Spencer wisely didn’t respond to that. “Where are we going?”
Makai rattled off an address that turned out to be a bar in Black Diamond rather than a home. Spencer wasn’t offended the dire was keeping people’s secrets; he knew what damage the government could do to a person. He plugged it in and let the GPS guide the way, the light shining blue-black through the screen to account for the darkness outside.
“Tell me why the pack thinks they have a possessed werecreature in their midst?” Spencer asked as he followed the route to Interstate 5 going south.
“The Black Diamond alpha says they smell off.”
“That doesn’t mean demons are involved.”
“Consider the visit a precautionary measure, then, especially if you want cooperation for your case.”
“Ooh, blackmail. I always like dealing with that.”
In the rearview mirror, Makai rolled his eyes and didn’t respond. Spencer flicked the radio on, finding a local station of the current top hits. Better music and the tinny voice of the GPS giving out directions than an argument. Spencer forced back a yawn and chugged down some more coffee before they finally made it onto the highway.
It was a straight shot south until they reached the junction near the airport, where Spencer had to follow signs for Interstate 405 East. They weren’t on it long before the GPS was telling him to exit onto State Route 169, leaving behind the city in favor of trees interspersed with small pockets of lights that came and went on either side of the road. It wasn’t the typical highway but a road running through small towns and, eventually, what might have been a state park.
“You and your pack ever run out here?” Spencer asked, eyes on the road but cognizant of the emptiness stretching out to the left of the two-lane road. The SUV’s headlights only illuminated trees, the cloudy sky dark above them.
“It’s the Black Diamond Open Space. Federally protected land for a migratory corridor,” Makai said.
“So that’s a no?”
“It’s not your business.”
Spencer shrugged, both hands on the wheel as he took a curve. The road was a little windy through the park, but at least he didn’t have to worry about any cliffs. It was wilderness to a point, but not mountainous, and for a moment, he could pretend it was just them out there in the dark—right until the SUV with no headlights on that barreled around the upcoming curve, crossed the double yellow lines, and aimed right for them.
Spencer reacted instinctively, yanking the steering wheel to the right and slamming on the brakes to try to get out of the way. Except there was no safety to be found in the trees lining the road or the way the other SUV seemed hell-bent on hitting them.
Fatima disappeared as the SUV hit theirs along the left rear passenger side, missing where Spencer sat by mere inches. Makai, thankfully, had been seated on the right-hand rear side of the bench, buckled in and capable of shifting through any wounds he might take from a crash. Spencer, on the other hand, only had the goddamn airbags that deployed when the SUV tipped and rolled from the collision, skidding off the road in an ear-splitting noise of tearing metal and shattering glass.
The seat belt locked up, digging bruises against his ribs and shoulder as his head snapped forward, nose stinging but thankfully not breaking from how hard his face met the airbag. Something twinged in his neck, and oh, that was going to hurt later.
He found himself hanging upside down, steering wheel digging into the tops of his thighs, seat belt keeping him trapped in one place as blood rushed to his head. He sneezed some of the airbag deployment powder out of his nose as he fumbled for the buckle, jamming his thumb down on the release button. It disengaged, and he barely got one hand up in time to brace his falling weight against the roof that was now the floor instead of using his head.
“Makai,” he snapped.
The sound of the already crumpled door breaking even more from a well-placed kick reached his ears. “Hunters.”
Spencer cursed, trying his door but finding it jammed up against the trunk of a tree. He wasn’t getting out that way, which meant crawling into the back was his only option. Spencer yanked on the seat handle, shoving the seat back as far as it would go to give him more room to maneuver out of. He twisted his body, using the floor well to push against as he dragged himself into the back seat, knowing they only had seconds to get out before the goddamn hunters came for them.
Headlights swept through the trees, and the sound of another engine rumbled through the night air. The car didn’t keep driving and instead pulled onto the gravelly shoulder. Spencer swore, still trying to get free, when a hand hooked under his armpit and yanked on him. Preternatural strength dragged him out of the car, shirt riding up and back scraping over cold dirt and scattered glass shards. He hissed from the cuts he could feel opening up on his skin, but they didn’t matter.
“We need to go,” Makai said in a low, rough voice.
Spencer got his feet underneath him right as the sound of safeties clicking off hit his ears. They were hidden behind the wreckage of his rental, but metal wasn’t enough to stop bullets. His magic would be.
His mageglobe flared into existence against the curve of his palm, fingers clenched around the tiny, marble-sized sphere that he poured his magic through. The shield he raised between them and the literal wave of bullets aimed their way rippled from the impact of metalandmagic. Spencer grunted, frantically layering his shield to compensate for the spelled bullets the hunters were using. He didn’t have Nadine’s skill with defensive magic, but every mage in the Mage Corps worth their uniform knew how to shield. His wavered but stayed up, spelled bullets wearing down the top layer but not yet breaking through the next. Spencer gritted his teeth as he poured more magic into their making.
“Boss was right. He’s a goddamn magic user!” someone yelled over the sound of gunfire.
Spencer didn’t know who their boss was, but he could guess. How Caitlin had figured out he was a magic user, though, was a puzzle he’d have to look intoafterthey survived being hunted.
His shields bought them a few precious seconds of time, long enough for Makai to yank him away from the road and into the tree line, pitching them deeper into the dark of nature. Makai’s hand was like a warm brand on Spencer’s arm that gripped hard enough to bruise. The rest of him was cold, despite how fast they were running, Makai muttering warnings about where to plant his feet so he didn’t trip. He’d left his coat in the back seat of the SUV, the outerwear too restrictive while driving. He was regretting that decision as the cold night air blew around them in a breeze that shrieked through the trees.
They weren’t running quiet, and Spencer flexed his fingers around the mageglobe, stark green light faintly shining from between his fingers. He dropped the shields, magic rushing away from the crash site and back into his soul.
He heard the hunters behind them, crashing through the thick underbrush, hot on their heels in a way that spoke of magic or night-vision goggles. Spencer kept his mageglobe clenched in one hand, not wanting to risk giving off any illumination that might make them a target. Makai’s grip on his arm only helped so much when guiding him, and he tried to pull free. Makai didn’t budge.
