A low electric hum sent shivers through the ground. It grew louder, like an approaching storm, roaring, pounding, and pulsing through the night. It growled in the moonlight, wheels screeching like a beast, and then she appeared. The Pink Demon.
Spray from the puddles billowed around her like a shield, pleated trousers flying at her side, her motorbike thundering beneath her legs.
Four mystery bikers, blue, yellow, pink, and purple, cut off Julius’s car, bats raised, daring him to move forward.
“I knew they weren’t with Leviathan!” Ellie practically squealed.
But they weren’t safe yet.
Julius scrambled into his car, revving the engine, the fury in the sound cracking the air. One of the bikers turned to them and nodded their helmet, tapping the back of the bike.
“Everyone get on!” Saskia called.
“Really?” Anastacia spluttered.
“It’s either them or Leviathan—your choice.”
Lottie didn’t need to be asked twice. Ellie helped Lottie scramble onto the back of the blue bike, and then, with eyes ablaze, she ran to saddle up with the Pink Demon.
“Let’s go!” Ellie screamed.
Lottie clutched her hands around the waist of the helmeted figure, the ground trembling. As they tore away, it was impossible to stop the tears that streaked down her cheeks. She glanced over her shoulder once more as they weaved between traffic.
Jamie was still missing.
Jamie was lost somewhere and he was still so vulnerable.
She just had to hope this mysterious gang could help them.
“I don’t know who you are,” she called against the wind as they powered on through the city. “But I trust you.”
16
LIGHTNING. IT FELT LIKE LIGHTNING cracking beneath her, tearing the ground in two, ripping away at the world. Ellie had never felt anything like it, hoots of laughter and ecstasy pouring out of her. One moment she’d been so scared—scared for Lottie and everything she’d gotten her into, scared for Jamie and everything he had to bear—but now she was elated, flying through the moonlight, neon lights making comet trails around her.
“I’m free!” she roared, the rev of the engine beneath her drowning out her words.
They weren’t true anyway. Nipping at their heels were two oily black cars, thin and close to the road, like ink seeping toward them. They glided around every corner, stormed down every road, just at their tails, yet never quite close enough.
The Pink Demon made a juddering, violent turn into a smaller alley, wheels screeching. Signals flew out from her leather-gloved hands, splitting them and the purple rider off from the rest of the group, who sped down the main road.
Who were these people? Why were they helping them? Ellie couldn’t explain it, but she felt a deep connection to them, like tree roots intertwining beneath the ground.
“Who are you?” she bellowed, but the mysterious biker simply raised her hand.
Electric signs in kaleidoscope patterns whirled above their heads, bubblegum kanji that floated and disappeared as they zoomed beneath. It felt like a garden of lights growing and glowing out of the buildings, twisting their neon vines over the city. People screamed as they tore through the streets, cameras flashing. Ellie loosened her robe and pulled it up over her head to hide her face.
They were out of sight for barely a second before their dark shadow followed them, but there was only one this time. The two cars had had to separate to keep up with both halves of the gang. The demon made another signal and the bikes split, abruptly spinning out to face the traffic. Ellie didn’t even realize she was screaming until the sound turned to manic laughter. Vehicles were coming head-on at them, barreling down the road and dipping in and out to avoid them, and just when Ellie thought they’d zip past the black car and back to the other motorbikes, they dipped again to meet their pursuer. The black car inched between them, a bike on each side, and Ellie could see Julius through the glass, his one furious eye burning with rage. He was so close that she could reach in and touch him if the window were open. Grinning, like he’d won, he prepared to pull the steering wheel aggressively and crash into them. Ellie tried to scream, to warn them, but it didn’t matter. The Pink Demon and her purple accomplice began an intricate and brutal dance, pulling out their bats and smashing the side mirrors. Shards of glass glittered around them, reflecting the colors of the city like chemical confetti. The purple rider made a final bash at the window, blowing it through, and it was as if the wind gushed into and around the car. Julius lost his grip as the shards hit him, the car skidding.
There was no time for celebration. Julius was already righting himself, but it was too late for him—the bikes took off down a narrow paved street that was certainly not for vehicles. People dived out of the way, squeezing themselves against the stone walls. Yet they had nothing to fear; the Pink Demon and her purple rider were effortlessly capable, leaving all around them untouched, not a scratch or a scrape on the city or a person.
“Anastacia!” Ellie shouted, the motorbikes drawing closer together again. “How are you holding up?”
Anastacia turned, white-faced, with terror in her eyes.
“Aidez-moi! GET ME OFF THIS THING!” she screeched, a death grip on the rider. Ellie was sure she heard the biker laugh before the engine revved and they sped off back to the main road, Anastacia screaming at the sudden movement.
They met with the others just as a distant howl of sirens began to echo through the night, all of them disappearing down a dark street with a concrete wall, far away from the chaos of the city. The blue one pulled something out of her jacket, and, pressing a button, the concrete wall began to lift, yellow light pouring over them to reveal
