wing to heal.
What they don’t teach you in Fallen school is that sometimes the bad guys can jump. Really high.
He grabbed my legs in a crushing grip and I struggled to keep both of us in the air. I probably could have done it until he let go with one arm and started punching me in the gut. Hard. A lot. The air escaped my lungs as I took the beating of my life.
I kicked him as hard as I could. With my returning vision, I almost saw him arc in the night sky and crash into a tree on the outskirts of the parking lot. Almost. Mostly I just saw a blur I hoped to be him crashing into the tree.
“Very good, demon! Don’t worry, we’ll meet again!”
He took off in a blur. This time I did see him. He was just that fast. I tried to fly after him, but it wasn’t any use. I was in too much pain. I crashed into the top of a 1969 blue Mustang.
Brian is going to be pissed. Blackness overcame everything else, even the pain.
Chapter 25
I opened my eyes and saw futuristic running lights above my head. Oh, good. The mothership came to get me. I blinked a few times and realized I was staring at the interior roof of the limousine. At least it’s not an ambulance. Hey! I can see!
Clarisse’s face filled my vision. “Are you okay?”
I sat up and realized my head had been in her lap. Jessie sat across from us and looked like she was sleeping. “I’m fine. Jessie!” I slid across the limo floor and gently shook her.
“Don’t bother. As soon as we left the dance I told her to go to sleep. She’ll be fine until we get her home. What the hell happened?”
“I saw him. Well, I didn’t really see him, he clawed my eyes out, but I heard him. He’s not human. And it’s not a bear.”
“I know. I heard him, too. Just as we were walking outside, you kicked him off of you. Nice move.”
“Learned from the best. It didn’t stop him from kicking my ass though.”
“I’m sure it would have been a little different if you weren’t blind when you fought him. You don’t have to worry about it anymore. He’s a problem for the Reapers. I talked to Darius. He’s well aware of the situation and knows whatever is attacking and killing people, it isn’t one of ours and we’re the only two Seekers in the area.”
“How long was I out?”
“Long enough. We’re pulling up to Jessica’s house. I’ll wake her.”
I watched Clarisse close her eyes and focus. A moment later, Jessie’s eyes fluttered open. She smiled sweetly at me. “Hey, handsome. Did I fall asleep?”
“Yes, you did. You sort of blacked out after Kelly Richards was attacked. I let you sleep. I hope you don’t mind.”
She sat straight up with a horrific look on her face. “I remember that. And you running out of the gym to see what had attacked her! Stupid!” She slapped me in the arm for good measure.
“Sorry, I just wanted to see what it was. Jeremy didn’t see what attacked her. I wanted to help.”
“Next time just stay with me.”
“I will, I promise.”
That seemed to settle her a little. She hugged me for good measure. I didn’t want it to stop.
The driver got out of the front and walked around. He opened the passenger door and stood there. I got out first and helped Jess outside. I looked up at the driver and saw the blank look on his face. Seriously blank. Like nobody home, blank. Creepy.
“Come on, Jess. I’ll walk you to your door.”
Instead of holding my hand, she wrapped her arms around mine and leaned on me. I didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, I walked slowly and enjoyed every moment of it. “What are we doing this weekend?”
I looked down at the top of her head and kissed it gently. “Whatever you want.”
“Let’s go to the park. I want to swing on the swings with you and do stupid things like that.”
I laughed. “Anything you want.”
“Sweet. Pick me up at noon. Don’t be late,” she said as we reached the stairs to her front porch. Her dad had put one single solitary pumpkin by the front door. It had a simple face carved into it, nothing ornate. It was still the scariest pumpkin I'd ever seen.
“Here you go,” I said and helped her up the steps. We paused at