Page 39 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
“Wait, no!” Crawling to the phone, I redialed without success. “He didn’t say who’s in trouble!”
Briar swooped down and clutched my shoulders, jolting me. “Your father, Amy. We thought we’d thrown the beasts off his scent, that he was safe, but we must’ve failed. If they’ve found Laurustinus, then—”
Why was everyone talking like Tolkien characters? “Then,what? What the hell are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’m sorry, Amy,” Briar replied. “Your father—he’s not going to make it.”
Nine
“Areyoucrazy?” Briar shouted from the front bumper of his Ford Fusion.
Ten seconds after he’d promised to take me some place safe, where the enigmatic “beasts” hunting my father wouldn’t find me, I’d stolen his car keys and hightailed it through the woods back to Avalon Green—and his parked car.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing!” he exclaimed.
“My father’s in danger!” I jammed his key into the ignition. “I’m not hiding! I’ve got to save him!”
“Youwon’t be able to save anyone! The guards your uncle has surrounding your house may have a shot, but not you!”
What guards?I wanted to snark.Clem Polkweed and Arbutus Colwort? Those old farts couldn’t guard a cup of coffee without falling asleep!
“You said my father wouldn’t make it! You implied he was going todie!”
“I’m not clairvoyant. I made a snap assumption. I could be very wrong. The guards might keep your father safe. I pray that they can!”
“Stop back-peddling, Briar!” I turned the key in the ignition. The Fusion thrummed to life.
“Damnit, Amy!” He slammed his fist down on the car hood, making a sizeable dent. “It’s not worth risking your life!”
“The hell it isn’t! He’s myfather!”
He was worth the risk of everything.
“Amy,please! This is like strolling into the shootout at the O.K. Corral, and you don’t have a fucking gun!”
Gritting my teeth, I set my hand on his leather gear shift. Determined. “You can either get in and come with me, or I can leave you here. Either way, Briar, I’m going home.”
Cruisingthecar-linedstreetsof Squirrel Hill, I slowed Briar’s Fusion, my earlier moxie to rush into danger giving way to queasiness. The closer we came to my house, the more substantial the prospect of certain doom became.
Seeing me wavering, Briar released the oh-shit bar and turned to me. “Amy, you don’t have to do this. You can turn around and go somewhere safe.”
Hands sweating, I strangled the steering wheel. “I won’t just leave him there to die. I’m his daughter.”
“Which is why we should turn around. If he knew I was letting you get this close to danger, he’d have my head.”
I shook off his hyperbole—so oddly earnest. “You’re not letting me do anything. I stole your keys.”
His mouth twitched into a momentary smirk. “Yeah, you did, and it’s my own damn fault for leaving them out on the table. That won’t win me any points with him. I’ll probably get dressed down for this.”
“What? Like you would in the army?”
“Exactly. Only Dananns call it the Old Order, and punishments for misconduct are much more severe.”
I so wasn’t in the mood for make-believe right then. “You sound like a nutjob, Briar! Quit trying to guilt me into turning around. You think I care if you get in trouble?”
Briar’s expression turned boyish. “Do you?”
A little, I thought and groaned. “Just tell me what to expect of the bad guys when we get there.”
