Anyway, I was only half paying attention to the truck when I turned the key in the ignition. Mostly, I was watching Kaspian investigate everything. He had the meager contents of the glove box spread across his lap when the engine roared to life. His inquisitive expression launched into one of horror and ferocity. Papers and napkins went flying as he jerked in his seat, the belt barely keeping him in place, and snarled. Really snarled. Like an animal.
“Whoa!” I held a hand out to him. “Relax. It's just the engine starting.”
“The engine?” He did not relax. “What is an engine?”
“Wow. Okay. Uh. An engine is a machine. There are many types of engines. The type in vehicles are what's called combustion engines. I think the full title is internal combustion engines. But now there are electric cars and hybrids . . .” I trailed off when I saw his face go slack. “Yeah, that's too much. Okay. This engine is a combustion engine. You'll probably love that because it functions on fire.”
“Fire powers this vehicle?” His ferocity instantly withdrew. “So, thereismagic in this world.”
“Uh. No, not as you're implying. But we have a type of magic that we call science. Um . . .” I floundered, trying to come up with a way to explain it to him. Then I saw people congregating outside the truck, talking and motioning at us. I'd gotten him away from the firefighters, and I knew they'd do all they could to help us, but there were more than firefighters onsite. And as much as I saw the support teams as family, they might not see me the same. Or Kaspian. “You know what? We need to get you out of here right now.” I put the truck in gear and pulled out of the parking spot.
Kaspian must have sensed the severity of the moment because he went silent, his stare swiveling from window to window. I knew that look. One of my exes was in the Marines. After he got back from Afghanistan, he used to do the same thing. Always on guard. One foot in the black at all times.
I let Kaspian keep watch while I focused on the road. As soon as I was on a real one—as opposed to the dirt trail that led up to the job, I put on speed. Kaspian flinched and gripped the oh-shit bar, but still didn't speak. When we got to the highway, I really opened her up.
“Dear Goddess,” Kaspian whispered.
“Hey, we're good now,” I said. “You can relax.”
“Then why are we moving so rapidly?”
“To get you away from all of those people who saw that magic trick of yours.”
“Why?”
“Because that isn't normal here. Some of those people—the ones I don't trust—might report you to the authorities. If the authorities catch you, they'll hurt you.”
Kaspian snorted. “No human can hurt me.”
I just shook my head. “I don't know about the humans who live wherever you come from. But here, we don't have to be strong to kill strong things. We have weapons that we can fire with the pull of a trigger. A child can take down a lion.” I glanced at him. “Do you have lions where you're from?”
“My world is called Serai, and I believe we have a similar beast.”
“Similar beast,” I murmured. Then the thing that had been in the back of my mind, pecking at me, finally came forward. “If you're from another world, how do you know English?”
“What's English?”
“The language we're speaking.”
“Oh.” Kaspian shook his head. “I don't know. At first, I didn't understand you. I speak a language called Serain. It's a global language. We have many others, but all know Serain.”
“That's what you were speaking at first?”
“Yes. But then the meaning of your words became clear. I simply understood.” He shrugged. “Must be . . .”
“What?” I pulled around a slow car, then glanced at him.
Kaspian was scowling.
“Kas?”
He looked at me. “I remember now.”
“Remember what?”
“How I got here. It was a strange magic. Unlike any I've ever seen before.” Kaspian's eyes narrowed. “I was in bed when I saw a light in the corner of the room. It grew brighter. I climbed out of bed and went toward it.”
“Never go into the light.” I shook my head. “Haven't you seenPoltergeist?” I winced. “Sorry. That just came out. Of course, you haven't. Go on.”
