Elegy

FORTY-THREE Collide

Harper drove up the winding roads toward the top of the cliff, and she was going well above the speed limit. That surprised Gemma, who normally had to goad her sister to go faster, but now she braced herself against the dashboard.

A flash of headlights behind them caused Gemma to turn around and look behind them. She hadn’t expected to see anyone she knew, but she’d recognized Marcy’s old Gremlin instantly.

“Marcy is chasing us.” Gemma focused, making her eyes shift from human to their more advanced bird form. “And Alex and Kirby are with her.”

“What? Why?” Harper looked back, trying to see what was going on, and she almost missed the curve and drove them into a tree.

“Harper! Watch the road!” Gemma yelled, and Harper jerked the wheel back just in time.

“Sorry.” Harper glanced in the rearview mirror. “I thought you told them to stay—”

Gemma was turned around fully in her seat, watching Marcy follow them, so she saw everything. The moon was nearly full above them, with just a sliver missing, and so Liv cast a shadow as she got closer.

But it all happened too fast for her to say anything. A split second after she saw the shadow, Liv was crashing down on top of Marcy’s car, her golden wings spread out wide behind her. She did a three-point landing, slamming her bare feet and fist into the roof of the Gremlin with all her might.

It was enough to crush the roof of the car inward, and the windows all shattered, glass flying outward.

“Stop!” Gemma screamed, as Marcy’s car skidded and jerked to a halt behind them.

“What?” Harper asked, but she slammed on the brakes. Then she looked behind them. “Holy crap. Oh, no.”

Gemma jumped out of the car and ran toward the Gremlin to see if her friends were okay. Then Liv stood up, and Gemma realized it might not be such a good idea to rush, so she stopped.

Other than the wings, Liv appeared entirely human. Her wide eyes and bright smile still gave her that unnerving innocent look that Gemma had noticed when she’d first met her. When she stepped down from the roof of the car, her foot crunched on the hood.

“If any of them are hurt at all—” Gemma said, as Liv drifted delicately down to the ground, thanks to her wings working like a parachute behind her.

“You’ll what?” Liv asked with a laugh. “Bore me to death?”

The passenger side opened first, and Alex rolled out onto the ground. It took him a few seconds, but he staggered to his feet and shook his head, shaking bits of glass out of his hair. He appeared to have a few scratches, and a thin line of blood came from his temple, but he didn’t look that bad off.

“I’m okay,” Alex said. “I think Kirby and Marcy are okay, too.”

While Liv stared down Gemma, Harper snuck around them to help Marcy get out, but Marcy moved much more slowly than Alex had. Her glasses were crooked but unbroken, and there was a nasty gash down Marcy’s shin that seemed to be making it harder for her to walk.

“Enough is enough, Liv,” Gemma said, and using the focus she’d learned from practicing with Alex, she made her wings spread out behind her. Each time she used them, it got a little less painful, but she still heard her flesh tearing as the feathers broke through.

“Ooo.” Liv pretended to be impressed. “Look who finally came out to play.”

Kirby had gotten out of the car, and he helped Marcy off to the side of the road, where Alex was standing. Harper stood closer and seemed to be debating what to do.

“Harper, go,” Gemma told her. “Stop Daniel before it’s too late. I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”

“Cocky, aren’t you?” Liv asked.

“I’m a fast eater,” Gemma replied. “It should only take me a few seconds to swallow your heart.”

Harper still appeared unsure, so Alex told her, “Go. I’ve got her back.”

Alex had brushed the glass off himself, and he moved closer to Gemma, so he could defend her if he needed to. Daniel was alone with Penn, but Gemma had her siren strength and her boyfriend to help. So Harper nodded and ran to her car.

“Look at you,” Liv said after Harper sped off up the hill. “You have a posse of invalids to defend you.”

“It’s not them you have to worry about,” Gemma said.

She opened her mouth, letting her jagged fangs show in the moonlight, then she jumped at Liv. Liv was slammed back against Marcy’s car, crushing the metal in, and shards of glass stabbed into her skin and wings.

Liv let out an angry squawk and punched Gemma in the face. Gemma flew back, but used her wings to catch herself before she hit the ground. Liv jumped up, flying in the air to meet the other siren, and Gemma rocked forward, then back, propelling her legs so she could kick Liv in the face with all her strength.

As Liv sailed backward, Gemma glanced down at the ground below them. Marcy had popped the hatchback of her car. It didn’t open all the way, but that didn’t stop Alex and Kirby from looking through it.

Gemma didn’t have time to see what they were searching for because Liv had come back at her. When Liv hit her, she grabbed Gemma’s dress and slammed her back into the top of a cypress tree. The branches smacked her and tore at her wings.

Liv was right. Feeding all the time had made her incredibly strong, probably even stronger than Penn. But Gemma had a lot of anger in her, and she was ready to let it all out on Liv.

“Not so tough, are ya?” Liv asked, smiling to reveal her fangs.

In response, Gemma thrust her forehead forward and head-butted her. Liv didn’t fall, but she let go of Gemma and flew back a bit, her wings flapping haphazardly for a second. Unfortunately, the head butt also left Gemma a little dazed, so she didn’t recover as quickly as she’d hoped.

Her wings were tattered from the branches clawing at them, and that made it harder for her to pick up speed when she charged Liv. She grabbed Liv to throw her to the ground, but Liv only laughed, then got the best of the situation.

She gripped Gemma and pushed her downward, slamming her into the hard pavement of the road. Her wings crunched underneath, and agony shot through her back. But she gritted her teeth and refused to cry out.

Instead, she punched Liv in the face again, and again, until Liv grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the ground. All her jagged teeth were out, and a bit of saliva dripped down onto Gemma’s cheek.

“I bet you’re tasty,” Liv said, her saccharine voice mixed with the demonic monster’s.

Then she heard a bang. A flash of orange light cut through the air, then it sliced straight through Liv. It landed on the road, only inches away from Gemma’s head, burning brightly. It had gone through the middle of Liv, right above her navel at an odd angle, and since it had been on fire, it left a nice singed ring that Gemma could see through.

And through the hole, she could see Kirby, looking rather dumbfounded as he held a flare gun in his hand.

“Great shot!” Marcy shouted.

Liv looked back at him and growled. “You stupid son of a bitch.”

“Kirby! Run!” Gemma shouted as she tried to push Liv off her.

But when Liv did get up, she moved much faster than Gemma, much faster than Kirby. She raced over to him, and before Gemma had even gotten up on her feet again, Liv had ripped out his throat, and Kirby fell back to the ground, holding his hands futilely against the surge of blood.