At that very moment, Tick’s stomach shot up into his throat as the Windbike suddenly plummeted toward the ground. He just barely grabbed the edges of the seat, turning toward the front of the bike.

His heart skittered when he saw that Sato had disappeared.

He looked up just in time to see two fangen flying away, Sato firmly in the grasp of their claws.

Chapter

48

~

Double Doors

Frazier Gunn watched the action from his perch high atop the walls of the Lemon Fortress. Seeing the swarms of fangen descend on the few Realitants—especially the big one who’d kidnapped him in the Alaskan cemetery—gave him a grim sense of satisfaction.

His place in Mistress Jane’s hierarchy would surely skyrocket after this victory.

He saw the tall woman, grasping the useless Barrier Wand, dodging and weaving through hundreds of fangen as she tried to escape. He worried slightly she might break it—even though it couldn’t be used without the Chi’karda Drive, the shell itself was a complex instrument in its own right that would take months to replace—but the army of creatures had direct orders to retrieve it safe and sound. Everything would be fine.

Surprised by a sudden yawn, Frazier decided he’d had enough; the fangen were already boring him. He turned around and went back into the castle proper, hoping Mistress Jane might call on him for congratulations very soon.

~

Tick knew Sato’s fate was sealed if Tick couldn’t gain control of the Windbike before it crashed into the ground
below. The bike twisted and pitched back and forth as it
fell, throwing his senses into complete chaos. He steeled himself, forcing his eyes and hands to focus on the leather seat, pulling himself toward the handlebars. Though he didn’t dare look, he could feel the lawn and river rushing up to smash him to bits. He only had seconds to live unless he . . .

With one last grunt, he yanked himself upright and squeezed his legs on both sides of the bike’s body. He quickly grabbed the handlebars and bent them toward the sky. With a lurch that almost made his stomach implode, the Windbike slowed to a halt then shot straight back up into the air. As dozens of fangen repositioned themselves to attack him again, Tick looked in the direction Sato had been taken. He could just see his flailing body, resisting the two creatures that’d whisked him away.

They were on a direct course for the top of the castle.

In the next instant, a million thoughts seemed to flow through Tick’s mind, processing and reprocessing.