Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (19 page)

Suck it up.”

Garren glared at her as he bit

into his sandwich. He chewed slowly,

most likely trying to think up a pithy

comeback.

She ate her food in silence as she

people-watched. Most of the patrons

were truck drivers, eating alone. There

were a few families with ill-behaved

children, running off their pent up

energy. One kid literally bounced in his

seat as his mother scolded him.

“I'm just glad that dragon's

gone,” Garren said, wiping his mouth

with a paper napkin.

She broke her gaze away from

the family across the room and stared at

her plate. “He's out back.”

“What?” He threw his napkin

down on the table and crossed his arms

over his chest. “I told you not to keep it.

We don't have time for this.”

Irritation rose inside of her as

she pointed her fork at him. “Don't get

your panties in a twist. I didn’t bring

him, he followed us.”

“Yeah, Garren,” Thane chuckled.

“He might help us out. You know how

useful dragons are— at least
parts
of

them.”

The way Garren's face lit up

made her frown.

“That right,” he said. “Their

spleens are the main ingredient in

strength enhancement potions.”

“And most healing potions use

the enzymes in dragon saliva, although

the saliva straight from the source is

potent enough to bring a man back from

the dead.” Thane added.

Garren leaned over the table to

speak closely to Thane, but his eyes

were on her. “How much do you think

we can get if we dissect the thing and

sell it for parts?”

She flicked her finger toward

Garren's soda glass, using her magic to

tip it into his lap.

He jumped up and grabbed his

napkin to pat his pants dry. “Damn it,

Ivy.”

“What? You told me to practice,

remember?” She smiled and glanced

around to see if anyone noticed what she

did.

“And
you
said no magic in front

of the Banes, remember?”

Her eyes stopped at the front

door when two men strolled in. Both

were tall and slender with toned muscles

under their t-shirts and jeans. One had

red hair and a beard while the other was

bald with a crooked nose. They seemed

so familiar, but she was certain she’d

never seen them before. The red-head

ran his hand through his hair as he

glanced around the room. The florescent

light overhead glinted off his right wrist.

He had an iridescent tattoo that she was

more than familiar with.

Oh, crap.

Chapter 10

“What are you looking at?”

Thane leaned into Ivy and followed her

gaze to the two customers at the front

door.

Oh man, they're fast
. She

slumped down in her seat to hide from

the two Eradicators who entered the

diner. They fit the description of the guys

that sent Jeff and the girls searching for

her.

“I think they're after me,” she

whispered. She opened her bag and

pulled out a hooded sweatshirt. Her

curly brown hair was a giveaway,

though there wasn't anything she could

do to hide her magic, at least not yet.

Her fingers trembled as she shoved the

shirt over her head.

“Does this have anything to do

with Becky, Sarah, and that other guy?”

Garren asked, scowling at her.

Pulling the hood tighter around

her face, she nodded. “We need to get

out of here.”

“What do they want with you?”

Thane asked.

“They're Eradicators. What do

you think?” She surveyed the dining

room and the only obvious exit was the

front doors, which the two men stood

next to. The only option available was

the back door through the kitchen that

every restaurant had.

“We need to sneak into the

kitchen and go out the back door.”

Garren narrowed his eyes and

stared her down for a few moments

before responding. “When we get out of

this, you're spilling your guts,” he said.

Since he wasn't specific on what

this
was, she nodded in agreement. They

gathered their packs and threw some

money on the table to pay the bill. One

by one, they slipped out of the booth and

into the kitchen.

“Hey, you can't be back here,” a

guy in a white apron said as they

scurried past the large griddle.

“We just need your back door.

Angry ex-boyfriend,” she said.

“Yours, or his?” the cook asked,

pointing to Thane.

His jaw dropped open as she

pulled him along by the elbow. She

shouted out her thanks as they ran

through the door. They ducked behind a

station wagon parked next to the diner.

“Waiting another eleven hours

until Sharon can drive again is out of the

question. We need to leave now. Maybe

there’s a bus station nearby,” she said,

scanning the area.

“Let's try asking a clerk over

there.” Thane pointed to the nearest

motel across the lot. Not having a better

plan, she agreed and sprinted to the

building.

They ducked into the lobby,

setting off the little bell announcing their

entrance, and sat in the plastic chairs

sitting by the window. The blinds were

closed, so she peeked through to see if

the Eradicators followed them. Nope.

“Explain,” Garren said, standing

in front of her.

She sighed and turned around in

her seat to face him. “Explain what?

They're Eradicators and we have magic.

We're a threat to humanity.”

“But,

we
are
human,” Thane

said.

She shrugged and peeked back

out the window.

Garren narrowed his eyes and

stared at her. “You seem to agree with

their philosophy.”

Her whole body stiffened with

his accusation. She tried to hide it as she

schooled

her

face

to

a

neutral

expression. “I was just telling you who

they were. If you haven't forgotten, I'm

the one their looking for.”

“Yeah, why is that, exactly?”

“I already told you. Weren't you

listening? I'm a witch. They kill witches.

What other reason do they need?” Her

voice was getting increasingly louder the

madder she got.

Garren stood still, arms crossed

over his chest. The wheels turned in his

head and she wasn't sure if he knew she

was holding back or not.

Trying to ignore his scrutiny, she

went back to surveying out the window.

“I'll go talk to the lady at the

front desk,” Thane said and left.

“So, I'm guessing you've run into

these guys before.” Garren sat in the seat

next to her.

“No, I told you I've never seen

them before.”

“Not these two, but Eradicators,

before you moved to Salmagundi.”

If you only knew
. “A few.”

“How did you know what they

were?”

What

is

with

the

twenty

questions?
“I saw their tattoo. Each

Eradicator has a special mark that

enables them to sense magic.”

He nodded, taking in every word

she said. He leaned in closer. “What

kind of weapons do these guys use?”

She met his eyes and considered

feigning ignorance, but thought better of

it. Garren’s patience was already

wearing thin. “It depends upon what

they're hunting. Vampires die by a

wooden

stake

through

the

heart.

Werewolves are killed from silver and

fae by iron.”

“And wizards? Anything special

for us?”

“They believe that burning a

wizard after they're dead will destroy

their magic.”

“Barbarians,” Garren whispered,

and she had to agree.

“Okay,” Thane said as he

returned. “There's a bus station about a

mile east, along this road.”

“That takes us right past the

diner,” she said. “We can go behind, by

the dumpsters.”

Garren stood up, tucked his

dagger in his belt and headed to the

door. “Let's get going while they're busy

eating lunch.”

Thane and Ivy followed. She

secured the hood of her sweatshirt

around her head, making sure every

telltale curl was safely tucked away. Her

eyes shifted from left to right, watching

for any signs of danger like she was

trained to do years ago. As they passed

the dumpsters, there weren’t any signs of

the baby dragon. Maybe it left. Part of

her hoped it would stay with them,

despite the rampage Garren would

create.

You

can’t

save

everyone
.

Athena’s words came back to her. She

hated that the werewolf was right. She

pushed down the seed of guilt that

always popped up whenever she thought

of the poor creature all alone in the

world thanks to her. She needed to focus

on getting away from the Eradicators.

When they stepped onto the main

road without being seen, she let out a

large sigh. “Wow, those guys suck.”

Garren grabbed her by the elbow

and jerked her forward. “Not so much.”

She followed his gaze behind her

to see the two men hurry out of the diner

doors. The bald one scanned all around,

but stopped when he saw them.

“Run!” she yelled and took off

like a shot. A railroad crossing stood in

the distance and a sign for the train/bus

station let her know they were heading

the right way. But now that the

Eradicators knew where they were, she

wasn't sure that was still the best plan of

action. There was nothing but nature

between the truck stop and the bus

station down the road. The trees in this

area had thinned out and didn't provide

many hiding places.

She glanced back a couple times

to see the witch hunters pursuing on foot,

and gaining ground. Fear and adrenaline

propelled her faster. Being an athlete,

Garren was faring well. Thane on the

other hand, needed help. He was already

panting and they still had a long distance

to go. It was only a matter of time before

the Eradicators caught up.

The afternoon train rolled closer

as it whistled its warning. An idea

popped in her head. “We need to beat

that train.”

Thane shook his head as he ran.

“Can't… make it,” he said between

breaths. Suddenly, the back of his coat

pulled up. His stride doubled in length

as he raced to the tracks. The rise and

fall of wings sounded above them.

“Hurry, Sparky!”

The train sped toward the

intersection. The crossing guards were

already down, red lights flashing. They

were cutting it close. Too close. Would

they make it? Garren had crossed but she

and Thane were still about twenty feet

away. The engineer blew the whistle

like crazy, telling them not to chance it,

but it was too late now.

The dragon helped Thane cross

ahead of her. With a final push, she

leaped over the tracks, arms stretched

out in front of her like she was a

superhero in flight.
A cape would be

awesome right now.

And then, she fell, face first into

the dirt, just as the train passed. She laid

still, every cell in her body screaming in

pain. Each heavy exhale kicked up dirt

and dust that clouded her face. The loud

roar of the train filled her ears as the

ground thundered beneath her. She

barely heard the footsteps before they

were right next to her. Garren and Thane

grabbed her under her arms and pulled

her up.

She groaned. “That was close.”

“Can you walk?” Garren asked.

She took a couple steps, bent her

knees and rotated her ankles to evaluate

the damage. “Yeah, but we don't have

much time. We need to hide and then