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“Do you think we’re safe staying here tonight?” Ash glanced at Nic.
He shrugged. “I truly don’t know. I’m not even certain you will be safe at your home.”
Ash pursed her lips, then nodded. “I’ll get her out of here tonight. I’ll think of something. You four be careful.”
I hugged Ash. “You’re the best, you know that?”
“Don’t you forget it.” She tightened her arms around me before stepping back. “I need to get my things. You get out of here before you attract those creatures, and I’ll take care of Casey. I’ll text when we’re on our way.”
“Thank you, fairest Ash.” Robby bowed.
“Who the hell are you, and what have you done with the real Robby?” Ash growled.
The jester chuckled. “You’re caring for someone I care about when I cannot. That service requires at least a few flowery words from me.”
Ash shook her head and went to the door. “Next time I’m charging. Oh, hey, Nic, remember our discussion about dreams.” She left before he could answer.
Robby shot the Nightmare prince a curious look, so Nic explained about Ash’s desire to fly in a spaceship.
“Ahh. Perhaps I can manage an appropriate dream for her.”
That got me wondering what sorts of dreams I should be looking for from my guys. Of course, the reality of being with Geraint and Nic was better than any dream. Still, maybe...
We quickly gathered our things while I was pondering dreams. Robby went and made his excuses to Casey, and we headed for the van.
***
Still clutching the duffle with Dio’s essence, I licked my lips nervously as we drove through the cornfield. Robby had shut the lights off. Enough moonlight filtered down that he could see the road, though he drove slowly. The corn towered on either side of the vehicle, swaying softly in what I hoped was a light breeze and not some supernatural entity. In the dark, the stalks dwarfed the van.
Both not wanting to know if anything peered out at us from the depths of the field, and wanting to know, I alternated between staring straight ahead and glancing into the darkness. My heart clenched, and icy fear tightened my chest and ran through my veins. When we finally broke out of the rows of corn, I wasn’t the only one who took a relieved breath.
“Should we have rented a car?” I twisted my hands together. This sneaking around crap was not something I was good at.
“Why?” Nic asked.
Geraint grunted as if just now considering what I’d thought of.
“We’re driving a branded vehicle and we’re about to sneak into a health care facility and break out someone with a criminal record.”
Robby stopped the van and twisted to look at me. “You raise a valid point.”
The van shuddered. Robby’s eyes went wide, and he slammed on the accelerator. The wheels spun, and the engine whined as if something had a hold of us. Before I could freak out about it, the van lurched forward, fishtailing. Robby got it under control, and we sped down the road for a short distance before the jester slowed again, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like fucking cornfields.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“Just the corn,” Robby replied in his usual jovial tone. “I will disguise the van, but I suspect the normal concerns of mortal authorities and all that might be less relevant here. This pocket of Dream energy mixing with the conscious realm is, well, very strange, and leads me to believe we are dealing with something other than a normal institution.”
“Okay.” I hoped he was right. I didn’t want my parents to get into trouble.
Robby placed his hand on the dash, and a ripple of energy flowed out from his hand. I didn’t see anything different, so I had to trust that he’d disguised us.
We slowed well outside the normal parking area. Robby let the engine idle for a moment while he looked out the windshield. Finally, he shut off the van. We had a fair bit of flat, open ground to cover.
“We’ll take a back entrance. Your highness, please shield us with your shadows.”
“Of course,” Nic said, not acting perturbed that Robby was ordering him around.
We slipped out of the van after Robby deactivated the interior lights and shut the doors gently.
