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You’ll be fine. Just stay in the shadows and look for a large gathering of people to ask for help.It was the best plan I had right now; my only other option I could think of was to wander the streets until I found my way to the upper city. Considering how much my ankle was already throbbing, I doubted I had enough grit in me to walk across the entire city. I barely had enough energy to walk a few more blocks.
Slap. Ow. Slap. Ow.No matter how much I tried treading softly, my left flip-flop slapped the ground with each step, quickly followed by my wince or an under the breath curse as my weight moved from left to right.
I had probably walked less than a mile, but I was exhausted. I didn’t know how much longer I could do this. Each time I turned a corner, I told myself this would be the last one; I would finally stumble upon a convenience store or bump into a friendly looking stranger with a cell phone I could use to call for help. But every time I rounded the corner, my heart sunk deeper into my stomach when I saw the empty street.
What was I supposed to do? Curl up behind a dumpster and try again in the morning?
I started scouting for somewhere to hide, at least for a couple hours to rest my ankle, when I first heard a noise. It was so faint, I almost thought I had imagined it. But as I continued forward, it grew louder. The soft sound of music playing gave me just enough momentum to keep pushing forward until I reached the entrance of the bar. The door was propped open, a three-piece band played in one corner. The glitter of brass knobs and the cheery warmth of lamp light reflecting off of polished wood bar tops drew me forward. I stumbled in through the opened door, ignoring all the heads turning in my direction. It was a lot busier than it looked outside; nearly every seat was taken, but of all the gawking faces turned to me, none of them were fae. Two goblins playing billiards stopped their game to openly stare at me.
“Hi,” I called to the demon with light blue skin standing behind the bar. His coiffed hair had the sleek shine of pomade and he wore a crisp white shirt beneath a gold trimmed satin vest. “I need your help. Do you have a phone I could use? It’s an emergency.”
The demon had one black horn right in the middle of his forehead. He slowly dragged his eyes up and down my body; his upper lip curling in disgust. “There’s a pay phone outside.” He glared at me like I had rolled in an open sewer before strutting into his bar.
“I don’t have any money on me. Can I borrow change for the phone or use your cell phone? It’ll just be for a minute. I promise. I really am in distress.”
He set down the beer glass he was drying with a towel with a loud thud. “A faerie without money? Well, isn’t that novel? I guess there is some justice in the world after all.” he snorted.
“Please, sir!” I lowered my voice so the others sitting at the bar wouldn’t overhear, “I’ve been kidnapped. I don’t have my car, wallet, nothing—”
“You’ve lost it all, huh? There’s only one thing I know of that can steal the good fortune of the fae. Black rock.”
I blinked quickly at him. “N-no. Of course not—” He was mistaking me for a drug-user.
“You’re in the wrong place. This is a reputable establishment. You won’t find your next fix here. Skitter back to whatever drug den you crawled out of.”
“Please, I’m not here for drugs. I really, really need your help.” My lower lip wobbled, and I could feel the tears pushing to the surface. I knew I wasn’t getting through to him, that I needed to just keep going, but for some reason—maybe it was because the entire room was staring at me, burning holes into my back—I stayed frozen in place.
The bartender leaned forward against the bar. “You’re fae. You’ve had nothing but help your whole life, and now you think you’re entitled to more? I didn’t shove the drug down your throat. So, here’s the only bit of help you’ll get from me: either get high on your side of the city where someone might give a shit about you, or overdose and be done with it because you won’t find anyone who wants to help you in here.”
I stumbled backwards, unable to take my eyes off the sneering bartender. My heel caught someone’s outstretched foot, and I fell backwards, flat on my ass. The bar erupted into laughter. I crawled backwards through the doorway and pulled myself to my feet once I was out of their sight. I hobbled down the block to the nearest alley and ducked behind the nearest dumpster. With my back against the wall, I pulled my knees to my chest, and finally let the tears free. I sobbed hard, the choking sounds echoing through the empty passage. I was so, so alone. And everything throbbed, from my ankle to my heart to my head. I buried my face in my knees. What was I going to do? I should have never left Ansel—
“Hey.”
I barely registered the man’s voice over my sobbing, but it was still enough to startle me. My head shot up to lock eyes with a new demon standing a few feet in front of me. I wiped the snot and wetness away from my face with the back of my sleeve. “Hi,” I said weakly.
“I’m sorry about how they treated you in there.” He jerked his head in the direction of the bar. “I heard you needed to borrow a phone. You can use mine, if you want.” My entire body stiffened when he reached into his pocket, but when he retrieved a cell phone, I sighed with relief, my shoulders relaxing.
“Thank you,” I said, reaching up for the phone, my butt still on the ground. I didn’t trust myself to stand yet.
As soon as I grabbed the phone, he wrapped his other hand around my wrist, holding me in place.
“What are you doing?”
He flashed a friendly smile. “I’m helping you stand up,” he said, yanking me to my feet.
I winced, putting too much weight on my right foot. “T-thanks . . .” I said slowly. I tugged on the phone, but his grip only tightened on my wrist. “You can let go now.” His smile grew into something more sinister. I couldn’t tell if it was the shadows playing tricks on my eyes, but his eyes were so dilated, they looked pitch black.
He gave me one slow blink, as if waking up from a dream and remembering where he was. “Yeah. Sorry. My bad. You just look like someone I know.”
I opened the phone and started to type in my mom’s phone number. The screen was severely cracked, and I had to punch in the same number a couple of times.
“Hey,” he said, the word sounding muffled, like he was speaking around a mouth full of cotton. “You want to take a hit with me?” He held up a small baggie, no bigger than my fist, in front of my face. The bag was filled with dark, shiny crystals that almost looked like the rock candy my grandparents used to buy me when I stayed at their house in the summer. The demon opened the bag and popped a piece into his mouth, swirling it around on his tongue before crunching it with his back molars. Maybe it was candy?
I squinted at the bag. “What is that—” I cut myself off with a gasp. I knew what it was—black rock. “You know what, I don’t need to use your phone anymore, I actually see my boyfriend’s car over there—” I side-stepped to the right, but he copied my movement, blocking my path. “Get the fuck away from me.” I lifted my knee, aiming for his groin. The movement connected, but he didn’t even flinch.
He leaned in, his wicked smile slowly fading. “You mean your boyfriend, Ansel, right?” He laughed at the horror written on my face. “You’re not going anywhere, Skye. Not until you show me where Ansel has been hiding.”
I spit into his face.
