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The engine sputtered and wheezed, more smoke emanating from the engine, but it made no move to start.
Dammit!
Unsure what the car might do, I popped the hood and exited, peering at the billows of black emanating from the interior. I would have simply used magic to fix it—had I known what was wrong in the first place—but I didn’t know enough about cars to make a guess. The stench of burning oil drew me back, and suddenly, I was terrified the car was going to explode with all of my belongings inside it. I scrambled to retrieve my overnight bag and rush out before being caught in the crossfire.
When I emerged, another vehicle had pulled up beside me, a curious face peering at me through the passenger window, via the driver’s seat of a miniscule vehicle. I simply stared at her, unsure of who she was or what she wanted.
“Do you need me to call a tow truck for you?”
I jumped at the sound of her raspy but feminine voice, the hairs on my arms raised as I realized I had already caught the eye of someone. Her sandy hair was chopped into a pixie cut, gray eyes solemn and conflicted by my appearance. I must have been quite a sight out there in my formal, ruby gown in the middle of the afternoon. I’d considered changing every time I’d stopped for gas, but getting far away from Ironhelm City and the palace had been my primary concern.
Now, I wished I’d been smarter. I stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Hello?” the sweet-faced driver called. “You need me to call you a tow?”
“Uh… no, thanks,” I mumbled, turning away. “I-I’ve got this.”
Behind her, a pickup truck drove up and honked as the driver was forced to slow down. “Get out of the way!” the owner of the truck hollered.
To my shock, she raised her hand through the open window of the driver’s side and flashed the driver her middle finger. “Go around, asshole!” she shouted. “There’s plenty of room.”
“Screw you, witch!”
“Buzz off, prick,” she shot back, barely glancing at him as she turned back to me, giving me a wide smile.
Charmed and shocked by this passerby, I wished she’d go away.
The truck driver snorted, but to my surprise, he did exactly what she suggested, revving his engine loudly to zoom by her, flipping her off as he did. “Bitch!”
“Fucker!” she fired back without looking at him, her gentle eyes still fixed on me.
My nerves were ready to snap before this encounter, but now I backed away, toward the ditch. The car continued to smoke, a foul burning attacking my nostrils.
“Hey,” she called out. “Don’t worry about him. All the drivers around here are assholes. You get used to it after a while. It’s like a sport, cursing them out.”
I swallowed and nodded to show that I’d heard her, but I kept moving back.
“Hey, are you okay? Can I help you?”
My mind drew a complete blank as I stared back at her, blinking over and over. Besides the gas station attendants, who had taken almost the last of my money, she was the first real interaction I’d had with anyone in hours.
Very slowly, she got out of the car, like she was approaching a wounded animal, and my head swiveled around. She seemed to be alone and truly trying to help, but how could I be sure?
She neared me with caution, her gray eyes prettier up close, the worry genuine as she stopped a few feet away.
“Are you hurt?” she asked kindly, her heavily rouged cheeks daunting as she cocked her head. She wore too much makeup for someone so young, her punkish style indicative of someone who truly didn’t care, but I had the feeling that she was a healer at heart.
The young female extended a friendly hand.
“Why don’t you come with me?” she offered. “Before this thing explodes. I can drive you into Anderlane. We’ll find a mechanic who won’t rip you off. We can shop around, if you like.”
I stared at her hand in disbelief. I couldn’t go with her. I didn’t even know her name. For all I knew, she was employed by the kingdom. Although gauging by her appearance, I couldn’t imagine her being an agent of Cade’s. She caught my bewildered expression and grinned wider.
“I don’t bite, friend, and it doesn’t look like you have too many other options right now. Come on. You look like you’re going to fall face-first onto the pavement. Just come with me. It’s going to really suck if the car goes up. Healing always makes me so tired afterward, and I have better things to do today than concoct spells to remove shrapnel from my ass.”
She wriggled her fingers, and I swallowed, realizing that she was right.
“O-okay,” I agreed, glancing at the still-smoking car.
