Chapter Fifteen
A loud buzzing woke Reese from his sleep, and it took him a few minutes to realise one of their phones was going off. A heavy weight was pressed against his arm, and he looked across to find Faye wrapped around Penny, who was nestled against him. He smiled lazily at the sleeping women. At his sleeping mates. No one could doubt that’s what they were now. After Faye had filled the room with white light, he’d marked them too. And though the scratch marks wouldn’t be visible to anyone, any shifter would be able to sense them. He suspected some other paranormals could also sense the marks, but he had no proof of that.
The buzzing continued, and he remembered what had woken him. He twisted around, careful not to wake the two women, and grabbed the phone that was continuously going off. In the back of his mind, it registered that the phone was Faye’s. Not that it mattered, he answered her phone when she was busy all the time. Not her texts though. He never looked at those. But not many people called. Just her family, really. Well, and Reagan. But she could normally predict who was going to answer the phone and would greet him by name when it was him. Having foresight must be useful. Particularly if it saved the awkward ‘who is this’ moment when someone unexpected answered the phone.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Reese, is Faye there?” Bex’s slightly frantic voice came down the line.
He glanced to the side, but both women were completely out still. “She’s asleep.”
“At this time?” Bex seemed surprised. He wasn’t sure he blamed her. Faye was an early riser.
“It’s only just gone seven, Bex,” he told her, having checked the time on his own phone which had been lying next to Faye’s.
“Oh, right yes. Sorry, Fi’s had me up since the crack of dawn.”
“It’s still dark,” he pointed out, and could have sworn he heard Bex scowl down the line.
“You know what I mean.”
“Sorry, yes, I do. But Faye’s still asleep. We had a late night.”
“Anything fun?” Bex asked, despite herself. He held back a life. That was so like Bex. They both knew she’d called for a reason. But they also both knew she’d called for a reason. With a young child now, there wasn’t any chance she’d waste the time with a phone call at seven am. Even so, she was asking after their social life. He supposed it came from knowing them as a couple for so long. He guess she’d have get used to thinking of them as more now.
“Yes, very,” he replied truthfully.
Soft hands touched his back, followed by kisses peppered over his shoulder. “Morning,” Penny whispered, and Reese smiled to himself. After the night before, she seemed a lot more rested than she had before. But that was good as far as he was concerned. Anything that had either of his mates happier was good in his book.
“Good.” The word was followed by silence, which made him wonder just how bad whatever Bex had to say actually was. He stayed quiet, too worried by what it might mean to say anymore. “They found them.”
“Where are they?” he asked, not at all surprised by the subject of the phone call. Nor by the fact Bex had assumed Faye had already told him about their call the previous night. Penny rested her head against his shoulder, listening intently. He didn’t mind, neither of them would hide anything from her. She was their mate, it was all about being open.
“The abandoned mill,” Bex said.
Reese’s blood turned to ice. They’d played their as children. As had a lot of the other paranormals they’d known over the years. If that was where the hunters had set up shop, then it boded very ill for the community as a whole. He hoped people had stopped letting their children head out that way, but he doubted it. The mill was too intriguing for that. No one knew who it had belonged to, and children had always made up stories to go with it, ranging from evil vampires, to fairy tale like beasts.
“Are you sure?” he asked eventually.
“Yes.” Bex’s voice sounded small, and scared, and he wondered whether she’d taken Fiona up there. He doubted it. She was probably still too worried about the little girl getting kidnapped again. Hell, he was worried about the little girl getting kidnapped again. She seemed to have come out of last time alright, but that was probably something to do with Mia finding her. There was something comforting about a family presence, he was sure.
“Okay, we’ll get on it as soon as Faye’s awake.”
“Thank you,” she responded, breathing a sigh of relief that was audible down the line.
“And Bex?”
“Hmm?”
“Keep you and Fi safe. Maybe go stay with Mia and Felix or something?”
This time, Bex laughed. “And the house where my sister managed to get herself drugged by a potion and didn’t notice, is safe from the hunters.”
“I suppose you may have a point. But it’s another two people about to watch after Fi. Three if Felix’s sister is about.”
“I hardly think Autumn is the right role model for a four year old.” At least Bex sounded amused now. Though she did have a point. The stories Felix had told about his younger sister didn’t exactly paint her in the best light. She was trouble with a capital t, and that was even without their father’s search for a husband to deal with. Apparently he was an old school dryad who believed marriage would sort his wayward daughter out.
“True, but at the moment, what’s more important? Her safety? Or the impression that a few days with an off the rails dryad will do?”
“Good point. I suppose so long as Autumn doesn’t take her on one of her jobs, it’ll be fine.”
“Somehow, I doubt she’d do that. A four year old would probably slow the process down.”
“You’d think,” Bex admitted, before slipping into silence.
“You okay?” he asked, after what seemed like too long. He was worried about his sister-in-law. It hadn’t been an easy year for her. Hell, it hadn’t been an easy four years for her. It was still beyond him how she’d been able to keep a child a secret for so long. If he had a daughter, he’d be shouting about her from the rooftops.
“Sorry, just thinking. You’re right, I should call Mia.”
“Or Fiona’s father,” he suggested, hoping she’d at least drop a hint as to who the man was. They were all curious. Bex laughed.
“I wouldn’t tell you that, even if I could. I’d end up with my father and two brother-in-laws hunting the poor man down.”
“Hardly a poor man. He abandoned you and Fi.”
“He doesn’t know about Fi, Reese.”
He found her choice of words interesting. It was almost like she did know who the girl’s father was. There was definitely a certainty to what she was saying.
“Can you ask...” Penny whispered, trailing off. Reese nodded once. It may be an odd question to ask, but if it put his mate at ease, then it was definitely worth it.
“Is there any chance her father is a necromancer?” he asked, anxiously waiting for Bex’s response.
“What?”
“A necromancer. You know, purple magic, raising the dead and generally being a bit sinister?”
“I know what a necromancer is, I just don’t know why you’d even think that.” She sounded a little defensive, but he put it down to him prying into her personal life.
“Just something that crossed my mind,” he said with a shrug, and heard Penny’s accompanying disappointed sigh.
“No, he was a shifter.”
“Thank you for telling me, Bex,” he said down the line. He was truly grateful that he’d told her, and not just because he’d felt Penny relaxing against him. But also, because it meant that, when the time came, he could help his niece with the shifting side of things. That reassured him a lot.
“No problem, but please, keep it between us. I’m not sure why you want to know, but there’ll be a good reason.”
“I can’t hide things from my mate,” he replied, carefully omitting reference to Penny. That was Faye’s place to tell her family. Or maybe both of their places.
> “Nor would I expect you to. But my parents, and Mia? Please don’t tell them. I’m not ready for the questions yet.”
“You got it, Bex. Secret is safe with me,” he reassured her.
“Thank you.” A shout came in the background, and he smiled knowing Fiona was up and about. He couldn’t wait to have a family. It was something he hadn’t let himself think about other than in the darkness of night. And then it’d just made him down. But now, it might actually be a possibility. “I need to go,” Bex added.
“I guessed. I’ll let you know how we get on.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “See you soon, Reese.”
“See you soon,” he replied.
The dial tone sounded, and he pulled the phone away from his ear, twisting his head around so he was facing Penny. He kissed her softly.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” she replied. “So that was Bex?”
He nodded.
“Bex called?” a sleepy voice asked from the bed, and the two of them turned to see Faye lazily rubbing her eyes.
“Yes.”
“And?” Faye asked, looking a little more awake by the second.
“We need to go to the old abandoned mill,” he told her. She frowned as she tried to process it.
“That’s where the hunters are?”
“Apparently.” He shrugged.
Faye swung her legs around and jumped to her feet the moment her feet hit the floor. “We should get going then.”
Chapter Sixteen
The mill loomed above them, making Faye shiver. It was even more decrepit than she remembered. Maybe some young witches had used the area for some sparring. It certainly looked like there were some burn marks on the walls. She couldn’t really talk, those of them who had powers had done the same when they were children, though they’d been more careful not to leave marks. People were probably a little bit more dismissive of anomalies now.
She slipped her left hand into Reese’s, and her right into Penny’s, loving having her mates on each side, there was a complete feeling about it that was unbelievably right to her. She guessed it was because their bonds were sealed now.
“I don’t like this place anymore,” she muttered.
“Me neither,” Reese returned.
“It is a little creepy,” Penny said, and they both turned to her. “Though I can see why you guys liked it.”
“Didn’t you have anything like this as a child?” Faye asked.
“I don’t really remember my childhood. Even after I was five, there don’t seem to be many more memories. I’m not sure where they even went. Maybe it’s just part of the banshee curse? Not knowing who you are.” Her voice cracked at the end, and if they hadn’t been about to walk into what they thought was a prison, Faye would have pulled her into her arms and offered her the comfort she clearly desperately needed.
“I’m sorry,” Reese said.
“Don’t be. It was bad luck is all. It’s not even the banshee that cursed me’s fault. How were they to know I was in the vicinity? It’s not like we can control when we scream.”
“Can’t you?” Faye frowned.
“Well, I guess we can, but not the warning screams. They just come when there’s something to warn about.”
“What was yesterday’s about? Do you know?” Faye was glad Reese had asked, she was wondering the same thing.
“This, I assume.” Penny waved her free hand in the direction of the mill in front of them. “It’s leaving me feeling very uneasy.”
“Is that normal?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t spent a lot of time exploring my powers. I’ve never really wanted to. Everyone seems to alienate us regardless of what we do. I never wanted to make that worse, so didn’t try to work anything out.”
“But now you want to?” Faye asked, squeezing the other woman’s hand gently.
“I think so. I’m not sure. I already feel a little more at ease with them than I did before. Which is something, I guess.” She shrugged, but her expression was open, and Faye knew she was telling the truth. She was just glad that Penny felt at ease enough to talk to them about it.
“Whenever you’re ready, we’re here,” Reese said as Faye nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, guys. But that’s not helping us get into the mill.”
“True, but I don’t really want to go in there,” Faye admitted quietly.
“No, me neither, but I guess we’re going to have to,” Penny added, before dropping Faye’s hand and making her way towards the broken doorway. Not wanting to leave her to face whatever was in there alone, Faye hurried to follow, with Reese close behind. At least they were in this together.
The inside of the mill was even worse than the outside, and it smelled of damp and mildew. Never a great combination. Even less so when there were allegedly prisoners in here. Faye couldn’t imagine this was a nice place to be trapped, no matter by who.
They crept through the hallways, following their instincts on where to go. She still wasn’t sure about this. How were they actually going to tell if they were going in the right direction? Though she should be thankful she had Reese’s in built sense of direction, and Penny’s warning system. Even so, her magic was crackling beneath her skin, ready to be used at any moment. It was an odd feeling. She’d never felt it like this before. Her powers had always been tending towards the weak side, with just some intricate capabilities that made it seem like she had more than she really did. For which she was grateful, really. It made the issue much easier to hide.
“Wait,” Penny whispered, holding out her arm in order to stop them going any further. They came to a halt, and Penny strained her ears, trying to her whatever it was that’d tipped Penny off. Unfortunately, she heard nothing, though that was maybe because she was using some of her other senses to avoid the things they didn’t want to be near.
“What is it?” Reese whispered.
“I’m not sure, something’s just telling me we need to stop.”
Faye nodded. She’d trust her mates. Both of them. Either of them. They waited for a few more moments before Penny waved them forward, but motioned for them to crouch low. Moments later, the wall tapered off, turning into a shorter one that only came up to Faye’s waist. Or it would have done if she’d been standing up.
Voices came from over the wall, and she sucked in a nervous breath. They were too far away, or too muffled at the very least, for her to be able to tell what they were saying, but at this point, she really didn’t care. She just wanted to get past them and onto rescuing whoever was down there.
Saying that, she wasn’t entirely sure she liked the idea of leaving any of the hunters about. All they’d do then was hurt someone else. Maybe they should have called the Council after all, they’d at least had the manpower to deal with the situation, even if they chose to ignore it.
Penny called them to a halt again, before motioning them on wards again, and down an equally depleted corridor. Why couldn’t the bad guys choose a nice comfy stately home to make their lair in or something? It’d be much nicer to sneak around in.
What on earth was she thinking that for? Why would she want to sneak around anywhere more than she had to. It wasn’t even like she wanted to sneak about this time. It was through necessity, and doing it for her sister that had her still here.
“I think we’re nearly there,” Penny whispered. Faye just nodded. There wasn’t really anything else she could say to that. Except that she hoped Penny was right. It would mean they could get out of there soon.
A steel door loomed before them. Completely out of place in the run down mill. It made no sense. Or it did make sense, if the place really was being used by the hunters.
“How are we going to get it open?” Penny sounded a little bit panicked.
“Let me,” Faye replied. She wasn’t completely sure that she could do it, but it was worth a try. If she couldn’t manage, then at least she’d tried. She’d still be embarrassed though. Putting her hand a
gainst the lock, she sent sparks into it, hoping they’d turn the levers inside it. There was a loud click, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Being with Penny and Reese really had unlocked something within her. Just one of the many good things that had happened as a result. Other than having two people she loved in her life.
She glanced at the red-head as subtly as she could. Did she love her? She supposed she would. Soon. Probably very soon. Though right now, the feelings very much verged on just major like.
“Ready?” she asked them both. They nodded, and Reese pushed open the big metal door, letting the three of them slip inside.
The first thing Faye noticed was the smell. It was rotting meat and sewage, making awful images of what could happen in here flash through her mind. She tried to push them away. They’d give her nightmares if she wasn’t careful. Though at least she could be comforted through the night if she did. The people that were down here, not so much. They were probably far more traumatised than she was.
A groan of discomfort came from the left, and she automatically turned that way, making her way hastily in the direction of the sound. When she reached the person who’d made it, she gagged, almost losing the little she’d eaten for breakfast. No person should be degraded to this point. Because now, it was clear where the rotting meat smell was coming from. The man’s leg was rotting away, and the stench was unbelievable.
“We need Mia,” Faye muttered, making her way over to the man and unlocking the shackles around his wrists. He groaned again, but was barely conscious. He probably didn’t even notice they were there.
“We could call her?” Reese suggested. Faye shook her head.
“Too loud. Can you fly to her? Bring her, and Felix. And get them to alert the Council. This is far bigger than we thought, we can’t keep them in the dark any longer.” He nodded once.
“Want me to get the Shifter Council involved?”
She shook her head. “There’s no point. They don’t have the jurisdiction, and you know it.”
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