Chapter 75: Old Friend

His smile was dazzling. I stared at him in complete astonishment. After months of just trying to catch a glimpse of him, here he was standing right in front of me. My fingers spread over the hard muscles on his chest. He was solid. He really was here. He even still smelled like sunshine.
His fingers squeezed my shoulders, drawing my attention to his face.
"Angandriel," I said, but the noise in the club drowned my words.
He didn't respond. He just looked down at me amidst the dancing bodies. My eyes darted around, looking at the biker jackets closing in on me. I pointed to them. His eyes followed my directions. We were surrounded, but they weren't closing in. He nodded. He grabbed up my hands and pulled me against him. I reveled in the feeling of his arms around me and his warm body pressing against mine. It felt so safe, so familiar. I missed it.
We swayed together on the dancefloor, surrounded by the dancing crowd. I folded into him like I was meant to be there, even though I was considerably shorter than him, and I was not a short person. The memory of our time together flashed through my mind, the times he saved me, the time he kissed me, the time he broke away from Karma and saved me. That was the last time I saw him. The pink god power thrummed inside me, flaring to life. It sparkled on my fingertips, feeling the most stable since that first night.
I pressed my cheek against his chest then looked out over the dance floor. Through the crowd, I saw flashes of the men and orcs in biker jackets. They were closer, but I didn't feel scared. I felt like I didn't have to run anymore. For the first time in three months, I felt protected. I didn't know what was going to happen when the orcs finally caught up with me, but at least I wasn't alone anymore.
I buried my face in his chest as the orcs pushed around people. I was hoping Angandriel would just swoop me up in his arms and fly me away. Angie gave me a squeeze. He tilted his head to press his cheek on the top of my head. Then his arms slipped away. I leaned forward towards him, but his arms gently held me in place. He shook his head slightly and stepped back.
"Wait, Angie, wait!" I shouted over the music.
A few heads turned my way, but I didn't care. I reached for him, but he vanished in a puff of purple smoke. The heads watching us looked surprised at the sudden magic they saw. They turned to tell their friends then promptly forgot what they had seen.
The leader orc pushed into view. His grin was full of sharp fangs. He snatched up my wrist before I could run away. My eyes still searched for Angandriel. He pulled me closer and started to dance with me.
"Hello, little girl."
He held both of my wrists to him as he spun me around once on the dance floor. I felt like a ragdoll against his strength.
"I remember you and your sister. You wanted to go for a round with me." He leaned in close. I could smell the stench of food on his breath. "Now's your chance."
I leaned as far away from him as I could while turning my face away.
"I need something from you," he said.
"Yeah, what is that? Mouthwash?"
He frowned. "Are you really Matei's daughter?"
It was my turn to frown. "By blood."
The orc looked up over my shoulder at his companions. His eyebrow ridges rose twice; then he looked back down at me. I had no idea what that meant, but it couldn't be good.
"And you really don't know where Matei is?"
I shook my head.
"Or his daughter Mila?"
I continued to shake my head.
He lifted my wrists above my head. He shifted them left and right, twisting me in the dancing club light as if examining a piece of meat. The way he was eyeing me made me jumpy.
"Anton's still around," I blurted out. I didn't mean to say it, it just kind of popped out of my mouth.
The orc's mouth grew thoughtful. "I think we'd rather have you."
"And why's that?"
"It's easier with women."
Two things came to mind. First, I wasn't used to being called a woman. I still felt like I was just a kid. I was twenty-one but far from having any semblance of an adult life. Second, my mind reeled through all the nasty thoughts that he could be talking about.
That was it. I really was meat on a stick. He and his buddies were going to do all sorts of vile things to me. I could still feel that god power sparkling in my veins. I had better hurry up and use it before it shorted out again.
"Shock," I commanded.
The power snapped out of my hands in a lightning bolt. It ran up his arms in jagged pink zigzags. He howled as he let my wrists drop. I darted away. Two more of his friends barred my path.
"Part," I shouted.
The power drove a wedge between them. I jumped through as they were knocked aside. I zipped between the crowd of dancing bodies back towards the main entrance. Another two men blocked the door.
"Push." I held my hands in front of me. I could feel my body growing weaker, but I wanted to use as much power as I could before it was gone.
The two men were pushed against the wall to either side of the door. I ran through. I stopped on the edge of the street. I looked at the hornet. My heart sank. There was no way I could get away in that thing. I looked to the hoard of motorcycles in front of me. I smiled. Well, maybe. Hopefully, the vertigo wouldn't act up.
I jumped on a motorcycle. I had ridden one a few times as Lanie, so I knew the basics, but I certainly wasn't experienced. I started it up with a spark of power and a command then revved the engine a few times. I flipped up the kickstand then motored off as fast as I could.