Page 91 of Faerie Hunted

Livvy sent another wave of magic out but it did nothing more than clear the first few feet in front of her.

I helped Onyx forward with Bronwen at our backs now, making sure we weren’t taken by surprise. My instincts were screaming at me to do something more than watch. To help the others so Mike and his mom, as well as my own mom, didn’t have to handle the brunt of this fight.

This was my fault. They’d found us because of me.

Something clawed at the back of my shirt. I broke out in a cold sweat, lurching forward, unwilling to let go of Onyx. We were getting out of here if I had to put him on Noren’s back and send them out the door myself.

The grip abruptly loosened and something hot sprayed my back.

No time to turn around. No time to look behind me and see what kind of death trailed us.

Someone let out a whoop, the sound trailed by a gurgle, and the seedy guy strode by dragging one of the club members by her hair. He winked at me before making a shooing motion with his free hand.

The message was unmistakable.

There was still no clear path to the door but Laina and Mike were halfway across the room at this point. Livvy nearly made it.

“Tavi! Let’s go!”

Mike called my name. He’d taken care of his own business beautifully.

Club members mixed with restaurant patrons. Even the sweaty cook from behind the line had joined the fray. He slammed a heavy pan down on the head of one of the half-changed shifters.

I’d gotten too caught up in the pandemonium to think straight, to do anything other than react.

Something hit into the back of my knees and I lost my grip on Onyx and went down. The side of my cheek slammed against the wooden floor, pain ripping through me, before something yanked my hair and dragged me up to my knees.

I screamed, power surging up through my skin and taking the last of my energy with it. The bite on my arm pulsed, throbbed horrifyingly hot, and I ignored it.

My assailant’s hold loosened but it wasn’t enough to get them to release me entirely.

I kicked out, still on my knees, hoping to land a hit against my unseen enemy.

The burly dude came to my rescue. “People like you don’t belong here! Get the fuck out.”

He dragged the shifter off me and hurled him against the wall.

Onyx reached out a hand and helped me to my feet. Together we made it to Livvy, who stood at the door motioning wildly for us to follow her.

Onyx limped over the threshold and the door slammed shut behind us.

“Come on!” Livvy’s voice echoed strangely against the crash of the waves.

Daylight burned my eyes for some reason. I choked, my lungs filled with smoke from the inside of the restaurant, the salty spray from the waves stinging me. I tightened my grip on Onyx.

Footsteps sounded behind us as shifters poured from the Black Dog, giving chase.

We raced down the street with Livvy in the lead. She knew the city. At this point, I trusted her. We had no choice but to trust her. She slowed her steps enough to reach for me, her fingers brushing my elbow.

With a nod, she turned to the left and cut through a side street. Up a set of stone steps carved out of the cliff face itself. Another left, and then a right.

My attention narrowed on the footfalls behind us, the growls and the yells, like we were actually going to listen to their anxious commands tostop.

This was life or death. This wasn’t a game.

Not that it ever was.

The maze of alleys and the cramped spaces between houses became an impenetrable labyrinth. After a few moments I lost all sense of direction.

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