by Simone Pond
I stepped inside and moved to the back, pressing up against the wall. The doors dinged and sealed shut. Fear was creeping into my psyche. And it needed to go away. What had gotten into me? I sensed it wasn’t just me and the man with the dingy gray spirit inside the elevator. An enclosed place would be perfect for a demon attack.
“Miss?”
I pressed up against the wall of the elevator. “Yes?”
“What floor?”
Breathe. It’s okay.
But I couldn’t get the words out because I didn’t know where I was going. I couldn’t go to the second floor and pretend to be a volunteer. I didn’t want to engage in any conversations. Whitmore was already onto me.
“We’re going to the top floor.” Marlo’s voice came from my side.
I jumped, or rather, my heart did. “Dammit!”
She laughed and laughed, tears welling up in her eyes. The man sharing the ride with us grumbled under his breath.
I grabbed Marlo’s arm and pulled her close, whispering, “That was risky.”
She shrugged. “It’s the metaphysics building. They’re used to the inexplicable …”
The elevator came to a stop and chimed again. The man got out, disappearing into the darkness. Marlo held the door open, peering up and down the hallway.
“Come on.” She took my hand.
“I take it we’re on Whitmore’s floor,” I said.
“His office is somewhere around here. I got it out of Anton before I teleported.”
“First name basis, are we?” I teased.
“Please! Let’s just not, okay.”
We walked through a maze of corridors, until finally she stopped. “Okay, this is it. An office within an office, within an office.”
“Like Inception,” I joked. She stared blankly. “Leonardo …”
She ignored my bad joke. “You ready to run some interference while I search for his personal office?”
I nodded, feeling good about my plan to divert the receptionist’s attention.
“I’ll give you a sign when I’m ready,” she said.
“Just clear your throat or something. Less obvious.”
Marlo took both of my hands. “The second I’m gone, just walk out and wait for me at the elevator. Promise?”
“Since the dinging is the only way I’d ever find my way out of this labyrinth, sure.”
Marlo opened the doors, and we entered the lobby.
“Hi!” Marlo sang out.
“Can I help you?” a female replied in a somewhat snippy, elitist tone.
When she stood up, I froze. Her yellow lizard-like eyes peered at us. And she had the same jagged, scaly skin as Whitmore. What were these reptilian demons all about? Grotesque creatures. They were way worse than the evil Spirit Handlers. Their glinting yellow eyes made my bones shiver from the inside out.
“We’re here to see Professor Whitmore,” Marlo said.
“Do you have an appointment?” It sounded like a challenge.
“Totally!” Marlo said.
I was remarkably impressed with Marlo’s affable, airy-fairy college student impression. Sure, she was adorable, but this dizzy-sounding version of my friend was a far cry from the girl who understood theories about subatomic particles. Whatever that meant.
Marlo didn’t give the receptionist any names or appointment times, she stood there scoping the place. The silence continued, reaching an awkward and uncomfortable level.
“Well?” said the lady, her impatience cutting like a dagger.
Then Marlo cleared her throat.
My cue.
I leaned down closer to Lizard Lady, blocking her view of Marlo, and whispered, “Look, my friend here is a little …” I rolled my finger in a circle next to my temple. “And, well, she’s been driving me nuts about Professor Whitmore. All she wanted was a quick meet and greet, and then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“What are you talking about? Do you have an appointment or not?” the lady snapped.
“That’s the thing.” I glanced over my shoulder to find Marlo gone. “No.”
“Then you and your friend will have to leave.” She peered behind me, and her yellow eyes widened. “Where’s your friend?!”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The girl who was with you. She was standing right there!”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said with a smile. Marlo no longer needed me as a distraction, so I stayed true to my promise and headed out of the office to meet her by the elevator.
“Where are you going?” the lady shouted.
“You just told me I have to leave, so I’m leaving.”
When I reached for the doorknob, someone was entering. Someone with scaly lizard skin and menacing yellow eyes.
Whitmore.
“Stop her!” the receptionist yelled to him.
He grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back—my pitching arm.
“Excuse me! But please remove your hands!” I sneered.
“What’s going on?” he asked the receptionist as he glared down into my eyes. “You were trying to get into my class yesterday. This girl is harassing me. Call campus security, immediately.”
That could only mean one thing … I was being taken away to be locked up with the rest of the missing girls. Probably used for the pending blood sacrifice. This wasn’t the way I’d intended to find out the location. I needed to get out of this trap before it was too late. I smiled at Whitmore, then slammed my foot down on top of his shoe, while simultaneously elbowing him in the gut with my other arm. He released his grip enough for me to wriggle away. I reached for the door and yanked it open, but the receptionist slammed it shut. She cackled dryly.
“They’re already on their way, sir.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sibyl
Whitmore extricated himself from the situation, and Lizard Lady took over. She shoved me into a chair, barricading me with another one of her co-workers. I hoped Marlo had gotten out of Whitmore’s office regardless if she obtained any information on the event location. The campus police arrived within minutes, almost like they were only a few floors down.
“This her?” asked a gruff man.
Smoldering orange flames pumped through his shadowy body and burned in his eye sockets. No surprises there. Whitmore probably had the majority of campus police and administrative officials under his demonic control. If someone like Chief Pike could succumb to an evil plot to sacrifice the entire town, nothing could shock me anymore.
The receptionist stood up, her yellow lizard eyes glaring down at me. “She’s been harassing Professor Whitmore. Another campus stalker. She had a friend with her who has conveniently disappeared. Keep an eye out for a lanky girl with sandy-blond hair.”
“This the one with the sight?” he asked under his breath.
So, they were onto me. My throat burned. This was going south real quick.
In a final attempt to stall the inevitable, I said, “I’m not a stalker. This is just a silly mistake. Let me go, and I won’t come back. I promise.”
Lizard Lady cackled.
The campus policeman’s orange eyes flared up. “Let’s go.”
“Please make sure she never returns,” hissed the receptionist.
I patted my messenger bag and removed one of my baseballs. I turned to hurl it directly at her forehead, but the officer yanked my arms behind my back and slapped on a pair of handcuffs. The ball thumped to the floor, along with any hope of getting out of the situation alive. He pushed me out the door and into the hallway.
“Is this really necessary?” I asked.
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
The walk through the maze of corridors seemed to wind around in circles within circles. I was completely turned around. No longer could I hear the dinging of the elevator. Where was Marlo? Deep down, I called for Vago, wondering if he could hear me. The handcuffs cut into my skin, making even the slightest possibility
of movement impossible. Even if I did miraculously bring my arms to the front of my body and grab a baseball from my messenger bag, I wouldn’t be able to throw anything with my hands locked together like that. No momentum or velocity.
“This way,” he said, yanking my arm.
I stopped and turned around to face his burning orange eyes. “I can’t see, you know.”
He laughed with a snort. “I bet you can see this is the end of the road for you.”
I stared at Officer Douchebag’s burning orbs of orange, refusing to let his false bravado intimidate me. Evil talked a good game, but when it came down to it, these brutes were frightened to their core. Remembering this gave me a boost of confidence, restoring my faith. I wasn’t going to let some low-level demon get into my head. I laughed in his face. He reached out and grabbed my throat, strangling me with his grip. The air got cut off, and his orange eyes started to fade out. My body went limp as I dangled in his tight clasp a few inches off the floor. But I didn’t give up faith. I grinned one last time before everything went completely black. Blacker than my usual landscape of black …
Chapter Twenty
Vago
When I looked at my phone to send a text to Sibyl, I had a slew of emergency texts—all from Marlo—telling me to get to Whitmore’s compound ASAP. The dizzy feeling rushed up over me again. I felt like I was about to puke.
Brooke rubbed my arm. “You’re so pale. You okay?”
“Um, I gotta run. I’ll text you later,” I said, stepping away.
Brooke gave one of those sexy pouts. “I’m busy all afternoon and tomorrow’s booked solid.”
Her dark eyes drew me in as her intoxicating scent wafted across my nose, but my shifter senses started prickling back to life and somewhere in the recess of my mind—or soul—I heard Sibyl’s call. She was in trouble.
“Sorry. I’ll catch up later.” I smiled and sprinted down the path toward the woods where I could shift.
I ran across the grass to the designated spot in the woods we claimed as our meeting place if—when—anything went wrong. Or if we got separated. I ducked behind the largest tree, knowing I’d never get past security even with a student ID. I’d have to get inside Whitmore’s building and breeze by security in my dog form. I was faster that way. I could use my paw to press the elevator button to the top floor where Marlo had instructed me to go. I pulled off my clothes and shoved everything into my bag, hiding it in a bush. I quickly shifted, forgetting about the stitches in my neck. The pain only lasted a few seconds, but I’d have to have Eli heal me up later. If there was a later.
As soon as I was on all fours, I sprinted toward Whitmore’s building at the far end of campus, sticking to the woods to keep out of sight. I didn’t need any college students thinking I was some stray and trying to take me. Whisking through the trees, the slight hint of vanilla and honeysuckle grew stronger. I also caught the pungent metallic scent of fear. I really hated myself for not being more focused. I’d let Sibyl down in a huge way. What was happening to me? The landscape blurred as I pressed on faster and faster. Behind me came the sound of leaves scuffling, along with the padding of paws. My pack was coming to assist.
The sharp pinch of teeth pierced into my back leg. Okay, so not my pack coming to my aid, but the vicious shifter dogs coming to take me down. The pain burned through my muscles, but I kept forging ahead. Sibyl was in trouble. Two of the mangy crimson-eyes mutts flanked me, drool dripping from their jagged teeth, and I sensed more were trailing me.
I howled as I continued zig-zagging through the trees, trying to slow them down a bit. It took all of my super-charged strength to gun ahead and finally reach the clearing near Whitmore’s building. I darted right and charged out of the trees into the bright sunlight, the two mutts still gnashing at my heels. The building stood about twenty yards away. I pulled from my last bit of resources to increase my speed for the last leg. Students leapt out of the way when the train of dogs came bursting across the manicured lawns of Hillside campus. I circled the front of the building, scoping the main entrance. Unfortunately, it was void of students or staff, and since my only hope of getting inside was to bustle in behind someone, I’d need to keep moving until the opportunity arose.
“Vago!” a voice called to me.
It sounded like Marlo, and I think from somewhere above, but I didn’t have time to look up. I looped around the building again. Four more of the evil shifter dogs were now following me. Students yelled and shouted, scurrying to get out of the way of the wild pack of dogs. I heard my name again and quickly glanced up. Marlo stood on the roof, waving me down. Eli stood next to her.
Woof! Woof!
My second of relief slowed me down, giving one of the dogs enough time to snap at my neck. Right on the previous wound! Fiery pain split through me. I pushed ahead because I needed to steer clear so Eli could call down some lightning and get rid of these beasts.
On my third or fourth time around the building, a bunch of people were in the lobby staring outside at the commotion. A security guard with a ginormous rifle was making his way to the entrance. By bullet or bite, I was going down in this fight.
Woof! Woof!
“You gotta move!” Eli shouted.
I looped around the building one more time, and when I came to the front, I did a last-second pivot—throwing off the train of dogs—and leapt over a row of thick bushes along the walkway. I had timed it perfectly so when the security guard opened the front door to shoot me down, I barreled right past him into the lobby. People shrieked as I skidded across the marble floors. But when the sky lit up and streaks of lightning came careening down, blasting the evil dog shifters, the spectators gaped in bafflement. The smell of singed hair and scorched meat carried into the building.
I ran to the elevator, waiting for the door to open. Sibyl was stranded in Whitmore’s office on the top floor, and that’s where I needed to go. The guard with the rifle had gathered himself and was stalking across the lobby, preparing to take aim at me. I needed the elevator to hurry up and come! I pressed the button again.
When the door opened, Sibyl stood before me with her arms cuffed behind her back. A hulking campus police officer lurked behind her. Without hesitation, I pummeled into Sibyl. She fell against the man, knocking him against the wall. Then she flung around and kicked him in the groin. As he bent over wailing, I went right for his neck, bringing him to the floor in seconds.
The elevator doors closed just as the security guard with the rifle fired off a round, hitting the metal wall of the elevator. I used my paw to press the button to the top floor.
“You fools!” the officer moaned, reaching for his gun, but I bit his hand.
“Give me the key to these things,” Sibyl shouted.
“You’ll never get out of this building alive,” he warned.
“Keys,” she repeated. “Or my dog finishes you and I find the keys anyway.”
I growled again. He took the keychain off his belt and tossed it to Sibyl. I kept my snout inches from his face and growled while Sibyl searched for the right key. The elevator had almost reached the top floor, and she still wasn’t out of the cuffs. Shit. Whitmore would probably have more thugs waiting for us. I pressed the red stop button to keep from going any farther. Just as I turned back around, the officer hoisted his gun. Before he could take aim, a blaze of light thwacked into his forehead and a smoldering baseball hit the floor. He fell into a slumped heap.
“Not my best work,” Sibyl said, kneeling down to pet me.
Woof! Woof!
“Where’s Marlo? Please don’t shift back to answer that question. I need you to stay in your dog form if we’re getting out of this one.”
I licked her cheek.
The elevator started buzzing loudly, then jolted and started up again.
Sibyl stood. “We don’t want to go to Whitmore’s floor. Try to make it stop again. Or make it go down.”
Standing on my hind legs, I used my front paws to press every other button on th
e panel. But my efforts were futile; we were moving upward.
“Be ready, buddy. These reptilian demons are demented,” Sibyl warned.
As we braced ourselves for what awaited at the top floor, the entire inside of the elevator was bathed in a blueish-green glow, and Marlo appeared.
“Hold my hand,” she said to Sibyl, then grabbed a clump of fur around my neck, right along the stitches.
I yelped.
“Sorry, Vago,” she said. “Huddle close.”
“I hope this works,” Sibyl said, looking a little worried.
“Just hold tight and don’t let go. No matter what,” Marlo said.
I thought shifting from dog to human and vice-versa was mind-blowing. But that was a day at the beach compared to being disassembled at the subatomic level, moving through time and space, and then reassembling in a different location. My cells exploded into a billion fragments. The world became one giant blurry mess, spinning with nauseating velocity.
Then nothing.
Then everything again.
Like slamming into a cement wall going three-thousand miles per hour. But there I was, standing next to Marlo and Sibyl in our designated meeting place in the woods. Eli rushed over, his blond hair in a haystack and his vintage clothes a disheveled mess. Sibyl’s long hair was windblown. But Marlo looked steady as a straight line.
“That was close, but you’re okay.” Eli pulled Sibyl into his chest.
Woof!
“Glad you’re okay too, buddy.” He kneeled down on the dirt and scratched behind my ears.
Sibyl dropped to her knees. “Whoa … Marlo …”
Whoa was right. That was by far the most intense method of travel I had ever experienced.
Marlo sat next to Sibyl, rubbing her shoulder. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“When did you learn how to do all that?” Sibyl asked.
“Desperate times, desperate measures, etcetera … When I was sleuthing around in Whitmore’s office, I saw what went down with you and the receptionist. So, I got to work and texted the guys,” Marlo explained.
“But how’d you learn to transport other people?” Sibyl asked.
