“If you don’t hear from them in fifteen minutes, come down and find us,” Malachi continues, and Dante nods.
I don’t like that we’re already splitting up before we even reach the lab, but this isn’t their first mission. Maybe this kind of thing happens often. I want to object, but it’s not the time. We have a leader for a reason, and I know Aurora and Alex can take care of themselves.
Malachi looks over at me, blinks once, and then starts down the ladder. I don’t wait to see who wants to go next. I grab the ladder and start lowering myself behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
LOG TWENTY-EIGHT – EMOTIONAL PARASITE: THE MORE TIME WE SPEND WITH HER, THE LESS I TRUST MY OWN THOUGHTS. ARE THEY MINE, OR HERS PLACED CAREFULLY WITHIN ME?
My feet hit the ground,and I quickly take in the surroundings. To my right is simply a black brick wall, damp and musty smelling. It’s warmer down here but slightly suffocating. To my left is a round concrete tunnel with a door at the end. Little light-blue LED lights on both sides of the path lead all the way to the large metal door.
I step away from Malachi and over to the wall, pacing a bit while the others slowly make their way down. I quickly focus and call Damien to me. It’s a risk, but I’m worried about Aurora. I’m shocked when he shows up right away, leaning against the wall with one knee bent so his foot presses against the brick.
“Did you miss me?” he says, his light-blue form wobbling to match the color of the lights on the ground.
“Is Aurora all right? Can you find her for me, please?” I say, practically choking on the request, but I need his help.
“Why would I help you now after you’ve been talking with my father?” he says. Fuck, the spirits really do talk too much.
“He’s dead. Isn’t that what you wanted? If you want Irinato pay too, then we need to do this first,” I tell him, and he crosses his arms.
“Oh, Kitty Kat, what is it you’re always saying? I like to play games. Well, I’m not into team sports,” he says, shaking his head. I feel like trying to choke him, but before I can protest, he vanishes.
Damn him, that asshole.
“Let’s move.” Malachi touches the back of my shoulder, and I flip around to meet his stare and nod. I’m at the back now, following Malachi with Nasha and Cade in front of him, heading toward the door. I could hang back and reach out to other spirits, but there’s no time. I hope Dante finds them soon.
Cade reaches the door first and turns the handle slowly. I’m a little surprised it’s unlocked, but he turns the knob fully and pushes the door in.
I see a flash of fiery-red curls and my breath catches. I push past Malachi and shove through the door. Aurora and Alex are here. They must have made it down before us. I break past Nasha and step into the room.
It’s bright white, almost blinding in contrast to the dark, musty tunnel we came from. The room has fluorescent white lights all across the ceiling, the floor is covered in large white tiles, and my eyes trail up to see Aurora and Alex.
Their masks are gone. Rupert stands behind Aurora with a fistful of her hair, holding her in place with a large dagger pressed to her throat. Alex is standing there, his back to us, looking at Rupert and Aurora like we interrupted him trying to talk Rupert into letting her go.
I freeze, my heart leaping out of my chest as my eyes find Aurora’s. The terror in them is unmistakable, but there’s something else. Why isn’t she talking or using her power to light this fucker on fire?
She opens her mouth, but somethingviscous and black spills down her chin like oil. They’ve drugged her. My mind fractures into a thousand racing thoughts. Is it the same substance Marco had in that vial the day he escaped? Did the vial never help him at all, just fall forgotten from his pocket? Has Rupert found a way to nullify our abilities, to steal Aurora’s voice, to render us powerless?
The questions ricochet through my skull.
“Why don’t you release them, and we can talk about this the way we used to discuss things, man to man?” Malachi says, steady and diplomatic.
He and Rupert have history. Rupert, who burned Irina’s ranch to ash. Rupert, whose face haunted that security footage alongside Irina’s. Rupert, who’s been playing double agent, infiltrating Marco’s operation for the Syndicate.
Hope flickers in my chest like a dying flame. He’s going to let her go. He has to. His allegiance was never truly to Marco. It was to the Syndicate despite whatever twisted games they’re playing now. I remember his face in that footage, the way it contorted with disgust when Irina carelessly disposed of lives like trash. He won’t hurt Aurora. He can’t.
But then I catch the subtle movement in my peripheral vision. Cade’s hand creeps behind his back, fingers seeking the blade I know he has strapped against his thigh. My blood turns to mercury, heavy and cold.
I look back at Aurora, and terror shoots through me like lightning. I’ve never seen her look so afraid, not even in our worst moments. Those light-green eyes are wide as dinner plates, boring into mine with desperate intensity. She’s trying to tell me something, but the message is lost in translation, swallowed by the black substance coating her lips.
I want to whisper reassurances, to tell her everything will be okay, but I force myself to stay silent. Malachi is good attalking his way out of impossible situations. He has to be our way out.
Fuck, Cade, please, I silently beg, watching his muscles coil like a spring.Don’t let your feelings for Aurora make you do something stupid. Give Malachi a chance.
“Your aunt is going to be upset when I tell her how things have developed while she’s been trying to ready you for a position of power,” Rupert says.
Malachi takes a cautious step forward.
