Chapter Twelve
Wow! Nik is kind of a jerk, I thought as I jogged over to the destroyed Land Rover. Actually, I already knew that about him. Just as I reached it, I heard people start screaming. I glanced at the pedestrians. They weren't pointing at us or what was left Nik's SUV, but rather at the burning tree. Nik nudged me toward the east end of Seventh Avenue. Once we were a fair distance from the wreckage, Nik slowed to a walk. He glanced back at the scene, looking like a casual observer. I tried to mimic his actions but was far too flustered to achieve anything more than nervous interest.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Before he could answer, Josh came jogging to our side. He glanced over my shoulder at the flames, now licking up to the topmost branches—impressive considering the falling rain. “Mikhail sent me to warn you… but it appears I'm too late.”
“Warn us about what?”
“The Winter Court has demanded we turn her over. Mikhail feared they might try to take her by force.” Again, Josh glanced over my shoulder at the mess we had made.
“This wasn't Winter. This was a Summer dragon and a dryad. ”
Josh's eyes grew wide. He and Nik started glancing around as if they expected monsters to jump out of the woodwork. I was starting to feel that way myself.
“Wait… Winter Court… Summer Court? What does all this mean?” I was so tired of having to be constantly brought up to speed.
“I'll explain as we go,” Nik said, taking me by the elbow and pushing me into motion. Again, he didn't get a chance to explain. We had just rounded the nearest corner when a man stepped out from behind a parked car. His blond hair was done up in scraggly dreadlocks. His matching beard looked like it was halfway to being dreadlocks too. He wore layers of baggy clothing, all of which appeared to be nearly the same color—dirty brownish gray. The layers hid the shape of his body, though he was clearly tall.
At first, I didn't think anything about it, but Josh suddenly stepped between me and the hippie. He stretched out his hands as if to keep me from stepping around him. By now, I had learned to trust my new associates. They knew a hell of a lot more about this mystical stuff than I did, and if they thought the hippie was a threat, then by golly so did I.
The hippie gave Josh a condescending smile. “Evidently you know what I am. Give me the girl and no one gets hurt,” he said, his gums lined with stubby brown teeth that looked as though they had been gnawing on the sidewalk.
Nik stepped forward, placing himself partially between Josh and the hippie. “Why do you want her?”
“Do you really think I'm told such things? I'm just ordered to bring her to my queen.”
“Orithyia,” sighed Nik. “There's no way I'm giving her to you.”
Though I knew he would never just give me over to our enemies, I couldn't help but feel relieved. Nik might just have a breaking point, and the way he looked at this man, I knew we were in serious trouble. What would it take for Nik to give up and hand me over to our enemies?
“That is your choice,” rumbled the other man. The man’s clothing seemed to melt off of him. At the same time, his body grew. At first, it occurred so slowly I wasn’t sure if there was actually a change taking place, but before I knew what had happened, an entirely different creature stood before me. He looked like a Norse god to me—a really, really big Norse god. He stood as tall as a building, with bulging muscles. His tangled, blond hair straightened out and his beard lengthened. His layers of clothing became part of his build, transforming into skin. When the transformation finished, frost like steam began to emanate from his skin and fall toward the ground. The pavement around his feet frosted over as if it were early morning in January, and the falling rain started forming ice cycles in his hair.
I remembered what Nik had said about the fae having once been the Greek gods. It suddenly made sense. I could see a thing like this being confused for a god.
Oh, this is bad! I realized. Josh pushed me backward, away from the enormous man, while repeatedly screaming, “Troll!”
Was he serious? Well, I guess if dragons exist, why not a troll? The beast-like man lumbered forward, a hammer the size of a small refrigerator hanging from his calloused grasp. Where had that come from? Josh and I hid behind a minivan while Nik tried to lead it away. “Protect her,” he yelled as he reached the middle of the street.
Nik crossed into the parking lot on the other side of the street. The troll followed at a surprisingly fast pace, his hammer dragging on the ground. It left a path of destruction and frost in its wake—a deep gouge running down the center, nearly on top of the dotted line. A car turned onto the street, stopped, and backed up. It didn't screech its tires or move at a fast pace as if afraid. Rather, it moved as though it had simply taken a wrong turn.
Before Nik could attack, the troll turned to our hiding place. It stared at the van for a moment, as if it had to think through its options. In the end, he lumbered toward the minivan and raised his hammer. Josh and I scrambled away just as he slammed it down, crushing the vehicle. I ran across the street, toward Nik. Josh ran in the opposite direction, weaving his way into a full parking lot.
I suddenly found myself all alone in a street that felt surprisingly wide. I glanced at Nik. He was rounding a car at top speed, his eyes as wide as skillets. It was then that I made the mistake of turning around.
I had been feeling a lot of fear lately. People go through most of their lives without feeling genuine fear. They might watch a scary movie which results in a few nightmares or is afraid they can't pay their rent, but seldom do they experience heart-pounding, bone-melting, panty-wetting terror. That's how I felt when I turned and stared into the enormous eyes of the troll.
The thing had stooped down so that he could look me in the eye. It huffed a large breath, blowing back my red hair. The breath smelled of half-frozen, rotting flesh mixed with fresh snow. Not the most appealing smell, really. The troll grunted as he swooped his hand over me and scooped me up. My skin burned with the bitter cold of his grasp. I immediately started shivering violently. The ice seeped into my muscles, making them cramp. I gasped for breath; the frigid cold sinking into my lungs and making the muscles around my chest tighten.
As the chill sunk deeper into my body, I started feeling confused. My body knew I was supposed to be afraid, and I was, but I couldn't quite remember why. Two men, who seemed vaguely familiar, were tearing parking meters from the pavement and slamming them into the feet of the large, cold beast that held me captive. Each impact of the improvised iron weapon caused the beast's frozen skin to erupt into sizzling welts. I felt very tired as I watched them beat the troll's shins. My eyes drooped and I went limp in the hand of the beast. Sleep would be a welcome respite. Though I didn't completely lose consciousness, I came very close.