Wraithsong

Chapter 26

  Anthony speeds through the tight and twisting maze of the parking garage, the tires of the SUV screeching at every turn. I feel the back of my head and notice there’s a tender bump there from falling on the concrete.

  “How do you know Maureen won’t know which hotel we’re at?” I ask.

  “She won’t, trust me. I’ve dined at the Bergdorf with her before, so I should have known she had her spies there.”

  “How do you know she doesn’t have them at the hotel, and how did she know we were at the restaurant in the first place?” I say, trying to hold onto my seat as best as I can. The SUV slides on the slick concrete and I feel dizzy and nauseated.

  “I don’t know anything for sure, Sonia. Any other hotel is just as safe or unsafe, in my opinion. Even if we went into the woods and slept, we still wouldn’t be safe.” Winding through the parking garage, Anthony finds his phone, opens the window, and flings it out. “Give me your phone.”

  “Not if you’re going to—”

  He grabs it off my lap and flings it out the window too. “There could be tracking devices in them and that might be how Maureen found out where we were.”

  “Oh.” She could even have been listening to all our phone conversations and that’s how she knew where we were. “Do you realize what just happened back there? The Darkálfar shot you in the chest, and I watched you die!” The image of his dead body is burned into my mind.

  “What are you talking about?” Anthony says.

  Maybe he doesn’t remember what happened back there because he died. “The Lightálfars warped the time back after the hostess shot you in the chest!” I start to cry. I hate crying in front of Anthony because it makes me feel weak.

  “I died?” His face goes white.

  “Yes, Anthony, you died!” Tears flood my eyes now and I let out a sob.

  “I can’t believe my own mother tried to have me killed!” Anthony’s voice trembles with rage. “Obviously she knows I lied to her and now she’s furious, but what’s worse is she knows we’re here. We need to come up with another plan. Shoot, shoot, shoot!” He slams his fist into the steering wheel. “I don’t know how to get to Wraithsong Island.”

  “The Lightálfars might know, Anthony.” I sniffle. My hands shake uncontrollably, so I brace my chest in an attempt to calm down.

  “Okay, that’s true.” He settles down a little. Finally at the ground level, he turns right onto the street. “The Darkálfar could follow us to the hotel, so I’m not going to head there right away.”

  My legs are achy, and my back is tight. I really don’t want to sit in the car anymore after our lengthy road trip, but I know we need to take extra precautions in order to be safe.

  Once at a stoplight, Anthony looks over at me. “Everything will be fine.” He takes my hand in his, holding it for a long time.

  I want to believe him, I really do.