About the only thing I could tell was that we weren’t far from the water gardens. The smell of damp earth and algae made that easy to discern. Along with the barely audible trickle of running water.
If I remembered correctly, there was an entrance to the casino near there.
“If you’re serious about playing bait, you’ll head toward the closest exit,” Anton said without looking at me. “They’ll never believe we chose to go deeper into the Playground.”
“Maybe we’re just trying to avoid the obvious trap.”
“Oh, there’s definitely something waiting for us in that direction,” Anton agreed with a snort. “But the question is whether you’d prefer us to trigger it or those three.”
Judging from the self-satisfied smirk on his face, he knew my answer already.
“They’re here,” Anton announced.
Following his nod, I scanned the forest. My gaze bypassed the Fae the first time. It took effort to spot them amidst the trees. There were five of them. Their camouflage perfect.
My friend from the woods on my property stood slightly in front of the rest in a position of authority. His eyes alight with anticipation. A bow and arrow clutched in his grip.
No need to guess what he planned to do with those.
“You ready for this?” Anton asked.
“If I’m not, will that change things?”
The door behind us opened. Drake exited first, Caroline and Jenna at his back. Without a look at us, he headed in the opposite direction. Just a werewolf and two humans out for a stroll in the Playground.
“We should get moving too,” Anton announced.
“One moment,” I said.
There was something I had to do first. Just a little insurance to make sure the Fae came after me and not the other three.
“What are—” Anton broke off as I drew my gun.
Not taking the time to aim properly, I fired several shots into the forest. Bark chips flew. Several curses in what I thought were Spanish—though a much older dialect than I was familiar with—came from Anton.
I emptied several more rounds into the forest, uncaring whether they hit their targets or not. Wounding or killing them wasn’t my goal. Getting their attention was.
And it worked.
An arrow flew past my cheek. Only Anton jerking me out of its way kept it from lodging in my ear.
“It’s time to go,” he snarled.
Using his hold on my arm, he dragged me after him as he broke into a sprint.
I cast one last look behind us to see that I’d accomplished my mission and the majority of the Fae were following. The sole exception was a single Fae who broke off to lope after the others.
That shouldn’t be a problem. Between Drake and Caroline, they could handle one measly Fae.
After all, his father had said their family line assumed responsibility for hunting down dangerous Fae who threatened humanity. Time for Drake to put his money where his father’s mouth was.
“Was that really necessary?” Anton demanded in a tight voice.
“I think so—yes.”
He gritted his teeth, his pace never wavering. We were moving fast. At vampire speed. It was easier than it had been in the past. My legs pumping in time with my heart. The trees and path blurring into a colorful smudge as we practically flew toward the water gardens.
Yet somehow the Fae never fell behind. They dogged our steps every inch of the way. The occasional near misses from their arrows reminding us of their presence.
