Oh well, fuck that shit. I’d been alone since my mother and sister died. Some things never changed. A brief image of sleeping in the same bed as Tegan flashed in my head, along with the feeling of companionship and warmth it had given me. I missed that fleeting period, where I thought something more might develop between us, but it wasn’t to be.
Okay, I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. Yeah, I fancied her, perhaps even had a few mushy sentiments towards her. But it wasn’t like she was the only woman in the world.
Once we reached the outskirts of the city, I decided to start looking for some form of transportation. Walking wasn’t going to get us very far. A few minutes later, I spied an abandoned minivan by the side of the road. The doors were open, and the keys were dangling from the ignition. Too good to be true, right?
Wrong.
There were several dead bodies littered on the ground outside of it. By the looks of things, they were driven mad by the chaos mist and killed each other. I stood over a bloated middle-aged bloke with shaggy red hair, his lifeless head hanging to one side. With the toe of my boot, I nudged his shirt collar down, checking his neck for fang marks. None.
My suspicions were right. These poor sods killed each other.
“Looks like we’ve found a ride,” I told Gabriel with a morbid grin.
He scratched his head, not looking too thrilled about the prospect of taking some dead people’s car. All the same, he came and helped me lift the body out of the driver’s seat. The vehicle reeked of blood, but in my line of work, I was used to it.
Checking the dash, I saw that the tank was three-quarters full. Handy. I slid in and turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life. Sticking my head out the window, I called, “Hop in boys and girls, we’re off for a picnic.”
Delilah gave me an irritable look. “You always have to be such a fucking piss taker,” she muttered, slipping into one of the back seats with Ira. “Now’s really not the time.”
“I won’t let your brother take the shine outta my sun,” I shot back.
She huffed, narrowed her green eyes to slits, and turned her head away, ignoring me.
“All aboard?” I shouted jovially, letting my arm hang out of the open window and banging hard against the metal door. Nobody answered. Guess my attempt to lighten the mood had failed. I pulled away from the side of the road.
We were only driving for about five minutes when all of a sudden a white stretch limousine appeared out of nowhere. There were tendrils of pearly, effervescent light shining from the windows as it sped by and overtook the minivan. With my driver’s side window open, I heard a sharp female cry for help erupt from inside the limo.
What the fuck?
“Oh, my goodness,” Alvie gasped.
“Where is all that light coming from?” Delilah questioned.
“Looks like magic,” Gabriel said.
On instinct, I increased my speed, following the limo. The door flew open a second later, and a woman dressed in a shimmery white evening gown jumped from the vehicle. She rolled along the road, huddled in a crouch for a moment, then got to her feet and broke into a run. She was about to come face to bumper with the minivan so I slammed on the breaks and came to a screeching halt seconds before I would have hit her.
Up ahead, a tall man emerged from the limo. He came marching determinedly after the woman, who was now staring right into the minivan, shaking like a leaf. She had long, curly blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. When they met mine, I saw her desperation.
Without thinking, I hopped out and hurried to her.
“Are you okay?” I asked as her gaze flickered over me in an unfocused manner.
“Stay away,” she croaked, holding out her shaking hand at the same time the guy from the limo called, “Touch her and die, slayer.”
I looked to the tall guy, recognising him as Michael Ridley, one of Theodore’s warlock cronies and also the prick who set fire to Rita’s house.
Delilah, Gabriel and Ira emerged from the van, coming to stand beside me.
“I’ll do what I like, warlock,” I sneered back at him.
His attention went to the woman. “Alora, come back here now. You are being completely unreasonable.”
Alora flinched at the sound of Ridley’s voice and took a step toward me.
“Please, don’t let him take me. It hurts … he hurts me too much.”
At this statement, my protective instincts kicked into high gear, and I pulled her to stand behind me.
“You hurt women, eh?” I asked, levelling my stare on Ridley. “Why don’t you try hurting me instead? See how well you fare?”