Page 3 of Light Magic

Wood fae.

It had been a glamour.

I whirled back to the teenagers. Were they fae too? No, two of them bared their fangs at me, and the other shifted into a hyena.

Five against one.

I couldn’t fight five supernaturals by myself.

I pushed the desperation threatening to spill from me back down. Pumping my arms hard, I ran straight forward, into the road, leaving them behind.

I needed to cross the road, get out of sight, and then I could use my wings.

But I knew I couldn’t outrun any of them.

I tried holding on until I crossed the line of buildings and entered a dark alley, but a vampire lunged at me from behind as I hit the sidewalk.

I didn’t think. My wings sprang free and I pushed up.

Vines sprouted from the ground, through the broken cement, like a viper, and wrapped around my legs. I flapped my wings harder, but the vines pulled me down.

Then the hyena jumped over me, the vampires had their hands around me, and the fae walked like they were on the red carpet, a few feet back, enjoying the show.

“I’ve heard of your black wings,” one of the fae said. “I thought it was only rumor.”

“That means you’re evil now?” the other fae asked. “Is that why the angels offered such a big reward for you?”

I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of answering their questions.

Instead, I opened my wings wide, turned them sideways, and spun my body in place. The fae were able to get away from the swipe, but the vampires and the hyena fell to the ground.

Without wasting a second, I flapped my wings and took to the sky.

Not three seconds later, I cried as a sharp pain exploded in my shoulder. I shook in the air, almost hitting the third floor of the building in front of me and had to swallow a cry when I looked down and saw a wooden stake protruding from my skin.

The damn thing hurt!

I tried ignoring the pain, but it was close to my shoulder blade and it was hard to flap and keep steady with that thing across my shoulder.

I tried landing on top of the building, and fell on my knees, breathing hard.

My trembling fingers brushed the stake, trying to pull it out, but couldn't get a grip on the smooth wood. Besides, if I really thought about it, depending on how bad it was, I could bleed out right here, right now.

With a groan, I pushed to my feet. I needed to soar from the roof, into the quiet neighborhood ahead. That should give me a good advantage against these supernaturals and I could get away.

I hoped.

I dragged my feet to the edge of the building and?—

“Where do you think you’re going, angel?” a voice said.

I glanced back and saw the two guys from the bus. So, they were supernaturals! Not that that mattered right now. I needed to get away from here.

I opened my wings, wincing in pain, and jumped.

And one of them jumped on top of me.

I screamed, tried holding the extra weight, but went down several yards away from the building, in a wooded area—was it a backyard? A park? I didn’t know.