Page 17 of Deadly Little Games (Four Ways to Fate #2)

17

It was two in the morning by the time we managed to escape the tavern. Harry had been in fine form, jumping in with one of his own stories as soon as someone else finished. It had gone on for ages, leaving Elena drunk, Gabriel cranky, Crispin with tired bags under his eyes and Sebastian… well he was still as oddly cheerful as ever. Ringo had fallen asleep in my bag around 10 PM, and hadn’t stirred since, not even when we moved to the car and started our way back down the mountain.

I had left Braxton with a promise to call him once I made it somewhere safe, which hopefully wouldn’t be an issue as long as we didn’t run into any more Fae. Gabriel and I would go to the Bogs first to make sure everything was alright with Mistral, then as soon as Elena procured another charm for Sebastian, he and I would return to Emerald Heights.

I didn’t like bringing a devil bodyguard, but I’d had far too many close calls. If I didn’t learn to exercise a little caution, I was going to end up dead. Or trapped in the Crystal Vale. Humans stayed away from the fae realm within the city, and I was with them. Most who managed to cross the boundary never returned.

But my father. Had he really gone there? And what could he have offered the fae to fake my death?

“What an unbearably long drive,” Elena sighed dramatically from the front seat.

I wasn’t sure how many beers she’d had, I knew at least six. “We haven’t even made it to the border yet.”

“Uuughhh.”

I chuckled, looking over at Gabriel, noting the strong bridge of his nose over the grim line of his mouth. A wave of guilt made my throat tight. Mistral had seemed fine with lending him to me. After we put the vines back in their place, he had made it seem like it wasn’t likely to happen again soon. But then why was Gabriel so worried?

“There’s something happening up ahead.” Crispin’s words cut through my thoughts. He’d had only had two beers, along with a large meal, so he was fine to drive, and sounded more alert than ever.

Wrapping my arms around my bag containing Ringo, I leaned forward in my seat, peering out the dark windshield.

But it was too cloudy, leaving us in almost pitch blackness beyond the range of the headlights. “I don’t see anything.”

“Elves see better than most anyone,” Elena said proudly, then giggled.

“She is correct,” Crispin agreed, “so you’re just going to have to trust me. There’s movement up ahead, near the border.” He slowed the car. “Perhaps we should take a moment to scout the road. This could be a trap.”

It was odd hearing Crispin sound so serious and capable, so far from his normally affable demeanor.

Gabriel pressed against my side, peering out the windshield. “If the fae managed to track us, they would have had trouble at the border.”

His words were like an injection of ice into my veins. If we had led the fae here… The werewolves were capable of protecting their lands, but there would be casualties. And those casualties would be completely my fault.

“No slowing down. If something happens they may need our help.” I looked at Sebastian, relaxed in his seat. “ All of our help.”

He lifted a brow. “You expect me to protect werewolves now?”

“Yes. I do.”

I didn’t have time to see if he agreed. Our headlights bounced across the bare metal of the twisted gate at the border, and I suddenly was able to see the movement Crispin had spotted. It was difficult to tell in the blaring headlights if they were fae, but considering that they were fighting with werewolves to enter their lands, it seemed likely. A few figures waited on motorcycles beyond the ruined gates, revving their engines in preparation to charge through while others fought werewolves in both human and wolf form all around.

“Fae,” Crispin confirmed, hitting the brakes.

“Shit. What do we do?” Gods, this was my fault. I was glad Theresa and Braxton were still back at the tavern, but Monica could be out there in danger, along with countless other wolves who had nothing to do with my mom or any of this horrible mess.

A giant wolf tumbled into the street in front of us with a small fae woman gripping its fur. With her inhuman strength, she smacked the wolf’s head against the road.

There was no time to wait for an answer. Gabriel was already reaching for the door, but anyone who got out was as good as dead. I gripped his arm. “No, just roll down the windows.” I looked at Crispin in the rearview mirror. “You’re going to have to hit the gas. Try not to run over any wolves.”

His features tight, he answered me with a single nod. Gabriel still hadn’t rolled down the window. The Fae had noticed us now. The wolf right in front of us launched the woman from its body, then it got up and ran. The woman quickly righted herself, grinning at us through the windshield. The motorcycle engines revved.

“Okay go!” I reached around Gabriel and pushed the button to lower the window as the car lurched forward.

“You’re too late, assholes!” I yelled out the window, getting everyone’s attention. “If you want to catch me you better keep up!”

Realizing our intent, the fae on motorcycles sped toward the side of the road, then looped around in the dirt, immediately giving chase the moment we passed.

“So nice of you to ensure they follow us,” Sebastian said tersely beside me over the sound of shouts and roaring engines.

“Better than leaving them to kill the wolves.” I clung to Gabriel’s arm, looking behind us as the car barreled down the dark road.

Seven lights followed us, so at least seven fae, maybe more if some rode two to a bike, which I had spotted a few. I knew Sebastian could hold his own in a fight, and Gabriel probably could too, though he had no weapon. Elena had put her bow in the trunk, and probably could barely aim right now despite her sitting stiffly in her seat, knocked right back into relative soberness.

Gabriel watched the pursuing fae. “They’ll try to run us off the road before we can reach the city.”

“I’ll try to avoid that.” Crispin gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make his knuckles go white. If we could make it to the highway, we might be all right, but the twisting mountain roads were perilous at such high speeds. If anything appeared ahead of us, we were cooked.

“Stop!”

Crispin saw what Elena was shouting about a moment later and slammed on the brakes, skidding toward a massive pine tree that had been freshly felled across the road. I was grateful for my seatbelt as my body was thrown forward. Sebastian’s hand darted in front of me, grabbing the messenger bag with Ringo inside before he could get flung into the windshield.

My blood rushed in my ears, and I could hear nothing over my pounding heart. Then I heard the motorcycle engines, and shouting all around.

Gabriel flung away his seatbelt, leaning in front of me to look at Sebastian. “Can you get her out of here?”

“I cannot travel with anyone else,” Sebastian calmly replied, handing me the bag with Ringo.

The poor little goblin trembled against me, and that was my fault too. I had brought him into this.

Crispin looked back at us. “But Eva can shift. If she’s gone, perhaps the rest of us can escape on foot.”

“Make your choices quickly,” Sebastian said. “I can only hold them off for so long.” He disappeared in a flash of black.

A moment later, one of the approaching fae screamed.

“Holy hells,” Crispin muttered. He looked at me. “You need to realm jump, Eva. You’re the one they want.”

My breath heaved out of me. He was right. They wanted me. They would follow me. I shoved Ringo into Gabriel’s lap, then scooted into Sebastian’s seat, going for the door.

“Eva,” Gabriel growled. I shifted just slightly, evading his grip, then I was out in the night.

A male fairy with vibrant orange hair gelled into spikes reached for me almost instantly. I shifted enough to avoid his grip, then Sebastian was there in a flash of black. I didn’t see a blade, but suddenly the fairy was clutching his neck, blood turned black by the moonlight welling between his fingers.

“Run,” Sebastian hissed into my ear.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I ran toward the woods, both dreading that they would follow me, and hoping they would. If I could lead enough of them away, Sebastian could deal with the rest.

I didn’t make it far before someone else grabbed for me, then Gabriel was there, flinging a full grown fae male aside like he weighed nothing. “Go!” Gabriel grunted.

My sneakers struggled to gain traction on damp grass as I threw myself forward, sprinting toward the trees. I focused on shifting, just enough to make me difficult to grab. I wasn’t about to leave the guys completely behind, even if I could figure out how to realm jump with just a thought.

I sensed my pursuers more than I heard them. Someone was close, right at my heels. Then the earth erupted below me and I toppled head over heels. I landed hard against a tree trunk, sucking in a painful breath as I looked at the space where I’d been. A screaming female was wrapped entirely in unearthed tree roots, being crushed by their sinewy lengths.

For a moment I was stunned, remembering the vines from the Bogs, then I remembered that Crispin was technically a wizard. His magic was weaker in this realm, but not gone entirely.

I saw two more figures heading my way, neither tall enough to be one of the guys, and definitely not the right shape for Elena. I sucked in another heavy breath, got to my feet, and kept running.

Two I could deal with. Sebastian had eliminated at least one, and so had Crispin and Gabriel. If I could lead these two away, hopefully they could take care of the rest. The fairies probably hadn’t bargained on facing a devil, an elven wizard, and a goblin that looked like he could probably bench press a car. At least not all at once.

I wove through the trees growing denser around me, my lungs burning with exertion. My thighs were already beginning to feel like jelly. I dared a glance back, but I didn’t see either of my pursuers. Then I turned around too late. I slammed right into a stranger’s arms, and he locked them tightly around me. I tried to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth.

Shift, I had to shift. I pictured Gabriel, then Sebastian, then Crispin and Elena, but my panic quickly drowned out each image. The man who had grabbed me lifted me off my feet, then hauled me deeper into the woods.