by Dyan Chick
Straightening, I nodded, my throat too sore to talk. After unbolting the door, I stepped outside onto a sidewalk in a much less smoky part of the street.
When Tavas stepped through, I grabbed his arms. I had to ask, even though I already knew the answer. "Where's James?"
Without saying a word, he looked up. My eyes followed him, and I saw the shadows dart across the sky. A giant dragon was circling a smaller one. "What's he doing?"
"He's corralling her, probably leading her away from Realm's Gate."
"Where will they go?" My chest tightened. James hadn't wanted to shift. He'd told me earlier that if he did, he wasn't sure how long it would be before he could be human again. How did I manage to make two new friends and lose them both so quickly?
"I'm sure he'll take her to the preserve," Tavas said. "Come on. He made good on the bargain. Now it's my turn to help you."
I followed Tavas down the street. We were now only a few blocks from the police station, the road still abandoned. It was like walking through a ghost town. My instincts told me I should probably get out of sight, I was a fugitive, after all. But there was nobody to hide from. Picking up the pace, I caught up to Tavas, so I was walking next to him on the sidewalk. "Can you get him out of there?"
"I can, but you're going to have to trust me," Tavas said.
Trusting a Fae was not something I expected ever to have to do. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"Don't you know, Faeries can't lie," Tavas said.
"I never believed that. Everyone can lie," I said.
He lifted an eyebrow, and his lips turned upward into a smirk. At least this time, he left his mouth closed so I didn't have to be reminded about the wolf-like teeth. "You're smart for a dragon."
"I'm not a dragon; I'm a mage. And how the hell do you know so much about me?" I asked.
"I'm a smuggler, it's my business to know others who work the business," he said.
I'd never thought of myself as a smuggler, but I supposed it was as close a description to how I made my money as anything else.
Tavas stopped at an intersection and turned to me. "Look, if you want your friend out, you're going to have to trust me. That's all there is to it. I don't have time to explain everything to you, and we have to move fast. And it's going to get weird."
The sun was casting a golden early-morning glow as it made its way into the horizon. If Alec wasn't already in immense pain, he would be any second. If I wanted him out, this was the only way. "Okay, I'll trust you. Get my friend out of that torture box."
Tavas's smile looked like something that would fit the face of the Grinch before he took all the toys from the Who's. It was unsettling, and I wondered if I'd just made a deal with the devil.
Behind me, I heard another dragon cry and turned to see two small figures flying in the distance. They were circling the far part of town, near the edge of the ward. I had a feeling that by the time we came back from this rescue, the dragons would be gone. My heart ached at the thought of never seeing James again, which was foolish. I shook my head and took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to dwell on him. He was going to be just fine, even if he was a dragon for the next who knows how long.
"This way," Tavas said.
Forcing my gaze away from James, I followed Tavas to the grassy open space of City Park, which bordered the police station. He pointed to the lake. "See those boxes on the other side?"
Six box-like buildings lined the far side of the lake. The area that was closed off to boats and civilians. "Yes."
"Those are the daylight cells."
"No way, right there? Out in the open?" I asked, skeptical.
"What did you think they were?" he asked.
"I don't know, maintenance sheds?" As I said the words, I realized how stupid I sounded. Living here my whole life, I'd never once questioned what the small buildings were on the other side of the lake. City Park was a regular part of my childhood, and I was familiar with every inch of the park, except the marshy area behind the lake where the small structures stood. "Hiding in plain sight."
"Right. And, thankfully, away from the rest of the station." Tavas lifted his chin toward the shiny, new police station. It was a multi-million dollar facility, built just two years ago. The structure had ornate Greek columns and a shiny gold dome. It was a gaudy building and had been the cause of much controversy in Realm's Gate after its ribbon cutting.
"You ready?" Tavas asked.
"As much as I can be when I don't know what you want from me," I said.
22
Tavas moved closer to me, placing his hands on either side of my face.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
He wasn't touching me, but his palms were hovering so close to my skin I could practically feel the heat of him. "Shh, don't talk."
Squeezing my eyes closed, I waited for him to finish with whatever he was doing. I'd agreed to this, even if I didn't like it. Why hadn't I just stayed closer to Alec so I could have dragged him through the tunnel? Why hadn't I just stayed home on my birthday? Jimmy had told me to take the day off, but I went out anyway.
Sadness hung over me like a dark cloud, settling in while I stood there with my eyes closed. Somehow, the darkness made it harder to ignore. Opening my eyes, I let out a gasp. Where Tavas had been standing, there now stood a creature I'd never seen before. "Tavas?"
The creature staring back at me had the head of a bird, but still retained Tavas's electric green eyes. The beak snapped at me in an affirmative sound.
"What the..." I looked the creature up and down. In place of his designer suit, the bird-Tavas now wore a formal gown that covered a woman's body. "A harpy? Seriously? How does this help us?"
"A few of the guards have a thing for Harpys. I told you it was going to get weird," Tavas said, still in his masculine voice.
It was an odd mix, and I couldn't help but stare at him. "Alright, so what do you need me to do?"
"You get to sneak in and save your friend," he said. "While I do unspeakable things with the guards."
"I don't need any more information than that," I said.
He wobbled as he took a step toward me, nearly falling in his heels, and I flinched at the beaked face moving closer to me. "Hold still; I have to give you a disguise before we go."
I held my hands up in front of my face. "Oh no, I don't want to be a harpy. I'm good the way I am."
"You're the wanted fugitive," he said.
"Can't I just keep my head down?" I was afraid to see what he'd do to me if given a chance.
"Just hold still. Trust, remember?"
I held my breath and closed my eyes, wordlessly giving my consent. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes.
Tavas was looking at me. Head cocked like only a bird could do. "Very nice."
"What did you do to me?" Slowly, I reached my hand up to my face, afraid of what I might feel and very thankful for the lack of a mirror. To my surprise, my face felt normal.
"Oh, it's not real," Tavas said, grabbing my hand. He pressed my palm to his cheek.
Instead of feeling feathers, I felt smooth skin. I pulled my hand away.
"It's just an illusion," he said. "Most Fae can change the perception of others so we can look like other things."
"That's a normal Fae thing?" No longer worried about what I looked like now, my thoughts went back to the video footage of someone who looked like me killing Jimmy and breaking into the vault. "Would you know if someone was using an illusion? If you saw it in a video?"
"I'm sure I would," he said. "While you see a harpy, and while the guards will see a blue-haired sprite, I see our normal selves."
Suddenly, sirens sounded from the direction of the daylight cells. I spun around and saw a group of uniformed figures racing toward us. "How did they know?"
"Shit." Tavas pulled me by the arm and dragged me toward a picnic table. "Just act natural. The illusions will hold as long as you stay calm and don't let your emotions get in the way."
"What is that suppose
d to mean?" I asked, sitting down at the table.
Out of nowhere, two paper coffee cups and a basket of pastries appeared on the table. When I reached for them, my fingers went right through them. More illusions.
"Be surprised. Pretend we were just here for a morning picnic," Tavas said.
"That's not a thing," I said.
"Just go with it," he said, sitting across from me.
Anxiety swirled inside me.
"Stay calm. When you freak out, your illusion flickers," Tavas said.
I glanced longingly at the fake coffee, wishing it were real, then looked at the oncoming guards. There were eight of them, six men and two women. Most of them were much larger than humans, and I guessed they were shifters of some kind, likely werewolves based on the tattoos that showed above their collars.
As they drew nearer, two of them pulled out guns, and one of them ignited fire in his palms. So there was at least one mage in the group. I wondered if any of the others were mages. Maybe we'd even grown up together.
"Freeze," one of the gun-wielding guards called out.
My heart raced, and I tried to think calming thoughts. Ocean waves, blueberry muffins, puppies, James's eyes. Lifting my hands in the air, I stared at them, eyes wide in surprise.
Tavas let out a yelp that sounded surprisingly bird-like, and feminine. "What's going on, officers?"
"We had a report that a group of fugitives was headed this direction," fire-mage said. "What are you doing in the park this time of day?"
"Sunrise coffee," I said, nodding toward the illusion of the paper cups.
One of the gun-wielding officers lowered her weapon. A second one followed. The third hesitated, narrowing his eyes at us. "Why on earth would you do that?"
"It's my birthday," I said. "It's our tradition. You know, start the new year off by celebrating every moment."
"That's sweet," the female cop with the gun said. "You do that every year?"
I nodded.
The remaining raised gun lowered. "Have you two seen anyone else? A girl and two guys?"
I shook my head, and my heart beat faster. Whoever had reported us knew that both James and Tavas were with me. Was I being watched even now?
"Should we go?" Tavas asked, still using his higher pitched imitation of a woman. "Is it dangerous here?"
"It might be a false alarm," the female cop said. "But if you see anyone, just be cautious."
"Thank you, officers," Tavas said.
Focusing on staying calm was taking all of my energy, so I smiled without saying anything, hoping I didn't look as nervous as I felt.
"Y'all have a good day, ladies," the mage said as he extinguished his flames.
As the turned away, I let out a slow breath. That was close. Too close. And someone had reported us to the cops, knowing exactly where we would be going. I looked over at Tavas. For a moment, I wondered if he'd turned me in, then I realized that he'd be implicated, too. For better or worse, he was now part of this. If I went down, I had a feeling he'd be dragged down with me. I leaned over the table and lowered my voice. "What now?"
Before he could answer, a burst of flame exploded from the sky, landing right in front of the retreating cops. They screamed and scattered, one of them started firing their gun at the dragon that flapped across the sky.
I jumped up from my seat and looked skyward. The brown dragon let out a cry as it soared over the lake. James was not in pursuit. Had something happened to him? Why was the brown dragon here? "Where's James?"
Tavas's expression was grim. "I don't know."
"Hey, you!"
Turning, I saw the female police officer running in my direction.
"You're not a sprite, you're that mage." She pulled her gun from its holster. "Stop right there."
A shadow crossed the ground and instinctively, we all looked up. A massive green dragon flew across the sky.
"Shit, there's another one?" one of the cops yelled out.
Shots rang out, and I flinched, then looked back at the officers. They were shooting into the sky, trying to hit James.
"No!" I cried out, charging the officer who was firing. Ducking down, I grabbed the cop around the waist and pushed my shoulder into his stomach. The man grunted, the gun fired right next to me. Ear ringing, I landed on top of him, then swiped the gun from his hand, sending it flying away from us.
With little effort, the officer shoved me off of him and scrambled toward the weapon. I stretched out my arm, trying to reach it first but before I could, someone grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back. My face was shoved down into the grass.
The female cop said something, but I couldn't make out the words over my ringing ears. Cold metal clamped onto my wrists. How had I let this get so far out of hand? If the hunters found me, they were going to take my magic. I couldn't end up in a cell waiting for that to happen.
Turning my head, I searched for Tavas. He was nowhere in sight. Looking the other direction, I saw several of the officers running away from us. I couldn't make out what they were chasing, but I was guessing it was Tavas. He was trying to lead them away from me, but with my hands cuffed and the cop holding me down, I wasn't going anywhere.
Rolling over to my back, I managed to get myself up to a seated position. I could hear fine out of one ear now and listened for Tavas or any sign of the dragons.
Hearing nothing, I turned my attention to the woman who had cuffed me. "Excuse me, but I think you made a mistake."
She knelt down next to me. "Look, sweetheart. I know you managed to fool the harpy that ran off, but we all know they aren't the brightest crayons in the box."
"No, this whole thing is a mistake. I didn't do anything wrong," I said.
"Tell that to Jimmy Vick's family. I'm glad the hunters are going to take care of you right here." She stood and walked a few steps away from me, apparently not wanting to engage in more conversation.
Fear crept through me. I had to get out of here. Why hadn't Tavas stayed? How was I going to get out of this? I'd failed to save Alec, I'd failed to find a way to send the dragon away, and now I was going to lose my magic once the hunters arrived. There had to be something I could do, but at the moment, my mind was blank.
A roar filled the air and once again, shadows crossed over us. The police officer let out a yelp and moved away from me toward the tree line.
I stood, watching the dragon fly through the air, wondering if James was still himself in that form. Did he know what he was doing? Did he remember me? Would he know what happened when he shifted back?
A smaller roar rang through the sky, and a green dragon joined the smaller brown one. The wild dragon circled the spot, then seemed like it was going to fly away, with James at her back. Then, she doubled back and released flames right at us.
Screams filled the air as the cops ran for their lives. I moved but wasn't fast enough. Warmth spread across my skin as the fire swallowed me. In a panic, I ran toward the lake and jumped in.
23
Vines grabbed my ankles as I kicked toward the surface of the lake. Every movement seemed to make the tangled mess harder to pull away from. I tugged at the cuffs on my wrists, knowing they wouldn't break, but hoping they might. Bubbles escaped my mouth as my air grew low in my lungs.
I crunched in half, trying to reach behind me at the vines with my incapacitated hands. Every time I pulled on them, more grew in their place. I should have known there'd be something like this lurking in the lake.
Chest on fire, but not ready to give up yet, I kicked harder. Still, my legs remained trapped by the tendrils of the plant. Spots dotted my vision, making the blurry underwater world even harder to see. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw someone swimming toward the vines. When I glanced down, all I saw was darkness as consciousness slipped away.
Coughing, gagging, choking, water came out of my mouth and nose. Someone rolled me onto my side, and I continued to heave until there was nothing left inside me. Soaking wet, my hair covered my face so I
couldn't see where I was. Pushing it out of the way, I looked up to see the last person I expected: Dima.
"Well, that was a close one," she said.
Shivering from cold, I pulled my knees to my chest, hugging them. "What happened?"
I looked around. We were on the other side of the lake now. Squinting across, I only saw empty fields and a line of trees. Glancing up, I checked the sky for any sign of James or the wild dragon. All I saw were fluffy white clouds. The sun had risen fully.
Jumping to standing, I nearly fell over as my head spun. "I have to get to the other side of the lake."
"You're welcome," Dima said.
The realization hit me like a truck. Dima had saved my life. "I'm so sorry. Thank you. Why?"
"I might spar with you, but I'd never just let someone die," she said. "What the hell were you doing in the lake?"
I pushed my sopping hair out of my eyes again and realized the handcuffs were missing. Feeling my wrists, I searched Dima's face for answers. "You took the cuffs off? How?"
"I have my ways. Now, tell me what you're doing here. I mean, you really need to be more careful with your kink. That could have killed you."
"Kink?" My face burned. "No, no, no. Nothing like that. I was almost arrested. The whole dead mob boss thing."
"Oh, yeah. I saw that on the news. They still think it was you?" she asked.
Blinking, I watched her for a moment. Was she serious? Was she saying she thought I was innocent?
"I mean, you were at the Dizzy Dragon till the attack. There's no way you got there in time. It doesn't add up." She shrugged.
Elated, I nearly hugged her, but being that she was Dima, I didn't move in for the touch.
A scream punctuated the quiet park. Both of us turned in the direction of the sound.
"Must be those torture boxes they keep over there." Dima lifted her chin toward the daylight cells, my original destination.
Another scream. My whole body tensed. "I have to get over there. My friend is in one of those. That's where I was going before I was cuffed."
"Not that cute vamp from last night?" She tilted her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow.
