Chapter Eight

‘Well?’ Bob grunted, flashing back into existence when I called softly to him. ‘Have you finished making a complete idiot of yourself? Have you been killed yet? Because black is not my colour so don’t expect me to go to your funeral and mourn.’

‘Come on!’ I hissed. ‘We need to move. Byron’s already driving away.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, that he’s pretending to be drunk, pretending to be in a room shagging Chardonnay and is actually driving away on some secret mission. We need to get to the car and follow him.’

Bob blinked, as surprised as I had been. ‘Are you sure?’

I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, pinched him between my finger and thumb and began to run. ‘There’s no time to delay!’

‘Is he like James Bond, do you think?’

I snorted. ‘Hardly.’

‘Or maybe he’s the Milk Tray man. He knows where Tipsania is and he’s going after her with a box of chocolates.’

I didn’t deign to answer. Instead, I vaulted over the wall to my left and dashed for our car with Bob flitting behind me. Maybe I’d get lucky and catch up with Byron at the first intersection. I bit my lip, remembering that one of my stolen Gifts was Electrosurge. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused, silently telling all of the nearest traffic lights to flicker to red. From the distance, there was a squeal of tyres and some loud beeping of horns. Shite, I hoped I’d not just hurt anyone. More haste less speed, I reminded myself. I wasn’t in the business of causing car accidents.

I flung open the car door and jumped in, before gunning the engine and taking off. I swerved round the corner and completed an illegal U-turn to head the car in the same direction as Byron’s. When I spotted it up ahead, waiting in a growing queue, I exhaled in relief and released my hold on the traffic lights.

There were four cars between me and Byron. That was good; I didn’t want to get too close. Many aeons ago, not long after I’d passed my driving test, Taylor had schooled me in the art of evasion whilst in control of a car. Despite his dire warnings about how difficult it would be to avoid the police if they ever tailed me, it had been more fun than anything else. Unfortunately I’d never had any practice at being predator rather than prey.

The lights changed back to green. As soon as I started driving again I winced, noting with a sinking heart the fender-bender between two cars that had stopped on the side of the road to my left. Bob, perched on the steering wheel, made a point of highlighting it too. ‘You’re a pacifist, Uh Integrity. Or is it that you’re a pacifist except when you’re chasing down the hot, sexy man of your dreams?’

I craned my neck, breathing out in relief when I saw the two drivers getting out of their stalled vehicles. They were obviously unharmed. ‘No one got hurt.’