She didn’t hear Kheelan’s truck but if he wasn’t already here, he would be soon. She climbed out the window, flew to the top of the roof and flattened herself on the shingles. Skye buried her face in her hands, expecting to hear a great swoosh as a thousand Unseelies swooped her away.
Silence. Skye removed her hands and peeked around. The glowing eyes were still by the basement windows, but none looked up at the roof. Across the street, more of the creatures crowded in a tree, but their eyes stayed focused on the shop’s front window and door. Thankfully, no cars or people were nearby. Skye punched in Kheelan’s number and lifted the cell phone to her mouth.
“You there?” she whispered.
“I’m on MacFarland, about to turn onto 15th Street.”
“The store’s surrounded. You know where the Bama Rammer Deli is on 15th?”
“Yeah, but –”
“I’ll meet you there.” She cut him off before he could raise any more objections. Here goes nothing. Skye pushed off the roof and flew. A gust of wind blew off the black hat as she flew over rooftops. That didn’t help. Her stream of red hair would be a flaming beacon to the Dark Fae.
Kheelan stared, amazed, when Skye flew into view. He had seen his share of fairies, but none quite like her. He was torn between amusement, fear for her safety, and relief she’d shown up.
She landed abruptly, legs stumbling at the newness. Kheelan’s amusement faded with the rumbling of phoukas in the distance. He started the truck and blinked his headlights to signal his whereabouts. Leaning over, he pulled open the passenger side door. “Hurry, trouble’s coming.”
Skye climbed in and he hit the accelerator before she even closed the door.
“I heard them too, they’re getting closer. They’ve caught on that I escaped.”
Her face was solemn and pale. He wanted to gather her in his arms and hold her close for a long, long time. Kheelan pulled her roughly to his side and gave her a quick, fervent kiss on the cheek. That would have to do for now. “We can outrun them,” he assured Skye, although he wasn’t positive that was true. He navigated through the near-abandoned downtown area as fast as he could without drawing attention.
Her eyes flittered nervously between the front and side windows. “Maybe they don’t know we’re in this truck.”
He said nothing.
“Where are we going? I don’t think my apartment is a good idea and I’m sure neither of us wants to hang out with your Guardian.”
Kheelan looked at the dashboard clock. Three a.m.
Skye clamped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She dug out her cell phone and punched a number. “Callie,” she mouthed at him. She frowned at the phone. “She was so anxious for me to call and now she’s not picking up.”
“It is three in the morning,” he said after she left a message.
Skye laid the phone on the console. “Where did you say we were going?”
“I didn’t.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Truth is, I don’t know. But if we don’t hear from –”
A large thump landed on top of the truck.
Kheelan looked up. “What the –”
“For the love of the goddess.” Skye grabbed his arm, her fingers digging into his biceps.
Cops were the least of his worries. Kheelan accelerated and fishtailed the truck back and forth across the road, hoping to shake off whatever had caught up to them. Something large and gray rolled over the hood of the truck, its impact shattering the front windshield. Even with the safety glass, some shards exploded inward, cutting their faces.
Kheelan shoved Skye to the floorboard. “Stay down.”
The thing, whatever it was, continued rolling and fell off on the passenger side of the truck. He swerved to avoid hitting it. Kheelan slowed to get a quick look; it appeared more animal than human, with a grayish-green body the size of a wild boar, and a horn protruding from its forehead. The thing wobbled up on two legs and stared back at him. Despite the maroon color of its eyes, they betrayed an intelligence and predatory gleam that was definitely not that of an animal. It was bad Fae all right. Kheelan sped off, relieved to see the thing wasn’t traveling in some kind of herd.
He wiped his face, sending pinpricks of pain as bits of glass scraped deeper in his cheeks and forehead. At least his eyes were spared and he could keep driving. “You okay?” he asked anxiously, seeing blood on Skye’s face.
“Okay. You?”
“Fine.” The air blasted his face. Freezing. Which wasn’t all bad, the numbing effect kept the facial abrasions from burning. He shoved on a pair of sunglasses from the console to keep his eyes from watering.
Skye clamored back in her seat. “Oh man, this truck is totaled.”
The hood was smashed in the middle, and the passenger side crimped in. The right headlight was dead.
“At least it’s still running,” Kheelan said.
Smoke rose out of the engine and it gave an ominous hiss, followed by the telltale high-pitched careening of a slipped belt. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel. “Just what we needed.”
They were on the outskirts of town surrounded by more trees than buildings.