“You need to show us whatever you wanted us to see before round two get here,” Aaron said to Heather who still didn’t quite seem to understand what it was that enabled him to shoot through the fog that way. Down here, the white patches against endless black, along with the thick cave walls, made X-ray vision almost useless. But from up there, looking down, he could see well enough there was no chance he would’ve hit one of his teammates.
She huffed, knowing he was right. The ground around them was still littered with bodies, but they seemed to be dissipating somehow, not turning to ash but crumbling, merging into the ground. They stepped over them toward the center of the open area as Heather explained, “They don’t die exactly, least I don’t think they do. I swear I’ve killt the same damn hellcat at least ten times. They just have to go back to their starting point and try again or something.”
“How many of the
“A what?” Heather asked, and the others exchanged confused expressions for different reasons altogether. He’d had his hand on that phone the whole time they’d been in there, so if he’d had a text before, he would’ve seen it. This had to be new.“What does it say?” Brandon asked, looking over Dax’s shoulder.Tears were streaming down the kid’s face again. “Hey, babe! I’m so glad you thought to text me. I’m not sure if or when you’ll get this, but you all should know we’re doing everything we can to get you out of there. So just be strong and be careful. I love you so much, and I can’t wait to see you again. I know it’ll be soon. You’ve got some savage protection in there with you. You’re going to be just fine. Don’t worry about me. I love you!”Dax read it again; Aaron could see his eyes wandering back over it. The second he was done, the
Staring at maps, charts, and communication logs all day was making Cadence’s eyes cross, and it seemed like time was crawling by as they all waited for 7:00 to arrive so they could see if they received any more texts from inside the portal. She hoped her text to Aaron was worded in such a way that he’d know she missed him but wouldn’t freak him out any more than necessary either. She’d also sent a text to Elliott and one to Jamie.By 5:00 her eyes were starting to burn and no amount of caffeine was going to keep her awake. Pushing back in her chair, she stared across the table at Cassidy, who looked wide eyed and ready to take on the world. “I think it’s time we headed back to the B and B.” Her sister’s eyebrows raised. “We need to get a few hours of sleep and then see if Holland sends her minions after us.” They’d already decided Cadence, Cassidy, and Ashley, who was sound asleep on the floor at the other end
When she finally opened her eyes again, it was dark outside. She snatched her phone up off of the nightstand and quickly scanned the empty room. Cass wasn’t here. The clock said it was past 11:00. “Holy hell,” she muttered, shocked she’d slept that long.She had a text from Aaron, and the one she’d sent had gone through. “Hey, Mrs. McReynolds. I hope you’re holding up okay. Sorry I didn’t text you sooner. Who knew, right? Anyway, we’re all fine. Heather is here, if you haven’t heard by now. I’m not sure what these kids are sending out. She’s been here a long time and seems to know the place. With her help, I’m sure we’ll find our way out of here in no time. She claims there’s some sort of a key that’s supposed to open a door, but then it also opens by itself every once in a while. We’ve also found a spike in the ground in an open area with a bunch of tunnels heading off in lo
Asteria was on the wrong continent. She should’ve known better than to let Hines plan all of this on his own. While it made sense to her that she should know as little as possible for fear that the stupid girl would somehow discover what they were up to, if they could shield their location, she could shield her thoughts. Now, out of precaution, she’d miss out on Cadence Findley’s capture. The thought sickened her.“Listen, it’s not all that bad,” Hines assured her. “We’ll simply have them bring her to us.”“Do you not recall what happened the last time she was taken prisoner?” Asteria hadn’t been around for that, but she’d heard the stories. Instead of destroying her when he had the chance, Giovani had been foolish enough to try to move her. Of course, she’d escaped, and he’d ended up dead. “No, I am not going to order them to take her hostage when they can end her. I’
The right shoulder of Aaron’s favorite black leather jacket was shredded, claw marks ripping all the way through his shirt beneath, blood stains darkening the white material. But at least his arm was put back together, thanks to Jamie. In the last attack, none of them had gotten by unscathed. Even Heather, who had told them she hardly ever got injured by the bastards anymore, had been bitten pretty badly. Luckily, Jamie’s healing powers worked on Hybrid’s, too. She’d been astounded at how quickly and completely he could mend her shattered hand without even touching her.“They’re getting stronger, more intense,” Elliott noted as they all took refuge in one of the tunnel openings. It was the safest place to be. They could still see the center area where they’d found the spike, and they should be able to make it back out there when they heard the whooshing sound of the portal opening so that they could note which of the tunnels was
It was around 2:00 AM when Cadence felt a stirring in her gut that let her know Holland’s army was on the way. By then, she’d gotten a few texts from her friends on the other side and sent one back—to Brandon’s phone, which didn’t seem right, but she understood Aaron’s reasoning when he said to keep everything going only to one place for now. She hadn’t mentioned the impending attack, only that they would be headed back to KC in the morning to look at the book with Ward and see what they could come up with. What she assumed would be the last text directly from Aaron had said they were working hard to get out of there, and she believed him. Elliott’s had been full of jokes, which was a good thing because there wasn’t much to laugh about, especially not now, as the fluttering in her stomach started to feel less like a summer’s breeze and more like a hurricane. Jamie promised he was keeping them all safe.Cassidy had co
By now, all three girls were free, and Ashley pounced on him, taking care of the remainder of the flesh and muscle of his neck before he also poofed into ash. Cadence surveyed the living room, saw they were clear, and headed for the front door.The Vampires she’d seen on the street were in the yard now. “Head for the car!” she shouted, tossing the keys, and opening fire as her sister and Ashley did as they were told. Cass jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, and Cadence didn’t slow her shots long enough to consider the fact that her sister didn’t have her driver’s license. To her knowledge, Cass had no idea how to drive.Her shots sank into the ten or fifteen Vampires that were headed their direction, slowing but not stopping them. In the distance, she heard heavy gunfire and saw that Job and his people were engaged. It seemed Holland had an endless supply of undead to send their direction.Ashley flung
Time wasn’t on her side, though. Before she could recover, there were three more Vampires baring down on her, two musclebound brutes and a woman who reminded her of Aurora because she was huge and probably just as strong as the men. “Did someone call in the brute squad?” she said as she regained her footing.“We are here to destroy you,” the woman said through clenched teeth.“Not today,” Cadence replied, though she didn’t feel quite so confident that that wouldn’t be the case when one of the men grabbed her right arm, her stabbing arm. She reached for her Glock and fired directly into his face, but it did no good, and the other man easily disarmed her as the woman stepped in.She knew this move. She’d performed this move a hundred times before, though the two people she usually worked with were not here. The two men were intending to hold her arms while the woman grabbed her neck and twisted—unti