The tree-being squeezed me slightly before pulling me away from the now really pissed off dragon. I glanced down to the street and noticed Nik peeking over an enormous pickup truck; his attention was torn between the giant moving tree and the fire-breathing dragon.
Nik ducked behind the truck, reached into the back, and pulled out a giant tire iron. Next, he yanked the front door off. He used the door as a shield and the tire iron as a medieval lance.
Nik charged.
The dragon managed to get its head whipped around, its fiery breath hurdling toward Nik before the vampire reached it. The vampire caught the blast on the door, the sudden heat shattering the window. Nik ducked his head and managed to keep himself from catching on fire. He pressed forward through the stream of fire—a proverbial knight with car parts.
Now, like any other girl, I had once dreamed of a knight riding to my rescue, killing the dragon, and saving me from the tower—I just never imagined it would actually happen. Nor did I imagine my knight would be a vampire I hated, his weapons would be imported car parts, the dragon would have fire for skin or my tower would be a sentient tree that was trying to squeeze me into vampire goo.
When it ran out of breath, Nik rushed the dragon and skewered it. Handy things, those car parts, beside the mundane use. The dragon slumped over, its fiery aura fading completely. Was it dead? Did those things die?
My eyes trained on the naked woman standing at the base of the tree. She laughed, the noise sounding like a mix of a human voice and the rustling of dry leaves in the wind. Very creepy!
Nik stood up and took a step toward her. “Give me back the girl.”
In response, the tree squeezed me tighter. I couldn't keep the scream from escaping, though it ended quickly since I couldn't take a very deep breath. Nik glanced up at me and noticed the other branch sweeping down in his direction. He rolled out of the way and ran back toward the cars. Nik ripped the door from his ruined SUV and hurled it at the woman. She skipped out of the way.
I couldn't just sit in my tree and do nothing, but I didn't have any weapons. I am strong now, a small voice in my brain whispered. I reached up and started breaking off branches and throwing them at the woman. The woman glared up at me. I broke another branch and she grimaced. Sweet! This must hurt her. I reached for a large one—one I would never have imagined myself capable of breaking before yesterday. With all the might I had, I yanked on the large branch and tore it from the trunk as though I had been playing with putty.
The woman shrieked and dropped to her knees. She crawled to the tree and reached for the trunk. With her contact established, the tree jerked and the branch holding me squeezed. I tried to cry out in pain, but I couldn't breathe. The woman smiled; her green teeth matched her surprisingly round eyes. I wanted to suggest my dentist to her.
Evidently I had provided a decent distraction. Nik snuck up behind the woman, weilding what looked like part of the metal from around the windshield. He swung it, the metal connecting with the woman's face. She flew a few feet away from the tree, which went limp, or as limp as a tree can. I gasped for breath. I still couldn't get free, but I could start doing damage again. I reached for the branches holding me and tried to free myself.
At the same time, Nik picked up a can of gasoline he had retrieved from the back of his Land Rover. He poured it on the trunk of the tree and pulled a lighter from his pocket. “What are you doing?” I shrieked.
Nikolai ignored me. “Give her back, or I'll light your tree on fire!” he said in a loud, commanding voice. I glanced at the woman. She was standing a few feet away, her slim body shaking with visible fear. Her slightly misshapen eyes grew wide while her long fingers tightened into fists.
“You wouldn't,” she said in that same raspy voice. It made my skin crawl.
Nikolai flicked the lighter on, the small flame lighting his face, and held it near the soaked wood.
“Okay!” The tree-woman ran to the tree, tripped, and reached out to touch the base of the trunk. The branches released me and I fell to the ground with a thud. Before the woman could make a move, I ran to Nik, glad to use him as a semi-living-shield. He didn't seem to mind. With a strange glint in his eye, he dropped the lighter on the ground near the tree and pushed me toward the street. The tree lit up with the aid of the gasoline. No wood in western Washington would burn that easily without a little help—way too wet.
The woman began to writhe in agony. She slapped her face and legs, rolling on the damp grass as though she too was on fire. We didn’t stick around to see what happened next.
Chapter Twelve
Wow! Nik is kind of a jerk, I thought as I jogged over to the destroyed Land Rover. Actually, I already knew that about him. Just as I reached it, I heard people start screaming. I glanced at the pedestrians. They weren't pointing at us or what was left Nik's SUV, but rather at the burning tree. Nik nudged me toward the east end of Seventh Avenue. Once we were a fair distance from the wreckage, Nik slowed to a walk. He glanced back at the scene, looking like a casual observer. I tried to mimic his actions, but was far too flustered to achieve anything more than nervous interest.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Before he could answer, Josh came jogging to our side. He glanced over my shoulder at the flames, now licking up to the top most branches—impressive considering the falling rain. “Mikhail sent me to warn you… but it appears I'm too late.”
“Warn us about what?”
“The Winter Court has demanded we turn her over. Mikhail feared they might try to take her by force.” Again, Josh glanced over my shoulder at the mess we had made.
“This wasn't Winter. This was a Summer dragon and a dryad. ”
Josh's eyes grew wide. He and Nik started glancing around, as if they expected monsters to jump out of the woodwork. I was starting to feel that way myself.
“Wait… Winter Court… Summer Court? What does all this mean?” I was so tired of having to be constantly brought up to speed.
“I'll explain as we go,” Nik said, taking me by the elbow and pushing me into motion. Again, he didn't get a chance to explain. We had just rounded the nearest corner when a man stepped out from behind a parked car. His blond hair was done up in scraggly dreadlocks. His matching beard looked like it was halfway to being dreadlocks too. He wore layers of baggy clothing, all of which appeared to be nearly the same color—dirty brownish gray. The layers hid the shape of his body, though he was clearly tall.
At first, I didn't think anything about it, but Josh suddenly stepped between me and the hippie. He stretched out his hands, as if to keep me from stepping around him. By now, I had learned to trust my new associates. They knew a hell of a lot more about this mystical stuff than I did, and if they thought the hippie was a threat, then by golly so did I.
The hippie gave Josh a condescending smile. “Evidently you know what I am. Give me the girl and no one gets hurt,” he said, his gums lined with stubby brown teeth that looked as though they had been gnawing on the sidewalk.
Nik stepped forward, placing himself partially between Josh and the hippie. “Why do you want her?”
“Do you really think I'm told such things? I'm just ordered to bring her to my queen.”
“Orithyia,” sighed Nik. “There's no way I'm giving her to you.”
Though I knew he would never just give me over to our enemies, I couldn't help but feel relieved. Nik might just have a breaking point, and the way he looked at this man, I knew we were in serious trouble. What would it take for Nik to give up and hand me over to our enemies?
“That is your choice,” rumbled the other man. The man’s clothing seemed to melt off of him. At the same time his body grew. At first, it occurred so slowly I wasn’t sure if there was actually a change taking place, but before I knew what had happened, an entirely different creature stood before me. He looked like a Norse god to me—a really, really big Norse god. He stood as tall as a building, with bulging muscles. His tangled, blond hair straightened out and his
beard lengthened. His layers of clothing became part of his build, transforming into skin. When the transformation finished, frost like steam began to emanate from his skin and fall toward the ground. The pavement around his feet frosted over, as if it were early morning in January, and the falling rain started forming ice cycles in his hair.
I remembered what Nik had said about the fae having once been the Greek gods. It suddenly made sense. I could see a thing like this being confused for a god.
Oh, this is bad! I realized. Josh pushed me backwards, away from the enormous man, while repeatedly screaming, “Troll!”
Was he serious? Well, I guess if dragons exist, why not a troll? The beast-like man lumbered forward, a hammer the size of a small refrigerator hanging from his calloused grasp. Where had that come from? Josh and I hid behind a minivan while Nik tried to lead it away. “Protect her,” he yelled as he reached the middle of the street.
Nik crossed into the parking lot on the other side of the street. The troll followed at a surprisingly fast pace, his hammer dragging on the ground. It left a path of destruction and frost in its wake—a deep gouge running down the center, nearly on top of the dotted line. A car turned onto the street, stopped, and backed up. It didn't screech its tires or move at a fast pace as if afraid. Rather, it moved as though it had simply taken a wrong turn.
Before Nik could attack, the troll turned to our hiding place. It stared at the van for a moment, as if it had to think through its options. In the end, he lumbered toward the minivan and raised his hammer. Josh and I scrambled away just as he slammed it down, crushing the vehicle. I ran across the street, toward Nik. Josh ran in the opposite direction, weaving his way into a full parking lot.
I suddenly found myself all alone in a street that felt surprisingly wide. I glanced at Nik. He was rounding a car at top speed, his eyes as wide as skillets. It was then that I made the mistake of turning around.
I had been feeling a lot of fear lately. People go through most of their lives without feeling genuine fear. They might watch a scary movie which results in a few nightmares or be afraid they can't pay their rent, but seldom do they experience heart-pounding, bone-melting, panty-wetting terror. That's how I felt when I turned and stared into the enormous eyes of the troll.
The thing had stooped down so that he could look me in the eye. It huffed a large breath, blowing back my red hair. The breath smelled of half-frozen, rotting flesh mixed with fresh snow. Not the most appealing smell, really. The troll grunted as he swooped his hand over me and scooped me up. My skin burned with the bitter cold of his grasp. I immediately started shivering violently. The ice seeped into my muscles, making them cramp. I gasped for breath; the frigid cold sinking into my lungs and making the muscles around my chest tighten.
As the chill sunk deeper into my body, I started feeling confused. My body knew I was supposed to be afraid, and I was, but I couldn't quite remember why. Two men, who seemed vaguely familiar, were tearing parking meters from the pavement and slamming them into the feet of the large, cold beast that held me captive. Each impact of the improvised iron weapon caused the beast's frozen skin to erupt into sizzling welts. I felt very tired as I watched them beat the troll's shins. My eyes drooped and I went limp in the hand of the beast. Sleep would be a welcome respite. Though I didn't completely lose consciousness, I came very close.
Chapter Thirteen
I felt my captor lumber down the street. On occasion, I could see the two men running ahead of the monster. In a vain effort, I tried to remember what it was that held me in its grasp, but failed. We traipsed past what looked like a park with a big bonfire. The importance of the enormous fire escaped me. Another block of travel, and the redheaded man dashed into a building. The other one danced around the feet of the monster, occasionally bashing it in the shins with the pole—a pole that jingled in a familiar way.
A moment or two later and the redhead returned. He threw something at the monster, hitting it in the belly. Whatever he threw lit the monster on fire. It bellowed loud enough that I wanted to cover my ears; I just couldn't find my hands. I suddenly felt like I was flying, and the painful cold that had surrounded me eased.
I landed with a thud, shattering something beneath my weight. It didn't seem like a good idea to move, or maybe it was just that my muscles were too frozen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something burning. Was it the bonfire from the park or something else? I couldn't remember.
Having feelings and being unable to remember what they're called is a strange sensation. I lay where I had fallen, watching the dark clouds thin and begin to reveal bright stars. The stars twinkled at me and I felt my lips pull up in a smile. I'm not sure why I was smiling. In fact, I wasn't sure why I was laying on something slightly poky and watching the stars.
A minute later, or maybe an hour, someone pulled me off the car I'd landed on and cradled me in their arms. It was one of the men, the one with red hair. I knew that I knew him, but I couldn't remember how or what his name was.
“We need to get her warm,” the redhead semi-stranger said.
“First, we need to get off the street.”
By this time the men had stopped at a non-smashed car. The one not carrying me glanced around before pulling the door open by shear elbow grease. The metal screeched loudly as he broke the door lock. He flipped the switch to unlock the other doors. The redhead got the back door open and dumped me into the seat before following. The car was already running; the other man was very fast.
We drove a short distance and stopped. I was dragged out of the car through the other door and hoisted back into someone's arms. It was the taller man. We went down a dark alley, one that I would have had a sarcastic comment about had my brain been functioning. The redheaded man opened a door and ushered us in. We descended a case of dark stairs and into a concrete hallway. Like so many things today, it seemed familiar yet foreign. I couldn't wrap my brain around it.
“What happened?” asked a voice.
“Frost troll. We need to get her warm. I don't think she's conscious,” the man said. Nik was his name. Yes, Nik.
“A frost troll?”
“Not the point, Mikhail,” Nik said. Nik placed me on the floor next to a warm fire and draped a blanket over me. I was suddenly feeling cold again. I began to shake violently. This lasted until I thought my muscles would shake right out of my skin in protest.
Suddenly, the shaking stopped and my mind began to clear. The haze around my thoughts eased. Concerned faces came into focus. “Nik? What happened?” I remembered the basic images of the past half hour, I just couldn't figure out what they meant.
“You remember the frost troll?”
After a moment of thought, I nodded. Yes, the really cold monster. “I thought vamps didn't have these issues with the cold,” I said weakly.
He chuckled. “Had you been human you would have been dead within the first minute or two of him touching you.” Nik looked at Mikhail. I followed his gaze.
“I take it Josh failed in finding you in time.”
“He arrived just before the troll attacked, and it was he who got it to stop chasing us.”
Mikhail's normally calm face took on a look of genuine astonishment. “Is that so?”
Nik nodded. “Without Josh, I doubt I would be alive and Ashley would be in someone else's control. On top of all that, we were attacked by the Summer Court just before Josh arrived. Though we didn't exactly have a conversation on the topic, they were clearly after Ashley too.”
“So this means Richard, the wolves and both fae courts are after her. What have we gotten ourselves into?” Mikhail stared into the flames for a moment.
“There's more. It might be Phonoi is the one after her. Maybe hiring Richard or the wolves,” sighed Nik. “Are you sure you don't want me to just get rid of her?”
I pulled my knees up to my chest and ran my fingers through my hair until they reached a knot at the back of my head. The warmth of the fire tickled my back as the skin began to regain fee
ling. My eyes squeezed shut on their own accord. For a brief moment, I'd thought Nik had changed his mind about wanting to end my life. After all, he had refused to give me over, even when his flock of human blood bags had been in danger. Evidently they had meant even less to him than I realized. Or maybe he just followed Mikhail's orders no matter what.
“Phonoi?”
“Yes. Kind of a long story. But it turns out Ashley's cat is a fae, or was. Phonoi turned him into a cat because he had impregnated Phonoi's sister.”
“Corinna?” Mikhail turned to me. “Your cat is the father of Mnemosyne?”
“Who are Phonoi and Mnemosyne?” I asked from my seat by the fire.
“They're fae,” whispered Josh, shifting over to sit next to me on the floor.
“Could Phonoi get both fae courts to seek out Ashley and her cat?”
“Possibly. Phonoi is hard to predict. Always has been,” responded Nik. “Mikhail. This is too big for us. Phonoi, much less the fae queens, is more powerful than us. We need to end this.”
I flinched, knowing what he meant. Josh wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.
Mikhail's eyes flashed at him, brightening with excitement. “We will not be killing her, Nik, until I know what’s going on. Do you understand me?”
For a short second, I thought Nik was going to argue. His jaw tightened, the muscles flexing as he glared back at his leader. I noticed Josh wasn't breathing. Then again, neither was I. The tension in the room rose as the two old vampires stared each other down. I could see Nik thinking through his options. Finally he nodded, lowering his eyes to the floor.
“Josh, join Nik. The two of you keep her alive. And figure out who is actually after her. All we have are questions.” Mikhail stalked over to the shorter man and glared down at him. “This is your chance to prove yourself. Consider your life tied to hers. If she dies… ” Mikhail smiled, causing a shiver to run down my spine. “Now, all of you get out.” He moved back to his desk.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 7