by Rhys Ford
Dodging a stack of wooden pallets, I sprinted past an old toothless man stinking of garbage and death. The reek of his unwashed body lingered with me for a moment, and I snorted, washing it from my nose.
“Bastards! Watch where you’re going,” he swore when the men caught up with him, his confused shuffle tangling them up for a moment before they fought past him. “Hey! Hey!”
A sewage pond poured out of an overflowing grate, and I splashed through it, scanning the area to look for some place to stand my ground. I could theoretically take the three, but it would have to be on my terms. If I were trapped in an open area, it would leave me defenseless on one side. As it was, my gun was a liability. I couldn’t draw it without upping the violence, and if my instincts were right, the men behind me would have their own answer to even a warning shot.
The side street vomited me out into a crossover intersection. Traffic lights blinked red and yellow, warning nonexistent cars to slow down and stop before continuing. Far off to the right of me, a man called out to someone in a window above him. In the distance beyond, car tires screeched, but for the most part, the avenue was empty of people. Battered cars, some of them lacking tires, would give me some temporary cover. Between the three of them, it wouldn’t take long for them to find me crouched against a vehicle.
Across the way, another alley crooked off to the right. I could make it across the waterlogged asphalt, but not before they spotted me, and I didn’t know if it opened out into the street beyond.
“Always go left, Kai,” I grumbled to myself.
Catching my breath only took a moment, and I headed into the street, dodging between the parked cars. One of the men shouted, a distant threat echoing between the buildings. I would reach the end of the block eventually, and with luck, someplace open that I could dive into. A bar wouldn’t be bad, but a dance club was a better choice. In the dark, my features would be hidden, and they would have to search hard to find me.
I came to the corner of the street and slammed into the side of a sleek black two-seater pulling up to the light line. The car rocked when I hit it, the door handle digging into my stomach and taking my wind. The passenger window rolled down, and Ryder craned his head over the console.
“Get in the car!” he yelled, shouting to be heard over the rush of trolley wheels as the red line chugged over us.
It was a hard choice. Running to look for a strategic place to engage was one thing. Running away from a fight stuck in my throat, especially since I’d guessed the three men following me were San Diego’s finest.
“Screw that,” I growled back at Ryder.
A ping and a shower of glass on my head from a shot-up street lamp made my decision for me. They’d upped the stakes considerably, and no matter how good I was in a fight, I couldn’t bring fists to the table when everyone else was laying guns down.
“Get in the damned car, Kai!” Ryder leaned over and grabbed my shirt, pulling hard. “Now!”
Not bothering to open the door, I went through the window, barely getting through the slim opening as Ryder peeled away from the curb. Powered by an electric motor, the car was slow to pick up speed, and I risked a glance around the seat.
A few feet behind us, one of the men raised his hand, leveling a wicked looking black pistol at Ryder’s vehicle. He pressed the trigger and the boom of his shots rocked the street. One of the bullets hit the car’s back end, cutting through the plastic-overlaid metal. Another hit the rear window, shattering the glass. Small clear pebbles flew at us, and the headliner sprouted a new smoking hole near the passenger window.
“They’re shooting at us,” Ryder said. “Keep down.”
“Yeah, I kind of noticed the shooting,” I said, trying to get the Glock out. Tumbling sideways, I caught my elbow on the door, hanging my jacket up. “Damn it. I can’t reach my gun.”
“Are you crazy? There are too many people around.” He tugged at my jacket. I pulled loose, nearly sliding into the seat well. “Can you stop being stubborn long enough to hold on? I’m going to try to lose them.”
Catching momentum, the engine kicked in and cycled up, shooting the car forward. Ryder kept it straight long enough for me to right myself in the seat, then heaved to the right and onto one of the main causeways. We traveled in the silence of my heavy breathing. Then he clicked on the overhead light, glancing at me worriedly.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” His purring accent was thicker, drawing golden lines under every word.
“No, I’m good.” I shook some remains of the glass from my hair, then stared at him for a moment. “How the hell did you find me?”
“I followed you from the pier,” he said softly, ignoring my question. “I held back, but then I lost you in the alley. I tried to hurry to get around the block because they took off after you. Do you know them?”
“Nice guys,” I sighed, resting in the soft leather seat. “And no, don’t know them, but I’m pretty sure they’re cops. They had that smell on them.”
“Are you saying those are city policemen?”
“Yeah.” Flicking glass from my lap, I secured the restraining belt around my waist. “Most of them are really good guys, but a few of them….” I shrugged. “Just bullies with badges. You hope for the first kind but don’t ever depend on it.”
“It’s that way in some cities’ sidhe districts,” Ryder confessed. “I’d hoped we’d avoid that down here.”
“Good luck with that,” I said. “There’s always crazy and mean in people. Doesn’t look like it matters if they’re elfin or human. Convenient that you were right there to haul my ass out of there. Like it was planned or something.”
“You’re welcome. I’m humbled by your gratitude,” he said, quirking a sly smile at me. “And no, I didn’t hire those men to beat you up. I headed back to talk to you and saw you leave the wharf area. So I got curious and followed you.”
“You know the humans have a saying that curiosity kills the cat,” I replied. “I could have taken them. I didn’t need rescuing.”
“How about if you hold off taking them until we come back from Elfhaine?” Ryder suggested, slowing the car down and moving into the far right lane. “I need you healthy and whole for at least a couple of days.”
He took a ramp, and I found myself staring out of the window at the upper city, the level pass set in the windshield blipping green as the street sensors acknowledged his access.
Unlike the understreets, the city above bloomed with light. Tall wide-branched trees lined the avenues, tiny sparkles strung through the leaves to add to the brightness. Several couples strolled on the sidewalks, and a young woman ran steadily toward the docks, a leashed chipper brown and white terrier keeping pace with her stride. Open air restaurants were full, a few with lines to the door as customers waited for an open table under the clear night sky.
A chilly wind cut through the car’s shot-out back window, but Ryder acted as if it were nothing to worry about. I guessed the expense of replacing the glass wouldn’t hit him as too dear. When I’d lost the truck’s back glass during a hunting trip, it took me nearly two weeks to get enough money to have it refitted.
The air changed, tinted with brine and a bit of an edge. We were getting closer to the docks and Medical. Its broad white spires punctured the causeway, thrusting up from below. One of the few buildings to span both upper and lower San Diego, it gleamed with a flood of light. Long strings of blue lights dimpled the heli landing pads flattening the lower towers, and a single red pinprick blinked on and off to signal the highest peak of each building. When Dalia worked in the ER and I’d popped in to take her out for food, I’d never actually gone inside the structure. There wasn’t much chance they would have my blood type, even if someone were daft enough to admit me.
“So, why were you following me?” Asking outright was easier than waiting to be lied to, especially where the elfin were concerned.
“I thought I might owe you an apology. It seemed like I stepped on a few of your toes, and
I was hoping to make it up to you. I didn’t expect you to head underground. I thought maybe you were meeting someone, or I would have followed you into the club,” he murmured, turning into a brew-house drop. “I need some coffee. Do you want some coffee?”
I waited until we’d pulled through the slot, and he handed me a steaming latte. Since a cup holder appeared to be an extraneous luxury in the car, I held his coffee until we reached the open end of the wedge. Ryder parked at a scenic drop above the warehouse district then took his drink and lifted it in salute.
“Sláinte,” he said, smiling at me when he took a sip.
I licked the whipped cream escaping from the drink slit on the lid, sucking it into my mouth with a slurp. Ryder’s green eyes were dark in the muted light, nearly black in the shadows and following my every move.
“What?” I grumbled, licking a stray drop from my thumb.
“Sharing a meal is the sharing of trust,” Ryder replied softly. “Have you forgotten so much?”
“Want me to choke the whipped cream back up? Because I can if you want,” I suggested, lowering the cup. “Food’s just food, Ryder. Nothing else.”
“You really have gone that—what was the word?—native that you’ve pushed aside everything that makes us… sidhe?” he said. “How many years have you been living with the humans? Thirty? Forty?”
“Don’t really know. Don’t really care.” I shrugged. My stomach wanted something hot and sweet to calm it, and my nerves would appreciate the brew. “I’m drinking the coffee. You can take that any way you want.”
“Did you desert your House? During the Wars, I mean. Do you need sanctuary from a blood debt?” The question took me a while to process, and I scowled at him, making him laugh. It was a hearty sound as bright as his hair. “I take that as no, then.”
“No, I don’t turn my back on my promises.” Growling, I went back to sipping the too-hot coffee, hunching over in the seat. “You know what? I can find my own way home from here. Thanks for the rescue and the drink.”
“Kai.” Ryder reached out, grabbing my arm. I tried to shake him off, but he held on tight. He seemed fond of grabbing me, either pulling me along or holding me in place. It was becoming annoying, especially since he made my skin sing when he was near. “Please, stay and hear me out. I can’t seem to win with you. Everything I say seems to hit a sore spot, and that’s not what I want. You’re a sidhe living in my city….”
“Hey, I was here first,” I pointed out, lifting off the lid to blow the heat out. “Technically, you moved into my city.”
“Fair enough,” he conceded. “But I don’t want to be at odds with you. You’re in a unique position here with the humans, and it’s one that I think could be very helpful to both the Court and the city.”
“Ah, a liaison.” I nodded, pursing my lips. “There’s a guy back there who wants that job. Orin Bennett. You might want to give him a call. He’s at the Diamond Kitty.”
Ryder’s opinion of the faux-elfin soured his face, his mouth twisting at the thought. “I’ve heard of him. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“You sure? I could introduce you,” I offered. “Met him tonight, and he’d be very excited about working with you. Probably do it for free if he could lick your boots or suck on your toes.”
“That’s just disgusting,” Ryder said, leaning back in his seat.
“Ah, but oh so true.” The long day was wearing on me, and I wondered at the brilliance of drinking coffee so late in the evening. I’d be too wired to sleep, but the chase through the understreets had given my nerves a severe beating. Exhaling slowly, I said, “You don’t owe me an apology, Ryder. I left anything elfin far back in the past. I couldn’t even tell you which tree to hug on a high holy day.”
“You should know we don’t hug….” Ryder stopped, chuckling sharply. “Ah, that was a joke.”
“Yeah, probably too human for you, but it’s all I got,” I said, shrugging. Holding up the coffee in thanks, I opened the car door. “I think I’ll head down. I’ll send you the meeting point for the run.”
“Kai.” Ryder’s soft voice stopped me before I slipped from the car. “I meant it when I offered you sanctuary. If there’s anything you’re running from, you can count on me to protect you. Once you’ve been declared a part of Southern Rise, no one can touch you. Not without bringing down the wrath of all the Dawn Courts my bloodline belongs to.”
“Yeah, thanks, but no,” I refused with a shake of my head. “Appreciate the offer, though, your lordship.”
“There’s nothing that can’t be forgiven, Kai,” he insisted, leaning over to talk to me through the open window. “I mean it, nothing.”
“What makes you think I’m the one that needs to be forgiven?” I tossed back, patting the car’s roof. “See you tomorrow, Ryder. Don’t be late or it won’t be curiosity that kills you. It’ll be me.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
MY TRUCK’S tires kicked up tiny dust storms along the unpaved road out of Carlsbad, the hauling trailer bouncing around behind me as I drove around the larger holes and divots on the stretch. Purple sage dotted the hillsides, breaking the unrelenting drab gray brush leftover from winter. Soon wildflowers would spring up on the hills, adding delicate touches of color until the summer heat ate them away. I slowed down when I got to a grate across the road. An ancient cowcatcher hung loosely on its post, swinging back and forth in the light wind. Enormous palms lined the dirt road, dragging long gowns of ashy fronds onto the ground. The palm leaves swayed when I drove past, waving me down the road.
I’d left the Old Five Interstate, turning onto one of the back ways toward Pendle where a few remnants of old Carlsbad remained, low-lying buildings and rambling homes clinging to the uneven countryside. A hillside rippled, turning black and tan as a herd of wild eland darted up from a nearby canyon. Przewalski’s horses kept pace with them, brush-maned stallions looking for a spare harem and keeping to the larger animals for protection. Farther inland, a wild animal park once corralled various species for conservation until a meltdown of the grid brought down its containments. A few generations later, the exotic animals spread out from the coastline to the interior deserts, their numbers thinned out by dragons, wild cats, and hunters looking to feed their families.
“Got to see how much of that impala I’ve got left in the freezer,” I mused. “Maybe Jonas and Dempsey would be up for a hunting trip.”
I had about an hour or so before sundown, the perfect time to make a run through Pendle. The heat coming up from the ground would leech into the cold desert air, and only the desperate scavengers would be out. With the dragons starting mating season, the night skies would be clear of any other predators; even thunderbirds hid when the flying lizards were out in force.
“Had to choose Pendle for your damned spawning ground. Entire damned land mass to choose from and you have to come here.” I cursed the flying lizards. They made life hell sometimes.
More than twenty miles away from the Pendle borderline, I could still see specks of winged serpentine shapes circling in the fading sun. Many of the dragons flew long distances to mate, crossing continents to return to where they’d hatched and eaten their clutch mates before taking to the air.
Sparky’s Landing looked exactly the same as it did a few weeks ago when I’d made my last run. Most of the storage buildings’ rolling steel doors were open, and a pack of ill-bred mutts roamed the front, barking when I drew up, the hitched trailer jostling when its tires hit the cracked asphalt parking lot. Some people would question the wisdom of establishing a business based out of an old storage facility, but Sparky catered to all manner of customers. Everyone from local hunters to campers parked their vehicles at the Landing.
“Hey, Kai.” Sparky came out of the office, tucking her hands inside the bib of her overalls. Her thin face was lined, burnished teak from spending hours in the sun. A mama dog growled protectively at me from behind Sparky’s legs, her teats swollen and nearly dragging on the ground. Two wo
bbly-legged puppies fought over what was apparently a particularly tasty nipple. The bitch ignored them, following Sparky as she came to greet me. “You making a run?”
“Yeah,” I said, handing her bags of fresh produce from the farmers’ market. As isolated as the Landing was, the place usually was busy, and Sparky didn’t always have time to fetch perishables. “Here you go. There’s some strawberries in there and a couple of boxes of chocolate bars. Got a freeze-cooler of meat in the back for you too.”
“How much do I owe you?” she asked. “Oh boy, green beans. Why’d you have to bring green beans?”
“Because they’re good for you,” I reminded her. “You can’t live on red meat. It blocks up your insides. Makes you mean. Trust me. Dempsey raised me. I’ve learned from personal experience that eating only red meat makes you mean.”
“Tell the old man ‘hi’ for me next time you see him. And that he still owes me a twenty from that poker game.” Sparky set the produce down on a bench by the office’s front door and took the cooler from me. She stopped, staring at the sleek silver car coming onto her property. “That looks like someone’s lost.”
I’d have agreed with her if I hadn’t recognized the sidhe getting out of the car. “No, that’s mine.”
“Are you doing Pendle safaris for pointy-eared bastards now?” By the way she was eyeing the car, I knew Sparky was wondering how much she could overcharge him. “Easy money, but I never would have thought you’d go on dragon-watching runs.”
“Nah, I’m heading up into Los Angeles. I’ll need a bay for the truck and the trailer.” I jerked a thumb at the foreign coupe dusted in the fine desert grit. “One for that thing too. That’s the second one I’ve seen him with, so I’m guessing he’s not hurting for money. Charge him what you want.”
