Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) Chapter 13: 13: Turn Yourselves In

Read chapter 13 of Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) by Deb E Howell on NovelPedia.

Nausea swept through Llew, her whole body trembling. She looked up and down the street, and up at the roofs above them. That had sounded like Braph. He couldn’t be there, could he? But he could fly. He could be anywhere. A small bird landed on the edge of a roof above. Nice to see you, too. How is my brother getting on? He wasn’t particularly talkative. The small bird flew away. Even as her insides screamed in alarm, to run, to hide, to prepare to fight Braph, Llew looked Jonas over clinically, as if driven by someone else. She still cradled Jonas’s head, the rest of him lying flat on the dirt road. Her fingers had stopped moving, and Jonas was looking back up at her, his eyes narrowed. Rowan’s shadow fell across them. She looked up at him, but the sun was almost directly behind him, and she had to look down again. Not of her own accord her gaze slid down Jonas’s legs and lingered where his right leg ended abruptly. A new family resemblance. Are you— Are you in my head ? She shuddered anew at the thought, remembering the last time Braph had taken control of her body, using her in place of her mother, whom he would claim to love. Ah, there we go. I was trying to find out if it was possible to host a two-way conversation. My brother was unhelpful. Braph’s voice came again. And it is not merely a claim. My feelings for her are as real as yours are for Jonas. He could read her thoughts? Get out. Get out, now! Llew’s trembling intensified, her fingers curling tighter in Jonas’s hair. He winced and she forced her fingers to release. Soon. I need to offer a proposition. Jonas rocked his body in an effort to generate momentum. Llew’s hand gripped his shoulder, keeping him down. He squinted at her, in an unvoiced question. Get out ! Llew tried sending the thought again. “ Llew?” Jonas queried. Llew opened her mouth to respond to him. Turn yourselves in. I can’t promise Jonas will live to see his son grow, but you will. And if you cooperate, you could be a part of his life. Braph ‘spoke’ quickly. That’s the best I can offer. I don’t rate your chances of escape. Llew’s eyes lingered on Jonas’s stump again, though she knew well enough what it looked like. “ Bugger off!” “ I didn’t—” Rowan started and took a step back. Jonas looked up at her, briefly startled before his jaw set hard. “Braph,” he growled. Braph’s chuckle echoed through her head, and she wasn’t totally sure it hadn’t escaped between her own lips. Well, I’ve done as I promised. The rest is of no concern to me. Good luck, I suppose. But I suggest you consider the president’s offer. All the search parties know to be sympathetic if you approach them humbly. “ We. Will. Not! ” Llew uttered through gritted teeth. She felt Braph’s presence lift. Her shaking subsided, and her body wanted to slump at the release. “ He wants us to surrender,” she said even as she caught her breath, like she had just dumped a heavy load. “He believes it would be best for Joelin.” In the moment, Braph’s words seemed the voice of reason. Feeling him inside her head, in control of her body had muddled all Llew’s senses, leaving her unable to grasp an entire thought, except the ones he’d planted. “You or I might be able to see him grow.” “ Empty promises, Llew.” Jonas rocked forward again, reaching a hand out for Rowan to help him up. Rowan had retrieved the crutches and handed them to Jonas again. “ He’s handed Joelin over to Turhmos.” Jonas stopped to clench his teeth on that thought. “You’ll be caged, and I’ll be dead. Neither of us has a place in Joelin’s life in that scenario.” Llew shook her head and scrubbed her hands through her hair, trying to scrape off the ghost of Braph’s touch. “You’re right.” She growled. “I hate that he gets to me.” “ Understandable.” Jonas reached a hand down for her to pull herself up using him for leverage. “I ain’t immune, myself.” He quirked his lips. “Let’s stick to the plan.” He looked at Rowan and nodded for him to lead the way. “ What can’t that man do?” Rowan glanc