Authors: Renita Pizzitola
“How old is she now?” Mom asked, her eyes were filled with wonder.
“I guess she would be about three human years. She really is something else.” His smile reached his eyes and I could sense his fondness for the little girl.
“Will I get to meet her?” I asked, thrilled at the prospect of having a baby sister.
“I’m sure we can arrange that. You can meet her before she leaves.” He smiled at me. Smiling back at him, I turned to my mom to see she mirrored my excitement.
“This kind of makes it easier, doesn’t it?” I asked my parents.
My dad’s smile filled with love but his eyes were full of sadness. “Nothing can make your leaving easy. We are excited about having Katelyn here, but our home won’t be the same without you.”
I moved over to hug my dad now. “I will come visit. I promise. I will find a way.”
“Well,” Grant cleared his throat a bit. “Unfortunately, we have to leave very soon. If we can stay one step ahead, we can get Kyla to Tír na nÓg safe and sound.”
“Just promise to keep her safe,” my mom asked, tears returning to her eyes.
“I promise to protect Kyla,” he looked over at me, “at any cost. She will always be safe with me.” My heart fluttered. Earlier today I never imagined I would be willing to take off with this guy that I was pretty sure was mildly crazy, but right now I would follow him anywhere.
“I know you will,” Dad said with conviction.
“Well, I need to meet up with Conor and tell him we are leaving. Kyla, you need to pack some stuff. You won’t require much but it will probably take a few days to get where we are going. I’m sorry I can’t tell you where exactly we are headed,” he apologized to my parents, “but for Kyla’s protection I cannot tell you which portal we are using. The closest is not safe. If we even tried to get near it we would be ambushed. We need to travel to another location. Kyla, just pack a small bag planning for a few days of traveling.”
Grant rose now and we followed suit. “I will be back tomorrow morning and we will leave then.” He stood only inches in front of me with his hand on my arm and tilted his head down to meet my eyes. “Are you okay with this?”
“Okay as I can be, I guess.” I shrugged though every nerve in my body tingled with his touch.
“Okay, I will see you tomorrow then.”
We walked Grant to the door to say our goodbyes. We opened the door but before he could even take a step outside, Conor came barreling into him.
Chapter 12
“You need to get back inside right away. Kylie get out of the doorway.” Immediately a human shield, consisting of my dad and Grant, formed in front of me. We stepped back, and Conor quickly shut the door.
“I’m glad I found you here, Grant.” He seemed disheveled, out of breath and beads of perspiration dampened his hairline. “They are on to her. I don’t know if it was Matt or not but somehow they know. I stumbled upon their trail around campus, I think there are quite a few of them. I scouted the area and I couldn’t pick up anything in the immediate vicinity but over by the campus, it’s everywhere.”
My jaw went slack. How did they find me so fast? Had Matt gone against his word? After everything I had learned tonight, I didn’t want these people anywhere near me.
I heard Grant curse under his breath. “We have to go, Kyla. We have to go now!”
My eyes were wide. “Now? But...” I stammered, “I’m not ready.” I spun to my mom and dad, fearful as reality set in. My parents wrapped me in their embrace. “I’m not ready. Mom. Dad. I can’t leave yet. I can’t leave you.” I teetered on the verge of hysterical crying.
My mom, who I was convinced would be the first of us to have a breakdown looked at me, her face calm and her voice level. “Kylie, you can do this. You have to go. We
will
see you again. I know we will. We trust Grant,” she flicked her eyes at him, almost as if saying
you better keep her safe
, “we know you will get to Tír na nÓg safely. We will see you soon. Now let’s go upstairs and get your bag packed.”
Conor’s body grew rigid. He craned his head to the right.
“What is it, man?” Grant’s shoulders squared and his expression turned fierce, ready for anything.
“I hear something. It could be far away still, but it is definitely not good.”
Grant grew quiet for a moment as he listened. He slowly began to nod. “I can sense it, too. Something dangerous is near, we need to go now.” He whipped around in my direction. “Kyla, just get the things you absolutely need, we don’t have any time to waste.”
Still in shock, I ran upstairs taking them two at a time. I picked up my messenger bag and shook the contents onto my bed. I shoved in some underclothes, crammed in a pair of jeans and several tee shirts, then ran into the bathroom. My hands were clumsy as I hastily packed my toothbrush and hairbrush. My eyes fixed longingly on my makeup but assuming I was expected to travel light, I left it. I figured the boys would flip if I they knew I brought it. Grant had said, “only the things you absolutely need.”
Rushing back into my room, I grabbed my favorite hoodie, shoved my cell phone into the pocket of my jeans and looked around. Realizing what I’d forgotten, I went to my vanity and pulled out the little drawer. I lifted the bottom and plucked out my stash of money. It was a pretty decent amount of cash. I had been saving it in hopes of getting a new purse that was ridiculously overpriced and my parents refused to pay for. Just then my mom walked in and looked around as I closed the drawer.
“You sure you have everything you need. Toothbrush, underwear, socks?”
I chuckled and hugged her. “Yes, Mom, I have clean underwear.”
She laughed. “Oh man, I sound like one of those crazy old ladies, don’t I?” She hugged me back. “Let’s get downstairs. The boys are very anxious to leave.” I glanced back at my room and, with a heavy heart, gave it a last once over. I walked out the door, then on impulse, snagged my favorite lip gloss. Couldn’t hurt to have it.
“You’re sure you don’t want to take our car?” Dad spoke to Grant, concern in his voice.
“No sir, we can’t. Members of The Rite are spread throughout communities, keeping their identity secret. One could easily work for law enforcement and use that information to track us. If they have the plates they could find us in no time. We will leave on foot. Conor will ensure we get away safely.” He grinned at Conor. “He can be very intimidating.”
“That I can,” Conor boasted.
“Kyla, you ready?” Grant looked at me. He was on high alert, but his eyes looked sympathetic.
“Yeah.” I stepped toward my parents and simultaneously they wrapped me in a giant bear hug. I clenched my eyes and tried not to cry. My throat burned so bad I couldn’t even speak. My parents gushed over me, telling me how much they loved me and they would see me soon. In a shaky voice I told them I loved them, too.
I had to get out of there. An emotional breakdown loomed. I didn’t want to cry for my mommy and daddy in front of Grant, but if I stayed much longer that’s exactly where I was headed. I pulled away from my parents. “I’m ready to go.”
“Okay, let’s head out the back. We will let Conor leave out the front and if anyone is watching hopefully they will assume we are still inside.”
Conor said goodbye to my parents and told us he would meet up with us when he could. He walked to the door and upon exiting he said, “I will see you in the morning then.” He spoke loud enough to be heard, but not overdoing it by any means.
While this was going on Grant took my hand and led me to the back. Of course, now all I could think about was him. My heartbeat sped under the touch of his warm hand in mine. He quietly opened the back door. We stepped outside and my mom and dad silently waved goodbye. Dad’s eyes were glassy and full of sorrow and Mom’s tear streaked face caused my throat to burn again. I swallowed hard willing myself not to cry.
Grant led us to the back of my yard and told me we were going to climb the fence. I went from wanting to cry hysterically to wanting to laugh hysterically.
“Are you serious? It’s a six foot fence, Grant. I’m sure you can make it, but I’m pretty confident I will flub it up and end up with a sprained ankle or something.”
He glanced around the yard, his gaze settling on the patio. He walked over, picked up a chair and brought it to me. “This should help.”
I tugged my lip between my teeth while looking between the chair, the fence and him.
He smiled sweetly at me. “I’ll go over first. Once I’m over I’ll help you down.”
“Aren’t faeries supposed to fly or something?” I asked with sarcasm, sizing up the fence.
He eyed me and arched an eyebrow. “That’s pixies, Kyla.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was pixies, I should have known that.
He looked at my still not-so-convinced face and in a slightly pleading voice he said, “Kyla, we have to do this. Your house backs up to a green belt. No one can see us. It’s the only way to go undetected.”
I sighed knowing he was right. “Okay Spidey, let’s do this.” He laughed and with a ridiculous amount of ease and grace, hoisted himself up and over the fence. “Are you kidding me?” I mumbled. I stared at my six foot obstacle trying to decide the best approach. First things first, I decided to get my bag over. I pulled the strap over my head and tossed it.
“Ouch,” I heard Grant mutter.
“Um, sorry,” I said lamely.
“That’s okay,” he said in his usual good-natured way. “Just a little warning next time.”
Still unsure of exactly how I would manage this, I stepped onto the chair, placed my hands along the top of the fence and hoisted myself up. Carefully, I put one leg over the wooden panels and slowly brought the other one around. I kept my hands firmly in place but before I had a chance to lower myself, warm hands cradled my hips. Next thing I knew Grant had plucked me off the fence, and placed my feet steadily on the ground. In surprise, I whirled causing us to end up only inches apart. The movement was so fast he didn’t have time to move his hands. Their heat burned into my skin. He stared deeply into my eyes, as we stood there.
“Um. Thanks,” I uttered, completely smitten. Grant’s eyes flicked to my mouth for a second too long before meeting my eyes again. He dropped his hands and took a step back. My heart still raced from our proximity.
“No problem,” he answered, his voice unnaturally deep. He picked up my bag and nodded his head in the direction he wanted us to go. I followed.
We walked for a bit in silence but finally I had to say something. “Grant, where exactly are we headed right now?” We were walking along the edge of the greenbelt, hidden by the trees but not deep inside it.
“We need to get to our meet up point with Conor. It’s not too far away and from there we have to get out of town.”
“Uh huh.” My voice filled with skepticism. “And how exactly do we get out of town? Are we supposed to walk the entire way?”
Grant chuckled. “Not the entire way, but we will have to walk until we can get to a car we have stashed on the outskirts of town.”
“You’re kidding, right? You don’t really expect to walk that far, do you?”
“This wasn’t the original plan, but I don’t see how we have a choice now. I’m sorry, Kyla.”
“I think I have an idea that would make us both happy.” I perked up at my ingenious idea. “Why don’t I call Lexie? She has absolutely zero supervision from her, too-busy-for-a-kid parents. She can meet us somewhere. We don’t have to tell her everything, just tell her we need a ride to your car.”
“You don’t think she’s going to ask a bunch of questions? I mean, think about it. You are the last person who would run away and you haven’t even known me that long. She would probably think you were insane for leaving with me and try to talk you out of it.”
I grinned, “Yeah, you don’t really know Lexie like I do. She will, more likely, be thrilled at my rebelliousness and beg to come along.”
He thought for a minute. “Okay, I guess it will be fine. We don’t have many other choices.” I smiled at his willingness to go along with my plan. “We have about three more blocks until we meet up with Conor. Do you think you could get her to meet us there?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” I whipped out my phone and texted Lexie. I asked her to meet me at the corner of Magnolia and Pansy. I mentioned she had to come alone because it was secret. I also told her Grant and Conor were with me. Knowing Lexie, almost as well as I knew myself, there was no way she wouldn’t come after reading that. And sure enough almost instantly she texted me back.
What?!? I need deets, see you in 10.
“She’s on her way,” I told Grant. He jerked his head in my direction, his eyes wide with surprise.
“That was easy...and fast. Great, guess we have a ride out of town.”
“Thank goodness.” I was happy to have a ride, but even happier to have a chance to see Lexie. The thought of skipping town without seeing her broke my heart. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to my best friend. We walked in silence for a few more minutes.
“It’s kind of ironic our rendezvous point is at the corner of Magnolia and Pansy.” I chuckled. Grant looked at me and arched an eyebrow. He was so cute when he did that. “You know Pansy.” I got nothing. “It’s a joke. You know we are making our great, big, daring escape from Pansy Lane.” He still looked confused. I shook my head. “Never mind.” He didn’t press for an explanation. I shot him a sidelong glance. “Are all grants as serious as you?”