is awesome therapy, really cathartic.”
“How did we get away from Augustine after I turned you?” Alastair asked.
“It was pure poetic justice. It had been Augustine’s idea to trigger a maker bond in you, but little did he know what that bond would do to you.”
“What did it do to me?”
“It made you stronger somehow. And it gave you a reason to fight like you’d never fought before. You have an overwhelming instinct to protect me, and you killed everyone just to save me.” Joey grinned at him and quipped, “My hero.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. Well, almost everyone. Augustine ran away of course, the coward. But before he ran, he saw what he’d created in you. You slaughtered his troops with your bare hands, and then you went after Augustine. I watched the whole thing. You were covered in blood from head to toe, and your eyes were lit up like blue fire.” Joey glanced at Alastair. “And I know that sounds like I’m trying to be all descriptive or something, but that’s exactly what happens when you’re pissed off -- your eyes glow blue and flicker like you’re burning from within. It’s really creepy, bro. Anyway, you just kept advancing, no matter who or what Augustine put in your path. You just kept coming after him. It was epic!”
“So how did Augustine get away?” Lu asked, equally horrified and fascinated by the story.
“He finally conjured up a huge impenetrable wall of fire and ran off,” Joey said. “Allie had to stop fighting so he could pull me out of the blaze. Augustine burned his whole mansion to the ground with many of his guards left inside.”
Lu raised an eyebrow. “A wall of fire? How?”
Joey shrugged. “Like I said before, Augustine’s tried his hand at witchcraft on and off for centuries. He’s usually not very good at it, normally it takes a true-born witch or warlock to pull off most magic. But I guess at some point he managed to master a flaming-wall-so-I-can-run-like-a-chicken spell.”
“What happened to my sister?” Alastair asked, his voice barely audible.
“You tried to bring her along with us, but she refused,” Joey said. “Meg chose to stay with Augustine, and the two of them escaped together.”
Chapter Nine
About half an hour later they’d crossed into California and stopped to gas up the big black Chevy. Joey sent Alastair off with a duffle bag to change in the men’s room, and while fuel flowed into the huge tank, Joey rummaged around in the trunk. After a couple minutes he opened the car door and handed Lu a dark blue sweater and a pair of sneakers. She noticed that he’d exchanged his blood-soaked t-shirt for a clean grey one.
“They’re mine,” he explained, gesturing at the things he’d given her, “So they won’t be a good fit. But it beats freezing.”
“Thanks.” Lu put them on, trying to take comfort in their warmth.
Alastair returned soon after, dressed in a black long-sleeved t-shirt, black jeans, and black biker boots. Lu thought he would have looked like a real badass if it wasn’t for the tousled hair and pretty face.
Joey said, “Keep a lookout, bro,” and jogged into the restaurant adjacent to the gas station. Alastair stood a short distance from the car and scanned the dark hills, his shoulders tense.
Meanwhile Lu crawled into the back seat and hugged her knees to her chest. She was dazed and hungry, and wondered how long it would be before she could go back home.
A few minutes later, Joey emerged with a couple of bulging brown paper bags and a drink. He handed these over the seat to Lu. “Figured you were probably hungry,” he said. “This place is kind of a dive, but I remembered how good their burgers were from when my family came through here years ago.”
She took the bags and the drink from him and said, “Thanks. Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but I’m actually a vegetarian.”
Joey
“How did we get away from Augustine after I turned you?” Alastair asked.
“It was pure poetic justice. It had been Augustine’s idea to trigger a maker bond in you, but little did he know what that bond would do to you.”
“What did it do to me?”
“It made you stronger somehow. And it gave you a reason to fight like you’d never fought before. You have an overwhelming instinct to protect me, and you killed everyone just to save me.” Joey grinned at him and quipped, “My hero.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. Well, almost everyone. Augustine ran away of course, the coward. But before he ran, he saw what he’d created in you. You slaughtered his troops with your bare hands, and then you went after Augustine. I watched the whole thing. You were covered in blood from head to toe, and your eyes were lit up like blue fire.” Joey glanced at Alastair. “And I know that sounds like I’m trying to be all descriptive or something, but that’s exactly what happens when you’re pissed off -- your eyes glow blue and flicker like you’re burning from within. It’s really creepy, bro. Anyway, you just kept advancing, no matter who or what Augustine put in your path. You just kept coming after him. It was epic!”
“So how did Augustine get away?” Lu asked, equally horrified and fascinated by the story.
“He finally conjured up a huge impenetrable wall of fire and ran off,” Joey said. “Allie had to stop fighting so he could pull me out of the blaze. Augustine burned his whole mansion to the ground with many of his guards left inside.”
Lu raised an eyebrow. “A wall of fire? How?”
Joey shrugged. “Like I said before, Augustine’s tried his hand at witchcraft on and off for centuries. He’s usually not very good at it, normally it takes a true-born witch or warlock to pull off most magic. But I guess at some point he managed to master a flaming-wall-so-I-can-run-like-a-chicken spell.”
“What happened to my sister?” Alastair asked, his voice barely audible.
“You tried to bring her along with us, but she refused,” Joey said. “Meg chose to stay with Augustine, and the two of them escaped together.”
Chapter Nine
About half an hour later they’d crossed into California and stopped to gas up the big black Chevy. Joey sent Alastair off with a duffle bag to change in the men’s room, and while fuel flowed into the huge tank, Joey rummaged around in the trunk. After a couple minutes he opened the car door and handed Lu a dark blue sweater and a pair of sneakers. She noticed that he’d exchanged his blood-soaked t-shirt for a clean grey one.
“They’re mine,” he explained, gesturing at the things he’d given her, “So they won’t be a good fit. But it beats freezing.”
“Thanks.” Lu put them on, trying to take comfort in their warmth.
Alastair returned soon after, dressed in a black long-sleeved t-shirt, black jeans, and black biker boots. Lu thought he would have looked like a real badass if it wasn’t for the tousled hair and pretty face.
Joey said, “Keep a lookout, bro,” and jogged into the restaurant adjacent to the gas station. Alastair stood a short distance from the car and scanned the dark hills, his shoulders tense.
Meanwhile Lu crawled into the back seat and hugged her knees to her chest. She was dazed and hungry, and wondered how long it would be before she could go back home.
A few minutes later, Joey emerged with a couple of bulging brown paper bags and a drink. He handed these over the seat to Lu. “Figured you were probably hungry,” he said. “This place is kind of a dive, but I remembered how good their burgers were from when my family came through here years ago.”
She took the bags and the drink from him and said, “Thanks. Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but I’m actually a vegetarian.”
Joey
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