Windburn

Though I said the words to hurry him, the moment they slipped from my mouth I knew they were true. We only had so much time, a countdown of minutes and hours we couldn’t see before something terrible would happen. What and where, I had no idea, which only made the sensation of impeding doom that much worse.

I pulled back from him and started down the street once more.

Across from us, a building seemed to beckon and I followed my instincts. The word “Police” was etched into a plaque over the door. “Like guards, if I remember right.” I knew enough about humans and their world to get by, enough to be dangerous.

I crossed the street and ran up the steps of the police building. As I lifted my hand to knock on the door, it was jerked open and a redheaded man stepped out. He looked to be about my age though he was a few inches shorter than me.

“Get the fuck out of my way, woman,” he snapped as he pushed past me.

“He’s a Tracker, grab him!” Peta yelled.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed his arm and spun him to face me. His fist came up and caught me under the jaw, dropping me to my knees. I didn’t let go. “Stop, I need your help.”

“I don’t fucking well help anyone. Piece of shit police are dumb fuckers who should just—”

“Stop!” I held up my free hand. “Please, I’m not police.”

“Of course you’re not, blondie.” His voice softened. “Damn, sorry about the shot to the jaw. That’s going to bruise.” He put his hands on my arms and helped me to stand, then grinned at me. “You are a tall drink of beautiful. Fuck me.”

“No, I think not.” I brushed his hands off. “I need you to Track someone for me.”

He grunted. “You got a picture?”

It took me a moment to remember what a picture was. I shook my head. “No, a name.”

His tri-colored blue eyes swirled as he grimaced. “You need Elle. She’s the only one who can Track without a picture. Me and Brin are useless as tits on a bull when it comes to that.”

My shoulders sagged and he swatted me on the ass. “When you see her, tell her Jack says hi. And she owes me a batch of cookies.”

With nothing more, he walked down the street.

A thought slammed into me. “Wait, do you know where she is? Can you Track her? Please.”

He paused and turned his head back. “What you going to give me for it?” His eyes roved my body. Cactus stepped between us.

“She already can’t handle one redhead.”

Jack’s lips curled up. “She was here in London, but she’s on the move. She’s headed south. That help?”

I nodded. “I’ll take it. Thank you.”

“Don’t fucking thank me. Getting tangled with us assholes has killed more than one dumb fuck.”

He tugged his collar, ducked his head and strode away from us.

Peta laughed softly. “Trackers, foul-mouthed bunch to the last drop. Come on, we need to keep looking. Even though she may be gone, we have to see if we can get a solid hit.”

I agreed. We turned away from the direction Jack went.

“Here, what about these?” Cactus asked. He pointed at a wall along the edge of the sidewalk plastered with signs and maps. I ran a hand over them, stopping when I saw one that spoke of the Tower of London. Yanking it off the wall, I opened it to a folding map. Cactus peered over my shoulder.

“We aren’t far. A few streets up and then four to the west and we’ll be there.”

I tucked the map into the back of my belt and broke into a jog. We were close enough I didn’t want to hold back. I reached for the power of the earth to propel me forward and got a distant buzz that brought me to a standstill.

Cactus stopped beside me. “What?”

“Try to reach the earth,” I said as I took a slow circle. Lines of power flickered up his arms, but he was no more successful than me if the widening of his eyes was any indication.

The ground was buried under a thick coating of cement. Lips tight, I held my hand out, palm down, and called the earth upward. Such a strange thing; it was akin to calling on the bottom of the ocean from the surface of the water. I could feel the earth, but it was far away from me.

“I can’t reach it.” Cactus shook his head and there was no small amount of fear in his eyes.

Beside us, a car roared by, its lights blinding me before throwing me into night blindness. I covered my face with one hand. “I can, but it’s a strain. How do they live like this?”

“They don’t know anything else, Lark. You probably thought the same thing when you were in the Pit.” Cactus took my hand and we started toward the Tower again.

“Maybe, but the Pit at least was natural. This is anything but.”

Peta was between us, keeping up easily. “Not true. The cement is made up of tiny particles that are of the earth, as are the buildings and even the car that went by. Humans have gotten good at manipulating the elements around them and bending them to their will.”

We took our corner and kept moving as cars zipped past us and the fumes choked my lungs. Cactus seemed less bothered by what was going on than I was. He grabbed my arm as he pointed to the skyline above the buildings that crowded around us.

A plume of smoke swirled up, a hint of orange glow coming from underneath it. Damn, that was in the direction of the tower.

“Move, she won’t stick around with that going on.” I was running before the words were out of my mouth. We burst around a final building and skidded to a stop.