Gerald stared at her, behind me, as she grasped my shoulders and tried to pull me up and out, and then he shrieked, patting his clothes as they steamed. The curse wouldn't work on anything with an aura, but apparently it worked on the water he was soaked in. She was boiling him from the outside in. Her control was improving, thank God, or I'd be boiling, too.
My heart raced, and turning my back on him as he danced and slapped at himself, I locked my arms with Winona, and she pulled me up and out. Halfway through, we fell back, and I landed on that foundation shrub, my feet still dangling inside. My eyes widened when Gerald grabbed my legs and began pulling me back in.
Looking determined, Winona tugged back, and frantic, I kicked wildly. He cried out a muffled oath as I hit something, and when he let go, I pulled my feet out, turned, and panted, dripping wet and dirty as I stared at the tiny basement window. Gerald was probably too big to fit, but that rifle of his wasn't.
"Thank you," I said as I scrambled up. Grabbing her hand, I ran for the woods, letting go almost immediately. Damn, the woman could move! In the time I took to go ten yards, she was halfway across the field. "Go!" I said, waving her on, and she slowed to a jog, waiting for me to catch up. "Go!" I said again, thinking of Eloy. He was out here. I knew it.
"He's trying to get out!" Winona shouted, and I ran faster. "I can hear him swearing."
"Yeah?" I said between huffs, then looked to the distant, glowing city. Fire trucks?
I finally caught up with her when we hit the tree line, and we stopped, turning to look down the winding road and toward the sirens. The fire alarm at the observatory must be tied in to the city system, and they were coming out, lights flashing. The easiest way to be rescued would be to wait here, flag them down, and tell them to call Glenn at the FIB. But as I looked at Winona with her gray skin, curly red pelt, hooves, wildly whipping tail, horns, huge canines, and undeniable demonic appearance, I decided it might not be the safest. Besides, Eloy was out here. He could pick us off as we sat in the squad car.
"Rachel, I'm scared."
"It's okay," I said as I held her elbows and looked her in the face. Damn it, she was crying. She'd done so well, and she was crying because of what they'd done to her and what people would think she was. I was the demon here, not her. "Winona, you're like the bravest person I've ever met," I said, thinking my own worries looked petty compared to hers. "Come on. We'll run until we find a place for you to stay while I find a phone. I'll explain what happened, and then we'll get you back to normal."
Her grip on my arms tightened, and she dropped her head, nodding. "Okay." But then her head came up, and she turned, letting go of me and dropping back a step in alarm.
"Move, and I'll shoot you," Eloy said from the dark, his silhouette black against the starlit observatory. "Move, and I'll shoot you both. Right here. Right now."
Damn. I watched, frozen, as he cocked the small rifle. He was head to toe in camouflage, looking both threatening and ridiculous against the background of Cincinnati. We weren't in a f**king war here - but maybe we were. He'd said he'd shoot us, and I believed him.
"Hell, I think I'll just shoot you anyway," he said, pulling the gun to his shoulder in a very fast, professional motion.
"Run!" I shouted, giving Winona a push. If he was going to shoot at us, a moving target was harder to hit - especially with that little rifle he had.
The sound of the rifle going off hit me like a slap, and something thunked into my leg. It stung, and I stumbled, almost pulling Winona down. I wedged her arm off me and fell, turning to look up at Eloy. My leg was wet, and I held it, praying.
Eloy made a huff of success and brought his rifle up again, this time aiming for Winona. My pulse thundered in my ears. Behind him, the fire trucks got louder, the first of the lights flashing on the building. Oh God. I was going to be killed by a rifle-toting, HAPA redneck with a grudge against the supernatural.
"Go!" I shouted, and with a snarl, she jumped right at him.
Eloy dodged, silently swinging his gun to hit her. She caught it with a smack to her palm, and she yanked it from him, throwing it to the damp grass. "Son of a bitch!" the man cried, and she jumped onto his back, her mouth wide in a primal scream as she tore chunks of his hair out and pounded on him. Her tail whipped his face, and he reached behind himself, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder.
Winona landed on her feet and jumped at him again. The man covered his face and dropped to the ground, curled up like he was being attacked by a bear. Winona stomped all over him, her tiny hooves having almost 150 pounds behind each inch.
I scooted back until I found a tree I could use to get to my feet. I wouldn't let go of my leg, and my hand was sticky. People were getting out of the fire trucks. Now that they weren't moving, they might be able to hear us. "Winona!" I hissed as a huge truck light swung over the nearby trees. "Winona! We've got to go!"
A clatter of pixy wings brought my heart into my mouth. Jenks! I thought as my gaze darted to the new sprinkling of pixy dust arrowing to us from deep in the woods. I leaned against the tree, my hope rising. Could I be that lucky?
"Rache! Holy crap!" Jenks shouted as he came to a short stop inches from my face, and I almost collapsed in relief. "We found you!" the exuberant pixy said, and I grinned, feeling faint. "Good thinking to set the place on fire! Glenn thought you were in some mobile home, but I stuck with Trent. The cookie maker needs someone to look out for him. He's worse than you in making bad decisions. He did six things wrong since leaving his house. Let's leave dust before that freaky-ass demon sees you!"
"That's not a demon, that's Winona," I said, wincing as she gave Eloy a last kick and howled her success at the stars.
"Who?" Jenks asked.
"Winona." I leaned against the tree and pressed my hand into my leg. It was starting to hurt. That was a good thing, right? "She's a nice woman they snatched. They did that to her. With my blood." Oh God, they used my blood, and I felt a tear leak out. I knew it was the trauma, but I couldn't stop it.
His dust shifting to an alarmed red, Jenks hovered beside me as I started breathing shallowly. "Is she still smart?"
"Yeah." I took a breath, but I couldn't tell if the lights were spinning because they were really spinning or if it was from blood loss. "She's got a few issues she's working out, is all. That's Eloy she's stomping on. He's a son . . . of a bastard. He put us in a cage, and Chris did that to her. It's HAPA, Jenks. They're going to wipe us all out if they can duplicate my blood."