He chuckles. “Brilliant plan on my part. Convenient way to dispose of the body.”
“But why leave the remains in the square? You must know how bad it would be for business if humans saw that.” Seven’s face is distorted in disgust. He steps slowly to his left, drawing Chance’s attention away from me.
Chance scoffs. “So much to learn…” He shakes his head. “Dragonfly isn’t everything, Seven. Lucky Enterprises is on the verge of something big, far bigger than you could ever imagine. Did you think fae would act as jesters forever? This failed experiment of Godmother’s is almost over, and the sooner the humans know their place, the better.”
“You’re a madman.” Seven looks like he might be sick.
It hits me like a ton of bricks then. Seven is doing the thing I thought he’d never do. He’s standing up to his father, and he’s not backing down. And he’s doing it for me, so that I can escape. I take another step back as tears well in my eyes. I know this hurts him, and as proud as I am of him, I’m anxious to call Godmother and relieve him of this torment.
“You only think that because you don’t know the truth. Not yet. But I’ll teach you. We’ll manage this together.” Chance’s eyes drift to me, and I realize I’m the thing to be managed in this scenario.
I take another step back. The window is right behind and above me. But before I can take off through it, Chance raises his hand. Instantly, my feet slip on a patch of slick flooring, and my legs fly out from under me. All the air is knocked from my lungs when my back slaps the floor. For a moment, I can’t draw a breath.
“Leave her alone!” Seven places himself between us, and I feel his luck fill the room, that invisible dragon of energy coiling, fueled by fire and ready to do battle.
Chance laughs, and another kind of energy forces its way into the room. His is also serpentine but cold as ice. I picture it pale blue and slick as a viper’s belly. All the oxygen in the space is crowded out by the monsters who’ve filled it, and I struggle to take tiny sips of air. My ribs ache.
“They’re tougher than they look, you know,” Chance says through a sneer, pointing his chin at me. “Those delicate bones and gossamer wings are camouflage. They’re wildcats underneath.” His face spreads into a lecherous grin, and my stomach turns over at the connotation. What did he do to these women? I scuffle to my feet, my ribs aching.
“Stay down!” Chance orders me. “Or I’ll take you down. We’re not done with you.”
Seven’s expression turns deadly. “Don’t talk to her like that! Don’t look at her. You overbearing, psycho, perverted freak!” His fist shoots out, but it never makes contact. Chance bends backward, body rotating at an unnatural speed and angle, and Seven’s strike misses his face by a quarter inch. The older man retaliates, fists jabbing toward Seven’s center in rapid succession. Seven easily dodges them, his body contorting just out of reach. His feet barely move, but it’s enough. Seven ducks and kicks, his foot skimming past Chance’s knee.
Luck matches luck. The fight speeds up. Jab, hook, kick. Nothing lands. Power wraps and tangles as the dragon and the viper clash, becoming too big for the room and rattling the walls.
These two men are not expert fighters. I’ve seen enough fights firsthand to know that on skill alone, neither would last long in hand-to-hand combat. Both are desk jockeys, not UFC fighters. There’s nothing inspired about the moves they use or their athletic ability. This isn’t a competition of speed or strength. It’s luck vs. luck. Neither will land a punch or kick until their power starts to wane. The one who runs out of luck first will be at the mercy of the other.
Crap, this is bad. Chance is stronger. It’s a simple matter of age and experience. He’s older and heavier. In the fae world that coincides with a greater ability to store and use luck. This is a fight Seven can’t win. Not without my help.
I push through the ache in my ribs and rush for the window, flapping my wings to lift me through the small opening.
“Stop!” I hear Chance yell. I duck as a piece of the ceiling above me collapses, and then the lights go out.
* * *
I comeawake to pain and the sound of grunts and falling stones. I couldn’t have been out long, because the dust hasn’t settled, but I’m trapped under pieces of the ceiling and wall. Ironically, the opening above me is bigger now, the window having caved in, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t move. My ribs ache, and I think my leg might be broken. My left arm is numb and caught under the rubble.
Power twists in the air around me. I tip my head and get a glimpse of Seven. There’s a red welt on his face. Chance must have gotten a punch in. We’re running out of time.
A gaunt face with two haunting blue eyes appears above me. I almost gasp but she places a finger over her thin lips. I dart a glance to the room beside me and see that when Chance caused the collapse that trapped me, he destroyed part of the wall of the closest cell and freed one of his captives. I don’t know her name, only that she’s a pixie like me.
Help me, I mouth, my eyes moving to the stones pinning me down.
She glances over her shoulder at the men. They’ve moved out of my field of vision, and I can’t see what she sees, but I can feel it. Seven’s power is barely detectable in the room, and the cold viper of Chance’s luck slithers against my skin. I sense it going in for the kill, and flash the pixie a panicked look. Together, we’re able to shift enough stones to free me.
Silently, I stand. I know Seven sees me, but he doesn’t make eye contact. Instead, he pivots and strikes, intentionally distracting his father. I help the other pixie through the window and then fly out after her where I grab her hand and sprint for the car.
“Can you speak?” I ask.
“Y-yes,” she says.
Quickly, I open the car door, grab my cell phone, and dial Godmother’s emergency number. She answers on the second ring. I rattle off the address of the cabin and then shove the phone into the pixie’s hands.
“Explain to her,” I say. “She’ll have questions.”
The pixie nods.
I retrieve my bow and quiver, slinging them over my shoulder. I have one arrow, the one I pulled from Yissevel’s side. I grab Kiko, then realize she’s empty. We used her to recharge Seven yesterday when he went negative, and I never refilled her.Fuck! The lucky cat has been my salvation time and time again. What am I going to do? Seven is doomed if I don’t go back in there.
