Page 9 (1/2)

Chapter Nine

"Trent!" I shouted, ha on the bathroom door It was thin and hollow, and I could hear the water running in the shower He had to have heard , I hao!"

"I’ve been in here two minutes!" he shouted back

My breath ca lot Ivy was still talking to the trucker, explaining the difference between pixies and fairies to hopefully narroho had taken him We’d never find him if fairies had taken him Not in time

I should have insisted that he use that curse to ht I should have made him safe "Get out!" I shouted,and faded curtains "We have to go" Go? Go where? I had no idea, not even in which direction

"I just got in here," Trent muttered

My eyes narrowed to slits I looked at the door, took a deep breath, grabbed the chintzy fake-brass handle, and twisted It wasn’t locked, and the door cracked open A y warmth spilled out over riht before s was beside that There was a small, tidy bathroom kit open on it with clean stuff laid out The tinyhad peeling self-stick privacy filht, with abehind the thin curtain

"Trent," I said, and the shadow jumped with a half-heard oath

"What are you doing in here?"

My heart pounded "They took hih the curtain to turn the water off Trent protested, but he et e towel

The curtain shifted open, and I jerkedit dry with the towel Don’t look down Don’t look down, I thought, though I don’t knohy He’d seen , he draped the towel around his hips and tucked the end in the folds to hold it there, lookingthan if he’d been stark naked "Took who?" he said cal his da easily over his muscles His hair still looked pale, plastered to his face The tub gurgled as the last of the water drained away, and still I stood there

"Who did they take, Rachel?" he asked again, and I shook myself

"Jenks" My eyes suddenly started to swiet dressed and get in the car, or we leave without you They took Jenks" My throat closed, and I choked out, "The longer I’ to you, the farther away they’re getting" Da "It’s a desert out there!" I shouted, pointing "He can’t fly at this altitude I have to find him!"

Trent’s head dropped "Okay," he said tiredly, and I just about lost it

"It’s not okay!" I yelled "Getripped my aret dressed"

"Oh" Heart pounding, I blinked "Okay" Only now did I look at his feet Nice feet

Trent cleared his throat, and I backed out of the bathroom "Two minutes," I affirmed

"Two minutes," Trent said, and the door shut between us

I backed up until , I sat on it The air was cool and dry out here, and I nervously s had pulled It smelled, and I stood, arm around my middle as I looked out the door to Ivy and the trucker I could hear TrentI had to find Jenks He had saved ine a day without hi the door cracked, a slip of fog drifting out like Trent’s irritation given substance "Yes"

"Hand me my clothes, will you? Or leave One or the other"

I scanned the roo on the chair beside theMoving fast, I strode to it, hardly feeling the softness of the fabric as I tried not to mess up the folds of his shirt and pants "Here," I said aardly The door creaked open a little more, and the flush of warmth and steam rolled out

"Thank you," he said, and the door shut, leaving the clean scent of his deodorant

"I’ll wait outside," I said, glancing at the door

"Thank you"

It was short and clipped, and even through the door I could hear his irritation

"Sorry," I said as Iin on hi to be ashamed of The man was built like one of his horses Not an ounce of flab on hi up froh to shake the s and let Trent know I’d left Jenks had been kidnapped, and I was thinking about Trent naked in the shower?

Ivy alking toward ine behind her, and she turned and waved when he yanked the horn cord to send an echo of it across the flat desert I had to content uess her news by her posture as she made her sloay to me, arms wrapped around her

"It’s pixies," she said when she got close enough, and my breath slid from me in relief

"Are you sure?" I asked, hand on her ars that made a lot of noise The only noise fairies ainst each other"

I looked back at theTrent would hurry "He’s probably alive then," I said, ht back Pixies wouldn’t kill an intruder wearing red, and Jenks had on enough to blind a horse But why kidnap hiht our attention, and we turned to see Vivian co out, her head down as she looked at one of her aetting darker "To slow us down If you don’tat the slight but powerful coven member, I shookas she saw us standing in the parking lot Turning, she looked to the west, then down at her a, she halted on the covered wooden ay that connected the motel to the restaurant

My pulse hammered, and sweet, beautiful adrenaline poured intono she’d been following us through the night

"What?" Ivy said, but I was alreadyloose and free, my every motion full of intent Vivian saw me, and her foot scraped as she took a step back