Page 82 of Heart of Dawn
I stopped to shatter another attacker. The guards were doing well to keep the skeletons back, with more of them charging from the marketplace to join their comrades. This area of Faery was always teeming with guards considering the proximity of the royal family.
Should I try a different gate? Where was the closest one? There were four in London, this being the north gate in Finsbury Park. Would the Shepherd’s Bush gate be closest? Certainly not the east gate in Plaistow, and I’d have to sail out to Bluebell Island in order use the south gate for Burgess Park. All of them were at least two hours away, the east gate more. Time I didn’t have to spare. Using this gate put me closer north—the direction of Dunstable. All well and good, but I still had to get out of the city, find Miko, and?—
A skeleton managed to climb up the structure beside the lever, throwing itself on it.
Oh. Stars.
The bony abomination’s bottom half fell apart, leaving only the top half to bear down on the lever. No problem. Its weight was more than enough to get the job done.
The silver gate slid open, bodies immediately crashing through the gap.
Zombies.
Too many zombies.
The fae screamed and fled for their lives, the horde trampling all over my realm’s sense of security.
I dropped the parasol, succumbing to my fear. Cemented to the path, not knowing what to do, unable to pass the horde, to do anything but watch the nightmare unfold.
It’s over. It’s over. It’s over.
Too late. Too much time passed. Dawn was too powerful, too clever.
Adrenaline took the wheel out of nowhere. I turned and ran for the nearest motorbike, pushing my body hard, refusing to give up.
As terrified as I might be, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
I didn’t cower in a corner anymore. No shame in that, but after being plunged into the fires of violence and survival for two years, I’d rather die knowing I went out trying to make things better.
At the abandoned bikes, I found one with the keys still in it. I’d never ridden a Faery motorbike before. They scared me. Too fast, too much of a responsibility. Now I couldn’t wait to get on and gun the throttle.
I threw my leg over the bike, pressing my backside into the blue leather seat. Faery bikes were always blue, running on fuel called Faery Juice. Sourced from underground, similar to Earth’s fossil fuels, yet much cleaner and turquoise.
The fuel gauge told me there was plenty of juice in the bike.
Okay, now to ride it.
Hmmm. My confidence wobbled. This seemed like a good idea ten seconds ago.
“My bike,” a gruff voice said from behind me.
“I need it,” I answered the shirtless muscly fae with sand in his dark hair, scratch marks across the light beige skin of his chest.
He went to punch me in the face. I ducked and slipped off the bike to stomp on his sandal-covered foot. The assbug hopped up and down comically, firing expletives at me.
The zombies were almost upon us.
“We don’t have time for this,” I said. “Can you help me get out of here? I need to?—”
He attacked me again, landing his fist on my left shoulder. Ouch! All those gold rings on his fingers added to the painful impact.
I staggered back, the sack slipping down my arm.
“Get the fuck away from me!” he bellowed, swinging a leg over his bike.
Crap.
He revved it, flipped me his middle finger, and tore off across the sand, smashing through skeletons.
