"They beat you because you did something to one of our sisters, Jack," Ashur said as he stood across from the Djinn. "And you left her for dead."
"She deserved it." He sneered at Levi. "So now you got to help me."
"Help you?" Crwys snorted. "No, we don't. The hostages are safe."
"No, they ain't."
Levi was about to reply when screaming from somewhere in the diner stopped him. He and Crwys pulled their weapons and ran to the back kitchen.
A woman burned on the floor, writhing for a few seconds before she stopped. Crwys fired off blue flame at her, trying to cool her down. But it was too late. She was dead.
"I still have two more in the back."
Crwys's radio went off. He put it to his ear and Levi heard Prescott's voice. "There are two kids and a mother missing."
Two kids.
This son of a bitch. Levi growled at him, "You don't get to walk away from this, Ripp'n Jack."
"Yes, I do," he snarled back. He had a gun, but he used it to point more than threaten. "I want out of this body. I prefer to cruise human flesh, not live in it. So you two are gonna kill the Queen so I can be released."
Levi frowned. "So you don’t want a body, but you do want a body."
"I don’t want to be permanently fused to one, idiot. I like spreading my dominion over who ever it is I possess. I liked having Mike Ross’s body because if he got hit, he felt it, not me. If the body died, it was him, not me."
"So you think we're going to help you kill the Obsidian Queen?" Crwys snorted. “So you can go back out there and torture more humans inside their bodies.”
"Yeah, you are. Or I'll burn those two little girls, and then I'll burn your girlfriend, Mister Detective-man. As one of the hunters, I can touch her. Yeah, bet you didn't know that, did you? I can touch her and I can burn her." He grinned and it was obvious he hadn't been using hygiene. "So if you wanna keep those little girls and your girlfriend safe, you better help me kill that Queen Bitch. Or everybody dies." He laughed. "Including all those stupid cops outside."
Twenty-Nine
18-WHEELER
DAGS
It was my name that brought me back to the here and now. I didn't know how long I'd floated in that painful blackness, I just knew when I opened my eyes and saw Scylla's face, I realized the pain of that arrow had been just a dull throb while I was unconscious, but now that I was awake—
SONOFABITCHTHATHURT!
I must've said that out loud because he slapped a hand on my mouth and made shushing noises. I closed my eyes as he let go and then fastened a sling around my shoulder and right arm out of his shirt. "I can't heal, Dags. It's really not in my nature. I can shift a few things now and then, but you're going to have to whip something out of your book if you wanna make that arm better."
I was already on it, thinking just the same thing.
Only…
"I…I can't reach the book."
"Huh?"
"I can't feel it or reach it." I looked down at my arm and reached over with my left hand and touched the wet, makeshift bandage. "I don't…I can't feel my arm. I'm bleeding."
"Yeah, I know. I tried to stop it, but that arrow had poison on the tip. It's supposed to make you bleed out."
"So you moved us using the shadows…why…" I felt a bit light headed. "Why didn't you use that before?"
"I honestly didn't think I could. It wasn't until I saw we needed it that I tried. Apparently they haven't taken our magic from us."
"Yeah…" I blinked a few times. My magic had been taken, at least the Grimoire. I tried again and again to touch it, feel its presence. It was there, but it was sleeping. Closed. Unresponsive. Was it possible this poison was affecting the book as well? "So…you think we can shadow shift from here to Sam's shop?"
"I already tried. Either I don't have a good connection with it or there aren't any shadows inside of it.” He rubbed his face. “Or I’m just too damn tired and need to recharge. I think that’s it. I’m tapped out.”
"Was your power that limited before?"
"Not until Morgana fused me to this body. Seems there's an equivalent exchange clause in there somewhere."
For a fleeting second I thought about the Grimoire’s spell, but then second guessed myself. The Grimoire was silent. I had to think this through. I also had to make sure I rescued Sam. Getting to the rose had to take priority. "What time is it?"
"It's nearly three."
"Three already?" I moved myself with my left hand and sat up a little straighter. We were in another gathering of trees, but I wasn't sure where, and without the Grimoire, I had no directional guidance. "Are we further down the road?"
"Yep. In the direction you wanted to go."
"And no sign of the Hunt?"
"Well, if you listen…"
I did. And I could hear them in the distance. But with the dark and the moonlight and the fast emptiness of the marsh around us…I couldn't tell from what direction.
"We can keep going that way," Scylla pointed out.
"Can you shadow shift us in that direction?"
He winced. "I'm a bit limited to places I've been. And juice, apparently."
"And here?" I pointed to the ground. "Was this line of sight or a guess?"
"This was desperation. And a bit of line of sight."
The sound of a horn shattered the night. And it was very loud. I looked around us and then back to Scylla. "Then maybe we should count on that desperation again? If we can make it till dawn, we're good. But if we get caught out here alone—"
Scylla stood and looked west in one fluid motion. A beat later, he slammed his hand on my shoulder and the world went dark again. And cold. Unbelievably cold.
We tumbled out of the shadows of a bunch of trees and into bright lights. I landed on my shoulder and bit my lip to keep from yelling out as I held up my hand to defend against the light.
Where the hell were we?
I knew we were still on 90 and we were still in the area of Blind Lagoon, but in front of us was a gas station…and did that sign say casino?
Scylla pulled me back by my good shoulder and we crouched down to the side of some bushes. I was shaking uncontrollably and I assumed it was from that shadow shift. I thought I saw frost on the hairs of my forearm.
"Something's wrong," Scylla said in a hushed voice. "I shouldn't have been able to shift this close to civilization."
"Normally? Or during a Hunt?"
"A Hunt." He pointed. "Have you taken a good look at what's happening?"
I will admit I hadn't. I'd been too busy not wanting to cry like a baby with a bleeding shoulder and thawing out. Another look at the gas station made me do a double take. "That's a lot of cops."
"Yeah."
The small gas station, or Stan's Truck Stop as the sign next to the road said, was surrounded by NOPD, several vans and a S.W.A.T. van on the road. There were cars blocking the road on either side, and if I stood just a little, I could see more of the black-and-whites covering all exits to the building. A stream of people was coming out, their hands on their heads, and two people were motioning them forward. A small, petite African American woman and a taller, burlier guy wearing a bullet proof vest and severe haircut.
Tracking their movements, I spotted a very familiar red Mustang parked across the road. "Oh shit. This is the standoff Crwys and Levi got the call for."
"Which means Rip's here."
"You think that's what made it possible to get so close?" I kept my eye on the activity around the building and the huge 18-wheelers parked everywhere.
"Not sure. But I…" He turned and faced the darkness behind us, just as I heard the horn. Again. And this time, I could feel the vibration of the horses on the ground. They were coming and they were coming fast. And they were headed right for this standoff with a Djinn.
I reached for my phone and realized…I didn't have it.
"Looks like they're releasing hostages," Scylla said. "Want to be a fly on the wall?"
&n
bsp; I looked at him. "You can get into the building?"
"I can try. Or at least into that back area…see over by the dumpster? Shadows."
An arrow appeared in Scylla's chest before he could move us. Neither of us expected that. When he dropped, I yelled out.
The Hunt appeared behind us, all of them, riding the smoky, oozy mist that buffeted them from the touch of the Earth. In front was Brendi, looking so young and frail in her black armor and helm. She rode a black steed with obsidian wings of metal, and in her right hand was a scepter. Encased in glass at the top of the scepter was a single black rose.
I moved back and knelt beside Scylla. His breathing was shallow and his eyes staring up at the sky. I could clearly see his face in the moonlight—he was in pain. I still wasn't sure how I felt about him, especially now that I realized it was me who killed his sister that day when the Brendi Changeling captured me and tied me to the chair in the Cairn. I didn't know how he was going to feel about me when he found out.
"Dags McConnell."
That was a very familiar voice. I turned and looked up at the looming line of Faeries and spotted Sam beside Brendi. Her horse was like the others, black with fiery hooves that stomped in frustration. Sam looked more frightening than ever. "Sam—"
"The prey does not speak!" Brendi said in a commanding tone, though it still sounded like a child trying to be an adult. I held up my hand in defense, letting the golden light be a barrier between me and any other kind of magic Sam might throw my way. I didn't want her silencing me like she did before.
The light worked a lot better than I thought it would as the whole line of them backed up. Horses reared on hind legs and let out terrible whinnies. A few of them were unseated and struck the ground, and more than one landed outside of the protective black fog and instantly turned to ash. Their steeds vanished—back to wherever elven horses went, I guessed.
In the distance, I heard something rumbling. It wasn't thunder and it definitely wasn't more Faeries heading our way. This sound was familiar. I kept my hand up, the light strong and looked back to see police officers scrambling and shooting at an 18-wheeler as it barreled its way through three black-and-whites. It crossed over the parking lot, the road, and then turned on its headlights and headed…
For us!
That was a massive amount of steel headed our way. And I'd just thrown up a light beacon to show whoever was driving where to go! I was pretty sure it wasn't Crwys or Levi as gunfire erupted from the cab of the truck. Whoever it was driving was firing a gun at the Faerie line.
I heard a few of the Faeries cry out and turned back to see Sam fall from her horse. Brendi was trying to regain control of her steed as others scattered at the sight of the metal monster heading our way. I stood, slower than I wanted to and shaky as hell on my feet. The blood loss was taking its toll. If the Djinn kept driving that monstrosity at us unchecked, he was going to run right over Scylla and Sam. Not to mention me. If I had access to the Grimoire, I could use that spell…
And then a really weird idea hit me. I held my hand out to the swirling mist created by the Mist Merrow, allowing a bit of the light from my palm to disperse it. It moved out of the way more than disappeared.
I could, in theory, corral it.
Using the commotion as a distraction, I ran to Scylla. He was conscious and looking up at me. “Can you project a shadow shift into a shadow?”
He frowned at first and then the left side of his mouth lifted up. “What the hell…” He coughed. “I can try.”
“Will the Mist Merrow smoke work as the gateway?”
“Who the fuck knows?” Scylla started to struggle to sit up.
I turned and aimed both hands at the mist as it flattened and tried to keep the barrier between the Faeries and the Earth—and then another possibility hit me. I created a sun to illuminate. Was it possible to create a black hole to darken?
Ignoring the mist, I pivoted where I knelt and faced the oncoming truck. I imagined a dark orb in my hand and it instantly formed. It grew in size as fast as I could make it.
Seconds before I tossed the black orb in front of the truck, I saw Sam lift up and hold out her hands as well. That orb grew into the size of an office building, blotting out everything.
Another engine revving caught my attention when I spotted Crwys's Mustang heading our way. I knew he was coming for Sam, and if I could prevent all of us from getting flattened by thousands of pounds of steel—there might be a chance.
The great, dark orb fixed in place as Scylla got up on his knees. What I didn’t expect him to do was grab me around the back of the head with one hand and plant a kiss firmly on my mouth as he held his other hand out. I felt the drain on me, of him pulling my own energy from the kiss and fueling his ability to create the shadow shift between us and the vehicle. The grill of the cab poked through and vanished inside the darkness.
The blackness vanished and I sat back on my ass. Scylla let go of me and collapsed beside me and I saw Sam do the same.
Scylla lifted his hand with a thumbs up. “You’re welcome,” he called out, just as I collapsed back and closed my eyes.
Thirty
JUSTiCE?
DAGS
When I opened my eyes, because I was being jostled, I looked into the smiling mug of Mike. He had smudges on his face and something smelled like burned rubber.
"You back with me?" Mike asked.
I looked past him to the moonlit sky. We were still out in the swamp. I moved and everything hurt. Like…OUCH!
"Easy, easy. Just stay here, okay?"
“I’m okay, by the way,” Scylla interjected nearby.
I grinned at Mike. "How did you—"
"Ivan, remember? He spotted you with a drone, and don't ask whose drone. He just hacked it and we followed his directions here."
I realized we were on the ground beside Scylla. I saw Kyle's shoulders as he leaned over the Incubus. Kyle's hands were glowing over the man's bare chest, and I watched in fascination as the arrow lifted out and the flesh mended behind it.
"We're…" Scylla said when Kyle finished, and I was surprised the guy was still conscious. "Gonna have to stop meeting like this."
"Sshh," Kyle said, but he was smiling. "This is the last time. You owe me twice."
"Good." Scylla winked. “I love paybacks.”
I heard other voices and pushed myself up to see Crwys holding a very naked Sam in his arms. She wasn't moving as he held her to him. A few feet behind them was Brendi, still astride her horse, looking very upset, as if she'd just been found with her hand in the cookie jar. In her hand was the scepter with the rose.
Abruptly the rose exploded. I'd seen a ball of fire fly at it, but when I looked around, I had no idea who'd sent it. Once the rose was destroyed, Sam stirred, and when she opened her eyes and saw Crwys, and then realized her situation, her eyes widened and she started to protest.
Started to because Crwys immediately silenced her with a long and very passionate kiss. I blushed and looked away.
A phone rang and Mike answered his.
I took a better look at things and realized there was a half of a semi-truck's cargo box beside us. The edges of the metal smoked as they cooled. There was nothing inside. This was half of the 18-wheeler Ripp'n Jack had been driving. Apparently, all of it didn't make it through the black hole before it closed.
JAYSUS!
"Right. Got it." He placed it back in his pocket and looked at me. "Think you can use that teleport spell again?"
"Now?"
"Yea. That was Ivan. Ripp'n Jack's in the shop." He looked determined. "I've got one last thing to do."
He helped me to my feet as Kyle helped Scylla. We looked like a rag-tag band of weirdos, from the shirtless bleeding guy, the guy with the bleeding arm and the naked lady in the cop's arms. Looking back at the truck stop, I saw the police cars were still there, but none of them were headed our way.
I didn't ask. I just assumed why they didn’t see us was a Faerie thing.
That sentence returned a bunch of stares.
I laughed. “He means hold hands.”
I closed my eyes as I took Scylla’s free hand, and Crwys took mine. That nasty cold crept up my back again as Scylla moved us through the shadows. It felt like it took a chillingly long time before we popped out of the shadows of Sam’s shop. Me, Mike, Scylla, Kyle, Crwys, Sam, Levi, and Brendi.
“You’re welcome,” Scylla said as Kyle guided him through a lot of debris…where did all this glass and chunks of brick come from?
I stumbled against the twisted metal of the truck and heard a litany of cussing from Samantha. Mike righted me as we stood back and realized we’d sent the 18-wheeler through the front of Sam's shop. There was nothing left of the front wall—nothing. The veranda above rested on the top of the truncated cargo bin the cab had been carrying.
"MY SHOP! SWEET LORD AND LADY…WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SHOP!"
Oh hell. Sam was pissed as I watched her pick her way through the debris, wearing little more than Crwys's leather jacket that just covered what should be covered. I guess the Faerie armor disappeared when the curse was lifted.
I also didn’t think it was a good idea to point out to her that she helped in the shadow shift of the truck. Yeah…that would be tacky, since I was pretty sure the destination was chosen by Scylla. I don’t remember thinking about where to send the truck, only that it needed to go.
Mike moved from me to his daughter and took her arm to lead her inside. Tourists and locals alike were making their way to the shop, probably alarmed by the commotion and the noise that truck probably made as it barreled its way in.
I had no idea how they were going to explain that one.
A howl broke the semi-silence. Sam and Crwys looked in the cab. "Where's the Djinn?"
"He's upstairs," Ivan said as he appeared in the door on the other side of what was left of the counter. His black hair was ashen, covered in plaster dust. He'd probably been at the computer when the truck came in. He was lucky he hadn't been crushed. "He's threatening to kill Grey."
Chimes At Midnight (The Grimoire Chronicles Book 3) Page 16
