He spotted me, and a spectacular smile stretched his lips. It was a smile that said he'd missed me as much as I did him.
I dropped my boots and ran to him, crashing into his arms and almost knocking him to the ground.
He laughed. "Easy there."
"You're here?"
"I believe so." His breath teased my cheek.
Leaning back, I stared into his striking blue eyes. "I thought we were meeting in the library."
"I had nothing better to do." He grinned, the one where his lips had a little bit of a smirk to them.
"Oh really?"
He brought his lips to my ear, and his whisper sent shivers across my skin. "I'd kiss you, but your grandmother is watching us."
My eyes went wide, and I pulled away from him. I'd totally forgotten where we were. Nana was doing a horrible job at pretending to be busy discussing something with a red-haired girl.
I stared up at him. "You have an acorn on your head."
That smirk was back. "And I look good in it."
He was right, but I wasn't about to tell him so.
Nana walked around the craft to us. "Gia, what took you so long?"
"Arik caught me in the corridor. I had to ditch him."
She glanced down at my socked feet. "Why aren't you wearing your boots?"
"The heels were making too much noise in the hall." I went over to where I'd dropped them and slipped them on.
Bastien offered me the helmet he'd been holding when I was done. "Here. Wear this."
"Now, you must be careful not to break any of the vials," Nana said. "Especially when jumping through the gateway. We don't want any of the cure wasted. Emily will meet you in a few days after I have the vaccine ready."
"We'll keep them safe," Bastien said.
Nana looked at me. "Do you remember Sinead's tracers?"
"Yes," I said.
Nana waved to the girl with the red hair. The girl rushed over carrying a shimmery butterfly on her fingers.
"Raise your hand, palm up," the girl said.
I did as she said.
She spoke to the butterfly in a language that sounded ancient. It fluttered over to me and landed on my wrist, its body and graceful wings flattening onto my skin. It was so light, like a faded tattoo.
The girl grasped my wrist and inspected the butterfly. "She's on good and tight. When you need to summon someone, just blow on it. The tracer is already programmed and will know what to do when you give it an order."
"But the Monitors will pick up Bastien's jump," I said while twisting my wrist, studying how the wings slightly glinted under the lights.
"My travel plans were sent to the Monitors," Bastien answered. "It's believed I'm here to discuss the cure with the Fey. They'll ignore my jumps."
It was a smart plan, except for one problem. "But you're not going home from here."
"I included several libraries in my plan." He placed his palm on my cheek. "Don't worry. I'm traveling all the time. They won't suspect a thing."
Nana cleared her throat, and Bastien's hand dropped away from my cheek.
"Once you deliver the cure to Greyhill," she said, "you mustn't use the gateway books. You are to use the Three Barley Flower Passage. It's an address in Greyhill. It's in the basement. Push on the brick farthest from the stairs and follow the Talpar's tunnel to the end. You have to hide from the Wizard Council."
A Talpar tunnel? I didn't like the idea of going underground. The Talpars were a Mystik race that looked like a cross between a mole and a human. The Red had used one of their tunnels to escape after the attack on Asile when we'd lost Merl. There were many tunnels, but most of them were secret and only the Talpars knew their locations.
"It will lead you to a library," Nana continued. "Use the tracer to call Aetnae. She'll take you to a place where you'll be safe. Oxillia will show you how to operate the aircrafts."
The young faery with the red hair had bright amber eyes and was just a little shorter than I was. She wore a fancy tool belt around her waist. "Have either of you ever ridden one of those human motorcycles?"
"I have," I answered, leaving out the fact that I'd also crashed one before. But really, it wasn't my fault. I was dodging battle globes while chasing after the Subaru speeding off with Nick.
"I've never been on one," Bastien said.
Eyeing the craft, a sinking feeling soured my stomach. "I don't think we should drive them. What if we crash?" I put on the helmet.
"Try not to." Oxillia cocked her head in the direction of the two crafts. "Get on. I will give you a quick lesson. It's not as complicated as the human vehicles."
Placing my foot on the running board, I hoisted myself up and straddled the seat. Bastien easily threw his leg over and adjusted on the cushion of his craft. After we went through her instructions a few times, Oxillia pushed a button in the middle of my handlebars, and a three-dimensional GPS blinked to life.
"I've programmed your crafts to take you to the entry leading to the portal back to the library." Oxillia pushed another button. The metal bird roared to life. "All you have to do is keep it upright and lean into the turns. Simple." She went over to Bastien and turned his on. "The tough part is landing," she yelled over the noise. "Don't press too hard on the brake."
"What happens if we do that?" Bastien asked.
"You'll crash," Oxillia said matter-of-factly. "When you're ready, just lean forward and you'll take off. It's a quick ride to your destination. Try not to throw up. It'll blow back in your face."
Just then, the door leading into the castle flew open, and Arik came storming out onto the launch pad.
Chapter Nine
"Gia! Stop, or you'll be charged with treason." Arik ran to one of the other parked aircrafts.
I gave Bastien a quick look. "Go!" I shouted and leaned forward. The aircraft took off, weaving between buildings and trees. My stomach lurched and dipped with each turn. Bastien's machine kept up with mine.
We blew past several slower flying faeries, and I closed my eyes, fearing the craft would hit them. But it avoided them, maneuvering around the group with precision. Several times, it got close to a building or a tree, and I was sure it would crash.
I risked a glance over my shoulder to see if Arik was following us, but couldn't see very far with all the buildings and trees blocking my view. I had to act as if he was. There was too much at stake for him to stop us.
We crossed low over the bridge, causing the faeries on it to gasp and duck.
"That was close," Bastien yelled over the buzz of our engines.
The force of our crafts careening past the trees rocked the tiny birdhouse-like homes. I worried about the inhabitants inside-it had to feel like there was an earthquake shaking them. A launch pad, much like the one on top of the castle, came into view. It was in a clearing between the crowded trees. Panic fluttered my stomach.
"Straighten to stop," I reminded myself. The craft was so fast that I sat up too quickly and too late. The vehicle dropped and landed hard in the clearing. It tipped over on its side and slid across the pad until it bumped up against a tree.
Bastien landed his craft and it hopped a few times over the ground before stopping.
A green-skinned man with bat-like ears hurried over to me. "You hurt?" His voice was deep and scratchy.
I rolled off the seat and lay unmoving on the ground for a second, dazed. My shoulder throbbed, but nothing seemed broken. "Surprisingly, I'm fine," I finally answered.
Removing his helmet, Bastien ran over to me.
The man offered his hand, and I grasped it, letting him help me to my feet.
"We need to hurry. Arik is not too far behind us." Bastien unstrapped the two boxes from my aircraft, opened the lid, and inspected the contents. "Only three broke."
Only three? That meant we couldn't save three Mystiks. Three souls might die because of my accident. Three souls would suffer as Dag had. I wanted to kick myself.
"You follow me, please," the man said, pulling me out of my funk.
I had to forget about the broken vials. I couldn't fail the others. There were so many more I could still save.
Bastien handed me the boxes, and I slipped the straps of both over my head, carrying them as I would my messenger bag. He retrieved his, and we followed the man into the woods.
I leaned close to Bastien and whispered, "What is he?"
"A goblin."
The goblin stopped at a tiny sandstone building the size of a coat closet. "This is it."
"Wait," I said. "This isn't the same way we entered the realm."
"This is a secret portal." He pulled a handle beside the door, and it slid open, dust puffing into our faces. "The Sentinel following you will exit the other one. This way is quicker."
"Is the other Sentinel close?" I glanced behind us.
"The woods sent me a message. He isn't far behind." One long, green finger pointed at the entrance. "Now, you go."
"Thank you for your assistance," Bastien said, following me inside.
It was dark in the building, so I ignited a light globe. A whoosh sounded behind us as the door closed. In front of me was a wall with folded corners.
As I stepped closer, the wall moved, the corners pushing up and out. "We're in the pop-up book."