As Lie The Dead Read Online Free

high-pitched, but definitely a few octaves above average.
    The air behind me shifted. Could have been Wyatt standing; I wasn’t turning away to verify. “Yes,” Wyatt said.
    I took stock of my meager weapons. I’d ditchedthe gun back at Olsmill. Still had one knife in the ankle sheath, just a quick reach away—
    “Are you Evangeline Stone?”
    My foot jerked. With the backlight going on, I couldn’t tell if he was looking at me or not. “Depends on who’s asking and why,” I said. Using both hands for support, I carefully pulled my legs beneath me, planted my feet, and stood, taking care not to startle him. Until I knew what he wanted and how he knew our names, he was Handle with Care. Wyatt shifted to my left flank.
    “You don’t look like Danika described you.”
    Air caught in my throat, and my thoughts slammed to a halt. A gentle girl from a gentle race of shape-shifters, the young were-falcon had been killed during an ill-advised Triad raid on their colony. A raid intended to capture me—only I’d already turned tail and run. And in one of the worst brass decisions ever made, the apartment complex housing the were-colony had been burned to the ground, killing over three hundred Owlkins. Danika was another of many friends I’d lost in the last week of my life.
    “Danika’s dead,” I said.
    The stranger nodded. “And I grieve for her, as I’ve grieved for the rest of my people.”
    “You’re an Owlkin?” Not possible. They shifted from human to bird form. I’d never seen or heard of an Owlkin—or any other were, for that matter—who could half morph.
    “Disappointed?”
    I glared, my cheeks heating. “No, surprised. For a second there, I thought I’d stepped into some cheesy B movie and angels were falling from the sky.”
    He had the gall to laugh—a joyous sound I should have found irritating. Instead, it made me want to smile. “Then I’m sorry for my entrance,” he said. “Surprise is usually the best way to get honest reactions from people.”
    “Well,” Wyatt said, “my honest reaction is anger. Did you really have to crush that car?”
    The Owlkin looked down. “I guess I didn’t think that one through.” He leapt from the car, landing on the concrete as gracefully as a ballet dancer. Air whipped around us from his brown and gray wings, which he tucked in closer to his back. “My name is Phineas el Chimal.”
    Close up, I saw a chiseled face to go along with his toned body. Sharp cheekbones and a narrow nose; round, heavily lashed eyes of the clearest royal blue I’d ever seen; smooth skin without a hint of stubble, even though his hair was coffee brown. He looked like a predatory bird; I thought of the osprey I’d seen last night, flying through a city it had no right to live near.
    “Evy,” I said.
    He smiled, showing off rows of small, perfect teeth. “Phin.”
    “Could we possibly take this indoors?” Wyatt asked. “The sun’s up, and two blood-soaked people and a guy with wings standing next to a smashed car are bound to attract attention. And we’ve worked damned hard the last ten years to avoid just that.”
    Phin bared his teeth—definitely not smiling this time. “You think burning Sunset Terrace to the ground wasn’t going to attract attention?”
    “I wasn’t involved in that.” Wyatt’s voice had gone low, quiet. Dangerous.
    “Your people were.”
    “You think I don’t know that?”
    They weren’t within arm’s reach, but I stepped between them anyway. “I thought we were going inside?” I said.
    “You’re going to scare someone if you walk in the front door looking like you do,” Phin said.
    Look who’s talking, wing-man
. “You got a better plan?”
    “Which building?”
    I pointed over my shoulder. “Fifth floor, east-side alley, I think. The balcony door got smashed in a few days ago, and I doubt it’s been fixed yet. You going to meet us there?”
    Phin tilted his head like a curious bird. “I thought I’d give you both a ride