by Raven Steele
Aris cleared his throat. “I’m in too.”
“You’re not leaving me behind,” Gerald said, looking only at Loxley.
Briar groaned loudly. “Is this really necessary? We’re not going for an invasion here, just going to scout it out.”
“Yes,” all four men said at the same time.
I rested my hand on the doorknob, itching to get going. “Just stay out of sight then. We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.” I circled my finger in the air, indicating all of them. “And you four together will definitely draw attention.”
“Did you just call us hot?” Aris asked.
“I think she did,” Mateo echoed.
“I’m calling you all obvious.”
“I’ll come, too,” Roma said.
“No,” I said quickly, thinking of Loxley. “You’ve done so much already, and I’m worried if someone saw you there earlier today, they’d be suspicious if you showed up again, poking around the same spot.”
Roma’s eyes crinkled with frustration. “I’d really like to come. I can help if something happens.”
“Nothing’s going to happen,” Briar said. “But we’ll let you know if your spell worked.”
I opened the door and tried to tamper down the excitement I was feeling. Finally, with Loxley’s help, we could get inside that damned cathedral. I’d find Naburus and destroy him. The Kiss emerged suddenly in a great wave, taking my breath away. It liked my plan very much, and sent a shot of adrenaline through my veins, further exciting me.
Mateo’s phone rang just then with Korin’s specific ringtone. The adrenaline turned to ice. Mateo stepped past me just outside the door and held up his hand, indicating us to be quiet.
“You’re needed at Winter’s Cove. Now.” Korin’s voice snapped through the phone, then the line went dead. Mateo’s jaw clenched as he stared at his phone.
I touched him lightly on the arm. “We can wait to go to the cathedral, if you want.”
He looked up at me, his eyes searching mine. “No.” He sighed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s only a scouting mission, right?”
I nodded, trying not to give away my true intention. My fingers were itching to slice Naburus’s head off, and I was glad he hadn’t asked me to wait. I didn’t know if I could.
“Just make sure you have back up, if you need it.”
While we continued to talk, I could hear Aris behind us asking Briar all sorts of questions about the cathedral. How big it was, how many people we’d seen, etc. He could get anal when it came to missions. Oz was even worse.
I curled my fingers around Mateo’s arm, leaning in to brush my lips over his. “Don’t worry. I’ll have Briar.”
He stared at me intently, and I gave him my most determined look. He closed his eyes, clasping his hand to the nape of my neck to pull me close. His lips pressed to the top of my forehead, and he whispered softly, “We still haven’t reconnected our blood bond.”
I nodded. “We will. Soon.”
His hand clutched my side, as if he didn’t want to let me go, and I snuggled in closer to him, feeling his heart beat against my chest. Closing my eyes, I let my thoughts go, just feeling his warm presence by my side. My pulse slowed and the anxious feeling inside me calmed down. This man truly was my soulmate. If I still felt this way about him after centuries, then there could be no other explanation. He was my rock and my heart. After this, I would tell him, show him. Make up for all those years we were apart.
He caught my chin and forced my face upwards. “Be safe, Samira. I mean it.”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I promise.”
He searched my eyes one last time, then stepped away. He looked back just as he turned the corner into the living room, worry filling his eyes. “See you soon.”
I nodded once and watched him disappear, an uneasy feeling gripping my gut. Korin had sounded upset, more so than usual. I hoped it had nothing to do with Mateo. If something happened to him, I would die. Right after I unleashed the Kiss on the world, killing Korin in the process. Nothing would be safe against my wrath.
Setting my shoulders in a determined line, I turned to Briar. “Should we bring anything specific?”
“Um…” Briar hesitated, flashing her eyes to Loxley.
Loxley caught on and gave us a pointed look. “I’m sure you two have everything you need.”
“Then let’s go. It’s almost eleven.” I headed toward the front door, my steps long and quick. “I’ll drive.”
“We’ll follow behind,” Luke called after us. Aris and Gerald stood behind him.
I jumped into my car and revved the engine before Loxley and Briar had fully gotten inside.
“Slow down, Tex!” Briar gasped as she closed the door. Loxley gripped the back of the seat.
But I wasn’t going to slow down. Not when I was so close. I jammed the clutch into drive and slammed on the gas pedal, propelling us into the darkness. I couldn’t wait to destroy the one vampire Korin cared about the most.
Chapter 26
On the drive over, Loxley recounted again all that she had seen. “If everything goes well, we really shouldn’t run into any opposition. On the outside, anyway. I don’t know what we’ll face on the inside. I never saw much.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” I said. “Let’s just gather as much information as possible.”
I was playing the role, for now, pretending this was only a scouting mission, when the truth was I going to take advantage of the situation as much as possible. I would do anything in my power to destroy anything Korin cared about out, even if that meant lying to my friends.
Briar continued to explain. “We think the Phoenix and Korin could be holding a lot of humans and supernaturals there.”
The thought of all those people under Korin’s thumb … My blood burned hot, and I curled my fingers into my hands. He was going to feel pain all across the spectrum!
“Samira,” Briar said, her voice cutting through my thoughts. “When we’re done, you need to take a long hot bath with one particular hot guy, or, hell, take them all, because you need something to calm you down! You’re seriously choking us with your power up in here. Can you tone it down a notch or two?”
I drew my brows together and glanced at her and at Loxley in the rearview mirror. Only when I saw Loxley’s open mouth and pale face did I feel it. The Kiss’s dark energy had filled the car, pressurizing it. I inhaled several deep, calming breaths and thought of something other than Korin.
Briar’s shoulders dropped, and she exhaled. “That’s more like it.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence until I parked at the end of Raven Street. It was deep into the night, and the streets were nearly empty. Rocky must still have his mandatory curfew in effect.
Just as we exited the car, three motorcycles raced past us. Luke flipped up his visor on his helmet in passing and winked at Briar. I rolled my eyes. “They better stay out of sight.”
“If they don’t,” Briar said as she closed her door. “I’m going to bare-ass spank all of them!”
Loxley giggled and followed after us, but as we came closer to the cathedral, our expressions turned grim. It was one thing to have trouble find you, but a whole other thing to deliberately seek it out. We had no idea what we were going to face.
We rounded a slight bend and the cathedral came into view, rising high into the night sky. Each spindly spiral, every sharp edge of the gold-and-black building, filled me with both excitement and dread.
“Why don’t just I go in?” I suggested, thinking I could do more damage if I didn’t have them watching over me.
“Not a chance.” Briar reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial Roma had given us, pouring the contents onto the ground. “We’re not going to need this.” The spot began to smoke and Briar looked at me with wide eyes. “I’m glad we didn’t drink that.”
“Seriously,” Loxley said. “Maybe those witches are experimenting a little too much.”
B
riar nodded. “I wish we had Lynx here. I bet she would’ve come up with something.” She sighed wistfully, then turned to Loxley. “So how does this work? Do we have to drink your blood, too?”
She grimaced. “Hell no.” She removed a knife from inside her jean jacket and swiped the sharp edge across her finger. Blood rose to the surface. “This should work.”
I glanced behind us and spotted Gerald and Luke standing outside a small bar looking our direction. No doubt Aris was also nearby.
Loxley traced her finger across Briar’s arm in the shape of something that looked like a rudimentary drawing of a tree with no leaves, then did the same to mine. She looked up at each of us. “Stay close behind me and don’t talk.” She hesitated. “Are you ready?”
Briar and I locked eyes. How could we be?
Stepping through the invisible shield felt like being squeezed in a vice. I ground my teeth together while Briar cursed through a grunt. Loxley, however, didn’t seem fazed by the strange phenomenon.
The temperature on the other side felt cooler, and smelled like burnt cookies. The trees scattered across the wide and green landscape did not belong in Louisiana. They were short and spindly and bore no greenery, looking more like the crisp remains of a burned forest. However, the ground was lush and covered in a carpet of green broken up only by rows of flowers and bushes.
Loxley glanced back at us. “This way.”
She crouched down and began to run in a pattern that made no sense, but we followed after her anyway. At one point she actually moved away from the cathedral, but then she circled back around and moved behind the structure. The rear of the building was just as magnificent as the front, with wide and tall double doors and silver-rimmed windows.
“This is the back door?” Briar whispered.
Loxley frowned and motioned her to be quiet. We were crouched near a bush watching the doors expectantly. Loxley pointed off to the side of the grand entrance. That’s when I saw it. Between two skeleton trees, a small set of stairs led downward to a single, wooden door.
Briar mouthed the word, “Oh!”
A moment later, Loxley took off across flat ground leading to the small door. We sprinted with her and crowded together at the bottom of the stairs. I pressed my ear to the door, listening to what lay beyond. When I heard nothing, I wrapped my hand around the silver handle. It didn’t hum or vibrate with magic. I glanced at Loxley, and she nodded her approval.
Clicking the door open, I pushed it quietly open only to be met with a gust of warm air that smelled oddly of leather. I stepped inside the darkness. The other two quickly joined me, and we closed the door.
Loxley turned on a light on her cell phone. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
“What does your gut tell you?” Briar asked.
“So you trust me now?”
Briar sighed in a surprised tone. “You’ve gotten us this far.”
Loxley scowled, then looked at me expectantly.
I nodded toward the opposite side of the room, deeper into the darkness. “Lead the way.”
She nodded and moved forward, the cell phone’s light spreading across a pearl-colored floor. Other than us, the room was empty, giving us no explanation as to its purpose.
Just like before, we followed Loxley through a series of rooms and finally into a hallway. We seemed to be in the basement. Every few seconds, I’d catch the whispering of material or the slight padding of footfalls on the floor above us. We weren’t alone.
Behind me, something flashed. I whirled around, my heart thumping.
Briar lowered her cell phone and whispered, “Getting a picture of those.”
She pointed into a room we’d just passed. I backed up and peered inside. Faint witch markings littered the white walls.
Briar took another picture. “Any of you know what these mean?”
I studied them closer, running my fingers gently over the top. “I recognize a few. They are old and powerful symbols.” I tapped one circle that spun inside itself. “This one is gateway.”
“And this one means devil,” Loxley whispered, her voice chilling the room. She was staring at the drawing of a goat’s head inches from her face. A heavy pressure settled within my gut, making me swallow hard.
Briar visibly shivered. “Fuck this. I’m out of this room before the flies come. You guys coming?”
She didn’t have to ask us twice. We quickly left and proceeded down a long hallway until we reached the beginning of a stairwell leading up. We all three looked at each. Briar shrugged and began to move up the stairs, but I pulled her back and took her place, ignoring her scowl. If something bad was about to happen, I’d rather I take the brunt of it.
Soundlessly, I twisted a doorknob at the top and cracked the door open. There were no immediate sounds, but in the distance, I heard the whispering of voices. Hundreds of pictures lined the wide hallway from ceiling to floor, all encased with ornate frames. They were different shapes and sizes and even different themes. There were people and landscapes, abstract paintings and watercolors. It was a mess of colors and designs.
Briar peeked over my shoulder and whistled low. “DeVinci would shoot himself in this place.”
When I was sure we were alone, I slipped into the hallway. Briar and Loxley came next.
Loxley looked up and down the hallway. “I can’t tell which way to go. Both feel dangerous.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Briar said. “We’re just here to get information. Let’s stick to the shadows and get in and out. Got it?”
Loxley nodded as I turned right. The time for action was now, not later. We might never get this chance again.
And so I walked with purpose, making no sounds across the polished floor. Moonlight filtered in through stained-glass windows, casting colorful light in all directions. Up ahead, a faint glow drew me close.
“Slow down,” Briar hissed behind me.
I was tempted to turn toward the light and the sound of voices, but another noise drew my attention. I froze. “Do you hear that?”
Briar cocked her head, and Loxley frowned.
“Someone’s crying,” Briar said.
“This way.” I continued walking past the hall with the light. The hallway began to narrow as the path led us into another wing of the cathedral. The ceilings were higher and yet, the odd paintings continued, leaving no room on the walls for anything else.
We passed many closed doors. I was tempted to peek inside some of them, but I left that to Briar, who just couldn’t resist. She huffed every time one came up empty.
“This is a waste of time,” she whispered up to me.
I shook my head. We just hadn’t gotten to the good part yet. Where was everyone? I kept my determined pace. Where was Naburus? My hands began to shake with the need to kill him, and my heart pounded. Where was he?
We reached double doors and stopped.
Briar glanced back at Loxley. “What are you feeling?”
“Uh, not sure.”
Beyond the door, I heard more than just the woman sobbing uncontrollably. Several others also cried, and many more moaned in pain.
“Let’s do this.” I opened the door, resolve filling me, and we all three stepped inside.
At the sight of what lay before us, Briar said exactly what we were all thinking. “Fuck me.”
Chapter 27
The space beyond the doors was nothing like the rest of the cathedral. This section looked like someone had cut off an old, massive barn and glued it to the rest of the place. It even smelled like urine and feces, dirt and dust.
“Frightmares,” Loxley breathed.
Four rows stretched long in front of us, separating animal stalls full of hay and surrounded by metal bars. But that’s not all they held.
At least two people occupied each stall that I could see. Some of them held four. The people on our right, a mix of humans and supernaturals, looked like they had been brought in recently. That’s where we found the woman crying. But the people on the le
ft side … something was different about them.
Briar knew it the second she saw them, her face pale as she spoke. “They’re being given a steady diet of Scorpion’s Breath.”
Just then, in the three stalls closest to us, all of its captives turned and looked at us at the same time, their expressions blank.
Loxley twisted her hands together. “Looks like they’re also being fed Korin’s special batch of the drug.”
My eyes darted around the large space quickly, and my pulse raced. If we got everyone out then lit this place on fire, Korin would be furious. And that would make my revenge so much more satisfactory. Yes, this is what I came to do.
“Let’s get them out,” I said, moving to do just that.
Briar took hold of my arm and pulled me to face her. “Not yet. We don’t have the manpower. Plus, this is a gather-intelligence-mission only, remember?”
I shook free from her. “Not anymore.”
I whirled back around, but Briar appeared in front of me and folded her arms. “I mean it, Samira. This isn’t the time for your revenge.”
My jaw clenched. “I’m not going to leave these innocent people here. You talk about saving humans. Well, here’s your chance.”
Her nostrils flared. “Of course I don’t want to leave these people here, but we could get them killed trying to sneak them out without more help.”
I moved around her, anger burning inside me. We wouldn’t have another opportunity like this. If we came back, Korin could be ready for us. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
Briar’s hand was on my shoulder in a tight grip. “Really, Samira? Look, I know you want to get Korin back for what he did to Faithe, but—”
“Don’t bring her into this!” I hissed. “You have no right to talk about what I’m going through. You did horrible, despicable things in the name of your revenge. How dare you lecture me!”
Briar swallowed hard, her face paling. “I know. And I regret those things. I don’t want you to go down the same path.” She took a step forward, taking my shaking hand in hers. “We still don’t know what we’re dealing with. Think, Samira. Where the hell are all the guards?”
