A Low Down Dirty Shane by Sierra Dean

asked, dragging herself to her feet.
    “AK-47,” Shane replied matter-of-factly. “I didn’t think a handgun was going to cut it with that thing.”
    Siobhan peered over his shoulder into the dark interior of the car. “You hiding a grenade launcher or a bazooka in there?”
    Nolan chuckled and closed the door. “I can only do so much in fifteen minutes.”

Chapter Fifteen
    Tracking the fae turned out to be much easier than Siobhan had expected.
    The creature had no sense of subtlety and had left a mess of dented cars and broken shop windows in its wake. Police cars dotted the streets, their blue and red lights bouncing off the tight, high walls and casting shadows that flitted and moved at will. The police officers didn’t seem to notice the heavily armed Siobhan and Shane as they moved off the sidewalk and down an alley, following the wreckage towards the northern entrance to Central Park.
    “Why would it go to the park?” Shane asked, edging around a large dumpster that had been yanked away from a wall and pushed onto its side. Somewhere not far from the park a woman screamed loudly and a cacophony of car horns blasted.
    They were definitely headed the right way.
    “Last time it was out must have been hundreds of years ago. It’s probably drawn to something familiar and none of this…” she pointed to the bright lights and skyscrapers, “…would feel right to it. But that’s just my guess.”
    She was as confused as Shane by the creature’s real motivations. If it had escaped with bloodlust in mind, why weren’t they following a trail of corpses? Aside from the screaming and the constant noise letting them know they were on the right track, they’d yet to come across any evidence the monster had hurt anyone. It had gobbled up the druids by the gate like they were bacon-wrapped scallops at a fancy dinner party. Yet here, where people numbered in the millions, it had yet to kill a single one, as far as she could tell.
    They passed the park gate and into the dark interior of the tree-filled space, streetlights turning the trees into illuminated stained glass but not casting enough light to push away the night entirely. As they moved farther from the loud noise and brightness of the city streets, the constant throbbing at the back of Siobhan’s head began to wane some, but not enough she could ignore it.
    She rotated her shoulders and rolled her neck, trying to shake off the aches threatening to steal all her attention. She needed to focus, and it was hard to do that with a tiny demon hacking away at the inside of her skull. Or doing a jig. Whatever was going on in there, it hurt .
    Slinging the bow over her shoulder, she held out a hand to stop Shane’s advance. His heavy motorcycle boots weren’t quiet enough now that the rest of the noise of the city was gone.
    “So, Red, what’s the plan?”
    Siobhan appreciated the way Shane yielded to her wisdom on matters of fae, but even she wasn’t sure what to do with this particular one. She’d never known a fae who could increase its size exponentially. Or one with four legs and a horse’s head, for that matter. She was in over her head.
    But she didn’t need him to know that. Two people drowning didn’t help anyone swim to shore.
    “You know those big guns you brought?”
    “Yup.”
    “Point. Shoot.” She pointed a finger gun at him and pulled the thumb trigger.
    “Simple. I like it.”
    “First we have to find the damned thing.”
    Siobhan stopped walking in front of a broken stone wall and looked down a tunnel of battered, uprooted trees and a fresh path of clawed, damp earth. The damage was so fresh the smell of dirt was heavy in the air and leaves were still falling from where they’d been torn apart.
    Shane wrinkled his nose and played with the strap on the shotgun. “Doesn’t look promising, but I guess we can check it out.”
    “What’s the matter, Hewitt, did you forget your white horse and shining armor at home?”
    The hunter