65 Birdie #2
Feigning ignorance, I try to step around Frankie. “Look, I don’t know if you think you’re just being funny or what, but I’m not laughing. Call my friend a witch again, and I’ll kick you in the shins. That’s before I contact campus security. Now, get lost. Tell your boss we don’t need her help.”
Enzo’s grin spreads. “You’re feisty. She’ll like you. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“None of your goddamn business.”
He glances between us. “So what’s the plan with the sonar, huh? Gonna set this one on fire too? Sink it to the bottom of the ocean?”
Oh shit, he knows. Panic rising, I flash him my fiercest look of indignation. “That was a simple mechanical malfunction. It was an old machine. It happens. Howe sent me to collect this one so our research schedule isn’t delayed any more than necessary.”
He nods, lips pursed. “So why is Miss Poole here?”
I glance to Frankie. “I brought her,” I rush to explain. “I was at the hardware store and asked if she’d help me move the equipment. She agreed. If you have a problem with who I get to help me, take it up with Howe. I’m sure he’ll love to know why we’ve been delayed.”
Enzo chuckles, glancing to Frankie. “Your human has a mouth on her.”
“Emphasis on mine,” Frankie growls. “Touch her and die, asshole.”
Okay, so this is all escalating rather quickly, and my magic is only good against wraiths. I look around for any escape, but we’re trapped in this narrow alley. The open Jeep stands to our back, Enzo to our front.
He lowers his hands a half inch, gaze once more locked on Frankie. “You need to come with me now, Miss Poole. You, the sonar, and the feisty little human. Ludmilla has questions.”
Frankie stiffens. “We’re not going anywhere with you.”
“Don’t make me kill you, witch.”
Before I can think of another clever way to try and talk us out of this, two things happen at once. First, I suddenly feel very hot. In fact, for a brief moment, it feels like I’ve been magicked to the center of the freaking sun. Second, I fall. Hard.
No, forget falling. It’s more like I’m slingshotted away from the Jeep and into the loading dock. I roll hip over shoulder until I hit the concrete wall of the dock. Groaning, I push up on my elbow, looking for any sign of Frankie.
A flash of bright light is my only warning.
Crying out, instinct has me rolling flat on my back.
Eyes shut tight, I wince as a blast of fire like something from a dragon’s mouth goes shooting overtop of me, slamming into the back wall of shelves holding old, busted projectors and jugs of discount cleaning supplies.
I blink back tears from the fire’s heat. I won’t be surprised if it just singed off my freaking eyebrows. I go to sit up but an invisible weight holds me down.
Wait, is this magic?
I’m trapped. I can’t move. I shriek as I try to wiggle free.
“Birdie, stay down!”
Birdie—but that’s my name.
My initial shock at being catapulted by magic pops.
All at once, I’m back in my bruised body.
My heart races, adrenaline pumping. Sweat slicks my brow.
Wait—no, that’s blood, I think. I reach up, dabbing at it.
My fingers come away red. Whimpering, I drop my hand back to my side, still stuck under this magic boulder of air.
But I’m alive. I’m okay. Still breathing.
And Frankie is currently trapped in a magic duel with Enzo Barsotti.
She lashes out at him with a blast of icy wind from her hands, knocking him back.
It was her air magic that launched me out of the way.
Taking the time to protect me clearly cost her.
The left side of her body is badly burned, the clothing singed.
Like some mythical huntsman, Enzo shoots an arrow of fire from a flaming bow. Frankie forms a shield of air and grunts like a tennis player, knocking the arrow off course. The fire arrow hits the ground just behind the Jeep in an explosion of furious flames. Enzo darts left, eager to shoot again.
Frankie dares to drop her air shield and reaches out with both hands.
Fingers splayed, she cries out something in a language I don’t know.
Her eyes start to glow an eerie blue-white.
The same color pours from her mouth like some kind of spooky smoke.
A furious wind picks up as something that resembles a mini tornado blasts down the alley.
Enzo plants his feet and lifts his hands too, chanting something deep and guttural.
In moments, flames burst from the tips of his fingers and spread outward, forming a shield wall.
The heat is blinding. Frankie’s cyclone crashes against it.
The furious whipping of the wind knocks her off her feet.
She hits her head on the wall of the life sciences building and slumps to the ground.
“Frankie!”
When the weight of her magic disappears, I know we’re really in trouble.
I roll to my side and crawl up to my hands and knees. “Frankie, no, no!”
Enzo turns towards me, flames still dancing in his eyes. Slowly, he steps forward, closing the distance between us. He’s limping but whole. “Who are you?” His voice is raspy with the smoke of his fire magic.
I scramble to sit up, my back pressed against the concrete wall of the loading dock. There’s nowhere for me to go. To escape into the building, I’d have to move closer to the fire witch and sling myself over the ramp railing. There’s no getting past him to flee into the alley either.
“Who are you?” he says again. “Why does that witch care so much about protecting you?”
I hold my chin high, heart racing. If ever I wanted to believe in magic, now would be the moment. Jasper, if you can hear me, I need you, I scream to the heavens.
Enzo steps closer, the flames in his eyes cooling to charred embers. He holds out his hand. “Come with me.”
“No!” I press myself against the concrete wall. “I’m not going anywhere with you, asshole.”
He grins. “You know, my mistress likes to play with her food before she eats it. Occasionally, she shares. When I tell her how I took down the air witch, she’ll reward me. It’s gonna be my pleasure to make you talk for her. But first, I’ll make you scream for me.”