while, when the pressure of Enforcer magic wakes me and drives me forward in my seat.
Piers hisses and nods without speaking. He’s felt them, too. We pull over abruptly, Piers slamming open the driver’s door while I scramble out the back, helping Sage with our bags as Piers gestures for us to hurry.
We slip into the woods on the steep road and run for cover. I glance back, see the car revert to the state we’d stolen it in, knowing that will alert the Enforcers they are on our trail. Lights in the distance pull us forward, to civilization in the form of another small town.
“We need a new ride.” Piers leaves me with Sage who pants like a dog. Not out of breath, but from intensity and worry. I grip his hand tightly, not daring to risk a touch of power to help him pull himself down from the brink of his wolf. He’s recovered enough when Piers pulls up a moment later in a shiny red sports car.
“Get in.”
I don’t care where it’s come from, or if it still looks like the one Piers actually stole. All I care about is Sage and escape. The touch of the Enforcers is still there, but focused on something, most likely the car we abandoned. I slip into the back, the tiny space barely big enough for Sage, let alone the two of us, and hold on as Piers hits the gas and peels away.
“They must have tracked the car,” Piers says, tension in his voice. “We should be okay, now.”
I’m perched in Sage’s lap, the bags squished beside us, my head pressed to the roof. He’s hot, his temperature running higher than normal, and he lets out a sharp hiss when I try to adjust my position. I brush my lips over his cheek as an apology, resisting the sudden urge to kiss him, if only to spare Piers the sight of us making out in the back seat while he drives us to safety.
I settle as best I can, flexing muscles when my foot tries to go to sleep. It’s not long before I feel them again, the Enforcers. They might not have our scent, but they know we are close and they are gaining on us.
Piers swears in three different languages before pulling over in another town. Some kind of festival is happening, streamers and balloons everywhere. We abandon the car in the back of a petrol station and hurry into the morning’s crowd of celebrants.
“Now what?” Sage’s voice is a deep growl.
“We keep running,” Piers says. “I just need to get us away from here.”
The mass of people must do the trick, because the press of Enforcer magic bypasses us and moves on. I pull on Sage, tugging him after Piers, and, within a few minutes, we’re driving again, this time in a small family van my sorcerer friend has liberated.
“Made the mistake of using sorcery to disguise the car last time,” he says as I drive after taking the keys from his hands. “This should do it.”
Sage is in the back with our bags, leaning forward between the seats as I’d done. “Or,” he says in cold monotone, “you being with us is attracting them.”
I don’t want to believe it, but Sage might be right. “You said your mother would know,” I say.
“She can’t be watching me that carefully.” The denial in Piers’s voice turns to regret. “Damn her, she’s treating me like a lure.” He reaches for the wheel, jerks it hard to the side of the road. I slam on the brakes, pull over even as he opens the door, ready to leap out though the van is only just coming to a stop. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I thought I was helping. Be safe, get to an airport.” He takes the scarf from around my neck. Pauses and kisses me abruptly. Sage snarls, but Piers is already moving again, leaning in the back to liberate one of Sage’s gloves. “I’ll lead them away, make them think you’re with me. Should give you time to get away. Dump this van, get on a train. The speed will confuse them if I fail.” Piers pauses one moment, anguish showing. “I’ll see you in California.”
He slams the door, waving me on. I glance back, seeing his tall body retreat
Piers hisses and nods without speaking. He’s felt them, too. We pull over abruptly, Piers slamming open the driver’s door while I scramble out the back, helping Sage with our bags as Piers gestures for us to hurry.
We slip into the woods on the steep road and run for cover. I glance back, see the car revert to the state we’d stolen it in, knowing that will alert the Enforcers they are on our trail. Lights in the distance pull us forward, to civilization in the form of another small town.
“We need a new ride.” Piers leaves me with Sage who pants like a dog. Not out of breath, but from intensity and worry. I grip his hand tightly, not daring to risk a touch of power to help him pull himself down from the brink of his wolf. He’s recovered enough when Piers pulls up a moment later in a shiny red sports car.
“Get in.”
I don’t care where it’s come from, or if it still looks like the one Piers actually stole. All I care about is Sage and escape. The touch of the Enforcers is still there, but focused on something, most likely the car we abandoned. I slip into the back, the tiny space barely big enough for Sage, let alone the two of us, and hold on as Piers hits the gas and peels away.
“They must have tracked the car,” Piers says, tension in his voice. “We should be okay, now.”
I’m perched in Sage’s lap, the bags squished beside us, my head pressed to the roof. He’s hot, his temperature running higher than normal, and he lets out a sharp hiss when I try to adjust my position. I brush my lips over his cheek as an apology, resisting the sudden urge to kiss him, if only to spare Piers the sight of us making out in the back seat while he drives us to safety.
I settle as best I can, flexing muscles when my foot tries to go to sleep. It’s not long before I feel them again, the Enforcers. They might not have our scent, but they know we are close and they are gaining on us.
Piers swears in three different languages before pulling over in another town. Some kind of festival is happening, streamers and balloons everywhere. We abandon the car in the back of a petrol station and hurry into the morning’s crowd of celebrants.
“Now what?” Sage’s voice is a deep growl.
“We keep running,” Piers says. “I just need to get us away from here.”
The mass of people must do the trick, because the press of Enforcer magic bypasses us and moves on. I pull on Sage, tugging him after Piers, and, within a few minutes, we’re driving again, this time in a small family van my sorcerer friend has liberated.
“Made the mistake of using sorcery to disguise the car last time,” he says as I drive after taking the keys from his hands. “This should do it.”
Sage is in the back with our bags, leaning forward between the seats as I’d done. “Or,” he says in cold monotone, “you being with us is attracting them.”
I don’t want to believe it, but Sage might be right. “You said your mother would know,” I say.
“She can’t be watching me that carefully.” The denial in Piers’s voice turns to regret. “Damn her, she’s treating me like a lure.” He reaches for the wheel, jerks it hard to the side of the road. I slam on the brakes, pull over even as he opens the door, ready to leap out though the van is only just coming to a stop. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I thought I was helping. Be safe, get to an airport.” He takes the scarf from around my neck. Pauses and kisses me abruptly. Sage snarls, but Piers is already moving again, leaning in the back to liberate one of Sage’s gloves. “I’ll lead them away, make them think you’re with me. Should give you time to get away. Dump this van, get on a train. The speed will confuse them if I fail.” Piers pauses one moment, anguish showing. “I’ll see you in California.”
He slams the door, waving me on. I glance back, seeing his tall body retreat
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