Page 8 of Expose Me

“Of course you do.” I rolled my eyes and summoned a gallon container from my storage unit. I had to help her lift it to her lips, but once the liquid started flowing, she was able to take it from me and tip it right back. Some of it spilled down her face and cheeks, but she guzzled most of it. Not a drop was wasted, the spilled parts getting absorbed into her skin.

“You can sense them, right?” I asked, keeping an eye on the doors and the number on the panel as we moved down through the building. “You tried to get us to leave before they showed up.”

“Yes, I can sense them when they’re within a certain range. But they can sense me too. And they can sense me from further away.”

“Why?”

“There are more of them. They combine their senses. It’s like ...” she looked to the side, like she was trying to remember the right word. “The best word you have for it isteamwork.”

“Great.” I sighed.

“It can be, but it is not a good thing for you and me in this situation.”

“We’re going to have to work on your comprehension of sarcasm. Are we about to be outnumbered when these doors open?” I raised the weapon once more as the elevator slowed one floor above the basement.

“No. They are close but not that close.”

The doors slid open to reveal nothing, and Zey snatched the weapon from my grasp as she stepped out. I went to fight her for it on reflex but decided against it. She’d know the best way to use it to inflict the most damage.

“OK, well how far away do we need to get so they can’t detect you? How did they find us?” Deal with the most pressing issue first, then figure out next steps.

“It’s hard to say.” She was walking through the parking garage, looking at the cars and the concrete walls with interest.

“Approximately?” I gritted out as I summoned myself a pair of shoes and a hoodie. It was cold, and it was also a good idea to hide my bright-pink hair.

“Approximately one kilometer. More if more of them come through the portal.” She finally turned to face me. “We should take one of these vehicles. It will be faster.”

“It would be, but none of these belong to me.” I overtook her and headed for the security shutter at the top of the ramp leading to the street.

“We can steal one, then,” she huffed. Like I was the one being unreasonable.

“No, we can’t,” I insisted.

“Yes, we can. I already have the information needed to start the engine.”

“Listen,” I barked, spinning to face her. “I guarantee you every one of those cars is either spelled or has some other kind of tracking or alarm system on it. Figuring out what anti-theft magic is in use and getting around it will take time we don’t have. If we take one, we’ll have some pissed-off witch or vamp after us as well as your friends. This is not the best solution. You’re in my fucking world. If you want my help, you need to trust me to take the lead in navigating it. Now tell me anything that will be helpful to lose these assholes or incapacitate them and keep your unhelpful commentary to yourself.”

She stared at me, mashing her teeth, clearly not liking what I was saying.

“Or you can take your chances on your own.” I shrugged. We were even as far as I was concerned.

“Fine,” she huffed, “if we can cross a body of water, it will be more difficult for them to track us. Electricity is the most effective weapon.”

As she spoke, her skin did that shimmering thing, and she morphed in a matter of seconds, growing taller, broader. I blinked and suddenlyshewas ahe. The guy from outside the elevators to be specific. He was taller than me now, and my borrowed sweatpants looked comically short on him, not to mention the T-shirt that was stretched to its limit.

“What are you doing?”

“Longer limbs will make it possible to move faster—cover a longer distance.”

With a shake of the head, I summoned another hoodie—my baggiest one—and handed it to her. Him. Whatever!

I keyed in the security code, and the door next to the security shutter beeped. I pushed it open and stepped out into the relatively quiet street. A few people were walking past, and I could hear the sounds of traffic on the main street. No faceless assassins in sight.

“Where can I get my hands on a Taser?” I mused out loud. It was one of the few things that I didn’t have in my stash.

“We should go to the place where you found me,” Zey said.

“Seriously? I thought we—”

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