brightening skies, Jenks smiled. “I’m over twenty. Oldest pixy in existence.” His flash of pride vanished, replaced with a lingering sadness.
He’s alone, even with his friendship with Rachel , Peri realized. “Well, I appreciate you convincing Rachel to get in the trunk. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but there’s no other way to get her past Opti’s gatehouse without alerting them. You they’ll overlook, but a tall redhead with attitude will be remembered, and once that breaks, I lose my job. Everything.”
Her pulse quickened at the sight of the brightly lit guardhouse, Opti’s buildings beyond. Getting Rachel past the front desk without her being seen was going to be difficult as well, even with Rachel’s plan of distract-and-evade. Peri could draft to fix a mistake, but if he were awake, Jack would feel it and know something was wrong.
Peri forced her grip on the wheel to relax. This was so stupid. Why was she helping them?
“Hey, ah, thanks for this,” Jenks said, clearly knowing where her thoughts were. “Trust comes slow for Rachel, but a lot of people have screwed her over, so I don’t blame her. She likes you, though.”
“Thanks,” Peri said softly.
“It’s been better since she’s hooked up with Trent,” the small man was saying, feet swinging in his silver dust. “He has a lot of weight to swing around, protect her from the worst her mouth gets her into. I pick up the rest.”
Peri eyed him, imagining what he could do if that plastic sword he’d taken from her kitchen were real. “We’re almost there. You might want to hide.”
“Sure.” Wings clattering, he flitted to the visor and crawled between it and the car’s roof.
She didn’t have to fake her worry as she pulled up to the guard shack, her skin prickling from the cameras and hidden defenses as she toggled her window down. “Hi, I’m Peri Reed,” she said as she handed the woman her ID. “I’m checking on my partner, Jack Twill. He came in earlier to Opti Health.”
“Good evening, Ms. Reed,” the woman said as she hit a button and the bar went up. “I hope your partner is okay.”
“Just a bump on the head.” Peri smiled as she took her ID back. A slip of dust was falling from the visor, and Peri blew it to nothing, disguising it with a wave to the attendant. She accelerated smoothly, exhaling as they left the first barrier behind.
“See?” Jenks said as he unwedged himself and jumped to the rearview mirror. “Easy as finding troll turds under the Cincinnati Bridge.” He hummed happily as he checked his wings for tears. “Which building are we headed to? I’ll put the cameras on a five-minute loop. They won’t have a record of you getting out of the car, but they won’t see Rache, either.”
Rachel had insisted he could do it, but Peri didn’t see how he could find all of them, even if the man said the electronic squeal they put out gave him a headache. “It’s the one with the blue stripe on it,” she said, chin rising to point it out, and Jenks’s wings hummed into motion.
“Got it,” he said, pushed back by the new wind when Peri opened the passenger window. “I’ll dust blue at the light by the door when you’re clear.”
He vaulted out the window, and Peri shivered, watching his faint trail of dust make a beeline to the building. She’d never have seen it if she hadn’t been looking for it, and Peri was starting to realize where Rachel’s confidence in him was coming from.
The tires popped bits of gravel on the wet pavement as she slowly parked in the visitor lot. There were only a few cars, most at the outskirts. Her pulse quickened at Bill’s extravagant SUV. No sound came from the trunk, and when the light turned blue, she popped it, having to trust the pixy. “I hope you’re not making a mistake you can’t draft your way out of, Peri,” she whispered.
The car shifted as Rachel shoved the trunk open, and, feeling as if she was treading on new, chancy ground, Peri
He’s alone, even with his friendship with Rachel , Peri realized. “Well, I appreciate you convincing Rachel to get in the trunk. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but there’s no other way to get her past Opti’s gatehouse without alerting them. You they’ll overlook, but a tall redhead with attitude will be remembered, and once that breaks, I lose my job. Everything.”
Her pulse quickened at the sight of the brightly lit guardhouse, Opti’s buildings beyond. Getting Rachel past the front desk without her being seen was going to be difficult as well, even with Rachel’s plan of distract-and-evade. Peri could draft to fix a mistake, but if he were awake, Jack would feel it and know something was wrong.
Peri forced her grip on the wheel to relax. This was so stupid. Why was she helping them?
“Hey, ah, thanks for this,” Jenks said, clearly knowing where her thoughts were. “Trust comes slow for Rachel, but a lot of people have screwed her over, so I don’t blame her. She likes you, though.”
“Thanks,” Peri said softly.
“It’s been better since she’s hooked up with Trent,” the small man was saying, feet swinging in his silver dust. “He has a lot of weight to swing around, protect her from the worst her mouth gets her into. I pick up the rest.”
Peri eyed him, imagining what he could do if that plastic sword he’d taken from her kitchen were real. “We’re almost there. You might want to hide.”
“Sure.” Wings clattering, he flitted to the visor and crawled between it and the car’s roof.
She didn’t have to fake her worry as she pulled up to the guard shack, her skin prickling from the cameras and hidden defenses as she toggled her window down. “Hi, I’m Peri Reed,” she said as she handed the woman her ID. “I’m checking on my partner, Jack Twill. He came in earlier to Opti Health.”
“Good evening, Ms. Reed,” the woman said as she hit a button and the bar went up. “I hope your partner is okay.”
“Just a bump on the head.” Peri smiled as she took her ID back. A slip of dust was falling from the visor, and Peri blew it to nothing, disguising it with a wave to the attendant. She accelerated smoothly, exhaling as they left the first barrier behind.
“See?” Jenks said as he unwedged himself and jumped to the rearview mirror. “Easy as finding troll turds under the Cincinnati Bridge.” He hummed happily as he checked his wings for tears. “Which building are we headed to? I’ll put the cameras on a five-minute loop. They won’t have a record of you getting out of the car, but they won’t see Rache, either.”
Rachel had insisted he could do it, but Peri didn’t see how he could find all of them, even if the man said the electronic squeal they put out gave him a headache. “It’s the one with the blue stripe on it,” she said, chin rising to point it out, and Jenks’s wings hummed into motion.
“Got it,” he said, pushed back by the new wind when Peri opened the passenger window. “I’ll dust blue at the light by the door when you’re clear.”
He vaulted out the window, and Peri shivered, watching his faint trail of dust make a beeline to the building. She’d never have seen it if she hadn’t been looking for it, and Peri was starting to realize where Rachel’s confidence in him was coming from.
The tires popped bits of gravel on the wet pavement as she slowly parked in the visitor lot. There were only a few cars, most at the outskirts. Her pulse quickened at Bill’s extravagant SUV. No sound came from the trunk, and when the light turned blue, she popped it, having to trust the pixy. “I hope you’re not making a mistake you can’t draft your way out of, Peri,” she whispered.
The car shifted as Rachel shoved the trunk open, and, feeling as if she was treading on new, chancy ground, Peri
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