by Missy Jane
I smiled back, reveling in his warmth.
***
Castor Laboratories was located in the heart of downtown Georgetown, a half-hour walk from the hotel. We talked about what we would do once inside and decided remaining together was our best bet. Castor’s labs covered ten city blocks, not including the attached hotel and restaurants. Splitting up might make our search faster, but we proved to be stronger together. I could pass through all of the scanners with my human DNA, and Andor could get us through most situations with his telepathy and other mental abilities. Plus, he should be able to feel Emily and go straight to her.
Andor also let me know in no uncertain terms he didn’t want me out of his sight for a minute. I had a heartbeat of anger at the implication of being a defenseless human female. But then Andor filled my head with his true emotions and I realized he cherished me enough to want to protect me. I was thrown a little off balance but stopped bitching about it.
I was amazed by how easily we slipped through the doors. The security was tight but Andor’s illegal credentials held up against the scrutiny. I tried to calm my nerves as we walked arm in arm through the brightly lit corridors to a large conference room full of a few hundred scientists. No one paid any attention to us. We were two more in a sea of unknown faces.
Andor wrapped my hand in the crook of his arm and began to mingle. He was a natural at polite conversation with complete strangers and I remained silently in awe of his efforts. After a few minutes of bullshit with true scientists, he led me to a table covered in refreshments. I didn’t recognize a single thing as actual food so I refrained. Andor picked up a cup and pretended to drink while speaking to me through the side of his mouth.
“We’ll wait until the speaker begins then slip out the side door,” he whispered, eying a door to the left of the podium.
I surveyed the area and noticed the low lighting and extra chairs stacked close by. If we moved just right no one would notice our departure. I nodded and began to head in that direction slowly, as if by accident rather than design. I felt Andor’s heat at my back, a comforting presence to soothe my nerves. If we were caught Andor would suffer greatly. I had no clue what might happen to me.
As I made my way across the room, I greeted the passing faces with a smile and nod of professional courtesy. They were mostly men, though I saw a few women interspersed in the crowd. I was nearing my target area and feeling more confident when a familiar face caught my attention. I froze and turned back to find him, but he was immediately lost in the crowd.
“Francesca?”
I heard Andor’s questioning voice but it took a second for me to remember my alias and answer.
“It’s nothing,” I murmured, not certain if it was the truth.
“What is it?”
“Hmm?” I asked distractedly, still looking even as I continued my forward motion.
“You know what.”
I heard the barely suppressed anger in his voice and realized he was worried.
“Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew but it’s impossible. This is the last place he would turn up.”
Andor said nothing else as he followed me toward the corner of the room. I went to stand beside a stack of chairs mere feet from the door when the speaker reached the podium. He was an older man with white hair that brushed the shoulders of his crisp gray business suit. He walked straight and tall, with a confidence telling of years of public speaking. I had no clue who he was.
“Hello, ladies and gentleman. If everyone will take a seat, I would like to welcome all of you to Castor Laboratories.”
I felt Andor pass behind me and move toward the door. With a quick glance around, I verified no one was paying any attention to us before following him.
“As some of you may know, I’m Theodore Castor, founder of Castor Laboratories.”
I froze at those words and turned to look at the mysterious Theodore Castor. He was wholly unremarkable, a man I might have passed on any street without a second look just as Andor had said. I felt Andor grab my hand and pull me toward the door. After a final look at the man on stage I turned to follow him.
***
I don’t know what I expected to find once we infiltrated the laboratories, but multicolored walls covered in finger paintings didn’t quite fit. It looked like a preschool hallway that continued on in both directions before dead-ending into complete darkness.
“Which way?” Andor asked, and I suddenly remembered studying the blueprints.
“To the left until we come to a right turn. We should find a hallway full of doors.”
We both turned in that direction and headed down the hallway. I studied the “artwork” as we passed and began to notice a theme.
“Yes, they do all resemble various animals,” Andor said.
I tightened down on my thoughts in case we happened upon another shifter. I no longer minded Andor in my mind. His presence was a warm comfort after all our time together. However, I didn’t want anyone else in my head. Andor kept my hand in his as we walked. I realized he kept finding ways to touch me and I liked it. The thought no longer made me frown.
“Now where?”
His abrupt question pulled me back and I realized I was letting myself get distracted. This was so unlike me and dangerous for both of us. I strengthened my resolve and faced the hallway ahead of us.
“Third door on the left. It’s a closet but there’s a hidden door in the back to the elevator.”
He pulled me behind him down the dimly lit hallway, shielding me with his larger body. I scanned the ceiling, surprised at the lack of video surveillance.
“Who needs it when there are psychics in the house,” he murmured, making me realize I wasn’t shielding well enough.
I clamped down on my thoughts again, erecting the imaginary brick wall he’d taught me to raise. He glanced at me, a smile flickering over his face. We found the closet and slipped inside. It was full of cleaning supplies and a floor-to-ceiling metal shelf. We both stared at the obstruction for a moment.
“Well…I guess the elevator might be behind it?” I ventured.
Andor remained silent as he studied the scene before us. He reached out a hand then suddenly pulled it back as if shocked.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing his hand to inspect for injury.
He clasped my hands in his and rubbed his thumb over my palm.
“It’s nothing, sweet, merely an illusion and a good one at that. I’d forgotten how easily a good illusion can sting the unsuspecting.”
“An illusion?”
“Yes. Open yourself to me and I will help you see through it. If you can see the truth for what it is, the illusion will no longer affect you.”
I took a deep breath and looked at the shelf before us. I knew what he meant about opening myself up to him because we’d practiced it once or twice. I cleared my mind, dismantling my wall brick by brick until there was a clear path for him to enter my thoughts. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander to Andor and his warm presence behind me. I let my heartbeat match his and began to see through his eyes.
He looked at the wall but there was no longer a shelf. In its place stood a normal-looking elevator door. I saw Andor’s hand reach past me to press the lone button on the wall and the doors slid open silently. He nudged me forward and we stepped into the metal box. I opened my eyes as the doors slid closed and Andor pulled me behind him and to the side, out of the immediate path of the doorway. I imagined the surprise we’d all get if the doors opened to reveal a lab employee.
I was more nervous than before. Because of the security, and Andor’s choice of attire, I’d had to leave my gun at the hotel. I felt naked and vulnerable without a weapon. Andor assured me he was all the weapon I would need, and felt I would have a better chance if caught unarmed. After all, I was still an active member of the military, just on leave. I could probably talk myself out of the situation with relative ease. I had no idea what he would do if he couldn’t use his mind tricks
but decided not to dwell on that concern.
I felt the elevator drop and my stomach went along with it. Andor reached back and skimmed his fingers over my abdomen, making my stomach flip for an entirely different reason. He chuckled and I slapped his hand away. The elevator stopped and I tensed, my hand going for a holster that wasn’t there.
“Damn it,” I whispered.
“All is well. We remain alone in this hallway,” he replied.
The doors opened and I saw he was right. We were in a blindingly white hallway which stood empty. Andor stepped out and I followed close on his heels. He took two steps and froze, lifting his face as if sniffing the air. I waited silently for him to lead.
“She’s here,” he whispered, and there was so much emotion in that mere statement I don’t know how he suppressed it.
He began to walk briskly down the hallway and I followed, looking everywhere at once as he kept his sight straight ahead. The hall seemed endless without a door or window to break up the monotony of the white brick. Andor’s pace increased until I was jogging to keep up with him.
“She’s hurt. I can smell her pain, Alexia. I swear to all of the gods there ever were I’m going to spill blood this day,” he hissed between clenched teeth.
I saw the tenseness of his muscles in his back and wondered if he felt Emily’s pain as well as smelled it. We ran on down the hallway until it ended in a sharp turn. Andor immediately stopped and threw out his arm to keep me from running past him. We stood at the end of the corridor, a blind corner ahead of us. I knew, just knew there would be someone around the corner guarding the entrance to the labs.
Andor must have known as well, because he pushed me behind him until I was up against the wall pressed into his back.
“Alexia, I don’t know what’s around this corner, but it knows we’re here.”
“It? I knew this was too easy so far.”
“Don’t be frightened, my sweet. I’ll distract it. I need you to get past it and find my daughter. She is in the room beyond, I know it without a doubt.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Andor.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll join you shortly, I promise.”
I took a deep breath and wished again for my gun. “You better, birdman, or I’ll never let you forget it.”
I felt him smile in my thoughts before he stepped away from me and began pulling off his clothes as he ran around the corner. There was an inhuman screech and a feline roar. I had a moment of self-doubt before remembering Andor was counting on me. I slowly rounded the corner to face hell.
Chapter Eighteen
The first thing I saw was blood. The crimson splatter lay everywhere, a stark contrast to the pristine white hallway. Andor stood as a full golden eagle, looming larger than when he first showed me his animal form. He was fighting something my eyes couldn’t quite make sense of. I didn’t stay to ponder the creature bleeding in his claws. I heard the rattle of a snake as I ran to the bolted metal door before me, but I ignored it. I released the lock and yanked on the heavy door with all of my strength, only opening it enough to slip inside.
I found myself in a cavernous room filled wall to wall with rows of steel cages. The highly polished metal gleamed beneath the harsh fluorescent lighting twenty feet above. Each row varied in height, anywhere from three to eight feet by my guess. I approached the smallest row of cages, knowing the scent of my fear and nervousness would precede me. There was no way to hide my presence at any rate and I didn’t waste time or effort trying.
I considered looking around for a weapon but there wasn’t so much as a wooden chair as far as I saw. I decided not to bother. Emily was most likely in one of those cages and Andor had said she was in pain. I needed to find her and assess her condition for myself. Andor was counting on me and I realized I didn’t want to let him down.
The first cage stood empty, but only recently if the fresh puddle of blood on its bottom was any indication. I moved on to the next and soon discovered the same state for the entire row of ten cages. I heard movement somewhere in the room and prayed it was from a cage and not reinforcements. I missed my gun.
I quickened my step as I rounded the corner into the next aisle. These cages reached my waist and held all manner of domestic animals. They were mostly canine with a feline here and there. They all appeared to be sleeping, their shallow inhalations the only sign of life. I was about to pass on to the next aisle where the cages reached my chest when I heard a sound that froze my blood.
The too-familiar rattle of the creature from outside echoed through the room ominously. I ran back around the corner to the smallest cages, deciding to use one as a weapon if they were light enough. I grabbed the nearest one and laughed in relief when it proved to be light and sturdy. The rattle sounded again, closer than before and I ran to the next row.
I climbed onto the cage of what looked almost like a Chow, but it was shaved to the skin and covered in welts. It lifted its head when I unintentionally rattled its cage, and I saw nothing but despair in the eerily human eyes. I stayed frozen for a moment, held captive by his desperate gaze, until quick movement from the corner of my eye caused me to react on instinct. I rolled onto my back and over to the top of the next cage as the head of a huge animal struck where I’d been standing.
“Shit!”
The thing hissed in response as it reared back in preparation for its next strike.
“Ohmygodohmygod,” I mumbled while fear tried to cripple me.
Like the one in the hallway, the bottom half of the monstrosity resembled a large rattlesnake. From the waist up it almost looked human but with no obvious appendages. The head was covered in dark, coarse hair that somewhat resembled a lion’s mane. But the face… The face was the stuff of nightmares. It was black and shriveled like old, hardened leather and the small, beady eyes were entirely silver. The mouth took up the entire bottom half and was filled with razor-sharp teeth. I was trembling.
I fought it using the past two years of training as my guide to stop and think of how to get past the monster. The cage in my hand was only a little larger than its head and I didn’t know how to use it to my advantage. Unfortunately, it was the only weapon I had so I opened the door and faced it toward the creature.
“Hey, ugly, wanna play?” I asked, trying to sound a hell of a lot braver than I felt.
The thing’s hiss sounded a lot like laughter. I grinned and tried to anticipate the strike. It moved its head from side to side, toying with me as I followed its movement with the cage held before me. I was concentrating so hard on its head I forgot about its tail. That cost me when it whipped around and hit me in the back, propelling me forward toward its open mouth.
Searing pain shot up my spine but I kept enough wits to shove the cage forward, trapping the head snugly within. It began to swing around wildly, almost pulling me from my feet as I held on for dear life. I wrapped my legs around its torso and, praying it was close enough to human to have a spinal cord, wrenched the cage sharply to the left. I felt a spasm arc through the body before it stilled and fell forward. I found myself flat on my back on top of the Chow’s cage with the creature dead on top of me.
It took all of my strength to push the monster off me, but as soon as I did, I jumped off the cage. I glanced at the Chow, but it didn’t seem to be conscious. I considered opening the cage door but feared that might do more harm than good if there was anything else slithering around. I ached from head to toe but felt an even greater urgency to find Emily now that I knew there were guards. I limped over to the next aisle of five-foot-high cages that were long enough to hold several animals. The first three stood empty and filthy with blood and excrement, but the fourth held what appeared to be a small girl curled into the fetal position. She lay naked and covered in fresh bruises. She was whimpering and trembling like an abused animal.
I stepped to the bars and tried to find a way to open the cage. The door was on the top and consisted of a simple latch. I wondered why she hadn’t tried to escape and to
uched the metal carefully, worried about being shocked, but there was no reaction. I considered the snake thing and decided it would have been enough of a deterrent. I looked back at the girl. Her dark hair was cut to the scalp but not shaved. It looked as if someone had taken a dull knife and hacked at it, pulling clumps out to the skin here and there. She was bleeding from various places on her body including her head, and I saw needle tracks on her legs.
“Hey, I’m here to help you. Can you stand?” I whispered.
There was no visible reaction to the sound of my voice. I stopped talking and reached for the latch. As soon as I pulled the door open she froze. I saw the stillness only a shifter can truly manage and prayed she would realize I was friend not foe. After a few seconds of indecision where she remained still, I decided to climb on top of the cage and drop into it to get her out. That move saved my life.
The second I dropped I felt the world tip sideways as a heavy body slammed into the front of the cage. The girl was thrown into me and I realized she was bigger than she looked. I was suddenly looking into the golden eyes of a frightened shifter and realized I’d found Emily.
“Andor, she’s alive!”
I only had time for that thought before the cage was attacked again and I looked past Emily to see a huge head full of sharp teeth and two red eyes glaring at me. I couldn’t help myself, I screamed. The werewolf threw its head back and howled and I don’t know how my panties stayed dry. I pushed Emily off of me and she curled back up in a corner of the cage as I stood. Once again, I was completely defenseless as I stared at the huge black wolf eying me like I was his favorite entrée. I stood weaponless with an injured girl to protect and I had no idea how to get us both out alive.
The wolf stood on its hind legs and set its front paws on the top of the cage. At full height it would be eight feet, reaching the cage door easily. I crouched low, covering Emily with my body as I watched as the wolf pulled the door back open with its teeth. I heard my heart racing in my chest. I smelled blood on the wolf’s hot breath through the bars of the cage. I heard Emily crying as she trembled below me. I felt numb. My mind was well beyond rational fear and into the realm of utter terror. I knew I faced my own death.
