beams. The guys didn’t hear us even though my heavy breathing was as loud as thunder to me.
When we got to the edge of the porch, Laura and I glanced at each other. For a moment, I wondered if this was the last time I’d see her. All the shamans had to do was shoot us in the back when we started running toward the fence separating this yard from the next.
Laura took a deep breath, turned and ran. I threw myself forward, hands reaching out for the fence only a few feet away.
“Stop! We know what you did in there!”
Blood rushed into my ears, and a cry of fear lodged in my throat.
Run, run, run!
Heavy pounding sounded behind me.
I cursed, reached up and grabbed the edge of the fence. The wood dug into my palms when I pulled myself up and over. I dropped down on the other side, and one of my toenails jammed into my toe. I swallowed my scream and kept going, Laura only two steps ahead. Twigs on the ground stung my bare feet, but I didn’t let it slow me down.
Just one more house.
I risked a glance behind me and saw a shaman pulling himself over the fence. He was staring right at me, his features curled up into an expression of murderous rage.
Holy shit!
We raced toward the road. The harbor was so close.
It was all I could focus on, my eyes blurring, my feet burning and my lungs aching inside.
Ahead of me, Laura threw herself up the stairs and down the wooden planks of the dock. I followed her, and two steps up, my foot caught on the edge. I stumbled, knees slamming into the boardwalk. Splinters of wood dug into my skin.
“You okay?” a guy’s voice asked, just as a firm hand grabbed my arm to help me up.
I stood and looked into Nathan’s wide eyes. Thank god he was working today.
“We need a boat, Nathan,” I said, jogging backward toward the lines of yachts and runabouts. “I don’t have time to explain. We just need to get out of here.”
He glanced over his shoulder and saw the two shamans hurtling toward us. Nodding once to me, he pointed at a tiny runabout at the end of the dock. “That one is mine. Go now.” His voice sounded alarmed, and his feet clapped on the boardwalk behind me.
I curved around the corner and rushed past two surprised-looking men—Mr. McLean and Mr. Sanders. They both docked their boats here, too. They said something to me, but my head was too full of static to hear.
I spotted Laura at the end of the dock. She was already inside the white runabout gripping the wheel. I leapt inside. I put my hands on my knees, leaning over and gulping air. I grabbed the side of the boat to steady myself and screamed when someone hurtled in next to me.
“Relax, it’s just me,” Nathan said, moving to the wheel. He turned the ignition, slammed the gas and backed the boat away from the boardwalk.
I glanced at the dock where Mr. McLean stood near the entrance with his arms crossed. One of the shamans was staring at us, but the other was shaking his head and backing away, and their guns were nowhere to be seen. I let out a sigh of relief. For whatever reason, they were turning away from the dock. They couldn’t catch up to us now.
I collapsed on the floor of the boat.
“Holly, what’s going on?” Nathan asked over the purr of the boat’s engine.
“Nothing is going on.” I leaned against the side and closed my eyes. “Everything’s fine.”
Somehow, I doubted he’d believe that. I didn’t even believe it myself.
CHAPTER 6
Fifteen minutes later, we chugged through the waves just outside Seaport’s main harbor, the signature red barn casting eerie shadows on the boardwalk. Nathan slowed the runabout as we cruised by, and all three of us stared at the dozens of boats anchored in the calmer water.
“I don’t think we should dock here,” I said, hanging my hand over the side of the boat and feeling the cool spray of the water on my fingers. “Honestly, I don’t think they’ll be there, but just in case they’re trying to find us, this is where they’d go looking.”
“Who is ‘they’, Holly?” Nathan cranked the engine to pull away from the harbor. “What’s going on? Shouldn’t we call the police?”
Laura and I exchanged a look. The binding spell was wearing off, but I knew we