Page 93 of Of Flame and Fury
Gemini kisses my face. “Stay alive. You hear me? I’ll be back.”
Gemini and his twin catapult over the terrace. I take a long, cleansing breath and try to stand. It takes me hugging the stone pillar for me to get my footing, but I manage and stagger across the terrace.
I’m not moving fast, but I am moving, my head clearing from the beatings it took the farther I walk.
An explosion rattles the ground and has me glancing over my shoulder. The manor splits apart, indenting inward. A crash follows, and another after that. I think it’s the magic breaking down Vieve’s home and Destiny losing her grip until a VW Thing launches out of the house and screeches to a stop in front of me.
“Dude!” Shayna pushes up from the driver’s seat and waves.
I blink at her a few times. Shayna is many things, perky, cute, and fiercely loyal. She is not what anyone would call a safe and conscientious driver. She reaches across the old death trap of a vehicle and flings open the door. “Get in, T. Time to save the day.”
“It’s okay.” I hook my thumb in the direction of the steps. “I’ll just walk.”And take my chances with the scary entities wanting to play tug of war with my innards.
Shayna flings a knife over my shoulder, stabbing a frog with far too many legs and tongues. I hadn’t noticed it, but nothing ever gets past Shayna.
“Come on, T,” she says. She frowns and looks behind her. With a flick of her wrist, she stabs something on the other side of the car with her sword. Whatever she kills makes a squeamish and gurgling sound. Still, she turns around, grinning, her ponytail swinging away in the breeze.”
“What are you waiting for?” Shayna asks. “We have to save Celia.” She beeps the horn twice as if it will somehow seal the deal. “And this is just the puppy to do it.”
She’s right. God help me, she’s right. I don’t quite get the door shut when Shayna stomps on the accelerator like she’s squishing a bug.
Instead of heading toward the beach, she careens around toward the side of the house. “Where are you going?” I screech, reaching for my seat belt.
“To save, Ceel,” she reminds me. She glances down to unclick the locking mechanism on my seat belt and almost hits the side of the house. “You don’t need that, dude. Trust me.”
If I had any breath when that moth creature slid on top of me, I would have screamed, yet still not as loud as I do when Shayna crashes over and through every burning and demolished piece of house she can find. She flips on the wipers when something…maybe a liver…smacks against the windshield and smears blood across the glass.
“Oof,” she says. “I hope that wasn’t someone on our side.”
Shayna takes the next turn on two wheels, racing at high-velocity, parallel to the beach. We pass Aric, Misha,and Celia. “Wait. You’re going the wrong way.”
“I sure am,” she agrees.
I almost think this is another Nyte in my sister’s place. But even evil doesn’t drive this bad. “Aren’t we driving Celia to the perimeter?”
“Pfft, gosh no,” she says. “We’ll never make it there in one piece, T.”
She narrows her gaze, mowing down an effed up version of Humpty Dumpty. She slams on the brakes, puts it in reverse, and runs over it again, spilling black gunk all over the lawn as she peels away.
My fingers turn blue with how hard I’m gripping the side of the car. “Do you even know what we’re going to do?”
“Totally. Me and Emme have a plan,” Shayna replies. Her skin is smeared with her blood and a lot of something else. Several cuts line her arms, and her ponytail is askew.
“Are you going to tell me what it is?” If it sounds like I’m yelling, I am.
“Sure,” Shayna says, smiling. “We’re going to hit the sea critter with the car.”
“This car?” I ask.
“Yup.”
I point down. “This one right here.”
“Absolutely, dude,” she says.
“Then why are we driving to the front of the house?” I screech at her.
Shayna giggles in that ridiculous giddy way she does when she finds the car keys we’ve carefully hidden. “T, I’m going to need a running start. Oh, and since you’re here, don’t forget to fire this bad boy up.”