Read Deadly Violet - 04 for Free Online Page B

repeatedly through that glistening purple hide, without appearing to do any damage.
    Saul and I looked at each other, and then grabbed one of the sergeant’s wrists apiece. And Ritchie’s yells became more frantic, because he’d become the subject of a tug-of-war. I still couldn’t believe how strong these things were.
    Saul’s one of the largest guys in town, built like a brick outhouse. I might be slighter, but I’m certainly no weakling. And our combined efforts got us barely any real result. Something a couple of feet wide with skinny legs was exerting considerably more force than we could deal with.
    Sweat started to flow. Cords stood out on necks. And with every passing second, Ritchie was dragged a couple of inches further in. Me and Saul gawped across at each other with our faces turning red, barely able to credit what was being done.
    “Ideas?” he grunted painfully.
    “Bug spray?”
    “Fresh out.”
    He had leant his full weight back on his heels, and it still wasn’t making any difference. Ritchie was bellowing with agony. The fact was, we were hurting him a good deal worse than the purple creatures had been doing.
    Cass had given up with the knife and thrown her whole body across the sergeant’s, hoping that her added weight might slow him down.
    It didn’t.
    It was starting to look as if we either let him go, or we were all taking a trip inside that hole.
    I stared into it. There were no recognizable shapes, back there. No dimensions, or impressions of depth. The only thing that I could make out was a shifting, violet dimness. And the thought of going in through that stuff chilled me to the bone.
    I tugged at Ritchie’s arm with every last ounce of my might. It didn’t stop him moving, but it did get one result. He let out a high-pitched wail. And I took in the fact – with a horrible shock – that his shoulder had been dislocated. So I let his arm go and bent down and grabbed him by his coat instead.
    The buttons started popping. Then the fabric began coming apart.
    Why just one of these creatures at a time? That was the disjointed thought that was managing to spiral through my head. And why were they only going for Vallencourt? Smarter beasties would have come out all at once and overpowered the load of us. That told me we were dealing, here, with something fairly mindless.
    Which was no big consolation. However dumb these things might be, they looked like they were winning. Ritchie’s ankle was mere inches from the opening.
    My heartbeat was crashing in my head. My eyes were full of liquid salt. And so I felt rather than saw a shadow move behind me. Sensed rather than heard a footfall on the tiles.
    A bright red bolt of light went sizzling past me, hit the creature, and the thing evaporated. A second flash destroyed the opening before a brand-new spider could emerge. There was no wreckage, when that happened. That part of the wall simply returned to normal, a row of clean white tiles reappearing.
    Those of us who were still upright stumbled away as the pressure was released. I hit a towel rail, and it stung my ribs. But I didn’t really mind that, not one little bit.
    Ritchie was still with us. And that was the only thing that mattered, to my way of thinking.
    And the fact the flashes had been bright red meant that we’d been saved by Dr. Lehman Willets.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
     
    “What the hell’s been going on?” he asked me, when I’d gotten my breath back.
    I let out a final wheeze. “I was kind of hoping you could tell me that.”
    The only African-American in town – not for any questionable reasons, but because of the Landing’s curious history – peered at me bleakly, puckers appearing on his brow. There were glimmering dots of crimson at the centers of his eyes, a physical sign of his enormous power.
    He doesn’t strictly count as an adept, being self-taught in the magic arts. And he’s certainly not one of the rich, uppity Sycamore Hill set. But Lehman Willets has an