Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The wind howls so furiously in my face I topple over.

"You're so graceful, Ariel," Jesse mutters, hooking his arms under mine and pulling me up.

I stand, grimacing at the mud slathered at the back of my legs. "You don't have to be so sarcastic," I huff.

He flicks a blade of grass off my shoulder in apology.

Earlier, after dawn, we had stopped moving by a highway truck stop. When the driver pulled open the sliding door, we simply leapt out, pushing past him and running away before he could say a word. I hope he didn't call the police.

We ended up wandering along the side of a motorway, wading through wet grass that probably hasn't been mowed or tended to in months. Going at our slow, eventual pace while fighting against the wind, we are still walking alongside the same motorway. Above us, we pass a giant, green sign that reads North Shore: 200 metres. I can see a megastore peeping up in the distance, the problem is, how we can get there?

"Where are all the cars we can hijack?" Eric asks, teeth chattering. "I can't take anymore walking."

"We're on a motorway," Courtney answers drily. "Most cars aren't parked on motorways."

Although the sun is up, rain clouds are scattered across the sky, blocking out the sunshine. It is cold, overcast and the wind continuously slapping my face is putting me in a foul mood.

Another furious gale sends my dirty hair into my mouth. Gross.

"My shoulder is starting to throb," Sasha complains. "If it gets infected and I turn into a zombie, don't say I didn't warn you."

"You're not turning into a zombie," Courtney says, distracted. "Can we move faster? My hair is frizzing."

Courtney speeds up without waiting for a reply. Vee goes after her with only a barely perceptible frown.

"So we're just going to follow her?" Jesse asks as we pick our way through the mud.

I shrug. "She seems like she knows where she's going. Why not?"

"But-"

"Ah!" Eric shouts, high-pitched and panicked, halting any conversation. "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"What?" we exclaim in unison rushing forward.

Eric makes a disgusted face. "There's something slimy crawling up my pant leg."

I walk off.

***

"So, you say we're looking for a safe house?"

I twist around from the front passenger seat to face Vee. "Why do you say that like you don't believe me?"

"No, no, no. I do. Really," she rushes to assure. "I just... visions though? I can't wrap my head around the fact there are more Cambion powers."

Vee shifts uncomfortably as she says this, either from the fact she was questioning the legitimacy of my visions or trying to get away from Sasha's elbow stuck in her rib.

"Ruby said it went to the two most powerful siblings in a cycle," I say warily. I turn back to face the front, watching a bug trying to move on the windscreen. We are roaring down a(nother) motorway much too fast for it to get unstuck from the nook it is wedged in.

"That's bullshit," Courtney scoffs from the driver's seat.

I look at her sharply.

"Excuse me?" Sasha snaps hotly from the back. Ruby is still a touchy subject.