Chapter 3
“We should discuss your debt,” said Killian as he stared out at the lights on La Brea Blvd.
We were back in the car, headed for the border. Massive paranormal attack or not, I had the body of the dead undead in my trunk and I really wanted the storage space back.
“You’re right and you have no idea the joy that bubbleth over when I think upon our upcoming fireside chat,” I said, opening up the console next to my seat. “But I gotta get this guy dropped off in order to pick up my finder’s fee. Color me crazy, I’m not so good at multitasking when it comes to fighting for my life and covering my rent.”
“I could get you there faster,” Killian said with a wicked little glint in his eye.
“You greedy bastard, I owe you one mark already, I’m not going down that road for more. Jesus, you elves are all the frickin’ same.”
“Human favors are things of beauty.”
“Yah, yah…”
“You are a thing of beauty…”
“Can it, elf, or I will crush your summer fruit into a nice dinner wine.”
He smiled.
I fucking hate elves.
“Listen,” I said, flipping a couple switches on the dashboard. “The border is coming up quick and I won’t be distracted by you or anyone else. Got it?”
Killian settled back into his seat and made the universal sign for “after you”. I gave him the universal sign for “up yours, buddy”.
The car hit 45 mph on the winding back roads of Mulholland. Ex-mobster mansions are tucked into the sandy hills, their winding driveways barely visible in between the scrub brush and cacti. LA, evidently, ran out of money for guardrails and upkeep, though. The road is filled with potholes and the shoulder drops off sharply to canyons below. We sped past a scenic lookout where, on a clear day, you can see the Hollywood sign on one side and the ocean on the other. On a bad day, all you can see is smog.
But tonight, the air was clear and warm; the kind of night where you don’t know where your body ends and the world begins. I pressed my foot to the floor and hit 70 on the hairpin turn. We drove off the edge of the cliff and soared out into the open sky.