Outside, the evening sky had gone deep purple, with a distant swatch of blue in the horizon. A chilly breeze swept past us, and I shivered in my short sleeves.
“Don’t you have a sweater?” Chrissie asked.
I shrugged. “Left in the Fiat. It’s fine.”
“Well, I’m going home, ladies. See ya tomorrow.” April bounded across the street. In a few steps, she disappeared into the deepening gloom.
“And I’m meeting Tyree at the new place.” Chrissie grabbed my arm and kissed my cheek. “Will you be okay? I parked Tyree’s truck over yonder.”
“Thank you, doll.” I kissed her back. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“It’s just…” Her features tightened. “We always walk together, and it’s dark already.”
A stronger gust of cold air lifted a whorl of dried maple leaves, and I folded my arms, seeking warmth. “Brrr… Go.” I bumped Chrissie on the shoulder. “Congratulations on the apartment. I can’t wait to see it.”
“You sure?” She hesitated.
“Uh-huh.” I dangled my key fob before her. “See? Got it right here. Now scoot. Call me later.”
I pivoted to end the lengthy good-bye. As I entered the alley, Chrissie’s hurried steps faded in the distance.
The employee parking lot behind the coffee shop was dark, silent, and empty. Ignoring a prickly foreboding, I walked quickly to my Fiat, pressed the key fob, and the alarm beeped with its happy, reassuring sound. Feeling better, I opened the door and threw my shoulder bag on the passenger seat. I was halfway in when a huge hand muffled my mouth and nose, stifling my breathing and yelp of surprise. Rough fingers with clawlike nails manacled my arm, yanking me out of the car.
Turn. Turn. Save your air. The self-defense commands flashed instantly.
Pushing all my weight into the move, I managed to slip around to face my attacker.
Thoughts ceased.
Lidless reptile eyes glared at me through slit-like pupils. The creature’s forked tongue slithered past a row of sharp teeth in my direction, and the air inside my lungs exploded in a terrified scream. Sanity left. I’d entered crazy territory and had to escape this horror. I struggled, hit back with my elbows, hands, shoved with my knees, nothing worked.
A singeing red arm had snaked around my waist, pressing me against a scaly red chest that felt like an unyielding concrete wall.
Heat, fire, flames rose up around me. I’m burning alive! I screamed louder.
Laughing, the attacker jeered in a harsh, accented voice. “You’re mine now,” he cackled. “No one hears you. No one’s coming.”
Behind me, a deafening roar, unearthly and wild, threatened to pierce my eardrums.
“You!” my attacker bellowed. “It can’t be.”
The grip around my waist slackened. In the next breath, the creature took a swipe at my body, and I went airborne.
I landed face down on the pavement. My head bounced off the ground. Pain wanted to submerge my consciousness, pull me under, but I resisted. I had to see, even for a minute, the deadly combat, the scene out of a fantasy book or movie, that my disbelieving eyes witnessed.
Two hulking males clashed, pummeling each other with fierce intensity. They fought so tightly, I couldn’t tell them apart. One flung his opponent overhead. Now they were separated, I distinguished red and silver auras. The giant in silver rolled, then jumped to his feet. Waving a serrated sword in his hand, he slashed my attacker across his back. The lizard-like male emitted a hair-raising screech. Fists up, he pounced back. Body-to-body combat resumed. With each succeeding blow, silver and red blasts illuminated the parking lot. The combatant in silver thrust a foot forward and upward. He connected with the red attacker’s jaw so hard, the monstrous creature grunted and flailed, stumbled, and fell on his back. Having gained the advantage, the male within the silver aura extended his arm. A white beam crackled out of his fingers, struck his fallen adversary dead center, and the scaly male vaporized in a red haze.
Shock and pain won. I closed my eyes…