Only a few yards down the steep sloped shaft, our advance team reached a bend. They tossed phosphorescent light tubes around the corner before daring the turn. We followed, lining the walls with brighter light blocks. Enough light to make sure there weren’t any crevices or nooks where something could hide.
Searching involved more than sight. Ci’in had different abilities than Kwia. We could sense the presence of the Maxa’xak and their offspring. The Maxa’xak had inhabited this tunnel long enough its foul energy permeated the walls, antagonizing our energy, giving us all a soft glow of warning.
Looking at my hands, I knew it was a good thing my Rising came so late. If I’d lit up on our first encounter with these people, we’d have been shot right there.
Thinking of Lutz got him glimmering next to me, earning expletives from the team.
Chucky turned around to see what was wrong, leveling his weapon. “Who’s this?”
“This is Sgt. Brandon Lutz, my partner.”
“Her dead partner.” Casey elaborated.
“Ouch, dude! Don’t you think that’s a bit insensitive?”
“Really?” Chucky glared at Lutz. “How long has he been here?”
Lutz snickered wickedly. “Dude, I’ve been hanging around all night, waiting for you people to get here.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Now maybe I can lend a hand.”
“Like what? Can you go see what the Maxa’xak is doing?”
“No, he can’t.” Casey and I both answered at the same time, earning Casey a glare for keeping Lutz secret.
“Ease up, bro. I can go a little ways ahead, all within the life-force energies thing.”
“Well, that could be helpful. Get up there, soldier.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He said it with a wink and took off at a trot, in full view this time.
I got curses in my headset from Frankie, and laughter from Casey. I gave him the eye now. “Maybe I should have sent you to do introductions.
“Like you didn’t do that to him on purpose.” Chucky sniped as he took the wall across from me.
I tapped my com. “He wants to help. Make sure we don’t walk into a trap.” Almost as soon as I said it, a stop order came through our headset. I listened to part of a message before Lutz reappeared.
“Take cover! Percussion grenade.”
I stuck my fingers in my ears, everyone else quick to do the same, dropping down and facing the wall. An explosion sent a cloud of dust rolling up to us. We barely waited for it to clear before we were moving, weapons ready as we heard shots fired.
Chucky pushed me back into Casey as we reached our advance team. The shooting had stopped and they had dropped to defensive positions, weapons pointed into the darkness just beyond a new glow stick.
Four men lay dead against the walls. Lutz reappeared. “That cleared the next bend. You can see what’s in the rooms now.”
Frankie stood up. “Thanks, sergeant.” I got a sideways growl from him. “Anymore friends you want to introduce?”
“Hey, you almost walked into them.” Lutz came to my defense.
“Rooms?” I raised my voice over them both, shaking loose of Casey.
Frankie backed down and took his team, now including Lutz ahead, then gave us an all clear. We turned the corner to find a widened section of the tunnel, with metal doors cut into the walls.
Not human height, but half as high. Their color was the same as the rock and they had a coating of dust from the explosion.
Lutz reappeared. “There’s more as we go deeper, but I can only go so far ahead of you. Unless someone I know joins the advance team.” Lutz pointed to Casey. “I need energy to feed off of.”
“Will do.”
“NO!” I answered at the same time Casey agreed. I couldn’t let Beth out, but she was alarmed, as was I. “You know Frankie now. Use his energy.”
“It has to be someone I knew when I was alive.” Lutz shrugged. “Manifesting 201.”
“Not funny. I’m not letting you get yourself shot. You’re not even supposed to be here.”
“As your husband, I am.” Casey checked his weapon, then his vest. “Come on.” He jerked his head Lutz. “Let’s expand your territory.”
Before I could keep arguing, they moved around Chucky, who squinted at me.
“Shut up.” I glared back, knowing he was about to admonish me for being too human. It wasn’t the first time either. How frequently had the fates put us into the same family? Fates being the Great Mother. She had more of a sense of humor than the Great Father who was off somewhere throwing random energies together to see what happened.
We hunkered down as Lutz brought Casey’s reports. A few more percussion grenades went off. They cleared the tunnel a hundred feet deeper and were ready to hold the tunnel.
I turned to the first door.
CHAPTER
33
I ran my hands over the door, but felt no active bad Spirits on the other side. I stood back to let several Kwia surrounded the door. Two stood ready with weapons cocked, the third opened the door from behind and tossed in a light stick. There was the sound of scurrying, then stillness.
“Come out, now. Hands on your heads.” Chucky shouted. Nothing happened.
“In Spanish.” I didn’t hold back the sarcasm.
Chucky repeated himself slowly and hands poked out of the hole, then a man’s face. He did as he was told, crawling through the low door on his knees, hands on his head. A woman crawled out after him on all fours, her eyes wide as she blinked and looked around at us. She started rattling off pleas in Spanish, crying.
“Shhh. We’re here to get you out.” I didn’t wait for my warriors to figure out what to say, Spanish being one of the many languages I knew. I reached a hand out to her, but first let it graze over the man’s upraised arm. No glow. “Come on.”
She avoided my hand,
