Page 48 of Magic's Rise

“Hey!” the cashier shouts, his tone filled with annoyance. “You’ll have to pay for that!”

“Call the cops!” I shout back, grabbing Tris by the arm as I pass him near the counter. He clutches a mountain of chips and candy to his chest, looking bewildered. “We’ve gotta go! Now!”

Tris drops his hoard, goodies falling to the ground as he stumbles after me, the cashier’s protests following us out the sliding doors.

“Haut!” I scream, my voice cracking with panic when I don’t see our van out front.

“What’s going on?” Tris peers back at the mini-mart. “I think he’s really calling the cops. What did you do?”

Before I can answer, Haut sprints around the corner of the station, leaping over the hood of a car like some kind of superhero. “Where?”

“Guy from the pool!” I point frantically behind us. “He has a knife! Brown hair! Dark hoodie!”

“Go to the van by the air pump. I’ll handle this.” Rage twists Haut’s features, and he races into the store, looking for blood.

Tris takes half a step to follow, but I pull him in the direction Haut had come from. “There’s only room for one hero.”

Tris shakes his head in bewilderment. “How did that creep find us here?”

“I don’t know.” Pulse racing, I tug him along with me as we sprint around the corner of the building.

Levi glances up at our approach, coals lighting in his eyes before he recognizes us and returns to changing the newly filled tire, moving with supernatural speed.

He must have heard what I told Haut, and he’s working furiously to ensure we’re ready to make a getaway.

“Hey, what happened?” Aspen peers past us. “Where’s Haut?”

“Rowe had a run-in with the guy from the hotel.” Tris shoves me against the van and stands in front of me, facing the danger. “He came after her with a knife.”

Concern sweeps Aspen’s brows together. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… shaken.” I press a hand over my racing heart. “Haut went after him.”

“Do you think this was his plan all along?” Aspen’s fingers twitch, but his wand remains sheathed for now. “Create a reason for us to pull over and wait for us to separate so he can attack?”

“It’s possible.” Levi tightens the last lug nut and releases the jack to drop the vehicle back to all four tires. “This is the first gas station on the way out of town. It’s the most logical place we’d stop.”

He tosses the wrench and car jack into the van, gestures for us to climb in, and slides behind the wheel. Aspen takes the front passenger seat, and Tris crawls into the back. I scoot over, leaving the seat closest to the door available for Haut.

A moment later, he comes running around the corner of the building, his face tight with frustration, but uninjured, which relieves me.

“Did you get him?” Hope mixes with dread inside me.

If he killed the man, we need to make an escape before the police arrive.

“He went out the other door. Must have had a car waiting.” The muscle in Haut’s jaw ticks as he jumps in and slides the door closed. “But I caught his scent. It’s the same person from last night.”

“He’s stalking us.” Voice grim, Levi puts the van in gear and pulls onto the empty street.

“Now that we know, we’ll be on alert for anyone following us.” Aspen twists to stare out the back window. “He won’t take us by surprise again.”

Haut reaches out to grip my hand. “You thought fast and got out of there. Good job.”

“Thanks.” I slump lower in the seat. “Are we still stopping at a coffee stand?”

He squeezes my fingers. “Let’s get out of town first. This place is unlucky.”

I nod and clutch his hand in my lap, needing the physical contact to feel safe.

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