Page 117 of The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down
I tried to listen, but the rustle of branches whipping by and hitting my gear was loud, and the tinkling bell chatter from my tiny kidnappers wasn’t helping. I couldn’t hear any of the others.
“Win! Ace! Chaos!”
The pixies only had hold of one leg, so I started kicking out at them with the other while I tried to sit up to brush them away. I was sure I looked completely mad with one leg straight out, my other leg and my arms flailing while I practically flew across the dirt, yelling for the others.
I kicked my own ankle and cried out, but I kept at it because it was making the little bastards slow down.
“Get off me, you tiny assholes!” I yelled, kicking and kicking and kicking.
I could feel Sola’s concern for me. She was seconds from coming after me, and as much as I appreciated that, as much as I actually really wanted her here, I didn’t want her to light the entire garden on fire with her wings… or eat all the pixies.
They were tiny dickheads, but they didn’t deserve to have me sic my firebird on them.
I’m okay, Sola. Stay where you are. I have it under control.
Finally, three of them let go, and it made me slow down enough I could sit up more. I started smacking at my leg, trying to get the little buttheads off me. I wouldn’t hurt them, but they didn’t know that, so I pretended I was trying to squish them like bugs.
It worked, and all of them let go.
I scrambled to get to my feet—not easy with bruised ribs and bulky gear on. I had to roll to my front, then push up with myarms, so my ass was in the air before I finally lifted my upper body. I stood up, taking a deep breath, and reached for my belt.
Pixie repellent.
I’d dropped one bottle sometime during my fall, but amazingly, the other was still attached to my belt.
I’d given most of it to the kids, but Win and I had plenty since I’d been buying it in bulk after all our pixie run-ins. I pulled one of my pixie nets off my back, amazed that it’d survived being dragged through the dirt. It was definitely worse for wear, but it’d work in a pinch—I hoped.
I glanced around the garden. There were tall trees and lots of bushes all around me. I couldn’t see more than five feet away, and I had absolutely zero idea where I was. I didn’t think I’d even been in this part of the garden before now.
I’d been dragged who knew how far from the others, and they might be in trouble.
This was a dire situation, and if the pixies tried to come after me again, I’d squirt them and wave my net around to keep them back.
“Winter! Aeson! Chaos!” I yelled, glancing around.
No one answered, and I started to freak out a bit. What if they were hurt?
The pixies had made me fall, and I easily could’ve hit my head. What if… what if the kids or Win had hit their heads? What if they were severely injured and I couldn’t find them in time?
Luckily, my body left a pretty big trail being dragged that way, so I followed, and when a swarm of pixies flew at me, I didn’t hesitate to spray and swat at them.
They yelled their tinkling bell yells, but backed off, although I could sense them following me. They kept their distance, but they weren’t leaving me alone entirely.
“Winter! Aeson! Chaos!” I yelled their names again and again, but I didn’t hear anything else.
“Fuck. Where are they?” I tried to pick up my pace, but it was difficult when my entire body felt like one giant bruise. “Win! Ace! Chaos!”
I heard what sounded like a muffled scream from my right, so I turned that way, running toward the sound and ignoring all the aches and pain.
“Win? Ace? Chaos?”
Where were they?
Why was I all alone?
The loneliness that I’d felt for so much of my life started to creep back in.
Winter had been spending so much time with me the past few months that I almost forgot what this felt like.
