Free bedeviled & beyond 03 - bedeviled & beleaguered by sam cheever Page B

in the middle of a predator picnic, I started moving again, heading for the hoverpark where I’d left the ugly, dented, air booger. Placing my palm over the door sensor, I ducked into the hoverpark before anyone noticed the door had opened.
    I hurried down the ramp to the underground garage where my neighbors and I parked our vehicles. I looked around as I approached the booger, not to assess my safety but to make sure nobody I knew saw me climbing into the butt-ugly thing.
    The air booger opened as I approached, probably grateful anybody would want to climb into it. I hopped in, immediately punching buttons on the directional panel since audio command didn’t work.
    The booger surged straight up to a spot ten feet above the ground and flipped to the right, heading toward the front of the hoverpark at top speed. I knew I’d have to use surprise to get past the rioters and keep them from surging into the building when the gate opened to let the booger out.
    The booger and I headed for the slowly opening gate, with me chewing my lip. Through the rusted black iron I could see hundreds of human bodies, some of which were starting to recognize that the gate was opening.
    I punched in additional speed and sat back with sweaty palms. It would be tight and my timing had to be impeccable. Just as I decided the pathetic booger was going to crash into the retreating edges of the gate we hit the opening, riding low to the ground and blowing the surging crowd back and down in fear for their lives. I winced as the gate’s edges scraped down both sides of the ugly booger, slowing our exit just enough to make my pulse spike. I punched up the speed and, after a tense couple of beats filled with the sound of metal screeching against metal, we were finally free. I immediately swung the booger in an arc that took me back past the gate, riding the air just above the street to keep the humans from jumping back up and storming the gate.
    When the gate was far enough closed that I was sure they couldn’t squeeze through I punched in my destination and left the rioting humans behind.
    I jabbed in the number for the PCD and watched as Cheets’s exhausted face swam into view. “Hey, Phelps.” She appeared to be standing in a cloud. Apparently, in some parts of the city the mist had begun to drop.
    “I need the name of someone in the NMPD.”
    Cheets winced. “It won’t do you any good. Their phones are so clogged with calls you’ll never get through.”
    “What the hell is going on, Cheets?”
    She shrugged, “I was hoping you could use your...connections to find that out, Phelps.”
    I sighed, “I’ve got a request in for a meeting with a Prophet.”
    Cheets’ face flushed and she frowned, “Holy shit! Astra, you think this is a matter of prophecy?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t think anything yet, Cheets. I’m just covering all my bases.”
    Cheets watched me carefully for a few beats and then nodded. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know what you find out. I’ve got my hands full just managing the attacks from paranormals. I can’t deal with the non-magical problem. I’m afraid if we keep going like we are we’ll have another war.”
    I nodded, “You’re not the first one to say that to me, Cheets. I don’t disagree.”
    An inhuman shrieking broke out somewhere out of televisual range and Cheets looked over her shoulder. “I gotta go. Keep me posted, Astra.”
    I disconnected and sat back in the hard, fake leather seat. Something was pricking my right butt cheek and I slid a hand under my butt to find the culprit. Wincing as the seat sliced into my finger, I shoved the edges of a large crack inward so it didn’t poke me anymore. When I looked back up I swore, jerking the directional stick of the booger to the right and taking it into a panicked corkscrew.
    As if playing a game, the dragon spiraled with us, its eyes staring through my view port with what looked more like curiosity than aggression. I fought with