Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) (29 page)

"Was that a turbo jump?" I asked, wondering if the car would start talking to me in a nerdy voice.

Elyssa snorted as she veered around a slow-moving car. "The car is a slider."

"Ah," I said. Sliders were essentially magical aircraft like flying carpets. I'd seen ones designed to look like helicopters so they'd blend into the normal world. It made sense to design some like cars. "Didn't you just break the rules by flying over those noms?" I asked, aiming a thumb toward the intersection behind us.

"I flicked on camouflage to hide us for a few seconds."

"So, instead of a flying car, they saw a car vanish and reappear on the other side of the intersection," I said.

"Maybe." She nodded toward the road. "There they are."

The semi-truck was quickly gaining on two cars inexplicably traveling the speed limit. One of the Arcanes on the side of the truck pointed toward us. I wondered if they'd use magic in front of the noms. They didn't, but the truck bumped one of the law-abiding cars, pushing it into a spin. Smoke boiled from the tires as it left the road and skidded to a halt in the wide grass median.

Something glittered in the road ahead. I peered closer.

"Caltrops," Elyssa said, pshawing. "They can't puncture these tires."

The nom cars ahead of us hit the sharp metal objects. Tires exploded. Cars spun out of control, colliding with each other. Glass showered the road. Bumpers and engine parts tore from vehicles.

"They don't need to pop our tires," I said, gripping the armrest tight.

An SUV smacked into the guardrail. Two more cars skidded to a stop, snarling traffic into an impassible barrier.

Elyssa flicked a switch. The car jolted. She swerved off the road and into the median, narrowly missing a car with steam billowing from beneath a warped hood. Despite the grass, the car never lost traction. A yell tore from my throat as we juked between two more vehicles spinning out of control across the median. The tires hit the road. I heard the hum of off-road treads beneath us. Elyssa flicked the switch again, and the sound faded.

I looked behind us at the carnage. "This car has all the options."

"No satellite radio though," she said, biting her lip as she avoided another wrecked car.

The semi-truck had widened its lead, but traffic was growing heavier as we neared Atlanta. Ahead, the highway terminated, turning into an interstate. That meant no traffic lights or intersections. It might work to our advantage unless more wrecked cars blocked our path. As if in answer, the semi-truck smashed into the side of another tractor-truck, sending it listing to the left. Cars swerved to avoid it. Brake lights lit up like Christmas trees.

Elyssa growled. "Screw this." She whipped onto the wide left shoulder of the road, said, "Hope this answers your question," and hit the big red button on top of the gear shifter.

The car made a whining noise like a jet engine spinning up. It roared. G-forces flattened my guts against my spine as we shot forward. Traffic blurred past. Within seconds, we pulled even with the tractor trailer. The Darkwater battle mages on the driver side of the truck regarded us with shocked looks for a split second. Then they whipped out pistols and opened fire.

Bullets pinged off the side of the car. I yelped and ducked.

"Bullet proof," Elyssa said.

Tires screeched. Cars swerved and careened like mad as civilians simultaneously crapped their pants and desperately tried to flee the erupting gun battle. Elyssa jerked hard to the right.

"Why are we getting closer to them?" I asked as guns and grim-faced shooters grew larger in my window.

Elyssa hit the brakes to avoid a yellow car. Downshifted, and swerved smoothly around it. "Slide open the armrest, and activate the touchscreen."

I did as asked and found a touchscreen interface inside. It presented the outline of the car.

"Touch the passenger door. When I give the go, hit the icon that looks like a white booger."

"Got it," I said.

She hit the gas. We pulled even with driver side door of the semi-truck. One of the Arcanes reached inside a compartment on the back of the cab and grabbed a big effin' gun. My video game street creds identified it as a six-round grenade launcher. A wicked grin crossed the Arcane's face as he aimed and—

"Now!" Elyssa said.

I touched the booger icon.

A white glob jetted from the side of the car, plastering the two Arcanes to the door of the semi-truck. The grenade launcher fired just as the glob pinned the attacker's arm. The round went straight up, hung in the air for an instant. I watched in horror as it hit the road and exploded. Luckily most drivers with good sense had abandoned the road behind, all except some guy in a pickup who seemed intent on videoing the chase with his phone. The pickup flipped and skidded on its roof.

I didn't have time to enjoy the fireworks.

The booger pinning the Darkwater thugs unfortunately also blocked access to the driver door. Somehow, I had to get inside the cab and hijack it. With two more adversaries on the other side, I had no idea how to do it without seriously injuring them or possibly myself. If I knocked them out, they'd hit the asphalt at a hundred miles an hour. There wouldn't be much left but red skid marks and spare teeth after that impact.

"Is the truck cab reinforced?" I asked. "Can I punch through the glass?"

"Yes, and I don't know," Elyssa said. "The specs Shelton showed us indicated it's the equivalent of an armored truck cab."

"Get me closer," I said.

It appeared she didn't have to worry about that, because the big-rig driver veered at us, trying to ram us off the road. Elyssa hit the red button and the car shot forward. The front end of the semi-truck clipped the trunk. The car's rear end spun sideways. Tires screamed. The world spun upside down as the car flipped.

Chapter 26

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the sound of crunching metal as the car's roof smashed into the road. That sound never came. I felt the passenger door pound against my leg. I gasped in pain, and looked through my window. The upside-down view of the truck's front grill greeted me. The roof of the car hovered less than a foot above the ground.

"I activated the levitation spell," Elyssa said, fighting with the steering wheel, her hair a wild black mane as it dangled toward the roof. "But I can't get the car upright with that thing pushing us."

The semi-truck rammed us again. A spider web of cracks formed in the window. We shot forward, gliding as if on ice. I slammed the side of my fist against the window once, twice, three times. It broke apart, falling on the road. The truck grill smashed into us again, sending the car spinning like a leaf on a pond.

Elyssa cursed, desperately tugging on a red lever next to the parking brake, but whatever was supposed to happen, didn't happen. I unbuckled my seatbelt. My body thudded to the roof. As the car spun, I reached out the window and gripped the bottom of the car. I pulled myself out of the window. A diesel engine roared. I looked back as the truck rushed for me. My foot tangled in the seatbelt.

"Crap!" I shouted.

I felt a hand pull away the harness, freeing my leg. Heard Elyssa shout, "Go!"

With a desperate jerk, I pulled myself atop the bottom of the car just as the truck smashed into us again. The impact drove the car forward. I didn't have a grip and stumbled backward. In a last-ditch attempt to avoid becoming roadkill, I dove backwards. In mid-air, I twisted. My hands clawed open air.

I'm so dead.

The truck grill surged to meet my face. My hands gripped the front end just in time to abort complimentary facial reconstruction. My feet found purchase on the front bumper. I peeked over the hood. Two glowing staffs on the passenger side aimed at my head. I ducked as beams of energy speared past. I didn't want to kill the murderous jackasses hanging onto the side of the cab, but they weren't giving me much choice.

It sucks having a conscience.

Since I was on the hood of the truck, the driver seemed a lot less concerned about Elyssa's car, and a lot more about me. He swerved left and right, as if that would dislodge me. I looked back and saw one side of the Templar car bounce, flipping it upright. The wheels floated about a foot off the ground an instant before the car straightened and dropped onto the road. White smoke billowed on impact. Cars ahead veered out of the way. My supernatural vision picked up wide eyes in rear-view mirrors as drivers realized their morning commute had just turned into a field day for traffic reporters. The semi-truck driver swerved left and right, as if possessed, in his desperate attempt to shake me loose.

His maniacal attempts offered a beneficial by-product. One of the Darkwater Arcanes dropped his staff as the big rig clipped a car. The other clung to the side rail for dear life. I peered over the hood at the driver and snarled. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

I let the demon out.

My hands grew large and thick as muscles bulged all over my body. The nightingale armor stretched to accommodate the growth, even covering the tail growing from my rear end. Pain spiked in my forehead as horns erupted from my skull, curving upward. I felt the senseless rage charging at me like a bull, and slammed the cage closed before the demon side of me took over completely. When I poked my head over the hood the next time, the driver's mouth opened in a rictus of horror.

I sprang atop the hood. Reared back my monstrous blue fist, and smashed the windshield. A single crack ran down the glass. I punched it again. A web-work of cracks splintered the window.

The driver panicked, swinging the wheel back and forth. My next strike punctured the glass. I gripped the edge of the windshield and jerked hard, pulling it clear, and flinging it away. The driver screamed and pulled hard on the steering wheel. The turn was too much for the vehicle to handle. The trailer went sideways, jackknifing across the highway. I saw terror in the eyes of the Darkwater people stuck to the driver's side of the cab.

"Throw them on top!" Elyssa shouted, her car swerving next to the truck. I swung to the driver door, pulling at the sticky mass holding the Arcanes prisoner. It came loose with a sucking pop, though it still bound them together. I dropped the screaming Arcanes atop the roof of Elyssa's supercar where it held them fast.

I saw one of the two Arcanes on the passenger side cast a spell with his staff, and they jumped, rolling in a transparent ball of what looked like jelly. It bounced off the road and into the woods on the side. Only the driver remained as the trailer, tires smoking, listed to the side.

"Hit the brakes, you idiot!" I called out, my voice deep and guttural.

The man screamed and jammed his foot down.

The trailer jerked. The cab shuddered. The rig shifted left and hurtled into the grass median. A frightened roar burst from my mouth, joining the cries of the truck driver as we barreled across the median and into oncoming traffic. I saw two semi-trucks roaring toward us as we bounced over the shoulder and into the road.

Their tires locked. Rubber screeched. Tortured tires bounced and smoked. I grabbed the driver, saw he was buckled in, and snapped the belt off. I jerked him through the window and leapt. Thankfully, I landed in the grass in the median, skidding on my back with the hysterical driver on top of me.

Metal shrieked, clattered, and groaned as the goliath trucks smacked each other. With a flick of my wrist, I popped the driver in the back of head. His shouts cut off abruptly as he went to la-la land. Before anyone noticed my blue skin, horns, and demonic six-pack abs, I pushed my infernal essence back into its cave until my body returned to normal. I knew I shouldn't have manifested where noms could see me, but the truck driver had left me little choice.

The truck sat in the middle of the northbound lane with the other two big rigs pinned against the cab. The semi-trailer rested nearly perpendicular to the accident. I hoped Mom was okay in there. She was an angel, but this ride had been enough to make even the hardiest supernatural toss their lunch.

Traffic behind the accident snarled. Horns honked, and people sprang from their cars, phones recording the scene. The police would be here soon, and explaining a trailer that couldn't be opened would be impossible. I heard sirens in the distance and realized how little time remained.

I ran to the accident. The drivers of the other two trucks looked okay. They'd slowed enough to avoid more than front-end damage. I heard a thrumming noise to the east, and looked up to see a large black helicopter rise above the tree line. Racing behind the semi-truck cab, I found a box on the side of the trailer, and pulled the lever inside. Air hissed as the rear end of the truck sank from the hydraulics releasing air. I ran to the crank near the front of the trailer, jammed it into place, and spun it as fast as I could until the metal feet of the trailer touched the road. Reaching beneath the trailer toward the hitch, I disengaged the lock.

The truck cab wasn't going anywhere, meaning I had to do this the hard way. Bracing my feet against the trailer and my back against the cab, I pushed with all my might. I feared the cab might bend with the stress, but the reinforced frame held. I heard a click. A grinding noise. The trailer feet slammed onto the asphalt as the hitch came free.

"Holy crap did you see what that kid did?" someone yelled.

I looked down to see one of the other truck drivers staggering from his cab holding a hand to his bleeding forehead. The helicopter hovered overhead. A diamond fiber net harness unfolded from a hatch in the bottom, unfurling down both sides of the trailer. I pulled on the straps, sealing them beneath it. I crawled out, and gave a thumbs-up to the Templar pilot.

The slider—disguised as a military helicopter—strained upward, the extra weight of the trailer obviously dragging it down. I didn't know how much weight the levitation spell could bear, but somehow the slider managed to rise while bystanders gawked at the spectacle. It struggled to stay level and rose straight up until the trailer cleared the trees then glided away.