Free devil 03 - tween hearts fire and devils delight by sam cheever Page B

turned back into the crowd, just behind where I’d crossed over. I stopped moving in the middle of a tight knot of people who were screaming obscenities at no one in particular and watched my pursuers pass by with violence on their faces and in their flailing arms.
    Then I started moving again, heading for the hoverpark area where I’d parked the ugly, dented, air booger. I placed my palm over the door sensor and ducked into the hoverpark space 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 and 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 and I chewed 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, jerking it back slightly. I punched up the speed and, after a tense second 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’ exhausted face swam into view. “Hey, Phelps.” The air behind her head looked thick and misty, making me realize for the first time that 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’s going on, Cheets?”
    She shrugged. “I was hoping you could use your…connections to find that out for me, 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 when 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 with a wince to find the culprit. I shoved the edges of a large crack inward so it didn’t poke me and when I looked back up I swore, jerking the directional stick of