“Miss, it’s too dangerous for you to go in there alone. We can…”
“Stay. That’s an order.” Warm, salty liquid ran from her nose to her lips, and she tasted blood, wiped it away. She was too close to stop now. And if she could get Matthew out without risking anyone else’s life, especially Falden’s—
Her heart squeezed painfully. No, not especially Falden. Any of the Caldorians. Or human police, for that matter. “Stay outside until the other Caldorians arrive.”
“Fuck.” The second guard fought her, but in the end the energy waves sank into his skin and his gaze went slack. “We will guard the door.”
“Perfect.” Not waiting, Isabella stepped inside to the sound of screams. Shots fired. More screams.
The warehouse had been turned into a dance club with an open floor and balconies on three levels overlooking the open center. The dance floor was empty of partygoers. The real action wouldn’t start until after dark, when the drunks, drug dealers and people looking for a good time flowed through the front doors. Ten paces to the first corner. When she rounded it, chaos greeted her. Spider fired his weapon gleefully at anything and everything that moved…and there was plenty of movement. A quick count and she estimated at least twenty guards, aliens, whatever they were, all running toward them from various hallways and balconies within the building.
The basement would be down below, no doubt crawling with more Darkoor. Right now she was after Matthew. She’d worry about taking down the blood market, black market, fucking aliens-eating-people market later.
Spider was three-quarters of the way up the stairs where he’d said they were keeping Matthew. Bhaosz was kneeling at the landing, covered in blood, body parts from…someone…ripped and torn by his nightmare-inducing teeth as she watched.
“Bhaosz! Keep going.”
“Hungry!” His roar was defiant, and the pain in her head was making it difficult to see. She stumbled up the stairs past him, following Spider.
“Bhaosz, kill anyone who follows me up the stairs.”
“Hungry.” His face was coated in blood. All traces of the civilized creature were lost to the madness she saw in his reptilian eyes.
“Kill anyone who follows me,” she repeated more forcefully.
He stared at her, obvious hunger in his gaze, then dismissed her as he took another bite.
Shit. Had she lost him? She didn’t know. Didn’t have time to waste. She’d lost sight of Spider.
Nausea gripped her hard at the smell of blood, the sound of rending flesh, of Bhaosz’s gleeful gulping and slurping.
Was he eating that person whole? She gagged, held down the contents of her stomach as the alien’s throat expanded around his food, making quick work of an entire arm, shoulder and all. And not from a small man.
“Oh my God.”
Tripping over her own feet, she fell to her knees on the stairs and scrambled away from Bhaosz, who was already tearing off the opposite arm of his dinner.
Running her hands against the wall for balance, she climbed back to her feet and moved as quickly as she could up the stairs. Ahead of her, the sound of yelling, of screaming, of weapons firing came to an abrupt halt.
“Spider?” she whispered, desperate for some sign that all was not lost.
“He’s dead.”
The voice was booming, large, as if a giant spoke. Then she saw the creature. Huge, a head again taller than the Caldorians, with skin stretched tight, blacker than black, its body absorbing all light. Within its sunken face, evil eyes burned with angry intent. Soulless. Predators in the wild killed for survival. This…thing killed for pleasure, she was sure. Instead of eyebrows, rounded bone protruded from the skin, the white nearly blinding in the darkened hall. Jagged bones formed a white line along the cheeks and around the mouth, down its chest.
Isabella backed up, only stopping when she hit the wall. She couldn’t get enough air, terrified by the gruesome creature in front of her. She blinked several times, hoping she was hallucinating. Shadows danced on the walls, screams echoing eerily in the stairwell. “Tell me where Matthew is,” she commanded, her voice shimmering through the air.
“You already know where he is.” The creature countered, defying her with ease.
She tried to get a grip on the wall, but there was nothing to hold on to as her nails scraped over old paint and dirt. “You will take me to him now, and then you will escort us outside, unharmed.”
“So the little Caldorians can save you?” The creature snickered, ignoring her command.
Real fear settled around her like a cloak. Her whole body trembled. Caldorians weren’t little. They were huge. Well over six feet tall. Muscled. Strong. But then, the terrifying creature in front of her was easily two of them put together. “Who are you?”
The creature’s eyes narrowed angrily. “I am the boss here. And you, Isabella Serrano of Earth, are causing problems.”
“I’m sorry.” She lied, her heart hammering in her chest as she inched closer to the door on the left. Where Matthew had to be. He had to. If she could just get to him, she could use her voice one more time and get them out of there.
She inched past Spider’s dead body and glanced away, ashamed of what she’d done to him. He was a bad man, a very bad man, but she was responsible for his death, wasn’t she? The door was close now. She reached for the knob. Turned. The door swung open on silent hinges.
Peeking in, she saw the boy’s head resting on his arm. He appeared to be unconscious, laid out on a sleeping bag covered in filth.
“Matthew?” She backed into the room, determined to reach him. She couldn’t afford to panic. Not now. Once she had him, she would get them both out of there. She’d find a way. Use her voice. Use the power that had turned Spider and Bhaosz into weapons.
Sliding
