Elbow on the open window as we crept forward, I twisted a curl around a finger. Even the press could tell there was something between us, but it wasnt as if I could tell them it was the sharing of dangerous, well-kept secrets, not the familiarity of knowing if he wore boxers or briefs. I knew Trent had issues with what everyone expected him to be. I knew his days stretched long, especially now that Ceri was gone and Quen and the girls were splitting their time between Trent and Ellasbeth. But there were better ways to fill his time than to court political calamity by asking me to work securityme being good at it aside. We were going to have to talk about it and do the smart thing. For once, I was going to do the smart thing. So why does my gut hurt?
Rache! Jenks yelled from the rearview mirror, and my attention jerked from the truck in front of me.
What! I shouted back, startled. I wasnt anywhere near to hitting it.
Pixy dust, green and sour, sifted from him to vanish in the breeze. For the fairy-farting third time, will you shift the air currents in this thing? The wind is tearing my wings to shreds.
Warming, I glanced at the dust leaking from the tear in his wing. Sorry. Rolling my window halfway up, I cracked the two back windows. Jenks resettled himself, his dust shifting to a more content yellow.
Thanks. Where were you? he asked.
Ah, I hedged. My closet, I lied. I dont know what to wear tonight. Tonight. That would be a good time to bring it up. Trent would have three months to think about it.
Jenks eyed me in distrust as a kid in a black convertible wove in and out of traffic, working his way up car length by car length. Uh-huh, he said. Trents girls are coming back tomorrow, right?
The pixy knew when I lied. Apparently my aura shifted. Yes, I said, trying for flippant. I can use the time off. Trent is more social than a fourteen-year-old living-vampire girl. And he could text just as fast, Id found.
Jenkss wings blurred. No money for three months . . .
My grip on the wheel tightened, and I took the on-ramp for the bridge. Ive got your rent, pixy. Relax.
Tinks little pink rosebuds! Jenks suddenly exploded, his wings blurring to invisibility. Why dont you just have sex with the man?
Jenks! I exclaimed, then hit the brakes and swerved when the kid in the convertible cut off the truck ahead of me. My tires popped gravel as I swung on the shoulder and back to the road again, but I was more embarrassed about what hed said than mad at the jerk in the car. Its not like that.
Yeah? There was a curious silver tint to his dust. Watching you and Trent is like watching two kids who dont know how their lips work yet. You like him.
Whats not to like? I grumbled, appreciating the thinner traffic on the bridge.
Yeah, but you thought you hated him last year. That means you really like him.
My hands were clenched, and I forced them to relax on the wheel. Is there a point to this other than you talking about sex?
He swung his feet to thump on the rearview mirror. No. Thats about it.
The man is engaged, I said, frustrated that my life was so transparent.
No, he isnt.
Well, he will be, I shot back as the bridge girders made new shadows and Jenkss dust glowed like a sunbeam. Will be again.
Jenks snorted. Yeah, he lives in Cincy, and she lives in Seattle. If he liked her, hed let her move in with him.
Theyve got a kid, I said firmly. Their marriage will solidify the East and West Coast elven clans. Thats what Trent wants. What everyone wants. Its going to happen, and Im not going to interfere.
Ha! he barked. I knew you liked him. Besides, you dont plan love, it just happens.
Love! Three cars ahead, horns blew and brake lights flashed. I slowed, anticipating trouble. Its not love.
Lust, then, Jenks said, seeming to think that was better than love anyway. Why else would you explode that ball? A little overly protective, yes?
My elbow wedged itself against the window, and I dropped my head into my hand. Traffic had stopped, and I inched forward into a spot of sun. I was not in love. Or lust. And neither was Trent, despite that Im-not-drunk kiss. Hed been alone and vulnerable, and so had I. But I couldnt help but wonder if all the engagements this last month were normal or if he was trying to get out of the house. With me. Stop it, Rachel.
A horn blew behind me, and I moved forward a car length. Trent had his entire life before him, planned out better than one of Ivys runs. Ellasbeth and their daughter, Lucy, fit in there. Ray, too, though the little girl didnt share a drop of blood with him. Trent wanted more, but he couldnt be two things at once. I had tried, and it had almost killed me.
My gaze slid to my shoulder bag and the golf ball tucked inside. The explosion was probably the same thing affecting the 71 corridor, I said. Not because I overreacted.
My gaze slid to my shoulder bag and the golf ball tucked inside. The explosion was probably the same thing affecting the 71 corridor, I said. Not because I overreacted.
Jenks sniffed. I like my idea better.
Traffic was almost back up to speed, and I shifted lanes to get off at the exit just over the bridge. We passed under a girder, and a sheet of tingles passed over me. Surprised, I looked up at the sound of wings, not seeing anything. Why are my fingertips tingling?
Dude! Jenks exclaimed. Did you feel that? Crap on toast, Rache! Your aura just went white again!
What? I took a breath, then my attention jerked forward at the screech of tires. I slammed on the brakes. Both I and the car ahead of me jerked to the left. Before us, a car dove to the right. Tires squealed behind me, but somehow we all stopped, shaken but not a scratch.
I bet it was that kid, I said, my adrenaline shifting to anger. But then I paled, eyes widening at the huge bubble of ever-after rising up over the cars.
Jenks! I shouted, and he turned, darting into the air in alarm. The bubble was huge, coated in silver-edged black sparkles with red smears of energy darting over it. Id never seen a bubble grow that slowly, and it was headed right for us.
Go! I shouted, reaching for my seat belt and scrambling to get out of the car. No one else was moving, and as Jenks darted out, I reached for a line to make a protection circle. But I was over water. There was no way.
Turning, I plowed right into someones door as it opened. I scrambled up, frantically looking over my shoulder as the bubble hit my foot. No! I screamed as my foot went dead. I hit the pavement and fell into the shadow of the car. Suddenly I couldnt breathe. Brownish-red sparkles flowed into me instead of air, and my ears were full of the sound of feathers. I couldnt see. There was no sensation from my fingers as I pushed into the pavement. There was simply nothing to feel.
My heart isnt beating! I thought frantically as the sound of feathers softened into a solid numbness. I couldnt move. I couldnt breathe. It was as if I was being smothered in brown smog. Panicked, I looked again for a line, but there was nothing. What in hell was it? If I could figure that out, I could break it.
A slow roaring grew, painfully loud until it cut off with a soft lub. A sparkle drifted before me, then another. I wasnt breathing, but I wasnt suffocating, either. Slowly the roaring started again, rising to a crescendo to end in a soft hush.
Its my heart, I realized suddenly, seeing more sparkles as I exhaled as if in slow motion, and with that, I knew. I was trapped in an inertia dampening field. Thered been an accident, and a safety charm had malfunctioned. But why had it risen to encompass all of us? I thought, reaching deep into my chi and pulling together the ever-after energy Id stored there. I couldnt make a protection circle without linking to a ley line, but I sure as hell could do a spell.
Separare! I thought, and with a painful suddenness, the world exploded.
Oh God, I moaned, eyes shut as the light burned my eyes. Fire seemed to flash over me and mute to a gentle warmth. Panting, I cracked my eyes to see it had only been the sunbeam I was lying in. Sunbeam? Id fallen into the shade. And where are the cars?
Rachel! a familiar, gray voice whispered intently, and I pulled my squinting gaze from the overhead girders to my hand. Ivy was holding it, her long pale fingers trembling.
How did you get here? I said, and she pulled me into a hug, right there in the middle of the road.
Thank God youre all right, she said, the scent of vampiric incense pouring over me. Everything felt painfully sharp, the wind cooler, the sunlight brighter, and the noise of FIB and I.S. sirens louder, the scent of Ivy sharp in my nose.
The noise of the FIB and I.S. sirens louder? Confused, I patted Ivys back as she squeezed me almost too hard to breathe. I must have passed out, because most of the cars were gone. I.S. and FIB vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances had taken their place, all their lights going. It looked like a street party gone bad with the cops from two divisions and at least three pay grades mucking about. Behind me was more noise, and I pushed from Ivy to see.
Her eyes were red rimmed; shed been crying. Smiling, she let me go, her long black hair swinging free. Youve been out for three hours.
Three hours? I echoed breathily, seeing much the same behind me at the Cincy end of things. More cars, more police vehicles, more ambulances . . . and a row of eight people, their faces uncovered, telling me they were alive, probably still stuck in whatever Id been in.
You werent in a car, so I made them leave you, she said, and I turned back to her, feeling stiff and ill.
My bag was beside her, and I pulled it closer, the fabric scraping unusually rough on my fingertips. What happened? Wheres Jenks?
Looking for something to eat. Hes fine. Her boots ground against the pavement as she stood to help me rise. Shaking, I got to my feet. He called me as soon as it happened. I got here before the I.S. even. Theyre telling the media an inertia dampening charm triggered the safety spells of every car on the bridge.
Good story. Id stick with that. I leaned heavily on her as we limped to the side of the bridge and into the shade of a pylon. But those kind of charms cant do that.