“We felt the push, but they weren’t able to get past our shields to locate us. We’re sure of that at least. We haven’t lost anyone since. We may not be big, but no one comes into a faerie colony with hostile intent who isn’t willing to pay a price.”
“I am quite willing to believe in the power of the faerie race,” Shamira replied.
“If this is a morning star issue as you say,” the Princess said, trembling now with anger, “then they must be stopped. Our people should not pay the ultimate price so that some human can feel powerful for a moment. It is barbaric.”
“I agree. Had you heard of such disappearances from other colonies?”
“Only from Sunshine Downs. It’s near Savannah. They lost a couple several months ago and were wondering if they’d run away up here. They pretty much circled the wagons after that, much like we have. They’re the oldest colony in North America, so they have enough power to keep their shields and still check their messages.”
“I understand. If we need to contact you again, would it be easier for us to come down here then?”
Princess Coramen actually looked a little embarrassed as she scanned around to make sure no one was close enough to listen. “Call my cell phone.”
Shamira stared, then had to suppress a snicker. “How did you get a cell phone?”
Coramen grinned. “I have certain abilities that make it easier for me to interact in the human world. I wanted a damn phone. Even have V-Cast.”
“What abilities? No, it’s not my place to ask.”
“Maybe I’ll get a chance to show you,” the insanely cute Princess said while giving a grin that was very grown-up. She looked over at Sebastian. “I wouldn’t mind showing him either. Or her. Damn, are they all this hot where you come from?”
“I’m actually the homely one,” Shamira said.
The Princess raised an eyebrow. “Homely? Lady Shamira, if you’re homely, then I’m a troll with acne. And since I’m pretty sure I’m not –”
“She gets like this sometimes,” Sebastian interrupted with a grin. “I’m Sebastian, by the way, and this is Bunny.”
“Oh crap. I forgot to introduce everyone.”
“It’s okay,” Bunny said. “Faeries are cool!” She had been watching the King and Queen beat the holy hell out of each other until they’d finally been separated by their guards.
“Did you see how I stuck out my tongue earlier? Go ahead. It’s a traditional faerie greeting,” Shamira said, wanting to impart some of her limited wisdom. Both Sebastian and Bunny greeted the Princess, Shamira exchanged phone numbers with the faerie, and then the vampires and were headed for home.
They hadn’t been on the road long when Shamira noticed a patrol car in their rear-view mirror. She double-checked to make sure she wasn’t speeding, letting off of the gas just a bit. She didn’t see anything odd about the situation, so she was surprised when the cop’s lights came on.
“What the hell?” Shamira said.
“Guys, I don’t have my new ID yet,” Bunny said from the backseat.
“Fuck!” Shamira said. They were an odd assortment to begin with, and to have a girl Bunny’s age with them and no form of identification . . . it wasn’t illegal, but it was going to be damn suspicious.
“Our licenses should check out, so Shamira’s my wife and you’re her little sister, visiting from college who left her ID at the house.”
“And why the hell are we out at this hour so far from Atlanta?”
“Visiting that friend who lent us the trailer,” he said with a grin.
Shamira wasn’t sure how she felt about lying to police. This was the first time she’d encountered any since she’d been killed in the line of duty. She actually felt a bit cheap when Sebastian suggested that she show some cleavage, though she quickly acquiesced. Hey, she liked being looked at. She pulled over and watched the guy get out of the car, and she immediately became even more uneasy. His hand rested on the butt of his gun. The guy’s partner got out of the car on the other side. Then, another patrol car pulled up in front of them.
“This isn’t good,” Shamira said.
The driver of the first car came over and looked in the window. “License and registration please,” he said.
“Yes sir,” she said. Luckily, everyone in the house was on the insurance for every vehicle. But a traffic ticket was the least of their worries. They did not need two cars for a routine traffic stop. She glanced at his side mirror and noticed something else odd. The man stepped back and gave his partner a look, giving Shamira a chance to mutter, “Those cuffs aren’t regulation,” she said so that just her passengers could hear. “They look more like manacles, and they look more like –”
“Silver,” Sebastian said, looking out the other mirror, seeing that the other guy was carrying them as well. “This is an ambush.”
“But how . . . you don’t think the faeries set us up do you?” Bunny asked.
“No,” was Shamira’s response. “That reaction we got wasn’t fake. They’re scared too, and these guys wouldn’t have had time –” She clammed up when the guy came back to the window.
“Ma’am, please step out of the car.”
“Why? Why did you pull us over?” she asked.
“Ma’am, please just step out of the car,” he said again, his hand resting menacingly on the gun. If these guys were carrying silver manacles, then they probably had silver bullets.
“Honey,” she said, keeping her eyes on the cop while talking to Sebastian, “I don’t feel very safe right now. Could you call 911 and –”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the cop said, glancing at his partner then at the other car. Two more “officers” got out of that vehicle. “Just step out of the car and keep your hands where I can see them.”
“Officer, what exactly is the problem?” Sebastian said, leaning over and poking his face into the window. Shamira felt something cold press into her hand. It was a gun.
“Sir, get back in your seat. Ma’am, get out of the car.”
Shamira’s eyes met Sebastian’s. “Your call,” he whispered.
“Ma’am –” the officer threatened.
“Yes, I’ll get out of the car,” she said, reaching for the handle, “as soon as we get home.” She reached through the window and grabbed the officer’s shirt, yanking him against the car as hard as she could, which was hard enough to send him reeling to the ground while she fired up the car and put the gas pedal on the floor.
“Duck!” she shouted as the car jolted forward and the remaining officers pulled out their guns. As she passed the other patrol car, she shot out its back tire and made the two humans dive for cover. She heard gunshots and heard the impacts on her car as she sped down the road. Bunny was down on the floor, pulling a 9 mm out of her purse while Shamira handed the gun back to Sebastian and pulled her Desert Eagle special out from under the seat.
“Keep your head down,” Sebastian shouted to Bunny shortly before the rear windshield got hit. Strangely, it didn’t break.
“Fuck, we have bullet-proof glass on this thing?” Shamira said, admiring the foresight.
“You didn’t know that?!” Bunny shouted from the back.
“Nope.” Strangely, the thought made her grin. This was kind of fun.
Sebastian was grinning too. “They’re following. Looks like they all got into the car you didn’t shoot. Think they’re involved in the disappearances?”
“Damn straight. This must’ve been what Daniel warned us about.”
Up ahead, a third car was tearing down the road towards them, its sirens and lights coming on while it turned to block the road.
“Bullshit! This county probably doesn’t have this many fucking patrol cars and they certainly wouldn’t be on the same nowhere road,” Shamira growled. It was time for some “defensive driving.”
“Get ready to shoot,” she said, grabbing the emergency break and starting a skid towards the blocking vehicle, turning the passenger side towards the enemy. Two supposed patrolmen were just getting out, one armed with a pistol and the other with a shotgun.
“Are we willing to deal with fatalities?” Sebastian asked.
Shamira froze for just a fraction of a second. If she was wrong . . . No, she wasn’t wrong. “This is self-defense,” she said. “Do what you need to do.”
Sebastian squeezed off a whole clip into the two officers and their car, and both officers were dead before they ever hit the ground. Shamira was able to shoot forward again, getting out of the way of the pursing car and letting it plow into the one blocking their path.
“Well, I guess we fight it out,” she shouted.
“Try to take one alive,” Sebastian said. “I want answers.”
They got out of the car and took positions around the patrol vehicle. There was no motion inside, so Shamira took a step closer.
“Please step out of the vehicle,” she said, feeling a little smug about being on the other end of that statement.
“Move in,” Sebastian said.
Bunny was actually crouching so low that her skirt was riding up to her hips, exposing her g-string clad nether region.
‘Yep, they’re pink too,’ Shamira noticed. She watched the young woman move to the back of the car and saw her breathing heavily almost out of reflex. ‘Fuck, she’s probably never fired a gun before in her life.’