Every second I’m in here makes me tense, but Lily and her friends feel safer here than they do outside. Funny how that works.
After a few minutes, the pair arrived at a triple junction. One of the paths branched off to a much smaller tunnel.
Shay pointed at the smaller tunnel. “What’s with that?”
“Oh, that leads to where the escape tunnels meet the old subway tunnels. They connect in several places.”
“It’s just weird thinking about how many large, strange openings into the darkness exist under cities.” Shay snickered.
A distant rumble shook the tunnel.
Shay groaned and braced herself against the nearby wall. “Seriously? An earthquake now?”
Lily shook her head. “Not an earthquake.”
The tremor grew in strength, shaking the entire tunnel, and a loud whoosh joined the shaking.
“What the fuck is that?” Shay shouted above the whoosh.
The whoosh changed pitch and grew distant, and the shaking began to subside.
“Express train,” Lily explained.
“Express train?” Shay blinked and stared at Lily. “Underground, in abandoned tunnels?”
“Perfect place for the magicals’ express train to Europe, don’t you think? No one comes poking around and they use spells to keep the shaking from reaching anyone’s machines, so no one ever comes looking.” Lily shrugged. “Or that’s at least what Harry told me.”
“Not like the cops or anyone else has come down here, so someone must be doing something right.”
Lily held a hand up, and Shay stopped. The tomb raider went for her gun, but Lily shook her head.
“It’s nothing dangerous,” the teen elf explained. “It’s just…we’re close to where Harry and the rest are camped for the night. If I come walking in with a stranger, everyone will scatter. By the time we get it all explained, everyone will be freaked out.”
“But I’ve met Harry, and they’ve seen me.”
“Some have. It doesn’t matter. We have to be careful. Instincts. I just don’t want everyone all spun up.” She shrugged.
Shay shook her head. “You don’t have to sleep in these tunnels, Lily. You can come sleep in the warehouse—for a few nights at least.”
“I don’t need to. I have a place to stay and friends.”
“It’s hard for me just to turn around and leave you here, and not help you fix things.”
Lily shook her head. “You still don’t get it. There’s nothing that needs fixing.” She sighed. “I’ll see you soon.”
An owl hoot echoed through the tunnels.
They have owls down here?
Lily’s eyes widened, and she took off running with a panic-stricken look on her face.
Chapter Three
Shay blinked. “What the fuck?”
She wasn’t sure why an owl had freaked the girl out so much, but there was no way she’d abandon Lily because a few teens might get scared. The tomb raider sprinted after the Gray Elf.
A wereowl? Is there such a thing? I’ve heard of bird shifters and bird creatures, but I don’t know.
The teen didn’t look back. She kept running through the tunnels until she hit a junction with four new tunnels.
Shay skidded to a stop, now even more confused. Harry stood panting in the middle of the junction, and sweat dripped down his face.
The boy turned to Lily. “Thank God you heard the distress call. Never know how far it’s going to reach.”
Footsteps echoed down the tunnels. Shay reached for her gun then dropped her hand as several more teens rushed into the junction. Shay recognized some of them, but not all. She assumed they were all part of Harry’s merry little band.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked.
Harry sucked in a breath. “A group was out scavenging supplies, but they’re in trouble. Some bounty hunters are on their tail. Nasty guys.”
“Scavenging?” Shay arched a brow. “Bounty hunters don’t come after people for picking cans. You sure you’ve got that right?”
The teen shrugged. “Look, we take what we need to survive. A lot of people out there have more than they need.”
“So you mean you were stealing.”
His defiant eyes locked with Shay’s. “I’m not apologizing for doing what we need to.”
“I’m not asking you to, Harry. I’m just trying to get a feel for what’s going on.”
I shouldn’t get involved. This isn’t my business. If I get wrapped up with bounty hunters, it might lead to trouble and cause the wrong people to look my way.
Harry nodded to Lily and the new arrivals. “We need to get going. I know a shortcut we can use to catch up, but we don’t have much time.”
Shay sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.
Am I really going to let some bounty hunters beat down a bunch of desperate homeless kids? It’s not like I can judge them for stealing. I was murdering people for money when I was their age. They’re fucking saints compared to me then and now.
“I’ll help,” Shay announced. “I can deal with a bounty hunter or two.” She nodded toward the other teens. “And I’m more than enough to help you out. More people just means more targets for the bounty hunters, and I guarantee I have a lot more experience fighting than any of you.”
Lily blinked, then smiled. “Thanks, Shay.”
“Fine,” Harry shouted. “But we need to go now.” He pointed at a wispy blonde girl. “Casey, you come, too. We might need a little witch help.”
The girl nodded.
Harry ran off, and the other three fell in behind him. The boy ran like a rocket, not explaining anything as he sprinted from tunnel to tunnel and passed through forks and junctions. The footsteps and heavy breaths of the group echoed, along with the occasional splash as they struck puddles.
They have the run of the city under here. They could do some seriously dangerous shit if they wanted.
Harry’s shortcut brought them to a tall ladder that he scurried up. Lily followed, then Casey. Shay brought up the rear.
When Harry reached the top, he hit what appeared to be a sealed manhole
