Page 17 of Crown of the Fae King

He slammed it into reverse and bright white lights warned us to run. But Wickham held me in place as we watched that massive tailgate come at us.

“Trust me. Hold tight,” Wickham shouted.

Suddenly, we were standing at the top of the hill, looking down on the fire now consuming Charlotte’s sanctuary.

“Um. Um,” I repeated, shocked I was still alive. “Um…”

“Easy, Lennon. Deep breath now. That is called stepping out ofPlace. And why we willnae need yer car.”

Beyond the hellishly high flames, we watched Andy jump from his truck, now three feet deep into the building. He ran to the rear, probably expecting to see our bodies smashed between his bumper and the crushed wall of steel.

He collapsed to his knees, shaking his head and howling like he’d been cheated. The wind carried his angry ranting to us along with the smell of burning pine and chemicals, probably from the insulation I’d stapled to some of Charlotte’s walls.

Andy probably thought he was losing his mind, and I almost felt bad for him. “Hopefully, he’s had enough fire for one night.”

Sirens sounded in the distance. People gathered on the far side of Main Street. Despite witnesses, Andy jumped to his feet, into his truck, and took off like a bat out of hell.

Wickham let go of my hand, and a second later, my suitcase appeared in his hand.

I glanced at my poor smashed car. “You froze me?”

“I stepped out ofTime, aye.”

I looked pointedly at the ugly green case. “I don’t want to open that.”

He smirked. “I already have, and I added yer underthings to the fire.”

I shook my head. “Still…” I sighed. “Where to now?”

“Let’s visit yer friend from the café, so she willnae worry that Weaver has murdered ye.”

In no hurry to fly through the air, or whatever we’d just done, I stalled. “Wickham?”

“Aye?”

“If you can do stuff like that. If you can freeze anyone, get what you want, and leave without anyone touching you, then what do you need me for?”

“Honestly?” He sighed. “I havenae any ken.”

“Sorry? What does that mean?”

“Means I don’t know. I don’t know why I need ye. But I have no choice but to trust an old man whom I swore I wouldnae trust.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

He stared at the flames. “I must find…someone…and destroy him, before he destroys those I love.”

“Who is he?”

“One of the Fae race.”

“Fae?”

“Fairy.” His head swiveled. His eyes found mine. “I need yer help to destroy a fairy.”

Fairies. Magic. Survival. He’d done a poor job of packaging this vacation he was offering. Looked like it might cost me a whole lot more than money. And I could tell, the way he watched me, he was waiting for my final answer.

I sighed and nodded. “Don’t worry about me. Considering what I have in my bra, killing fairies doesn’t seem so farfetched.”

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