by D. N. Hoxa
But there was no more time left to wonder. As soon as she jumped, holding onto the window pane, I wrapped myself around the branch and followed. I drew in air in short gasps, afraid if I took a deep breath, I’d get heavier and the wood would crack. Elisa tried to move to the other window, but her foot slipped. My heart jumped. The last thing we needed was to fall to the ground now, but instead, the sound of glass breaking made my hairs stand to attention. Elisa couldn’t hold herself up anymore, so instead of falling, she used the momentum of her slipping foot and kneed the window with all her strength.
The noise echoed in the empty street. A short scream came from inside the apartment. My legs and arms bled when I hurried up the branch. I could no longer see Elisa, but I was too afraid to look at the ground. When I grabbed the windowpane, the broken glass around it sunk into my fingers. Hissing in pain, I held onto it because letting go meant falling. Lucky for me, Elisa must have seen me. She grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me inside, sending us both rolling on the floor.
The apartment we were in had two women in it. They were both wearing only underwear, watching Netflix.
“I’m so sorry,” I said in a breath. They looked terrified—too terrified to even shed the tears that had gathered in their eyes. “I’ll pay for that! Just as soon as I get back, I’ll pay for the window.”
Running to the door, I gave them a weak smile, but I didn’t feel guilty for ruining their night. In half an hour tops, they wouldn’t even remember that we’d been there, and they would never know how their window got broken. I just hoped they didn’t call the police on us, at least until we got back to jump out that same window.
I ran down the stairs like a mad woman. Thankfully, nobody was in the hallways. My right hand was a mess, my fingers still bleeding, but I had no time to get the glass shards out. My hair stuck to my sweaty face and I felt like flying while I ran, not even bothering to stop in the lobby. If the soldiers saw us, our best bet was to run right where we’d come from—after we got my money.
The spell stones I’d planted in the basement were gone, just like I suspected. Nothing moved down there. I’d have liked to take my time to make sure nothing would go wrong, but all we had was a minute. Running to my door, I prepared my strength, then jumped against it with both my feet. My back hit the ground hard the next second, knocking my breath away. The footsteps made my blood freeze. I sat up with a jolt, trying to get my daggers that had dug into my skin from the fall, but then I realized, the footsteps were Elisa’s.
She was the only one in my apartment.
“Shut the door!” she hissed, waving me in while she moved to the kitchen and to my bedroom to check for soldiers.
Could it be that we were actually alone down there?
I closed the door gently. My apartment was close to empty. My computers were gone, my U-shaped desk in pieces. They’d even torn the fabric of my couch, possibly to look for anything I might have hidden in the cushions. They definitely thought of me as an amateur, and I loved it. Elisa was already in my bathroom, checking the toilet. The wall behind it seemed intact, but that didn’t give me any relief. We were in my apartment, with no way out but the front door. Regret slipped into my pores as I fell to my knees. The ECU had broken the mirror over the sink, but more shards in my body meant nothing to me now. I grabbed one of the daggers by the handle, which would be enough to break through the dry wall. I’d put the plastic bag with the money a palm up from the floor, and that’s exactly where I brought the handle with all my strength. The white wall cracked immediately.
“Faster, faster, faster,” Elisa urged me, standing by the bathroom door to see if we’d have company.
I assaulted the wall ten times before a small hole caved in. The money was right there, just as I’d left it, wrapped in a blue plastic bag. The sight of it made me hit harder and faster, until the hole was big enough for my hand to fit in—and pull out the money. Finally.
I jumped to my feet, so excited I could shout, but I almost had a heart attack instead. Elisa was right in front of me, her fingers in front of my lips, her brows almost touching her hairline. That could only mean one thing: somebody was in my apartment with us. Swallowing hard, I focused on my ears. The footsteps were barely there, and if most of the floor hadn’t been covered in broken things, we’d have never heard the solider.
Moving slowly, Elisa grabbed my arm and pulled me to the wall of the bathroom, behind the door. I left the money bag on the sink as silently as I could, but whoever was out there, they probably already knew we were in. The daggers in my hand felt foreign and for a second, I wondered if I could even fight with them. Elisa didn’t have her katana—I doubted she had any weapons on her, except the Pretters, which were good for nothing in a fight. We were underprepared, but we’d made it that far, didn’t we? Our best bet was to attack first while there was one—or two—of them down there, before the others came. All we’d have to do was run up the stairs if we took them out, and we’d be gone.
I nodded at Elisa to tell her that I was going out there. If it came to it, I was willing to use my magic to survive. I didn’t want to, but as long as I was alive, I could find a way to hide. Elisa reached for the moneybag on the sink and lowered her head. Drawing in a mouthful of air, I stepped in front of the door. Whoever was in there, they had to be close to the entrance, and I was going to throw a dagger their way as a distraction, to give me time to reach them, if a bullet didn’t reach me first.
But just as I was about to jump out of the bathroom, a noise filled my ears, very similar to something large falling to the ground.
Silence covered every inch of my apartment. We didn’t even breathe for the longest second.
“Elisa,” someone whispered, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it was Noah.
Elisa pushed me to the side and hurried out the room. My legs felt like jelly when I followed her, and saw Noah standing in front of the open door, with one of the soldiers who’d been guarding the front of the building on the floor at his feet.
“What the hell?” I was caught between laughing, and getting really pissed off that Elisa had told someone where we’d be. Just how well did she know this guy?
“Noah, you shouldn’t have come,” Elisa said, but her voice was weak. She was glad to see him, as was I.
“There are others in the front,” Noah said, looking her over as if to check for any injuries. “What the hell, Lis?”
“Guys, we need to go.” By then, the guy Elisa had knocked unconscious in the back would have woken up. Others would be there waiting for us, and now was time to go. They both agreed.
“I’ll distract them while you slip out,” Noah whispered, going up the stairs.
“We can go up to the second floor and escape through the window,” Elisa said, but Noah shook her head.
“Too long. Other might be coming if that guy we left down there doesn’t respond to his calls.”
So it was decided. Whatever scene Noah was going to cause, I hoped it was a damn good one. My whole body shaking, I kneeled on the last stairs together with Elisa while Noah slowly continued to walk to the entrance. We couldn’t see the soldiers dressed as civilians. We’d have no idea when to run out.
Elisa grabbed my hand and froze in place, looking out the entrance without blinking. I held my breath and waited for something to happen…a sound.
Somebody shouted. I couldn’t tell who it was, but Elisa jumped to her feet, my hand still in hers, and we ran to the entrance without looking back. I couldn’t hear anything over the sound of my heart beating. Cold air filled my nostrils, but instead of clearing the view in front of me, all I saw was a mess of blurry lights.
More importantly, I saw nobody standing in front of us.
Turning left, my instincts screamed at me to run, run, run, but that would be sure to draw a lot of attention we didn’t want. So holding onto Elisa’s hand, I walked as fast as I could without running. My whole body shook but I didn’t dare look back to see if we were being followed. Nobody called us or as
ked us to stop. When we turned the corner, I could no longer keep my body in one place. I let go of Elisa and I ran with all my strength.
It was a while before I allowed myself to stop. With no idea where we were, we rested against the grey wall of a building, holding onto our chests as we raced to catch our breaths. The street was full of people, mostly human, who paid no attention to us. No ECU soldiers running after us.
“Let’s go,” Elisa said, nodding ahead. “Just walk.” So we did.
A few minutes later, Noah just appeared by her side. A scream escaped my lips but hopefully nobody heard. I had no idea how she was used to him popping in and out of places like that, but I definitely wasn’t.
“What were you doing there, Lis? We agreed that you wouldn’t—” Noah started but Elisa cut him right off.
“I had no choice, I swear. But you shouldn’t have come here. You should have been back home, waiting for my call,” she complained.
“They’re after me, too,” Noah said. “A couple were looking for me at the Lair tonight. Tony gave me the heads up.”
“Shit,” Elisa whispered.
“I called your name,” I said reluctantly. The night before when we’d been chased by the ECU, I hadn’t known who Noah was after she’d spoken his name, or any other way to get him there really fast besides calling his name at the top of my voice. The ECU soldiers heard. Of course they heard. We should have seen this coming.
“They have nothing on me, though. I’m worried about you,” Noah said, pretending I wasn’t even there. He felt like an old vampire, and old vampires were able to tell if somebody was running after them from a mile away, which was why I felt a bit safer in his presence while we walked down the street, but still not safe enough not to turn and look behind us every few seconds. We’d escaped with the money, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still find us, even though we hadn’t had to use our magic at all. Whatever signature they were waiting for our energy to release, we weren’t going to give it to them, it seemed. Not to the ECU, or to the demons.
“Don’t be. I told you I’m away on business. Stop tracking my phone, Noah,” Elisa said, rolling her eyes.
“He’d have found you!” Noah raised his voice a bit.
“Don’t you think we’d have handled him on our own?” It was a fair question. He probably already knew how Elisa fought. Even if I’d been on my own, I’d have been able to kick the soldier’s teeth in without too much trouble—with my magic.
“Doesn’t matter. We’re both wanted. It’s time we left this place behind,” Noah said.
“We’ve talked about this.” Elisa was pissed off, too. “I have things to take care of, and you’re not going anywhere. Let the ECU find you. Tell them you have no idea who Scarlet is. You’re good at lying.” I definitely sensed something fragile there.
“I’m not leaving you on your own.”
“She’s not alone. She’s with me, remember?”
“Go back, Noah. I need to do this on my own. I’ll find you when I’m ready,” Elisa said, pushing him to the side by the shoulder. He almost stepped onto the street.
“Lis, you can’t just—”
“Go!” she cut him off. “If they find you, they’ll find me. I’m safe, Noah. I’m protected. I’ll find you. Just…please. Leave.”
Noah didn’t like it, but Elisa didn’t look like she was about to give him a choice. He tried to convince her for a good five minutes after that, but she didn’t budge. In the end, he lowered his head and practically disappeared to the other side of the road, and when I looked back, he was gone for good.
“What’s the story of you two?” I asked, trying but failing to figure out how their relationship worked. They were lovers—I’d seen pictures of them kissing at the house in the park, but they almost seemed like strangers when they spoke to each other.
“The question you should be asking is where are we staying tonight?”
I grinned. “That’s easy. You’re going to love it.” She was probably going to hate it—and me.
It was an old bar that used to be a brothel back in the days, and the owners never got to changing the upstairs—really small rooms with really old beds. The current owner rented them for outlaws. Yes, that’s right, he rented them for a lot of cash, payment up front and no questions asked. The best part? While under his roof, he protected you like you were his kin with multiple spells and Pretters. People said he kept them under the pillows, too, and you couldn’t, under any circumstances, even touch them.
There were more outlaws in the city than one might think—either running from the ECU, or the packs, or the witch and vampire covens. The owner was a smart guy. He saw the opportunity and he took it. Some said the ECU knew about him and let him operate in exchange for information, but I doubted it. Lots of people went by his brothel-turned-motel and as far as I heard, none of them were ever caught after.
Naturally, Elisa didn’t like the idea. She claimed she knew Mojo, the owner, and that he was a suspicious guy. She’d heard the rumors, too, and she wasn’t willing to risk it.
“So where will we sleep?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
I didn’t have to say anything else. She went along with me into the building, let me do the talking, and the paying—five hundred for a night—and we were ushered into the backdoor by a witch sporting pink pigtails who looked far too young to be working for Mojo. Asking questions was not our place. The room, one of five off the dimly lit, empty hallway, was indeed very small. A queen-sized bed took up most of the space, but there was a private bathroom in there, though by the looks of it, I’d only use it if my bladder threatened to explode.
We settled down on the bed as far from one another as we could get without falling. It looked like the Pretters under the pillow thing was just an urban myth, but we found eight of them under the bed frame, and a lot more distributed around the room. With the money he made in a night, I had no trouble figuring out how Mojo could afford this kind of heavy security.
We didn’t say goodnight, Elisa and I, because we already knew neither was going to sleep. The shutters outside the window did nothing to keep the noise of the bar downstairs out, or that of the city, buzzing with life. My thoughts took me to Ax and to Luca, to Grover and to Fallon, until the fear made me want to throw my guts up. My heart had forgotten what it’s like to beat normally. It was a long time before I convinced myself that they were okay. Nobody had stopped me when I’d walked out of Elisa’s house. There was no reason to believe it went any differently for them.
Time slowed to a crawl and I ended up using the toilet at five in the morning. I’ll spare you the details, but it was bad. I had to pee standing. We were supposed to leave before nine am, but we were both restless. No matter how well the room was protected, both Elisa and I wanted to take our chances out in the street. So we left before eight.
“I need to eat something,” she said.
“Me, too. There’s a human diner a few blocks away.” Even my voice still sounded strange, too heavy with fear and paranoia.
“I hate human diners,” she mumbled. I did, too. It took the waiters forever to get your order, and when they did, they got it wrong—not to mention the payment. It was a pain in the ass.
“Tell me about David,” I said instead. There was no use in discussing where we were going to eat. Hiding among humans was the logical thing to do. Other paranormals might recognize us. Even though it was still early and we walked fast with our heads down, they’d be able to see our faces with clarity. How easy would it be to pick up the phone and report us?
“I might have given you the wrong impression, but I don’t trust you, Scarlet.”
“I don’t trust you, either, but I did throw him off the rooftop for you.” It was only fair that I got to hear the story. “Is he your former lover or something?”
“Ew,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “No, he’s not my former lover.”
“Is he family? Was that why you were afraid of him?”
Abrupt
ly, she stopped walking and turned to me. “I am not afraid of him.” Oh, boy. She was more afraid of David than I’d realized.
“Okay,” I said, raising my hands in surrender. “You’re not afraid of him.”
Realizing her reaction, Elisa lowered her head and continued to walk down the street. I took the chance to check everybody around us for a second, until I was satisfied. Nobody was watching or following us for now.
“Any chance you’ll tell me who she is?” Maybe Elisa was telling the truth about not being afraid of David, but of the she he mentioned.
“I already did. She’s someone you don’t want to mess with,” Elisa said, sending shivers down my back.
“Worse than the ECU?”
She laughed dryly. “You have no idea.”
I did, in fact. I’d accepted the help of the green-eyed man twice now. I knew perfectly well what a person worse than the ECU could do.
“How did you get out of there, Scarlet?”
My cheeks flushed. “We already told you.”
“I get the feeling you’re hiding something, and I’m never wrong about these kinds of things.” I clamped my mouth shut. Bluffing was what I did best, but right now, I didn’t feel like lying. We both had secrets we didn’t want to share, and I was happy to leave it at that. “See? It’s not nice to be interrogated, is it?”
“It is when you can choose not to answer. But I have a question you can answer. Who’s the guy we’re going to see in the black market today? And when is it taking place?”
Elisa showed me her phone. “We’ll know soon. Possibly before sundown. The fairy we’ll meet is ancient. He sells fairy things, mostly useless to me, but if anybody knows what that thing is, it’s him.” Suddenly, I thought of Gerin, the fairy Adams had brought in to inspect the dragon.
“And if he doesn’t know?” I asked halfheartedly.
“Then we’ll figure something else out, just as long as we don’t get caught by the ECU.” She was more confident than me now.