Harper must have eventually dozed off because when she woke up, the bedroom was full of cold light and Aiden—exquisite in a pearl gray suit and an indigo tie—was sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking her gently. She jerked upright with an undignified wuffle. It was hard not to be slightly discombobulated because seeing Aiden, absolutely composed and back to normal, half made her believe last night had been a really fucked-up dream. “What time is it?” she asked, blearily. “Nearly eleven.” He gestured to a line of cups on the bedside table. “I’m afraid I didn’t know what to bring you. So I thought I’d try everything. There’s tea or coffee or orange juice.” This was not one hundred percent comfortable. Were they seriously just going to pretend nothing had happened? “Um, juice?” she said. “Coffee makes me hyper. And I’ve never gotten into tea.” He gave her a slight smile. “What a terrible confession for an Englishwoman.” “I know, right? The government will be closing in on me as
Logan looked up in the rearview mirror and saw Kelda give a slight nod.“He got a little too into this realm’s Earthly pleasures,” the blonde elves confirmed. “Tris went off the grid for awhile, and Earl finally had to send his minions after her. Once she was back in Hell, he tortured her and refused to let her leave ever again.”“And Azar trusts her?” Logan scoffed.“I doubt he does,” Kelda continued, “but what choice does he have at this point? It’s either those two, or Invidia. If I know Azar, he’s going to hang onto Invidia until his dying breath.”“Why the fuck do they still do his bidding then?” Logan said angrily. “He’s the one who had her tortured and keeps her on such a tight leash. Why can’t they just see life would be so much better on our side?”He felt Abina’s soft hand reach up and touch his shoulder tenderly.“Because, like so many of us before her, they fear Azar,” she explained. “If something were to ever happen to you, he would take all of us back, and if t
“I gotta admit, Jakey,” Rafe picked up the chakram and examined it in his hands. “This chick’s got balls, and not, like, in the ‘you looked feminine on your profile picture’ kinda way.” “Rafe’s right,” Ira mused. “There are five powerful magic users in this vehicle, and Aruna throws a circle of metal at us? I admire the insanity.” “Then we’ll just have to show her exactly how badly she fucked up,” Abina growled. In the mirror, Logan saw the blonde twist her body around toward their assailant and unleash a blast of blue Magicfire through the newly-made hole in the Jeep. With a screech of tires, Aruna’s Camaro lurched to the left and dodged the attack.“Why isn’t she returning fire?” Kelda asked with concern in her voice.“I’ll tell ya why.” Rafe turned around and waved the chakram above his head mockingly. “It’s because the moron went ahead and gave away her most goblinortant weapon!”The second after the words left Rafe’s mouth, the tiny goblin’s body was tugged violen
Logan decided it was time to change up his tactics.Instead of blocking the Camaro with a barrier, he blasted directly into its front end with a massive geyser of red Magicfire. She didn't manage to dodge that one, and the blast spun Aruna's car like a top. In that wild moment, its rear smacked into the back of Shadow.The impact caused their vehicle to fishtail, and it took everything in Logan's power to keep it from spinning out. All four of his friends were screaming in terror as he fought with the wheel, twisting it back and forth in an effort to keep Shadow's body straight. Then, as quickly as it started, they were back on the straight-and-narrow.“I think we actually got her,” Kelda said with a sigh of relief. “I can see Aruna’s car all the way back there. It’s not moving.”“Hell yeah!” Rafe extended his hand up for a high-five.Logan obliged the goblin but looked back in the rearview mirror nervously as he did so. “I don’t think this is over,” he pointed out. “Not
Logan slowly raised his hands into the air, and sweat beaded on his brow. It was like Abina had said, it wasn't the mass, it was the acceleration. It had taken a ton of juice to snatch them out of freefall, and while he could move the Jeep fresh, it was a struggle to get it back up after such a hard catch. Still, Shadow slowly rose up as she followed his gestures. Once they were level with the bridge, he slid both of his enchanted palms to the side and moved them back to safety.The moment they were on solid ground, Kelda landed beside the car, tossed open her door, and hopped in."How did you know I was going to hit her?" the blonde asked in disbelief.Logan admitted, "I didn't, but I knew she wasn't going to be defeated with our normal strategies. She was going to tear this Jeep open like a can of sardines.""Speaking of which," Rafe sighed, "I hope you don't mind Shadow being a convertible because her roof is pretty much like the condoms a billionaire's mistress wants him
Logan walked back to the hatch of the Jeep and popped open the tailgate. There were still shards of broken glass scattered all over the contents of the cargo bed, and he had to be careful not to cut himself as he dug. Finally, he found what he was looking for, his trusty duffel bag.“Alright, Rafester,” Logan explained. “You’re going for a ride, just like the good ol’ days.”Rafe now had his hand on the door latch, but he wasn’t able to pull it hard enough. With a faint smile, Logan outstretched his hand toward the goblin and covered him with a blast of emerald flames. Rafe’s demeanor didn’t change one bit as he was engulfed with the Magicfire, disappeared, and then reappeared inside of the bag on Logan's shoulder. The goblin was still fumbling helplessly for the door handle when he reappeared, and then his eyes widened in surprise.“Brooooooo,” he grinned, “I think I just time-traveled.”“Through time and space, actually,” Logan corrected the goblin in the bag.He clicked the bee
Logan swiveled around in his chair and noticed three men and a woman entering the bar. One of the men sported wide-brimmed glasses, a tie-dye shirt, khaki pants, and a man-bun. The other two men were dressed more inconspicuously in flannel shirts with well-groomed facial hair. The woman had a bright red headband, and her flowy dress gave off a distinct city slicker vibe. Their attire immediately set them apart in this small rural town, making Logan suspect they might share the same purpose for being there. They took a seat at a nearby table and engaged with the enthusiastic waiter. Logan couldn't catch everything they were saying, but it seemed like they were engaged in a conversation similar to the one he had with his group.Then, one of the men from the newcomers motioned for the waiter to approach, leaned in, and whispered something in his ear. The waiter nodded and headed toward the front of the bar. The group of four looked around cautiously, stood up, and followed him.L
Logan glanced over at Kelda and gestured for the elves to take a bite of the onion ring. “I guess if they’re that good, I can try to push Rafe’s comments out. of my mind,” the blonde elves sighed. “If it helps, I could tell you something even grosser,” Rafe suggested. “That’ll get your mind off the months-old tequila breath realll quick.”Kelda quickly raised a hand in Rafe’s direction. “Please stop talking,” she begged.With a grimace, the blonde elves took a deep breath to clear her mind and then took a bite of the onion ring. Her eyes widened with surprise, and then her expression transformed into one of satisfaction as she finished off the rest of the morsel.Logan reached out and grabbed his pilsner, noting its fairly light color. He hoped that would translate into a good taste. Raising the glass to his lips, he took a swig and instantly realized he had made the right choice. The beer had a lighter flavor but was bursting with hops. It was much less yeasty than the