Quintus dialed her office number. Her phone rang for a moment before being answered.
“Mayor’s phone,” Celine said over the line.
“This is Quintus,” he said quickly. “I need to speak to Allison now.”
She gave a little chuckle on the other end. “The mayor left her phone in the office by accident, but she’s on the way to the mill to pick up the papers and then off to see you, Romeo. Cool your jets.”
Shit.
“What’s at the mill?”
Celine sighed on the other end. “Ms. Anderson wants her to come pick up some papers there,” she said. She sighed. “She’s a total nutbag.”
“Ms. Anderson? Who is that?”
Magnus, Nero, and Rem all stilled their movements.
“Oh, she’s new in town. Ms. Agatha Anderson.”
Chapter Eighteen
Allison pulled up the long drive that led to the mill. The road had become overgrown over the years of nonuse, and the car bumped roughly along until she reached the top.
She climbed out of her car and stared up at the massive place. As a child, the two large domes always reminded her of some sort of beehives. They loomed, overlooking the town with their pluming clouds of smoke.
The mill had closed down years ago. Eagle Ridge hadn’t escaped the changes to the state’s economy in the last couple of decades. It wasn’t profitable, and it left, taking a lot of jobs with it.
The town had recovered, but it was still far from its glory days.
Allison slowly made her way over to the large building and wondered how Ms. Anderson made it up the steep steps with a bad ankle. She was nearly breaking her own just trying to get up there herself.
She huffed and puffed her way to the top and stopped to wipe the sweat off her brow. It was much higher up than she imagined, and now she was starting to wonder if the call had all been a ruse to get her alone for another bribe attempt.
Allison swore under her breath. If the crazy woman tried to buy her off again, Allison was going right to the police. She’d about had her fill of shit recently, and the last thing she needed was another person adding to her troubles.
She gave two knocks on the large metal door. A hollow, echoing sound followed, like banging on the side of a metal drum.
“Hello?”
She’d come all this way, and the woman wasn’t even here? Now she was beyond pissed.
Allison frowned and knocked a little louder this time. The sound echoed through the wooded area nearby, startling the neighboring birds.
Somewhere deep inside she heard the scrape of a chair.
Maybe Ms. Anderson really was hurt and couldn’t make it to the door. Allison would feel like an ass if the poor woman answered the door with an injured ankle, and she’d been thinking the worst of her.
“I’m going to just come in Ms. Anderson,” Allison called out.
She tested the door. She pressed down on the rusted handle and pushed the door hard.
It creaked loudly as the door swung partway open.
It was dark inside. No light from anywhere that she could see.
Allison reached into her pocket to pull out her phone when she realized she’d left the damn thing at the office. She’d been in such a hurry to get out of there she hadn’t even thought of it.
“Hello?” she called again.
Her voice bounced off the walls, and she could hear something move in the distance.
Her heart picked up a bit. This place had been abandoned for years. Who knew what kind of animals might have taken up residence?
“Ms. Anderson?”
She swallowed the fear that bubbled up in her chest and stepped just inside the door. Maybe if she was farther in, she’d be able to hear just what that noise was.
“Please don’t be a rat. Please don’t be a rat,” she mumbled under her breath. “Ugh. Please don’t be several rats.”
Allison could hear the sound a little closer now. It didn’t sound like rats. It sounded like the sound of bare feet on the floor. Heavy feet. With some scratching. A giant rat?
A shiver passed over her the more she listened. Something was wrong about that sound. Something unnatural.
A loud screech ripped through the air.
Glycons.
Allison turned to flee, but they beat her to the door. They slammed the heavy door closed just as she stepped forward. Thick darkness swallowed her.
Two sets of glowing red eyes stared at her from the door. She could hear a low growl, but was glad she couldn’t see the monsters. If she was going to die, it might be better not to see what was coming at her.
Something moved just behind her, and she turned to see six more sets of eyes peering at her from the darkness.
“I must thank you,” said a familiar, yet still odd-sounding voice. “Thank you, indeed.”
The somewhat distorted voice of Ms. Anderson drifted in the room.
“My pets aren’t fond of the sun you see,” she said. “A small kink the Group was never able to fully deal with.” She laughed. “What good is a weapon you can only use at night?”
Allison turned around in the dark, trying to follow the voice of the woman as she moved in the black room.
“Why are you doing this?” Allison said.
A harsh, cold laugh cut through the air. “All you had to do was push through the forms, but you had to be arrogant and obstinate.”
Allison spun again to try to face the woman.
“And you just couldn’t do it.” Ms. Anderson hissed next to her right ear.
Allison reached out, but she was too slow. If she could just get her hands on the other woman, maybe she would stand a chance of making it out of there alive.
“Maybe we could work something out now,” Allison said, trying to stall.
Another sharp laugh split the air. “I liked you better when you were being hardnosed. Not trying to barter for your pathetic little life.” Her voice grew closer, and Allison could nearly feel her breath on her neck. “Besides, why would I do that when I can just have your job?”
Allison reached out and grasped the woman’s upper arms. Now she just needed to knock her out and deal with the Glycons. Piece of cake. In theory.
She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to convince herself that she was totally not royally fucked.
Low-level lights flicked on, and Allison blinked a few times to adjust to suddenly being able to see.
A few more blinks, and she realized that Ms. Anderson hadn’t tried once to get herself free from her grasp.
Allison slowly allowed her eyes to focus on the woman in front of her. When she finally came into sight, Allison nearly fell backwards trying to get away.
“Boo!” Ms. Anderson cackled.
She could still see the woman that came into her office, but the difference was startling. All the strange makeup from before was gone, replaced by twisted skin and scars on that side. She might have once had a lovely face, but now she looked half-melted.
Her eyes were even more startling. Two red orbs just like the Glycons standing around them.
“What are you?” Allison whispered.
She immediately regretted the words.
Ms. Anderson’s face contorted into the same rage she’d seen just a few days prior in her office.
“I am your better,” Ms. Anderson hissed at her. “That’s who I am.”
The Glycons closed in around them. Their mouths snapping shut as they did so.
Allison tried not to think about them. Instead, she kept her focus on Ms. Anderson. As long as they were talking, the Glycons weren’t killing her, and that was a win in her book.
“You’ll never get away with this,” Allison said. “People will ask questions.”
Ms. Anderson’s response was a manic laugh. “Just another sad animal attack. But it’s lucky that I’m here to help end their troubles. They’ll be no more attacks with me as their mayor.”
Allison shook her head. “People will know,” she s
aid. “I have people on my side.”
Ms. Anderson gave her a wide grin. “They will either make me mayor, or my pets will slaughter the whole bunch,” she said. Her grin twisted down for just a moment. She glared at Allison “As soon as you tell me how you’re keeping my pets out. There’s no way an inferior town like this should be able to keep them out.”
Allison shook her head. If Veronica’s devices were the only thing separating a mad woman from her people, she’d die with the secret.
Ms. Anderson leaned forward and held Allison’s chin in her hand. “So brave for a dead person.”
A tear leaked down Allison’s face. She wouldn’t beg the woman. There was no way she’d give her the satisfaction. But she would have revenge.
“Kill me, and Quintus will hunt you down,” she said through gritted teeth.
The other woman moved her face closer to her own. Allison could see the glowing red eyes as anger filled them.
“Is that right?”
Suddenly, the door banged open. Ms. Anderson stepped back in surprise, dropping Allison’s chin.
“That’s right,” Quintus said from the door frame.
Chapter Nineteen
Quintus spotted Allison in the middle of the Glycons as she struggled to make her way to the side.
When the doors opened, light flooded the room. The creatures scattered. Although they weren’t as sensitive as some of the ones he’d heard about, it was still clear the creatures were susceptible enough to the touch of the sun.
Quintus rushed in, followed by several other hybrids.
“They’re stronger than the ones we fought at the mountain,” Rem shouted to his men. “Don’t give them the chance to get their hands on you.”
Rem was right. These creatures weren’t like the ones they had seen at the mountain when they’d made their escape from the Horatius Group. Someone like Marcus would have ripped through a half dozen of those like nothing, but when he’d faced one of these newer Glycons, he’d been hard-pressed to take it out.
Likely Agatha had gone back to help free and collect this newest model of Glycon.
Quintus growled. He’d lost sight of Allison. No matter what else happened, he needed to make sure she escaped.
“Quintus!” she called out.
He heard her shout and was moving before he ever knew what was happened. In the distance, he spotted Agatha pulling hard on her arm. Allison fought, but it was clear Agatha was much stronger than she looked.
A giant Glycon slammed into his side, taking advantage of his distraction. He could hear the ribs crack as he landed against a pillar with a thud. Pain shot through his body.
Allison’s scream echoed in the large room.
Still dazed, Quintus looked over and watched as Agatha pulled Allison through a metal door at the back of the room.
He had to get to her. No matter what. He’d protect his Vestal even if it cost him his life.
“Get up!” Vitus shouted at him as he kicked back the Glycon that had charged him.
Quintus grunted through the pain as he stood and nodded to his friend.
“Get your woman,” Vitus said, and gave him a wink. “Make babies and name one after me.”
Quintus let out a small laugh that only pulled on the muscles at his side, summoning spikes of pain.
Doing his best to ignore his pain, he rushed through the battlefield, ignoring the screams and thuds as claw met fist around him. Blood splattered the floor around him, and he couldn’t tell if it was hybrid or Glycon. He only hoped that his brothers would come out victorious. For now, he had his own mission
When Quintus reached the door, he yanked it open and stepped into the quiet on the other side.
* * *
Allison grunted and struggled against Ms. Anderson’s vice-like grip on her wrist as she was pulled through the rows of pipes and machines. At least in here, she could somewhat make her way around. Parts of the roof had rusted away, creating holes just big enough to let a bit of sunlight through.
If it were any other time, Allison might have admired the beauty of the light filtering through the holes. The dust particles were caught in the light, making it look like a beam straight from heaven.
“Looks like you overpaid for the place,” Allison mumbled as Ms. Anderson tossed her hard against the back wall. She winced.
“Now sit nicely, or I’ll have to let Thrax eat you.”
She watched as a huge Glycon emerged from nearby. The creature made a large man like Quintus seem normal in comparison.
The Glycon stared down at her. Unlike the others, there was something about the way he looked at her that made her wonder just how much he understood. Not mindless, not just a killing machine.
He nodded in her direction. “Vestal.”
Ms. Anderson turned to frown at her. “I see. Is that what that smell is? The whole damn town reeks of it. What a disgusting stench.”
Allison frowned. The whole town smelled like Vestals? That seemed highly unlikely.
“Her bonded will be here soon,” the other woman said to Thrax and then glanced over to her. “Kill him.”
“No!” Allison’s scream echoed across the quiet room.
Ms. Anderson glared at her as she stomped her way over and cracked her hard across the cheek. Allison’s head slammed against the wall, and she slumped down on the ground.
She’d been expecting something slightly painful, but the woman’s blow was as bad as a much larger man punching her.
“Allison!” Quintus cried out in the distance. She opened her mouth to call out to him when a cold, bony hand clamped over it.
“Now let’s let the boys have a little fun,” Ms. Anderson whispered to her. “It’s always fun when the boys fight over you, right?”
Allison moved her head up and down as if she were in agreement with her.
“Oh, I’m so glad we agree,” Ms. Anderson said, her red eyes gleaming in the darkness.
They waited in silence. Quintus crept around the corner, and Allison could just make out his dark form in the distance. The hulking Glycon knelt on top a machine, waiting for just the right moment to pounce.
She had to do something. If she didn’t, Thrax would kill Quintus.
Doing the only thing she could, Allison bit down hard against the hand covering her mouth. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth, and the other woman finally let go.
“You fucking cunt!” Ms. Anderson screamed.
Allison spit out the filthy woman’s blood before slamming her head back into the face behind her. Pain pulsed through her head, but she was sure from the wailing that she’d managed to break the other woman’s nose, or maybe even more.
Not bothering to admire her handy work, Allison pulled away from her and ran toward the dark shape she thought was Quintus.
“It’s a trap,” she shouted. “There’s a Glycon here.”
Allison didn’t know if her words had reached him, but she knew by the scream that came from behind her that she had bigger things to worry about at the moment.
She turned the corner and then again. She’d nearly run past it when she spotted a long metal tube attached to the wall. It wasn’t the best spot, but it might hide her until Quintus could find her.
Another scream pierced the air, and she knew that Ms. Anderson was close now.
Feet first, Allison slipped into the tube.
It was luck that it wasn’t all that steep inside, and she could still see out directly in front of her.
Nearby, she could hear footsteps on the metal floor, tapping their way into the deepest parts of her living nightmare.
“Since you’ve taken a taste of me, I think it’s only fair I get a taste as well,” she could hear Ms. Anderson call out.
Allison shivered at the thought.
The woman wasn’t far away now. The sound of her footfalls grew closer and closer.
“I was wrong. It’s not a disgusting stench. That sweet Vestal smell is telling me just where to find you, even with my nose no
t in the best shape.”
Allison looked around wildly in the space she was in. If she didn’t cover up her scent somehow, she’d be found in no time, if not by Ms. Anderson, then by a Glycon.
Soot covered the floor. She heard that coal was used as a filter for water. She only hoped that it might help mask the smell she was giving off, at least for a small bit.
As quickly as she could, Allison rubbed the black dust all over her. Even her hair where she was sure she was sweating.
The footsteps grew closer and stopped just outside her hiding spot.
Allison stilled every last bit of her body. She even tried to calm her erratic heart, just praying that she wouldn’t be found.
Chapter Twenty
Quintus’s heart hammered in his chest as he heard Allison call out to him about the Glycon. From the moment he’d stepped in the room, he’d known there was one of those creatures there with him.
It was being cautious, careful. Moving in the shadows, slightly different from the others his friends were fighting. He wasn’t about to underestimate it.
Quintus turned to follow the sound of her voice when the hulking Glycon jumped down from a machine near the wall.
This one wasn’t just savvy, but also larger than any of the others he’d seen. Its body was nearly double the size of his own massive form.
A high-pitched wail ripped through the air in the back of the room as Agatha screamed out. He could only hope that it meant Allison had escaped her.
Quintus jumped on top of a nearby machine and leapt to another to try and get around the Glycon. His number one mission was to get Allison and keep her safe.
A tight grip landed on his foot, and he immediately found himself being yanked out of the air and slammed down against the ground.
For a moment, he saw stars from the strength of the blow.
Another scream came from Agatha, and he knew that if he didn’t hurry, things would not end well.
The powerful Glycon stared down at him. “You fight Thrax. You not run.”
Quintus stood and stared at Thrax. He had heard some of the Glycons could speak, but this went beyond basic words. This creature was thinking. It was acting on its own and not out of pure bloodlust.
Quintus: #7 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 9
