AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s broken. It won’t work. Someone call the police,” she yells to the crowd of onlookers.
I climb to my feet and turn to look at the crowd of people. Some of them are gawking. Three have their own phones out, recording this all too real moment that they’re witnessing. The crosswalk announces to walk, and the majority of the crowd quickly moves past to get away from the scene before they end up involved. Not a single one jumps to my defense.
They’re witnessing. They’re not participants, they’re spectators. Life is happening around them but it’s no different than any other moving pictures on their screens. It has nothing to do with them.
“That car—” I try once more to explain.
“You owe me eight hundred bucks,” the girl cuts me off, “what is wrong with you? You think I can afford a new phone? You are insane. I’m going to call campus security.”
“But the car, you were going to be—”
“What? What are you trying to say? That it’s not your fault? You are a crazy person.” She lifts her phone and tries to punch something on it. Tears glitter in her eyes. “Fuck. It’s broken. I can’t even call security. Can someone please call for me? Please? This is awful.”
My face is throbbing from the scrapes and now blood flushes in, warming the scrapes, making them hurt worse. I shake my head, open my mouth, then snap it shut. I was in the right. I’ve done nothing wrong, but somehow all I feel is the eyes of the watching crowd and I know they’re all judging me. As far as they’re concerned, I’m the one in the wrong, in their world at least. I didn’t save this girl; I destroyed her phone. I’m the bad guy.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“You have no idea how sorry you’re going to be,” she says, her voice rising into the hysterical screeching range.
“I didn’t mean—”
I cut myself off. Standing twenty feet past the girl is Dugald. Unmistakable in his arrogance, he’s watching this play out. The look of arrogant amusement on his face causes a rage in me that blasts through the confusion and embarrassment.
Son of a bitch.
I’ve been trying to find or contact him for the past month and he shows up now. Now? When everything is going even more wrong than it has been. Which is saying a lot. I walk past the girl who is still shouting. As I move past, she grabs my arm, jerking me around to face her.
“You can’t leave,” she screams, her voice cracking. “Security is coming. You can’t leave.”
She’s hysterical. Her eyes aren’t focusing on me. More people are joining the crowd of onlookers who have now gathered on both sides of the streets. There are at least a dozen gawkers capturing the moment on their phones.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Dugald, who smiles, then I hear the caw of a raven. Cold chills race across my limbs. This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for, but I can’t walk away from this mess. I have no doubt security is coming, that’s what the spectators do. Wait for someone else to act, to continue their entertainment. I’m being torn between two worlds. The normal world where this girl’s phone matters more than anything and the world of the Fae, which leads me back to Duncan.
I must choose. Right now. This world or that. Except I’m frozen. The idea of leaving this girl, hysterical, rightly upset, but also blissfully unaware of the fact I saved her life for the ephemeral maybe of the magical world stops me. I can’t choose.
The raven caws. It echoes through my head, calling for me to come. As seconds turn to minutes while I stand stuck in indecision, the girl lets go of my arm. The onlookers lower their phones and the crowd disperses. They’re losing interest with the lack of entertainment we are providing. I chew my lip.
“Screw it, go,” the girl yells. “Obviously you don’t care. I don’t care either. I’ve got insurance and I’ll have to figure out the deductible.” Numb, I take a step away from her, still feeling I need to make this right with her, but the pull on my soul is to run towards Duncan, no matter what. “Go, I said. Why are you standing there? Are you stupid or something? Go, leave me alone.”
Nodding, I take two steps backwards, half-expecting the girl to hit me in the back of the head or something. She wipes her tears dry and turns her back. I turn too, and when I look, Dugald is gone.
Damn it, where are you?
I scan the busy sidewalk, turning a circle and looking in every direction. I’m jostled by the crowds of people rushing past and then I spot him. Two blocks away and moving fast. The crowd parts around him; as easy as if he’s Moses parting the Red Sea. Unfortunately for me, they don’t get out of my way.
I say multiple apologies as I push my way through the crowd and try to catch him. Every time I catch sight of him I’m a little bit closer. My heart is pounding. I need to talk to him. He’s my one hope of finding my way back. Nothing else has worked.
I stumble as I break free of the pressing crowd and the street is mostly empty but there’s no sign of Dugald. Throwing my hands up in frustration I turn a circle, but nothing. Then I hear the raven caw and it echoes. A couple of storefronts further down the road is an alley and the sound that seems to be where it came from.
I break into a run to the alley. When I reach it, I skid to a stop, staring into what seems like an extraordinary amount of darkness for a midmorning. Breathing heavily, I struggle to catch my breath when a shadowy shape moves about halfway down the litter strewn passage.
“Dugald?” My voice quavers, displaying the fear fluttering in my guts.
Sure, let’s walk into the dark alley. Alone. Smart. Real smart. And on the next episode of SVU…
I stop that train of thought because I’m not going to let him get away. I can’t. I must get back to Duncan and the MacGregors. They need me. I need them. Okay, him. I need him.
No answer comes so I take my first step into the alley. A dank, wet, moldy smell assaults my poor nose. There are muddy puddles filling the dozens of potholes. I step into one and my tennis shoe is soaked. I curse softly and shake my foot to try and get rid of the nasty water.
