“There’s no turning back now. We have to get in, find this guy, save him, and get out. You’ll need to use… your powers,” he added.
He’d paused. But the question was, had his hesitation meant anything?
I could question all day, but the fact was, I didn’t have all day, neither did Jim. So, stowing the last of my dread, I got out of the car.
Though the crazy weather had paused for a couple of minutes, it chose that exact moment to return in full. A massive gust of wind chased down the street, caught my hair, and plastered it over my back. I shivered, closing my arms tightly around my middle.
No matter how crazy the weather was, it wasn’t going to hold me back. I pushed off to stride towards the building. That’s when Max hooked a hand tightly over my arm and pulled me to the side. “Shit,” he hissed in my ear, “I just realized – your pants.
It took me a moment, then I appreciated what he was saying.
My pants were torn and completely covered in blood. Not exactly a get up for a quiet library.
I clenched my teeth together and breathed hard through them. “I don’t exactly have a spare pair, and you said yourself – we’re running out of time. So what the hell do we do?”
“Hold on, I’ve got a jacket in the car.” Max shifted away from me, and I oriented myself until my back was pressed up against the car. It offered me and my blood-soaked pants a little privacy. Not, of course, that there was anyone ballsy enough to be braving this storm. Inside would be another matter, though.
Max took a second to ferret around in his car and quickly produced the promised jacket.
I balked when I realized it was a massive trenchcoat. Sure, it would fit someone with Max’s huge build, but it would make me look as if I were wearing a leather tent.
He grimaced in commiseration as he handed it to me. “Sorry, but it’s all we’ve got.”
He helped me shrug into it, and again I was struck by how freaking nice it felt to be close to him.
The real Max, that was. Because, when he wasn’t being defensive and wasn’t under the thumb of the shadow, he was a completely different man. This was the guy I’d fallen in love with on my porch.
I shook my head.
Love was a pretty strong word. Hello, I’d really only known this guy for two months, and so far, he’d only gotten me involved in perilous trouble.
But I couldn’t deny my heart, could I?
Heck, if I could deny my heart, I would never have trusted Max in the first place.
Once I was dressed and Max had taken a step back to ensure the jacket sufficiently covered my bloodstains, he jogged towards the building.
I followed him
All the while, my stomach sank as the storm above raged all the more violently. I swore there were wolves trapped in the clouds or something. Wolves that were out to get me.
Max seemed to know where he was going, and he led me through the labyrinthine university grounds until we arrived at a large, old, stately building. Something about it screamed knowledge, and sure enough, it was a library.
It was packed full of people – obviously having come in to flee the rain.
I got more than a few suspicious glances as I trundled along behind my Scottish giant in my leather tent.
On any other day, I would have seen the funny side. Several kids did, and they laughed behind their hands as they surreptitiously took photos of me.
“Just this way,” Max said under his breath as he shrugged me towards an elevator on the other side of the room.
His movements were quick, as quick as they could be considering the number of witnesses. I could see the pressure welling in his gaze, though, and I knew just how little time we would have left.
The magical potion Brian had given me was strong – it’d seen me pick myself up and drag myself here, after all. But it sure as hell wasn’t as powerful as Max’s magic.
Though I tried to hide it as I walked, I could feel that the cut in my thigh had opened back up again, obviously being deeper than anyone had imagined.
At this rate, I wouldn’t have to worry about the future controlling me or the Lonely King ripping out my heart – I would die from good old-fashioned blood loss.
Max kept reassuringly close by my side as we made it to the lifts.
He held down two buttons as he called the lift, counting under his breath for five seconds until he let them go.
I heard a shudder and a groan of gears inside the lift, and a second later, the doors pinged open.
“This is it,” Max said as he ushered me inside.
I pushed into lift, hiding a grimace as another pang of pain shot through my leg. “How do we know that we’re not too late?” I asked the question that had been forming in my mind since we saved Brian.
“I don’t know. But you do, right? Haven’t you caught a glimpse of Jim’s future yet? Haven’t you used your powers?”
I didn’t answer. Heck, I didn’t even bother to shift my gaze towards Max’s shadow. I just curled in on myself as the awful realization of this situation struck me again.
There would be no running from it. To save Jim, I’d have to use my powers.
It would simply be a question of when and how far I delved into my ability.
The ride down in the lift was disappointingly short. Not enough time to press Max
