Chapter 30 · The Blood Sand Opens

The blood wouldn't come off.

Alto scraped his palm against the rough stone wall and the red just smeared. His hands were shaking. The prisoner's throat had been warm under his fingers and then it wasn't and now the old man was a heap by the door and Alto couldn't get his breath right.

Footsteps. Multiple. Coming down the corridor that led to the holding cells.

"Move." Kael's voice, low and sharp behind him. A hand closed on Alto's shoulder and shoved him toward the opposite wall. "They're not here for a friendly chat."

Alto spun. Kael was already between him and the body, blade out, eyes on the corridor entrance. The pit fighter's stance was all wrong for the cramped space. Too open. Arlen's instincts screamed at him to correct it, but his mouth wasn't working.

"How many?" Alto managed.

"Four. Maybe five." Kael didn't look back. "Shana's cleanup crew. She's not the type to leave witnesses when a product goes bad."

Product. Right. That's what Alto was to the pit boss. Ashmar bloodline in a convenient teenage package, worth a fortune to the witch-hunters if she could prove it. Worth a knife in the dark if she couldn't.