Chapter 21

I woke up ready to commit murder for a second time.

My body ached with unsatisfied need, ignited by that damn druid. Rolling over, I grabbed my phone and turned off the alarm, the vague memory of whatever dream I'd been having dissolving away to nothing. Zak's rough, primal attention last night wasn't as easy to forget.

And that ticked me off even more.

Seething, I stormed to the bathroom, ignoring the man on my sofa, who watched me pass with groggy confusion. When I emerged from the bathroom, the coffeemaker was percolating, but Zak was back on the sofa, an arm over his face to block out the light.

By the time I completed my morning chores in the stable and got ready for work, my temper had cooled. I told Dominique my truck had broken down, and she offered to loan me their old Ranger.

At the clinic, I smiled cheerfully at my coworkers, then busied myself preparing for our first procedure of the morning, a cruciate ligament repair for a Labrador. Ríkr, lazy as ever, picked an out-of-the-way corner and went to sleep.

The morning dragged despite the hectic lineup of surgeries, my thoughts rotating between the fae killer and our plans to revisit the crossroads, and the MPD agents circling ever closer, goaded by whatever Laney might have reported after our encounter last night. It got harder and harder to smile when my coworkers spoke to me, and I knew I needed to get out of the clinic to settle myself.

Checking that my wallet was in my pocket, I was halfway to the back door when a voice called to me.

"Saber!" Hailey waved from the short hall that connected to reception. "Can you come to the front?"

"I'm going for lunch," I called back, my hand on the door.

"Someone's asking for you."

I paused. It couldn't be Zak bringing me another lunch. He had no way to get here, and besides that, Hailey wasn't nearly giddy enough for him to be my visitor.

Ríkr?I asked silently. Who is it?

His sleepy thoughts mumbled into my head. Who? Where?

You're a big help,I complained as I hovered at the door, debating whether to duck outside. Just as I decided that was the safer bet, Nicolette appeared beside Hailey, a suspicious frown on her lips.

I forced a smile. "Coming!"

Reluctantly abandoning the door, I strode toward them. They moved aside, and I slowed as I approached reception. At the nearer end of the long desk, Kaitlynn was reviewing paperwork with a middle-aged couple, their obese pug sitting at their feet. An elderly woman sat on a chair in the waiting area with a cat carrier on her lap. And at the far end near the exit…

Laney smiled vapidly at me, her blond hair styled in beach waves and her designer purse under her arm.

My lips thinned. I wasn't sure if this was better or worse than the MPD agents I'd expected. Hoping she wouldn't make a scene in front of human witnesses, I cautiously approached.

Her eyes glinted meanly behind her oversized sunglasses. "Look at you," she hissed, "going about your day like you're so innocent."

I said nothing, waiting.

She curled her lips in a sneer. "If you'd just confessed to the coven last night, maybe we would've put in a good word for you with the MPD, but now it's too late."

A good word? More like additional condemnation. "Too late how?"

"The MPD is arresting you tonight. They've even brought in a bounty hunting team to take you down, like a rabid animal."

A surge of adrenaline tightened my gut, but I kept my expression clear. "How do you know that?"

"I told the agents that you threatened to kill the coven." She raised her chin, attempting to glare down at me even though I was taller. "How does it feel knowing you're living your last hours of freedom right now?"

"Feels like I should skip town before they arrest me."

"Don't even bother. With a bounty on your head, you're doomed no matter what you do." She hitched her purse up on her shoulder. "I just wanted to see your face when you realized you won't get away with killing my mother."

Did she really have no idea how Arla had died? Did she not suspect Jason, her convict boyfriend, in the slightest?

"Well, now that you've warned me, I probably should run. Maybe into the mountains," I added in a thoughtful tone. "No one would find me there. I'll head north. Up Summit Trail."

She inhaled sharply, her shoulders rigid. "Summit Trail? Why would you go there?"

I gazed at her silently, and her face tightened.

"I—I'll tell them that's your plan," she threatened.

"Will you? What happens if the MPD follows me up Summit Trail?"

"You…" She stepped back. "You're a murderer. You're a killer."

I gave her my real smile. "I am."

Jaw clenching, she whipped her hand out, her palm striking my cheek with a loud smack. Gasps rang through the room as everyone's attention snapped toward us.

"Rot in hell, you psychotic bitch!" she screamed. Whirling on her heel, she shoved through the door and ran outside to her silver Prius.

I watched her go, my cheek throbbing. Why had she come here? Denied my confession, had she wanted to bask in my pending arrest instead? To see my reaction? To get in a little personal revenge before the MPD made their move tonight?

As her Prius sped away, the car parked in the spot behind hers was revealed: a black sedan with a man leaning casually against it. He wore a dark suit, his face turned toward the clinic. Tall, trim, older, with brown hair cut short and dark-rimmed glasses.

Cold spilled through my limbs.

"Saber?"

I started, surprised to find Hailey and Kaitlynn on either side of me, their faces full of concern.

"Are you okay?" Kaitlynn took my arm. "Come on. I'll get you an ice pack. Do you want us to call the police?"

The police? That would only complicate things more. I stared through the window at the MPD agent. Would he come inside and confront me in a building full of potential human casualties?

Where there was one MagiPol agent, others must be close by. Were they covering the clinic from all sides, waiting for the right moment to strike? They thought I had magic that could steal people's hearts from their chests. That was the only reason they hadn't moved on me yet—but when they did, they wouldn't hold back.

I waited, seconds ticking past, but the agent didn't step away from his vehicle.

The MPD was hunting me, and if Laney wasn't bluffing, then my time was almost up.

"Saber?" Kaitlynn prompted.

"No," I said quickly. "No police."

"You should press charges." Taking my arm, Hailey tugged me into the hallway that led to the staff room. "She assaulted you."

As we left the reception area behind, Nicolette's shrill voice floated after us. "But what did Saber do to her first?"

* * *

I stood at the clinic's back door. I'd changed out of my scrubs and into a pair of jeans and a racerback tank top—my spare clothes from my locker. My phone was in one pocket, my switchblade in the other, and the keys to Dominique's truck were in my hand.

My shift was over and I couldn't hide in the clinic any longer. The agent watching the building from his car was still out front, and Ríkr had found another man in a suit watching the back, where the old Ranger was parked. If Laney was to be believed, there would also be an ambush waiting for me at home.

Pretending to follow my regular routine was no longer an option.

Ready?I called to Ríkr.

And eager,my familiar replied, his telepathic voice coming from the direction of the rooftop.

Be careful,I warned him. You don't know what magic or weapons that agent has.

I'm always careful, dove.

I scrunched my nose skeptically. Then let's do this.

Keys ready, I threw the rear door open, revealing a small parking lot that ran behind the strip mall. The second agent loitered near a dumpster, wearing a matching suit to the other agent but compact and slender in build, with dark hair buzzed close to his scalp, except for a short, mohawk-like strip down the center.

He jerked straight at my appearance, his sunglasses turning toward me—and he completely missed the white hawk plunging out of the sky above him.

Ríkr struck with the full speed of his dive. Lucky for the agent, we'd decided against inflicting grievous wounds, so the fae used his body weight instead of his talons.

Shouting in alarm, the man staggered, arms whipping up to shield his head as Ríkr's wings beat at him.

I sprinted toward the truck, unlocked the door, and leaped into the driver's seat. The engine shuddered to life. As I slammed it into gear, the agent flung his hand out. Crystalline shards formed over his fingers and shot outward in an arc.

A kryomage.

Ríkr dodged the counterattack with a sweep of his wings, grabbed the man's sleeve with his talons, and yanked his arm backward, pulling him off balance.

I stomped the gas pedal. The truck peeled out, and I sped past Ríkr and the agent. Rubber squealed against pavement as I turned onto the main road, the flash of my familiar's wings disappearing from my rearview mirror.

Gripping the steering wheel, I joined the heavy traffic heading west toward Vancouver. If I was being followed, I wanted the MPD to think I was fleeing to the big city.

My tension increased with each kilometer I drove, my heart drumming a slow but forceful beat against my ribs. I was nearly vibrating as I stopped the truck at the last traffic light before the Lougheed Highway. Just as I was debating whether to go back, I felt a brush of familiar fae power across my senses.

I cranked the window down, and a moment later, a white hawk zoomed into the truck and landed on the passenger seat. He ruffled his feathers, then shook his whole body, spraying water droplets and tiny ice crystals in every direction.

"Are you hurt?" I asked urgently.

Injured by a mere ice magician?Ríkr gave me a deeply displeased stare. I am insulted.

I rolled my eyes. "You've recently been bashed by a bear fae and captured by a pixie. How should I know what you can handle?"

His offended air increased. A human's magic is no challenge. My kin require more finesse.

"I see," I murmured, though I didn't really get it.

The traffic light changed, and I directed the truck onto the highway, driving west into Burnaby. There I turned north, met up with Highway 7A, and headed back east toward Coquitlam. Navigating my way through the town, the traffic dense with the evening rush hour, I headed not toward the rescue but toward Quarry Road.

Ten minutes later, I pulled the truck into the same small gravel parking lot where I'd called Pierce after my first visit to the crossroads.

Climbing out, I stretched the tension from my legs as I looked around. A few unfamiliar cars were parked nearby, but the lot was abandoned. Ríkr took off into the trees where he could keep watch.

I waited, my discomfort tightening into frustration.

"Where is he?" I muttered angrily. "He's supposed to—"

My phone vibrated against my hip, and I snatched it out, expecting a message from a certain tardy druid—but the message wasn't from him. It was a text from an unknown number.

This is the lead investigator on the Ghost's bounty. I'm following up on your hotline tip. We need to chat.

My brow furrowed. He wanted to "chat"? That didn't seem like the right word for an interrogation about a notorious rogue and his dead-or-alive bounty.

My phone pinged again and a second message appeared beneath the first.

BTW, saw you're the primary suspect in a murder. That's exciting.

Exciting?

A third ping.

I'll be there ASAP. Don't skip town, k?

Don't skip town? Did he somehow know I was evading arrest at this very moment?

The soft energies of the forest rippled, and the serenade of songbirds quieted with the thump of approaching hooves. Tilliag appeared between two trees, his neck arched and a druid astride his back.

I shoved my phone into my pocket. "You're late."

The stallion pulled up beside me and Zak reached down. His arm clamped around me, and he hauled me up onto the horse. Before I could snarl a protest, Tilliag launched into a bouncy trot that had me scrambling to get my legs into position. Zak's hands drew me back against him as I found my seat.

"Before you pull your knife on me," he said into my ear, "I'm only late because I had to maneuver around the six bounty hunters who showed up at the rescue."

So Laney hadn't been bluffing.

"Why didn't you leave sooner?" I demanded as Tilliag trotted onto the wide gravel path of Minnekhada Trail. "I warned you they might come."

"I figured you'd prefer I not leave any evidence that I'd been in or around your home." He pulled a small backpack off his shoulder—one I recognized as mine. "I also grabbed a few things for you. Food, water, change of clothes."

I awkwardly pulled it on. "What about Dominique and Greta?"

"They left before the bounty team moved in. The MagiPol agents probably tricked them into leaving."

A sick feeling gathered low in my gut. "We have to find Jason Brine and the killer fae. If we don't…"

I'd never be able to go home.

"We will." He reached around me to take handfuls of Tilliag's mane. The fae equine pushed into a canter, his hooves thudding against the hard-packed gravel and trees flashing by as we raced toward the looming summit of Mount Burke.

Soon, we would be at the crossroads. And very soon, we would finally learn what sort of monster was stealing the hearts of fae and leaving so much death in its wake.