Wanting power doesn’t mean you
deserve it.”
     
    “But learning to trust others is
something every leader should know.”
     
    “Anyway,” I said. “What’s the book?
Come on. I saw it.”
     
    Lou lifted her bag onto her lap. It
was a green camouflaged hold-all that she’d picked up on a supply run to a
nearby town called Larkton. She pulled on the drawstrings and opened it, and
then took out the book. She handed it across to me.
     
    “Don’t say a bloody word to anyone
else about this.”
     
    “ Calmness in a Chaotic World ,”
I read, turning the book over in my hands. “Unleashing the Dragonfly Within. Is
there a dragonfly inside you, Lou?”
     
    “You’ll be getting a knife inside
your arse if you don’t shut up.”
     
    The trunk of the tree dug into my
back. I would have shifted position, but the discomfort of it helped to keep me
awake. Between that and the night-time wind, there was no danger of me getting
drowsy yet.
     
    “What are you doing here anyway?” I
said.
     
    “Counting sheep.”
     
    “Seriously, Lou. Weren’t you on watch
earlier? You’re the guard captain, so that means you can delegate. Where’s
Carlisle?”
     
    “He quit.”
     
    “Vernon?”
     
    “I don’t trust him.”
     
    “Pollard?”
     
    “Don’t trust him either.”
     
    I shook my head and then handed the
book back to her.
     
    “Damn it. You can’t do this by
yourself. I didn’t appoint you captain so you could keep watch every second of
the day on your own. You need to learn to delegate.”
     
    Lou glanced at me and arched her
eyebrow. It was only after a few seconds of staring at her that the point hit
me. Everything I had just said, she had said to me earlier. It seemed like we
were just too alike.
     
    Something made a clapping sound in
the field across from us. Lou slid her crowbar from beside her and got into a
crouching position. I sat up further and scanned the field. I couldn’t see
anything moving in the grass, but stalkers weren’t known for being easy to
spot. One of them could have been slinking its way toward us, leaving it until
the