I’D FOLLOW THEM.
One way or another, I’d rescue my family before they disappeared like Mom.
Luckily, I already had my phone, puffy coat, and winter boots. Best-case scenario, I’d wait until they let their guard down, then sneak my family away without the fae even knowing it. We could use one of their phones to call the police. Let them handle it. Worst-case scenario, though, I’d need some kind of weapon so I wasn’t completely defenseless if I had to fight. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
According to my cell, it was 3:58 p.m.
If I hurried, I could arm myself and still catch up to them.
Kitchen knife!
Even though it stretched something in my chest like a rubber band, I turned to slip inside the house.
I snatched the biggest one out of the knife block, shoved it into my pocket, and whirled back to the door.
It fell out as I moved, clattering onto the linoleum.
I gritted my teeth.
The blade was too light and the handle too heavy.
If I shoved it through my coat pocket, it might stay, but it’d probably also cut a hole in my leg as I ran.
Iron! I need iron!
Yanking the back door open, I left it that way, hoping it’d mess up whatever magical alibi the blue hulk had come up with.
The garden tools were made out of iron. Hopefully.
Running to the shed, I ripped open the door and grabbed the nearest tools. A small metal gardening shovel went into one pocket, and a matching weeder went into the other. Not as sharp as a knife, but they’d be heavy enough to knock someone out.
I snatched up a hoe leaning against the wall for good measure. The long wooden handle had a solid chunk of metal at the end. Even if it wasn’t made of iron, it could do some damage.
Hefting it, I turned and ran for the woods where I’d last seen them.
Every second counted.
It’d been more than a minute, despite my best efforts.
Panic gripped me. I shouldn’t have let them out of my sight! What had I been thinking?
The impending sense that I’d already lost them caused a ringing in my brain.
Late-afternoon sun trickled through the tall pines.
In some spots, the fresh snowfall had already melted to the point that I lost their tracks for a few seconds.
My heart spasmed.
