by Heather Karn
Luella tapped a manicured finger against her lips. When had she managed that? "And is it always just men who compete?"
"Usually. It's traditionally a few single males from each House since it's a way they can show off for the single females."
"And you're not entering?" I asked him, a bit shocked he hadn't signed up.
Tanner snorted and shook his head. "Do you see the size of some of those males? I wouldn't stand a chance, so there's no reason to embarrass myself. I may not be the weakest among us, but half of them could eat me for lunch. Nope, I'll rely on my good looks and charm to find the right female."
Our group laughed and watched the first man lay back on the bench and lift the bar. To my relief, someone was assigned as spotter to keep the man from being crushed when the weight got to be too heavy and he couldn't lift it or control the bar. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the event much before Raven lifted, but I soon found myself cheering with the others, much as I had the day before. It didn't matter that these men weren't from my House, or they weren't Raven, but the cheers seemed to spur them onward. I also didn't mind cheering for the others because I knew Raven would win.
Over an hour later and Raven was up. A hush fell over the room. The other men were strong, but they didn't have the added nutrients in their blood to make them even stronger. Heck, I probably could've lifted more than some of the men if I'd applied the power in my blood.
Murmurs started around us, and I picked out several people stating that Raven had no right to participate without being a member of any House. I would've corrected them, especially since Raven had tucked his pendant inside his shirt, but there was no need. Duchess announced every participant as he took his place, and she did so now.
"Raven Cartana, representing Third House."
A hush fell over the crowd, like a calm before the storm. I waited for the inevitable outburst, but it never came. Unlike the cheers that had gone up for the other contestants, the group was unnaturally quiet, likely all wondering when and how he'd ended up a member of my House. Well, this silence was rude and wouldn't do.
"You go, Raven! Kick some butt!" I shouted into the silence, which was followed by a two fingered whistle from Lee.
"Don't make me come over there and show you up," Jackson yelled from behind me. Before Shannon could react, he squished himself between Lee and I. "Don't make me decide that I don't know you."
"That's not helpful," Shannon muttered, even though Raven's chuckle echoed off the rock surrounding us. "You can do it, Raven!"
"Go get 'em, Captain!" Luella shouted, using Raven's Elite title, and looking smug that she'd done it since several people near us turned curious stares at her.
"Captain?" Tanner's voice was curious as he watched the first weights being placed on the bar.
"He's going to kill you," Avery snickered, "and I'm going to enjoy watching it."
"Least he'll be less grumpy now." Luella winked at me, and I grinned back, not the least bit embarrassed by her hinting. "And it's about time people know what he's doing to try to help them. Yes, Tanner, Raven is a Captain. He's our team leader for the Elite, and he's well respected, even among those above him in rank. In the last ten years, he's achieved more awards and medals than anyone his age in the Elite, but he'll never tell anyone about it because he's actually quite humble. Raven's a hero on the surface. In fact, all the vamlure working for the Elite are. They've adapted, and they're respected, and they've earned that respect."
I'd never heard Luella talk about Raven like that. Usually she was too busy pushing his buttons to compliment him, but from the seriousness of her set jaw, she meant every word she said. Luella's words had also carried in the room. Raven had heard them for sure if he was listening. Avery was right. He was going to kill her.
Trying not to laugh at how their confrontation would end, I called out more, as did the rest of the team. Soon enough, others had joined us, and when Raven bypassed the most weight lifted and had barely broken a sweat, more cheers rang out. If these people couldn't see how weak they were and the dangerous position that left them in, they could now.
By the time Raven quit, they were almost out of weights to add to the bar and Raven was soaked in sweat. I doubted it was actually too heavy for him, but he probably wanted out of the spotlight. From the look on Alexander's face, it almost killed him to have to name Raven the winner. The other contestants were the first to reach him, offering their own congratulations and asking him how he'd done it. I stood back with the team until the masses parted so he could join us.
"Don't you dare hug me," I warned, lifting a hand up in time to keep him from doing just that. The sly grin on his face said he'd planned on a hug, likely a big one.
"Party pooper," he teased, in an almost un-Raven-like way. His eyes sought out Luella, who stood behind me, and his smile faded a notch. "I'm not sure you've ever given me a compliment."
She shrugged. "Well, after what you've been putting up with here, you earned it. And don't grow used to it. That was the one and only you'll get from me for a while. Go clean up. You stink." Waving her hand in front of her nose for added affect, Luella stepped aside.
Without another word, but a wink for me, Raven left to shower and clean up. He wasn't gone two minutes before Edgar found me. His body was tense as he searched the crowd before focusing on me.
"I'm here to tell you that the House council meeting has been moved up a few hours. We're convening now. Please, follow me."
Of course they were meeting now. How convenient when the one man I wanted there with me had left to clean up and wouldn't know the meeting had been rescheduled. Edgar hadn't said the rules had changed, so I turned to Avery. He'd be my other adviser, and he knew it. Avery nodded before I turned a frantic stare on Jackson. The wolf didn't even need me to tell him to go find Raven. He was already moving before I'd met his gaze.
I'd never seen anyone strip so fast and shift at the same time. A pile of clothes was the only remains of the shifter even as he raced through the crowd, dodging through whatever openings he could find. With any luck, he'd find Raven and they'd join us before we reached the meeting location.
Turning back to Edgar, I met his stern gaze with a smirk. "Okay, then. Lead the way."
Avery followed behind me as I kept pace with Edgar. Kayla joined us on the outskirts of the large room, near a tunnel I hadn't explored yet. She appeared suspicious and concerned, watching the other male Heads of the Houses with a close eye as Edgar excused himself to speak with them. That wasn't comforting, and even more I wished Raven was at my back as well.
"What's going on?" I whispered to her in a soft tone I hoped wouldn't carry.
"I don't know, and when they all become secretive, nothing good comes of it."
The words had barely left her mouth when Caramel, the female Head of Fifth House, joined us, putting herself between us and the males. "I just overheard them speaking, and I don't like it, Kayla. I'm not sure what their end game is, but we've got to start standing up for ourselves."
And this wasn't good.
"What's going on?" Kayla asked the woman. "What did you hear?"
"They were talking about digging out another tunnel for Third House, and I didn't catch it all, but it sounds like they're not going to allow Koda to leave. Ever."
Kayla's face paled. "They can't do that. It's not their right."
"I know, but they're sure going to try. She has to leave. Now. Right now."
A hand came down on my shoulder, and I barely held in a squeak as I recognized Avery's voice in my ear. "Come on. We're moving out." He turned to the two women. "Buy us time. Tell Edgar that Koda had to use the bathroom and will be right back. Trust me, it's a viable excuse."
It was, which was still humiliating.
With a hand on the small of my back to guide me and keep us connected, Avery followed me back through the crowd, which parted easily for me. The rest of our team hadn't moved, their worried gazes searching for Raven, but also keeping an eye on me. When they saw u
s coming, something in my expression, or Avery's, sparked them to move. Lee led the way toward the tunnel, with the girls following. Even Tanner joined them.
By the time we made it to the tunnel, Raven and Jackson were racing toward us. Raven opened his mouth, but Avery growled, "Not now. Turn around. Hustle like your life depends on it."
Raven grabbed my wrist and yanked me into a run, the others fanning out behind me. We made for our room, our feet thumping against the stone floor. I'd learned from the others during our hotel stays to always make sure your bag was packed, just in case you had to leave in a hurry. Now, I was glad for that advice. It made escaping that much faster.
"What happened?" Raven hissed after he'd grabbed his bag and the others raced to position their weapons.
"Let's just say I can see how you and your dad have a rocky relationship, and unless we want Koda stuck here forever, we need to get her to the surface as fast as possible. I don't care if it's the same way we entered, but we have to leave. Now." Avery finished adjusting the knives he'd strapped to his thighs, his voice barely controlled panic. He was our calm one. That didn't help settle anyone's nerves.
"Let's go. There are more ways in and out, but we'll need the truck. We'll be racing time, so keep moving." Raven turned to Tanner. "Stay or come with us, I don't care, but you have to make that choice right now."
"I'm coming with you," Tanner blurted without hesitation. "You don't know what it's like down here anymore."
"All right. Follow me."
Opening the door, I almost squeaked when three vamlure came into focus. Slapping a hand over my mouth, I fought to control my heartbeat. Legion stood in front of Kindee and Rashel, his facial features stoic.
"Sorry, we eavesdropped. We're coming too."
Raven turned to me, and with a curt nod, our group was three more strong. There was no time left. At first we kept up a steady, speedy walk so we didn't appear suspicious, but when we'd passed out of the main tunnels used for the festival gatherings, we bolted. As our feet smacked the stone again, I prayed we hadn't lost too much time. After all, it didn't take that long to use the bathroom.
Chapter 17
It didn't take long to remember that it had taken us hours to reach the vamlure festival meeting point. More than half a day of walking was still going to take us time and energy, and I wasn't sure how many of our new companions could keep up. They were weaker because of lack of nutrition, so it was possible they'd fall behind in no time, but they shocked me by keeping our pace.
Raven led the group, keeping his hand tight around mine in a solid grip. After we'd put quite a distance between us and the festival area, he'd slowed us to a jog for ten minutes and a sprint for ten minutes. We'd been repeating it ever since.
"Okay, stop," Raven directed, slowing his brisk pace to a slow walk. "Let's have a breather. Keep moving, but stay close."
"How much further?" Lee gasped. It didn't surprise me that he was in the same condition as the other vamlure. He was in great physical health and muscular, but he wasn't a shifter or healthy vamlure. Our two magic users weren't in much better shape.
"We're over halfway," Raven responded, moving faster.
"A little over halfway, or a lot?"
"That depends on your definition of those words."
I scowled at him. "How much longer?"
"At the pace we've been keeping, two hours."
"So, really, we're almost there?" My heart lightened from the thought. We could do it. We were so close.
Raven shrugged. "We are, and it's at this point I need to verify with our vamlure counterparts if they're certain they want to come with us."
"We do," Tanner stated from the rear with firm determination.
Without warning, Raven stopped and pivoted on his heel to face his cousin. Those behind Raven barely had time to stop before smacking into him, and me. When Raven met Tanner's gaze, his eyebrows were low and his mouth tipped down, but it was the sorrow in his eyes that stood out the most.
"You do realize that if you come with us-."
"That I'll be disowned?" Tanner supplied, interrupting Raven. He shrugged. "Yeah, I know that, and I'm willing to accept that consequence. You don't know what it's like down here anymore, Raven. It might as well be a graveyard. The House Heads tell us they're protecting us from the danger above, but ignore the deaths below. We can't keep living like this, or we'll just add our bodies to the death tolls."
"I don't want to die giving birth to a child," Rashel murmured, stroking her stomach. My eyes widened. Was she saying she was pregnant?
Legion placed an arm around his mate's shoulders. "And I can't bear to lose her or our child. Please, do not question our decision to leave with you. It isn't spur of the moment. We spoke about it after we met Koda and Shannon. From what we've seen of those who live on the surface, it's not all bad."
"We'll take our chances up above," Kindee agreed, eyeing the tunnel behind us. "Can we keep going please? I think I hear voices."
Jackson retreated to the back of the group, his ears perked. A few seconds later, he whipped his head around and nodded and gave a sharp yip. It wasn't like those behind didn't know we were running in the tunnel.
"Luella, slow them down," Raven ordered, but the naiad was already reaching for her pack, the one she carried water in.
Grabbing the first bottle she found, Luella twisted the lid and threw the water behind us. As it fell, the water droplets flattened and merged, forming a twenty-foot-long flat layer that hit the ground without a splash. With one touch of her finger, the water turned to glassy black ice...ice those who raced after us wouldn't see until they hit it and their legs flew out from under them. Too bad we wouldn't be here to watch that.
Luella hadn't even stood straight again before Raven was tugging me along after him. We hadn't gone far when yelling broke out behind us, spurring our group to move faster, even when half the group could barely gasp in enough air. Even my lungs were burning and my legs a shaky mess when Raven slowed us down at the stairs leading up into the house we'd entered to descend into this pit of snakes. When the reason I'd come down here registered, I had to bite back a cry of sorrow. I hadn't even gotten to tell Gerald goodbye. Maybe it was best. He'd given his message, but I knew we both had wanted some time to talk about my father, him to relive the memories, and me to know about them. Now, I'd never know. But, I'd gained some knowledge, so I'd have to take that and be happy.
"They're coming," Jacks yelled from the rear of the line, and I made certain not to look over my shoulder, although he'd likely shifted back to his fur the next instant after speaking.
Raven pressed in some stones against the wall on his side and the door slid open, nearly blinding me with the sun's light, even though it was setting. Having spent too much time underground, my eyes had readjusted to the dark. With how profusely Raven was blinking, his had done the same.
"Team, grab a vamlure and help them to the truck. Their eyes may not be able to handle the sun. Vamlure, keep your eyes closed for now if you have to." Raven tugged me behind him again, racing through the dilapidated house with ease.
"Your dad has a crappy security system," I called to Raven as he dug the truck keys from his pocket. With a few clicks of the fob, the doors were unlocked, but he had to stop to unlock the tailgate.
"They rarely have to try to keep people in," he retorted, throwing his bag into the truck bed. "Belongings in here, and everyone squeeze together up front. Sit on one another if you must."
He wanted us all to fit in the cab? This was going to be an even tighter ride than our way here, and definitely not legal. Jackson whined as he trotted to the front passenger's side, and it wasn't until a grinning Avery joined him in feline form that I understood. Both shifters would be taking up residence on the floorboards of the truck.
Grabbing the door handle, I pulled the passenger door open and climbed inside to the center seat again. Raven was already shoving the key in the ignition when Shannon hopped up inside and slid in beside me,
and first Jackson jumped into the cab, followed by Avery, who proceeded to lay on the wolf shifter. With the two laying at our feet and knees, there was absolutely no room for Shannon and I to move, not that we'd be able to with their combined weight pressing against our legs.
"I can't see," Kindee cried when Lee lifted her into the truck. "What is this?"
"A truck. Hurry, stand up." He climbed inside and then pulled the girl onto his lap. "Just sit here and you'll be fine.” I would've found him holding a girl on his lap a bit uncalled for if the other men in the group, not already in the front seat, didn't have women on their laps as well. If we weren't running, I was sure Luella would've loved that Tanner was holding her, but she was too busy watching the house out the back window of the cab.
"They're outside," she warned. "But they're having a hard time seeing. Go, go."
Raven tore out of the vacant lot beside the house, the bumpy lawn tossing us all around until we reached the less bumpy dirt road that led past the house. As the distance separating us from the other vamlure grew, I breathed easier. I wasn't the only one. Shannon sighed beside me before taking my hand. It wasn't until Raven pulled onto a paved highway and increased his speed that more than one sigh of relief spread throughout the truck.
"Okay, boss, let's regroup," Luella stated, leaning forward on Tanner's lap so her head rested between me and Shannon. She stared out the windshield with us as the sun continued to set. "We have four vamlure refugees, and we have vital information that the Elite are going to need to know. Also, we are currently breaking way too many laws, one being that you're speeding."
My eyes flicked to the speedometer. Luella was right. We were flying down the road a good twenty miles an hour over the speed limit. Normally I wouldn't have minded, but she was right: we were already breaking too many laws, and I wasn't sure how far being Elite would get us if some officer pulled us over. With a rumbled growl, Raven backed off the accelerator until we were careening ten miles over the limit.
