He continued to chat bullshit with her, and she offered minimal hummed responses as they turned the corner onto the next street. He glanced behind them briefly and saw the group leaving the bus stop in pursuit, and he cursed under his breath.
The moment they were out of sight, Rusty picked up his pace, half-dragging her with him. “They’re following us.”
“Oh my gods,” the girl whimpered.
“It’s gonna be okay. Listen carefully.” Rusty broke into a jog, and the Nyko stumbled but followed suit. “There’s an alley up ahead with the back entrance to a dive bar. It’s always propped open. The bartender’s name is Kera. She’s an old friend. Go inside and tell her Rusty sent you. She’ll take care of you.”
“What?” the girl whimpered.
“Find the Vixyn behind the bar. Give her my name.” He pushed her into the alley and pointed at the door near the dumpster, propped open like it always was. “Go. I’ll lead them away.”
“Wait, I don’t—”
Trying not to lose his patience, he pointed emphatically at the back door to the bar. “The door’s there. Say Rusty sent you. Go now!”
Nearly tripping over her own feet, the poor girl turned and ran toward the door, heels clicking on the uneven pavement. Rusty backed out of the alley, startling at how close the group had gotten. They spotted him, and the Gymnot pointed. Releasing a frustrated growl, Rusty sprinted into the alley, past the back door that was swinging shut behind the Nyko. He climbed on the dumpster and leapt toward the broken ladder of the building’s fire escape.
Digging the claws of his feet into the brick, he managed to heave himself up onto the first metal landing just as the group entered the alley. Not wanting them to go looking for the girl, Rusty casually leaned against the railing and grinned down at them.
“I can’t believe you dumbasses fell for that. You’re as stupid as you are ugly, huh?”
“The fuck you say to me?” Hari snarled, baring his jagged teeth.
Rusty laughed cuttingly. “And I thought Elas had good hearing. But I must have been using too big of words for you to understand. I’ll slow itdown for you. You”—he pointed at each of them in turn, speaking extra slowly—“Are. Idiots. And you’re creepy. Don’t creep on teenagers. It’s not a good look.”
“When I get my hands on you—”
“Get your hands on me? Wanna suck my dick while you’re at it?” He pantomimed rudely, cackling at the way Hari flushed with rage. “Sorry but you’re not my type.”
“Let’s skin this bitch!” Hari roared, and the trio raced toward the dumpster.
Since Rusty wasn’t actually a match for the three of them, he scrambled up the fire escape ladders as they gave chase. The metal groaned under the combined weight of all four of them, and Rusty hurriedly heaved himself over the edge of the roof, landing in a crouch.
He sprinted across the rooftop, barely hesitating before he threw himself off the other edge, jumping the medium-sized gap. A manic screech of panic scraped his throat as the rooftop of the lower building rushed toward him. His landing was far from graceful, but he rolled with the momentum and was back on his feet almost instantly, shaking off the jarring ache in his bones.
He didn’t wait to see if his pursuers would brave the leap. He raced toward the opposite side of the building, but the gap was too big to jump this time. The fire escape looked stable enough for his weight, so he climbed down the cumbersome thing as fast as he could.
The rusty ladder was stuck, so he shimmied down until he hung by the tips of his claws. It was a long fall, but he’d survived worse. As Hari’s head appeared over the side of the roof, Rusty took a fortifying breath, then let go, dropping to the alley pavement.
It was another jarring landing, but this time, something sharp stabbed into his foot, sending hot pain lancing up his leg. He crumpled with a yowl, kicking away broken beer bottles so he didn’t injure himself further. With gritted teeth, he inspected his foot, blanching at the chunks of glass embedded in his hide.
“Fuck!” he snarled, grabbing the biggest pieces and yanking them out before he could psyche himself out.
“We got him now,” the Gymnot crowed from above him, and Rusty growled in annoyance as he forced himself to his feet.
“You gotta be kidding me!” Adrenaline pumping, he pushed through the pain and ran as fast as he could down the alley.
He was limping heavily, and he was grateful for the rain, washing away the blood trail he was surely leaving behind. The sidewalk was pretty barren, and Rusty leaned heavily on the boarded up window of the building, panting as his foot shrieked in agony.
Shit, this night was not going his way.
“Pst!” someone said, and Rusty’s head shot up. A Lepid stood in a doorway a few feet away, dressed in a tight corset that gave the illusion of breasts and sheer, lacy panties. She puffed on a cigarette and jerked her head behind her, toward the inside of the building.
With no time to question, Rusty limped toward her and slipped inside, her fluttering wings covering him in their dust where they rubbed against him. He curled up in the dingy hallway and tried to calm his breathing as the Lepid draped herself across the doorway, effectively blocking him from view.
The trio of assholes ran past, and one of them must have hesitated because the Lepid said, in an accent Rusty had heard very few times inhis life, which—given his old line of work—was saying a lot, “Hey, baby, looking for a good time?”
“Fucking Slothvlier,” Hari spat, and the Lepid snorted, taking another drag from her cigarette as her wings lazily opened and closed.
