Page 55 of Fade With Me

On the other hand, Sal wasn’t so fortunate. The shattered glass tore into him, jagged slivers ripping throughhis skin with brutal precision. Blood welled in streaks as the fragments sliced through the air, each one carving deep gashes into his flesh and leaving a trail of crimson in its wake.

Zeke’s hands fell still, and the tempestuous wind ceased, its ear-piercing shriek fading into eerie silence. Shards of glass that had been orbiting us like war-born satellites froze midair, their violent dance suspended, then plummeted to the ground in a chorus of sharp, ringing impacts.

In a single, fluid motion, Zeke raised his hands again, sending Sal hurtling across the room. He slammed into the wall with a resounding crash.

Without warning, Zeke vanished, only to reappear inches from Sal’s crumpled form. His presence was sudden and suffocating, his gaze locked with unnerving intensity.

With a twitch of his wrist, Sal’s body lifted off the ground, dragged up the wall by an invisible force. His feet dangled above the floor, eye to eye with Zeke. Terror filled Sal’s eyes, wide and glassy, while Zeke’s burned with quiet, controlled fury—steady, unblinking, a cold rage that swallowed everything in its path.

His face was inches from Sal’s, his words a lethal promise. “You will regret ever laying a finger on her. I’ll take all you cherish and leave you nothing but the ruins of the man you once were.”

Sal’s eyes glazed over, his expression contorting into one of pure, raw terror. He screamed, a sound so chilling it seemed to freeze the air, and clawed at his head as if trying to rip away the tormenting visions that haunted him.

Suddenly, Reggie’s call came rushing back to me, and a wave of anxiety seized me. My voice tightened with urgency. “Zeke!” I called, my heart pounding. “We need to leave! Now! Reggie will be here any minute!”

He glanced over his shoulder at me, nodding briefly before turning back to Sal. He spoke with a chilling calm, the warning clear: “This isn’t over.”

With that, Zeke spun on his heel, and Sal dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Zeke surveyed the room, his hands sweeping through the air like an architect reshaping reality. In an instant, the tables and chairs splintered with a deafening crack, their legs snapping and scattering in all directions. The walls shuddered under the impact, and the once-worn linoleum floor buckled, cracking as if it couldn’t bear the weight of the destruction. Everything in its path was reduced to rubble.

Then, as if on cue, the gray skies outside vanished, and warm sunlight flooded the room. I blinked, taking in the damage. The diner lay in complete shambles: broken furniture, shattered glass, and splintered wood. Everything stood as a chaotic testament to the storm that had just erupted.

Zeke swooped in, his hands firm around my waist as he lifted me effortlessly off the ground, his stride long and purposeful as he headed toward his car. I pushed weakly against his chest, protesting. “I can walk, Zeke!”

He grinned, the playful glint in his eyes matching the mischievous curl of his lips. “We’re in a hurry, and you’re injured. Trust me, my longer legs will get us there faster.”

Once the door clicked shut behind us, Zeke pivoted to face me, his expression soft but intense with concern. He leaned in slightly, his gaze searching my face for any sign of distress. “Are you okay?”

My voice wavered as I replied, fingers fidgeting in my lap. “I’m fine…I think. Just shaken up.”

As I raised a hand to my throbbing head, Zeke’s gaze followed the motion. He gently took my arm, turning it over, his fingers brushing against the red marks where fingerprints had been pressed into my skin. His eyes darkened, his anger barely contained as he examined the damage.

“I promise he’ll pay for this,” he muttered, his voice tight with fury. His jaw clenched, and his body went rigid, struggling to contain the rage building inside him.

I nodded, my throat constricting. I shifted slightly in my seat, unable to meet his gaze, the weight of my emotions making it hard to speak. “Thank you, Zeke…for coming for me.” The words felt inadequate, but I didn’t know what else to say.

His reply was immediate and unwavering. He leaned in a little, eyes locked with mine, a quiet intensity radiating from him. “I willalwayscome for you.”

The car fell silent, the only sound the hum of the engine as we sped away from the diner. I glanced back at the ruined building, watching it shrink in the distance. It was gone now, along with my old life. Good riddance.

nineteen

Stepping into Zeke’s house, a numbness washed over me. My mind raced, torn between uncertainty and the fear of what lay ahead. Were we on the run now? How long before Reggie tracked us down?

“Are we safe here?” I asked, my voice betraying my anxiety. My fingers absently twirled a lock of my hair as I looked around, a quiet dread pressing at the back of my mind.

Zeke’s reassuring gaze met mine as he stepped closer, resting his hand on my shoulder in a gesture meant to ground me. “This is probably the safestplace we can be right now,” he said, rubbing gently. “I’ve cloaked the house in a powerful spell, making it undetectable to both magical beingsandmortals.”

His eyes flicked to my ring, and he winced. “But the Ruby—that’s a different story,” he warned, his tone grim. “It’ll act as a tracking beacon. The Siphon will sense its absence, since it’s cloaked, and try to locate it. We’ve got maybe three days, if we’re lucky. After that, we’ll have no choice but to move.”

“Where will we go?” I asked, my gaze slipping to the ground as I tried to absorb everything.

His face gave nothing away, his jaw tight with quiet resolve. He shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “We need to leave the country. Put as much distance between us and this place as we can. After that, we keep moving. The Siphon won’t stop until it finds us.” He paused, his eyes briefly scanning the room before locking with mine again. “I’ve already got someone working on forging new identities and passports for us.”

He really had thought of everything. Every step, every detail. He’d clearly been preparing for this long before I even knew we needed to run. The realization brought a strange mix of gratitude and unease. How long had he been planning? And just how bad was this going to get?

A flutter of panic churned in my gut at the thought of going on the run, my fingers digging into my sides, but I nodded, steadying my breath. “Okay.”

I made a half-hearted attempt at lightening the mood, forcing a smile. “Hey, if I get to pick a new name, can it be something cool? Like…Diamond Sparkle?”

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