Medusa's Dagger (Aya Harris Collection 1)

“How many times do I have to ask you to trust me?”

Gideon’s harsh voice caused me to break my focus and I involuntarily looked at him.

“I’ll help you with Nicky,” he continued. “I’ll protect you from the HQ. But right now, the last thing I need to be thinking about is protecting you.” He narrowed his eyes at me and pinched his lips together. “I need to be thinking about Kit, and the thousands of people that could be hurt once Theo gets his powers. I don’t need you distracting me.”

I fell back a step as the elevator came to a stop. The silver doors slid open, revealing a bustling lobby of doctors and nurses. I didn’t know how I felt about Gideon’s little speech. Somehow, I’d been sucked into this mess. Yet, I’d managed to save both him and Michelle. I was more than just a distraction, but he couldn’t see that.

“Fine,” I said coldly.

He open

ed his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

“No, you made yourself clear. I’ll get out of your way. Go save Kit.”

I walked out into the lobby before he could stop me. A girls’ basketball team in their red and white jerseys had just come in, carrying Get Well balloons and yellow daises for an injured teammate. Dodging their slow walking mass, I circled around the lobby.

Gideon yelled my name, but I broke into a run and burst through the sliding glass doors into the parking lot. A taxi was parked on the street which ran along the east side of the hospital. It was available, so I grabbed it and told the taxi driver my apartment address.

Fuming the whole way home, I paid the taxi driver with the cash I’d stuck in my pocket that morning, and slammed the car door behind me. It wasn’t until I was halfway up the stairs to my floor that I realized I didn’t have my keys.

I’d left my purse at the museum this morning when I chased after Theo. After riding to the hospital with Michelle, I’d called Angel and asked her to take care of the museum. The last thing we needed was someone discovering an unmanned museum full of magical items for the taking.

The good thing about living in a crappy cheap apartment was that it wasn’t difficult for me to break the lock with a bobby pin from my hair. I heard the lock click just as Mrs. O’Conner’s door creaked open. Slipping inside, I slammed the door shut behind me and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.

I’d miss that crazy old woman and her stupid fat cats. I’d miss my little golden mailbox downstairs, and the laundry room with one working dryer. I’d even miss the stain on our linoleum floor that looked an awful lot like blood.

I opened my eyes and went straight to my bedroom. If Nicky and the HQ were both out there looking for me, I had to get out of the city. Maybe go to South America. Somewhere no one knew me.

I’d only need to take the essentials. A few sets of clothing. My checkbook and cash stash. A little bag of my favorite makeup. I threw them all into my suitcase and carried it to the living room. Angel would still be at the museum. I could stop by there and pick up my purse on the way out of town. At least I could see her one last time.

A blue and white book on the kitchen table caught my eye. It was Kit’s baby book. I’d taken it home with me after visiting Limax in the sewers. The slick pages called to me, so I sat down and began to thumb through them.

There was a picture of Kit as a newborn, his skin pink and slick, his mouth wide open with his first cry. He was six pounds and nine ounces at birth. A few pages in was a picture from his first birthday. A little blue cake sat in front of a baby with crazy black hair sticking up at all angles. He had a fistful of the cake in his hand and blue frosting all over his mouth. I laughed and placed the book back on the table.

What was I doing? I couldn’t leave until I knew Kit and Gideon were both safe. Screw Gideon’s warning. He didn’t know Nicky the way I did. I could be useful to him and Agent Silva if they would just let me help. And they were going to let me help whether they liked it or not.

I pushed up from the table and left my suitcase in the middle of the living room. The Hampton Inn was only a few blocks from my apartment. It wouldn’t take long to get there.

Running outside, my heart sank when I saw the lines of cars on the street. It was the lunch hour rush in Arcana. A taxi ride would take twice as long in this kind of traffic. By the time I got to the hotel, the fight could be over. I had to think of something faster.

An emergency ladder on the side of the apartment building caught my eye. Running up to the iron ladder, I jumped and grabbed hold, pulling my body up. I had a crazy idea. If I stopped to think about it, I’d talk myself out of it.

Instead, I climbed to the top of the building and looked out over the city. A straight path to the hotel would have me there in minutes. That was the only route I could take.

I walked a few paces to the middle of the roof and turned. Unfurling my wings, I flapped them three times to warm up. As a child, I’d never been much of a daredevil. Jumping over rooftops wasn’t high on my list of entertainment. So, my maiden voyage would have to be over the rooftops of Arcana at noon.

Running to the edge of the roof, my wings flapped against my back. Combining that with the highest jump I could muster, I sailed to the next roof and landed roughly, skidding to a stop on my knee. It wasn’t bad for a first time, but now a trail of blood soaked into my jeans. I’d have to be more careful on the next run.

Sprinting across the gravel rooftop, I threw myself off the edge and flew to the next roof. This time, I landed more gracefully and continued the momentum to the next. People along the sidewalks ignored me as I progressed toward the hotel.

The city’s enchantment would make me look like nothing more than a large bird to the humans. It made them believe what they wanted to believe – that magic didn’t exist in their mundane lives and all was right in the world.

By the time I landed on the Hampton Inn’s rooftop, I was getting pretty good at scaling the buildings like Spiderman. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had the wind blowing through my hair and under my wings, pushing me higher with every little breeze. My time in Arcana had stifled my harpy side. I’d been so careful about holding in my past that I’d forgotten to stretch my wings once in a while – both physically and metaphorically.

My childlike glee was shattered by the bang, bang, bang of gunshots. Either Nicky or Theo had already been spotted. Who knew what waited inside for me?

I sprinted to the rooftop access and tore open the door. The Hampton Inn had five stories of rooms, but I didn’t know in which floor I’d find Gideon. Bursting through the fifth floor door, I skidded to a halt, listening for any sign of them. There was nothing. Returning to the stairwell, I ripped open the door to the fourth and repeated the procedure, listening for signs of life. It wasn’t until I got to the third floor did everything change.