Chapter 4 #2
She flung the door open. The strains of Dewey’s complaints filtered past her as she stepped onto the shiny tile floor.
“Thank goodness you’re back,” Dewey said, with a huff.
Devon held his hands up as he pulled himself off the wall he leaned against. “I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Dewey, you’re fine.”
“So says you. Meanwhile, you have no idea what I’ve been subjected to out here.”
“You ready?” Devon asked.
“Yes, just give me Dewey and my bag.”
“I got it,” he said, with a smile.
Paige fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Uh, no. I can carry my own stuff, thanks. I’m not helpless.”
“I didn’t say you were. But I can carry–”
Paige wrinkled her nose and grabbed for her bag, wrenching it from his hand. “I said I can carry my own stuff. Let’s get one thing straight. You’re here to provide information and make sure I don’t get killed by a vampire. You’re not here to be gallant and courteous.”
Devon screwed up his face. “It’s just polite. My father did raise me with manners.”
“Yeah, well, throw them out the window. This is work, not the aristocracy, Your Highness.” She reached for Dewey’s carrier and yanked it off his shoulder, swinging it onto hers and stumbling back a few steps.
Devon reached out to catch her by the arm, stopping her from falling into the railing. She straightened, tugging her tunic down and wrenching her arm from his grip.
“You’re welcome,” he said as he strode toward the stairs. “Coming?”
“Yep,” she answered, hobbling over with the carrier bouncing off her hip.
“Ow, watch it, Paige. You’re worse than Muscles. You know what, give me back to him. The rock-hard abs make for an easier ride.”
“Shhh, be quiet before everyone wonders why my pet carrier has a voice coming from it.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the penny tile to the back hall. Cool sea air hit her skin moments later as they pushed into the back alley. Paige tugged her phone from her bag.
“What are you doing?” Devon asked.
“Ordering a ride-share,” she answered as she tapped around on the screen.
“No need. I’ve got my bike.”
Paige glanced up, arching an eyebrow at him. “Uh…no.”
Devon slid his eyes from side to side. “Uhhhh…yes.”
“No.” Paige cocked her head and clenched her teeth. “I’m not getting on the back of your bike.”
“Come on, Paige. It’s perfectly safe. I’ve even got a helmet for you.” He lifted the black head gear from the second seat and waved it at her with a grin.
“No.”
“Because a ride-share is safer? Didn’t you get kidnapped by a werewolf the last time you took one?”
“Still safer than that death trap,” Paige said, jabbing a finger at the bike.
Devon let her helmet smack against his leg as he let his arm drop. “I’m an excellent driver. Come on, we’re wasting time.”
“I’ll call a ride-share.”
Devon yanked the phone from her hands. “I’m supposed to keep you safe. And that starts now. No ride-shares. I really do not want to deal with the werewolves today.”
Paige crinkled her nose. “Protecting me hardly means making unilateral decisions about our mode of transportation. Give me my phone back.”
“Put the helmet on.”
Paige flexed her jaw. “I’ll have Ronnie call a car.”
“That’ll take at least thirty minutes. Do you want to waste that kind of time?”
“He has a point,” Dewey said. “Drucinda would take the bike.”
“Drucinda is a quarter-Valkyrie,” Paige shot back, crossing her arms.
“And one hundred percent brave,” Dewey answered.
Paige’s nostrils flared as she sucked in a breath. “Fine, we’ll take the damn bike.” She snatched the helmet from Devon’s hands and stuck it on her head as he secured their bags to the back.
“Where’s my helmet?” Dewey asked.
Devon paused, his own head gear stuck midair above his head as he considered his answer. “Uh, I don’t…I don’t have a dragon-sized helmet.”
“A tiny helmet. That’s what you meant, isn’t it, pretty boy?”
“No,” he said, sliding his eyes sideways. “I don’t have a Dewey-sized helmet.”
“OMG, will you stop crying about your helmet? You’re the one who wanted to take the bike.”
“I didn’t. I just pointed out that Drucinda would.”
“Just shut up, and let’s go,” Paige snapped.
Devon donned his helmet and swung his leg over the bike. He started it as Paige climbed on behind him. His voice sounded in her helmet. “Just slide your arms around my waist.”
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Paige said.
“If by ‘on purpose’ you mean I purposely suggested we take the easiest transportation available, then yes,” he said as he walked the bike toward the main road.
With a rev of the bike’s engine, he merged into traffic and sped away from the library.
“I swear if you crash and kill me, I will make sure Dewey finds a way to resurrect me, so I can haunt you.”
Devon chuckled in her ear. “We’re not going to crash, Paige, relax.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say.”
Devon made a sharp turn, and the bike shifted under them. Paige’s muscles tensed, and she dug her teeth into her lower lip as she squeezed her eyes closed, tightening her grip on Devon.
“Relax, Paige,” he said, patting her hand.
“Keep your hands on the handlebars!” she shouted.
Another chuckle sounded through her earpiece. “Okay, okay.”
Despite Paige’s unease, they made it to the airstrip unscathed.
“See, told you we’d be fine,” Devon said as he tugged his helmet off and ran his fingers through his thick hair.
Paige peeled her helmet from her head, hurrying to fix the sweaty strands that hung limply around her face.
“Whoa, Paige, what happened to your hair?” Dewey asked from inside the carrier.
“It was hot in that helmet, okay?”
Dewey arched a fleshy eyebrow. “I mean, Devon’s hair looks okay. And it was probably hotter inside his helmet, since Day-walkers tend to run at about two or three degrees higher in temp than a human.”
“Devon’s hair…just never mind. Let’s just get on the plane and be thankful we’re alive. We’ve got a lot of research to do.”
“Also, a shower may be in order, by the looks of you,” Dewey said as Paige clamored up the steps and into the main cabin.
She plopped the carrier onto the sofa and unzipped it. Dewey fluttered out and tossed the black bag onto the floor before he settled on the cushion. He tugged a blanket off the back of the couch and pulled it over his tiny legs before he set the RP on it and powered it on.
“Comfortable?”
Dewey wrinkled his nose. “Not quite.” He twisted to fluff the throw pillow before he leaned against it. After another moment of fiddling, he settled again. “That’ll have to do, I suppose.”
Paige arched an eyebrow as she took a seat on the adjacent couch, her eyes never leaving the dragon.
“What?” he asked. “You have no idea how uncomfortable that ride was for me. You try sitting in a mesh carrier slung onto someone’s back with the wind whipping at you.”
“Maybe next time you’ll back me up on taking a car.”
Dewey stuck his tongue out at her as Devon settled onto the cushion next to her. “Mind if we share?”
Paige wrinkled her nose, but any response from her was interrupted by the appearance of the pilot. “We’re just about ready. We’ll make a stopover before we land in Antarctica.”
“Okay, great,” Paige said.
After securing the cabin door, the man disappeared into the cockpit. Paige settled back into her seat, powering up her RP as the plane taxied to the runway and barreled down it before sailing into the air moments later.
She settled in with an article about the basics of Transylvanian vampires. Her eyelids grew heavy after the first two paragraphs as the late hour caught up with her. They slid closed, and her chin dipped to her chest.
She snapped her eyes open as the plane jiggled. Devon slept next to her, and Dewey snored softly, sprawled on the other couch. With bleary eyes, she sucked in a breath and settled against the pillow again as she tugged a blanket over her.
“Just a few more minutes,” she said, with a yawn.
She snuggled into the blanket when the plane shook again. Her muscles went stiff, and she popped her eyes open again. “Must be turbulence.”
With a glance at the still-sleeping Devon and Dewey, she laid her head on the pillow again. The plane dropped a few feet before it rattled again.
Paige pulled her lips into a grimace. “I’ll never sleep with this turbulence.”
She pushed herself up to sit, clutching at the blanket with a tight fist. She considered waking Devon or Dewey but decided against it. Instead, she chewed her lower lip, tracing the outline of the bandage on her hand.
“Planes want to stay in the sky,” she murmured to herself.
Another drop sent her stomach into her throat. She flung an arm out, grasping Devon. He sniffed in a sharp breath as he snapped his eyes open. “Huh, what?”
“There’s turbulence. Like a lot of it,” Paige said.
“Oh, right. It’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, letting his head fall back on the cushion. He snapped it up again a second later. “Oh, unless you need me to–”
“Don’t even say it,” Paige warned.
Dewey snorted in a final snore before he awoke, squinting around the cabin. “What are you two babbling about?”
“Turbulence,” they answered simultaneously.
He rolled over onto his side, pulling the blanket higher. “Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. Probably a storm.”
The speaker overhead crackled to life a second later. “I’m going to ask everyone to strap in back there. We’re experiencing mechanical issues.”
“Mechanical issues?” Paige repeated, with a crinkled nose. “What’s that mean?”
The pilot’s voice continued overhead. “I’ll keep you informed, but for now, prepare for a crash landing.”