Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy (30 page)

Beside me I felt Olaf's leg move and the rig began to slow down as his foot came off the accelerator, although the vehicle's momentum still made for a bumpy ride.

I heard Olaf's voice over the din of the semi. "What the hell?"

Aric's weight left my head and I was able to look up through a curtain of hair to find the windshield and the Innaki gone and Olaf hauling hard on the wheel as he fought to get control of the runaway semi-trailer again. Above us, the sleek silver craft of the Innaki was easily keeping pace, issuing the bright white flashes like lightning bolts again.

"Keep going!" Aric yelled, indicating the road we'd left. "They won't want to be seen at Evanton!"

Olaf yanked on the wheel and pointed the rig towards the road. We smashed through the wire fence; a long jagged piece wrapping itself around the front of the cab. A sharp waving end protruded into the cab, whipping past Aric's face. He grabbed it, wincing as the barbs cut into his hand. He bent it back so it couldn't reach us.

"What happened to the gargoyte?" I yelled over the wind.

"I managed to push it off the truck."

I peered around him through his shattered window into the darkness. "Is it dead?"

"I don't know. But there'll be others, and the Innaki aren't finished with us yet." He looked up at the craft as it emitted another great flash of white light.

Swallowing hard, I gripped the seat with an iron grasp and kept an eye on the empty windows. Why hadn't I been able to block the Innaki this time? Had I lost whatever 'power' it took to do it? But Aric had said anybody could block if taught how, so why had the creature been able to stun me?

"Aric, that thing got to me. I couldn't block it."

He placed a cold hand over my tense fingers.

"That one was particularly good at it. They're sending in the big guns."

I threw him a disturbed look. "They have, like, 'experts' at it?"

"Yeah, it's a skill like any other. Some are masters at it, others, just mediocre. That one was a master - look how long it held Olaf; he was still stunned after the Innaki fell under the truck, despite the rig rattling enough to shake your fillings loose!"

Olaf shook his head but kept his eyes on the road ahead. "If I ever get my hands on one of those little bastards..."

A thump reverberated from the top of the cab and a gray bald head and two black almond eyes appeared at the front of the cab, hanging upside down as it perched on the roof. Its long spindly fingers curved around the edge of the windshield, oblivious to the shards of glass still clinging to the edges. Aric and I each threw a ball of wyk at the creature and we hit it simultaneously, sending it hurtling twenty feet in front of us, before the semi caught up with it and smashed it against the grill. Aric leaned forward and peered through the barbed wire.

"It's gone," he said with a grateful sigh. He went to return to his seat but the leathery figure of a gargoyte descended on top of him. I screamed. The gargoyte sank its fangs into his shoulder, just missing vital arteries in Aric's neck. Aric was half hanging out of the cab, his head dangling amongst the banging barbed wire still tangled at the front of the rig. He punched the gargoyte repeatedly, but the blows barely registered on the blood crazed creature. Why didn't he zap it as he had the one at the military facility? I wished I knew how to do it - I should have asked him to teach me. The one thing I did know how to do though was throw wyk balls, and I sent a fiery red one which hit the gargoyte hard on its head. It fell further away from the windshield, dragging Aric with it. Grabbing Aric's legs, I hauled as hard as I could to try and get him back in the cab, but the gargoyte still had a hold of him, and it was much stronger than me. I sent another ball of wyk, praying that I wouldn't hit Aric. It hit the gargoyte in the shoulder and it let go of Aric, only to turn its enraged attention on me.

Olaf stomped on the brake, and the semi began to slow, its wheels screeching. Somehow I knew it was the wrong thing to do. We'd be in worse trouble if they managed to stop the semi altogether.

"Don't stop!" I yelled at Olaf. He crunched the gears, floored the accelerator again and the rig lurched shakily then gathered speed. I had a hard time holding on to Aric's legs as the cab jostled about. The gargoyte had been shaken around too, but its muscular arms managed to keep a hold of the cab. It began to climb towards me, its fangs bared and dripping Aric's blood. It growled a low fierce snarl, a sound I'd find hard to forget. It climbed through the empty windsheild and perched on the dash, its great bulk taking up the majority of the space in front of me.

Holding on to the steering wheel with one hand, Olaf threw a punch at the gargoyte. It snarled and snapped its jaws at him, catching his arm and tearing a piece of his jacket away. Olaf thumped it again, deftly avoiding the snapping jaws, but his blows barely shifted the creature. The semi drifted to the side of the road once more and we began to bump along the verge. We were rapidly approaching the bridge - a huge structure of heavy iron. If we missed the bridge we'd be in the river, and if we crashed into the bridge, there'd be no hope of survival at all. As I gripped Aric's unmoving legs and heard the ominous thump of his body as he was blown about against the front of the cab, I was seized with rage.

I threw ball after ball of red wyk at the gargoyte. Olaf continued to batter it too, but it was so strong and enraged itself, it would waver for only a moment before getting its balance and hauling itself back into the cab. I was growing exhausted, and the gargoyte's head and snapping fangs were only a foot away from me. Olaf was beside me, swearing fiercely as he pummeled the side of its head but the creature only snapped at him as though Olaf's blows were mosquito bites, keeping its attention solely on me.

I mustered up one last ball of wyk, but it was so weak it looked like a vague pale light of luminescence - barely a light at all. I launched it at its face and it bounced right back at me, hitting my cheek with a stinging hiss like the shock you get from static electricity. I resorted to physical blows, trying to avoid the snapping teeth. Realizing I'd let go of Aric's feet to punch the gargoyte, I felt Aric's body slip away as it was pulled out of the cab. I felt as though all my blood had sunk to my toes. I felt chilled beyond the cold which had already permeated my body from the draughty journey. I couldn't imagine a life without Aric. There seemed no point in fighting any more. I swallowed hard, and tilted my head back against the seat, exposing my throat to the gargoyte. Random thoughts ran through my mind. I hoped it would be quick. It would certainly be painful, but if I were lucky, death would be instantaneous or I'd at least pass out from blood loss or shock. Everything seemed so surreal, but once I'd accepted death, I felt strangely at peace.

Olaf was still valiantly raining blows against the creature's body. As I waited for the advancing fangs to pierce my throat, I realized I should have told Olaf to just stop the rig and run for his life. They didn't want him. Only me. If he ran he might have a chance to escape the gargoyte.

The gargoyte's breath was horrendous. It came in great nausea inducing wafts which brought further tears to my already watery eyes. Time seemed slowed as its face grew closer. It grabbed my shoulders with sharp, strong claws and held me painfully. I turned my head away from the grotesque and stinking cavern which was its mouth. So this was how I would die. Never in a million years would I have imagined such a scene. I almost laughed at the absurdity.

"Stop the rig and run Olaf." I don't know if I said it out loud. We continued to bump along the verge, the massive bridge getting closer, and he continued to harass the creature.

The gargoyte snarled, then opened its mouth wider to expose its two inch fangs in all their horrifying glory. I grimaced and cringed against the seat, taking a deep breath in anticipation of the first bite.

The bite never came. A muffled yelp issued from the creature as it was pulled away from me. I saw Aric behind the gargoyte, his body braced against the side of the windshield, and he was wrenching on a piece of barbed wire he'd hooked around the creature's thick leathery neck. He hauled back with all his might, blood from the barbs oozing through his straining fists. The gargoyte twisted and turned, its outraged roars muffled by the wire. Its claws grabbed at Aric's arms, trying desperately to drag him off, but Aric stood firm, pulling the wire back harder as he continued to garrotte the flailing creature. Its movements began to dwindle but a massive jolt shook the cab, causing Aric to lose his balance. He disappeared in front of the cab, dragging the gargoyte with him. I screamed and threw myself forward to peer over the dashboard. There was no sign of Aric or the gargoyte. The barbed wire had been wrenched from where it had been lodged. The cab shook and I had to sit down again, or risk being thrown out myself. The side of the trailer was scraping the bridge. Olaf struggled to get control of the steering wheel. Sparks erupted from the clash of metal upon metal. The sound of scraping steel was ear piercing. Overhead, jet fighters had appeared, and were taking pot shots at the silver disk.

"Oh God! Oh God Olaf! We've run over him! Stop the rig!"

Olaf swore and stomped on the brakes again; the wheels squealing in protest, although they were barely audible over the din of fighter pilots, scraping metal, and the beating of my thumping heart. Tears poured down my cheeks, and I dreaded what I would find behind us on the road, but I couldn't leave him there. Olaf battled with the beleaguered vehicle, fighting valiantly to slow it down.

"We have some tires blown! If I try to stop on the bridge we'll jack knife and end up in the river!"

I dashed the tears from my eyes with my sleeve, and turned to look out the window on what had been Aric's side of the cab. I screamed as a bloodied figure appeared at the window, clutching the door against the wind. My terror turned to joy when I spotted matted blond hair and Aric bent to pull himself into the cab. I hauled on him and eventually dragged him through, and he slumped on the seat.

"Keep driving," was all he said through labored breathing.

He was a mess, covered in blood from head to toe. His blood soaked clothes hung in tatters about him, and his hands were shredded and shaking. A huge red stain spread out on his T-shirt from the large open wound on his shoulder.

"Jesus, Aric, look at you!" I removed my jacket and tried to rip the sleeve off so I could use it as a bandage. Any strength I had possessed had vanished, and I resorted to placing the entire jacket against his shoulder in an effort to stem the blood flow. His once perfect face, now covered in cuts and grazes, winced in pain.

"I'm sorry!" I said. "We have to stop the bleeding."

I had no medical training and I could have kicked myself for not going on the first aid course Jenny had arranged for us the summer before. The wound the gargoyte's fangs had inflicted was a bad one. I knew Aric healed quickly, but would it be quick enough considering the amount of blood he was losing?

"We need to get you to a hospital," Olaf said, casting worried glances at Aric while battling with the steering wheel.

Aric shook his head, and winced at the pain. "No, it's too dangerous. I'll live." He turned his head to me, wincing again.

"Are you hurt?" His hand went to my knee.

"No, not at all." It was only a little lie - I was cut from the broken windshield, and the gargoyte had managed to get in a few nips as I'd punched it, but compared to Aric, I was in tip top shape.

He seemed satisfied with my answer, and turned back to face the front. He tipped his head back against the headrest. "Turn off this highway," he ordered. "We'll go the long way around Evanton. Turn off your headlights if you can, we don't want the Innaki or the military following us." He closed his eyes. "I need to sleep for a while. Wake me if anything happens."

* * * * *

Chapter Thirteen

"Why aren't they following us?" Frantic military activity filled the sky. A number of fighter jets soared overhead, their engines so loud they could be heard over the rumbling of Olaf's battle scarred semi. There was no sign of the Innaki craft - they had disappeared amongst the stars soon after the initial skirmish with the military planes. We only had one headlight left, which was just enough to pick out the narrow, potted road ahead of us. "Shouldn't we turn off the lights? Wouldn't the planes notice us?"

"I'm cloaking the vehicle." Aric held tightly to the handle above his head in an effort to keep from falling over as we bumped along the road. He twisted around to peer at the side of the semi for signs of unwelcome passengers. The wind whipped his hair across his face into his eyes, and he brushed it away, nearly losing his balance until I grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him upright. He'd slept for less than an hour, and already his wounds were beginning to heal - his congealing blood drying in big dark stains on his shirt. Although he was on the mend, he still hadn't regained his usual strength. Resuming his seat, he scanned the road ahead with vigilant intensity. The damp night air hit us with freezing ferocity through the space where the windshield used to be. I had to yell to be heard.

"It's not working! I can still see the rig! And us!"

He dipped his head closer to me so I could hear him. "We need to see where we're going. I can choose who can see us."

"You mean, no one but us can see the truck? Even the lights?"

"Yeah. It's a bit more complicated than disappearing all together."

I wondered whether my brain could handle discovering any more of this way-out stuff. Still, it was a neat trick -I'd have to get him to teach me to do that. It could have come in handy so many times.

"Why didn't you just do that on the mountain, when we were hiding in the bush? And under the desk at the base?" I would have felt much safer knowing we were invisible to everyone else.

"I
was
doing it!"

I remembered the warm bubble I sensed enveloping us. Maybe that was part of the process, although I couldn't feel a warm bubble right now - nothing was warm.