“You’ll have to point them out to me.” She swung into a side street, making my tires squeal. The houses and businesses were transforming to larger buildings, and my ears pricked towards the window as I tried to make them out. “You good for anything, fox, or are you just going to get eaten?”
Merric bit his lip, though I noticed a distinct lack of fear on his face. “I’ll cheer you on and uh, I can at least point out when there’s some illusioning going on.”
Yuna rolled her eyes, stomped on the gas pedal, and nearly knocked over a garbage can.
Chapter 17
Thanks to her driving, we were at the warehouse in only a few more minutes. As soon as she threw my SUV into park, I jumped out, landing hard, and searched for any sign of life or a struggle.
But there was nothing.
The whisper of metal caught my attention, and Yuna drew the katana from the sheath on her back, holding it at her side. I had been so caught up that I hadn’t even noticed the woman had a sword on her.
“Is that a sword?” Merric yipped, veering away from her to stand beside me.
She glared at him, but didn’t reply. Instead she pushed her hair over her shoulder and gestured for us to follow her.
We did, the fox and I staying a few steps behind the black haired woman as she approached the large concrete building. I couldn’t hear anything, other than Merric’s unquiet steps, but stuck close to Yuna just the same.
“What does your friend smell like?” Yuna breathed, looking over the dark building. The only source of brightness was the orange glow coming from a single light over a slightly-ajar door.
“A hellhound?” I offered uncertainly. Should I say that he smelled of comfort? That he smelled faintly of cologne and always just a bit like Cian?
She sighed but went to the door, putting a hand against it just as a low, agonized call sounded from inside.
That sounded like Indra.
I gasped, hand going to my mouth, and both of them looked to me.
“What?” Yuna asked.
“What do you mean ‘what?’ That sounded like my friend!” Without waiting I pushed past her, shoving the door open and allowing the bit of light from outside to filter into the building.
It was empty.
Only trash littered the floor, and graffiti decorated the walls, from what I could see.
Yuna hissed and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to her. “There was no sound!” she snapped.
I shook my head, already summoning The Devil to my hand. “I heard him,” I promised.
“No, I’m with the cecaelia,” Merric said with a flick of his hand showing he meant Yuna. He smiled nervously as he stepped into the warehouse, ears flat on his head. “No one called out or anything.”
She looked at him, surprised by his words, but didn’t speak
“I promise you, I heard him. I’m not lying–“
“Give me your phone,” Yuna ordered brusquely.
I glared at her. “Why? This isn’t the time! My friends are in trouble, Yuna! If you aren’t going to help–“
She lunged, hitching her sword under her arm so that she could simultaneously grab me by my shirt and dig her hand into my pocket to wrestle my phone from me.
Yuna succeeded, while Merric watched rather unhelpfully, and swiped the screen. Her brows furrowed.
“Where’s the text your friend sent you?” she demanded, still holding onto my shirt and preventing me from running further into the building.
“It’s the top text. It’s from Indra.”
She glanced at me, then looked back to my phone.
“No, it’s not.”
“Let me see?” Merric held his hand out to her and she dropped my phone into his palm.
He lifted it up, the glow lighting up his face and bathing it in a blue light. The uneven light gave his eyes the look of burning bright yellow, instead of their normal muddy brown.
Finally he handed my phone back to me gingerly, and looked at Yuna.
“There was no call.” Merric’s words were slow. The woman still wasn’t letting go and held my gaze with her own. “And no message.”
“What?” My lips felt numb. “No, that can’t be right.“
The door slammed behind Merric, prompting him to stumble into us with a yelp.
It also threw the building into a near pitch-black that my eyes could not penetrate.
“Clever cecaelia.” The voice echoed in the room, a low purr, and finally Yuna let go of my shirt. “Too bad you did not notice sooner.”
I swallowed around my racing heart, fingers clenched on the glass of my phone. Fear like cold fingers trailed down my spine.
“Where’s Indra?” I called, voice shaky. “And the others?”
Someone laughed; fingers brushed my arm and I gasped. Merric squawked as I stumbled into him, jumping back from me.I was panicking now, eyes scanning the darkness like I’d magically be able to see clearly. Calm down, calm down, I chanted in my head, trying to wrestle my heart under control.
“They’re home, I should think. Looking for ways to find me.” Her voice echoed through the room, seeming to come from everywhere around me. I should’ve paid attention to Marin’s advice and gone home.
They had never been here at all.
The revenge-seeking vampires had lured me into a trap.
Light suddenly flooded the room and Yuna yelled a warning that I was too slow to heed. The fully shifted wendigo was beside me and he screamed, knocking me to the floor easily. Why wasn’t he dead? Yuna had put a hand through his chest but that apparently hadn’t slowed him down for long. Spittle flew from his wide jaws as he roared directly in my face, causing a shriek to ascend my throat as my heart nearly stopped from fear.
Yuna yelled, having found an enemy of her own while Merric backed towards the door, ears flattened and fear plain on his face.
This had been such a bad idea. I hadn’t wanted to lead him into this kind of danger.
There were nine figures in the room, though most of them had found comfortable seats as if they were
