Page 5

“It’s gonna be okay. Listen carefully.” Rusty broke into a jog, and the Nyko stumbled but followed suit.

“There’s an alley up ahead with the back entrance to a dive bar.

It’s always propped open. The bartender’s name is Kera.

She’s an old friend. Go inside and tell her Rusty sent you. She’ll take care of you.”

“What?” the girl whimpered.

“Find the Vixyn behind the bar. Give her my name.” He pushed her into the alley and pointed at the door near the dumpster, propped open like it always was. “Go. I’ll lead them away.”

“Wait, I don’t—”

Trying not to lose his patience, he pointed emphatically at the back door to the bar. “The door’s there. Say Rusty sent you. Go now!”

Nearly tripping over her own feet, the poor girl turned and ran toward the door, heels clicking on the uneven pavement.

Rusty backed out of the alley, startling at how close the group had gotten.

They spotted him, and the Gymnot pointed.

Releasing a frustrated growl, Rusty sprinted into the alley, past the back door that was swinging shut behind the Nyko.

He climbed on the dumpster and leapt toward the broken ladder of the building’s fire escape.

Digging the claws of his feet into the brick, he managed to heave himself up onto the first metal landing just as the group entered the alley. Not wanting them to go looking for the girl, Rusty casually leaned against the railing and grinned down at them.

“I can’t believe you dumbasses fell for that. You’re as stupid as you are ugly, huh?”

“The fuck you say to me?” Hari snarled, baring his jagged teeth.

Rusty laughed cuttingly. “And I thought Elas had good hearing. But I must have been using too big of words for you to understand. I’ll slow it down for you.

You”—he pointed at each of them in turn, speaking extra slowly—“Are. Idiots. And you’re creepy.

Don’t creep on teenagers. It’s not a good look. ”

“When I get my hands on you—”

“Get your hands on me? Wanna suck my dick while you’re at it?” He pantomimed rudely, cackling at the way Hari flushed with rage. “Sorry but you’re not my type.”

“Let’s skin this bitch!” Hari roared, and the trio raced toward the dumpster.

Since Rusty wasn’t actually a match for the three of them, he scrambled up the fire escape ladders as they gave chase. The metal groaned under the combined weight of all four of them, and Rusty hurriedly heaved himself over the edge of the roof, landing in a crouch.

He sprinted across the rooftop, barely hesitating before he threw himself off the other edge, jumping the medium-sized gap.

A manic screech of panic scraped his throat as the rooftop of the lower building rushed toward him.

His landing was far from graceful, but he rolled with the momentum and was back on his feet almost instantly, shaking off the jarring ache in his bones.

He didn’t wait to see if his pursuers would brave the leap. He raced toward the opposite side of the building, but the gap was too big to jump this time. The fire escape looked stable enough for his weight, so he climbed down the cumbersome thing as fast as he could.

The rusty ladder was stuck, so he shimmied down until he hung by the tips of his claws. It was a long fall, but he’d survived worse. As Hari’s head appeared over the side of the roof, Rusty took a fortifying breath, then let go, dropping to the alley pavement.

It was another jarring landing, but this time, something sharp stabbed into his foot, sending hot pain lancing up his leg.

He crumpled with a yowl, kicking away broken beer bottles so he didn’t injure himself further.

With gritted teeth, he inspected his foot, blanching at the chunks of glass embedded in his hide.

“Fuck!” he snarled, grabbing the biggest pieces and yanking them out before he could psyche himself out.

“We got him now,” the Gymnot crowed from above him, and Rusty growled in annoyance as he forced himself to his feet.

“You gotta be kidding me!” Adrenaline pumping, he pushed through the pain and ran as fast as he could down the alley.

He was limping heavily, and he was grateful for the rain, washing away the blood trail he was surely leaving behind. The sidewalk was pretty barren, and Rusty leaned heavily on the boarded up window of the building, panting as his foot shrieked in agony.

Shit, this night was not going his way.

“Pst!” someone said, and Rusty’s head shot up. A Lepid stood in a doorway a few feet away, dressed in a tight corset that gave the illusion of breasts and sheer, lacy panties. She puffed on a cigarette and jerked her head behind her, toward the inside of the building.

With no time to question, Rusty limped toward her and slipped inside, her fluttering wings covering him in their dust where they rubbed against him. He curled up in the dingy hallway and tried to calm his breathing as the Lepid draped herself across the doorway, effectively blocking him from view.

The trio of assholes ran past, and one of them must have hesitated because the Lepid said, in an accent Rusty had heard very few times in his life, which—given his old line of work—was saying a lot, “Hey, baby, looking for a good time?”

“Fucking Sloth vlier ,” Hari spat, and the Lepid snorted, taking another drag from her cigarette as her wings lazily opened and closed.

“Suit yourself.”

She was from Sloth? Rusty could count on one hand the number of Sloth District natives he’d met.

Technically, Sloth wasn’t even a district; it wasn’t officially considered part of the Pentagram at all.

It was too isolated, located on the other side of the Wrath mountains.

The train route from Purgatory had been started but never completed, and getting there from the Pentagram itself was hardly an easy feat.

Sloth was insular and closed off, backward in ways even Lust trash like him was leery of. But he wasn’t going to judge her simply from where she’d come from, especially since she’d helped him out of a tight spot.

As the footsteps of his pursuers faded, Rusty sighed in relief and leaned his head back against the peeling wallpaper. “Thanks,” he said, and the Lepid turned just enough to prop herself against the door jamb, her wings open wide so as not to be crushed.

“Don’t mention it.” She released a billow of smoke through her nostrils. “What’d’ya do to them?”

“Called them idiots,” he said. “They didn’t take too kindly to that.”

The Lepid laughed. “Figures.” She glanced down at his bleeding foot. “That don’t look too good. I got a first aid kit in my room. You’ll have to pay to come back, but I won’t suck your dick unless you want me to.”

An awkward chuckle burst from Rusty’s mouth. “Thanks, but I’m good. ”

She shrugged and took one last drag from her cigarette before flicking the smoldering butt into the street. “Okay. Well, don’t linger long. Mistress Emyra don’t like strays that don’t pay.”

“Sure thing.” Clumsily climbing to his feet, he tested his cut foot and hissed. “Sorry about the blood on the carpet.”

“Psh, I just work here,” the Lepid said with a blasé wave of her top left hand. “I’m Enfys, by the way.”

“Rusty.”

Enfys hummed and cocked her head, antennas flicking. “You look familiar.”

“I worked Flesh Street once upon a time,” he said as he hobbled toward the open doorway.

“One of Gino’s boys?”

“I was my own boy.”

One of her brows arched. “Lucky you.”

“Thanks again for the save.” Rusty reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, but Enfys waved him off.

“Don’t mention it, precious. Us working gals gotta look out for each other.”

He smiled and tucked his wallet away. “You’re not wrong.”

“Just remember my name, in case you get lonely.” She gave him a seductive onceover. “I’ll do you right.”

Another uncomfortable laugh escaped as he ducked his head. “Uh, how about the next time you’re in Purgatory, stop in at the Passing Through Cafe. Lunch is on me.”

“Is that so? Normally, I like things being on me .” Enfys winked flirtatiously. “But I can’t say no to free food. ”

“I can even throw in a coffee,” he added, and she tittered, extending her top right hand.

“You got yourself a deal.”

They shook on it, before he stepped back out into the dreary night. “Have a good night, Enfys.”

“You too, handsome.”

The rain was coming down harder, and Rusty hunkered into himself as he limped toward home.

With every step, his foot burned, and after only a few blocks, he had to stop and lean against a wall, vision spotty.

His flat was another twenty minutes at least, and his phone had cracked during one of his crash-landings.

“Shit.” He looked around for an open bodega or bar where he might ask to use a phone to call a car, but it was late enough that most places were closed. He probably should have just paid Enfys to use her first aid kit, but he didn’t want to hobble all the way back to the brothel.

Gem’s place was close, though. Oh gods, he’d never hear the end of it if he showed up on the Araknis’s doorstep, soaked to the bone, bleeding profusely.

He could already hear Gem’s fussing shrieks, giving him a headache.

But with every passing minute, he was feeling more light-headed, and Gem’s flat was closer than his.

Sagging in defeat, Rusty pushed off the brick with a growled, “Fuck my life.”