I held my breath as I waited for Corson’sresponse. I was desperate to clean off the gargoyle ooze stillsticking to my skin, but if he believed it was better for us tostay here, I wouldn’t argue with him. I wasn’t willing to take anychance of possibly missing Kobal.
Corson continued to stare at the buildingbefore dropping his hand down and glancing at his goo-stainedshirt. “Yeah, we can try one of the houses.”
I barely managed to stop myself from throwingmy arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He grinned when herealized what I’d almost done. My hands fell to my sides again andI took a hasty step back. “It’s okay. I know I’m irresistible,” hesaid with a wink.
I laughed as I jumped into the bed of thetruck. “Unfortunately, I don’t wear earrings.”
“That is a deal breaker. I do so love myjewelry.”
Vargas rolled his eyes while Erin chuckledand Hawk gazed at him as if he’d sprouted another head. “Fuckingdemons,” Hawk muttered as he walked away.
“You know you wish you had as many earringsas I do,” Corson called after him. Hawk flipped him the bird overhis shoulder. Corson climbed in to stand beside me in the bed ofthe truck. “We’ll keep this conversation from Kobal, right?” heasked me.
I chuckled as Hawk pulled out of the parkinglot. “We will,” I promised.
CHAPTER 13
River
We drove through the town, searching forsomewhere to stop. After a few minutes, Hawk parked in front of ahandful of homes still in relatively decent condition. The four ofus approached the best looking house with the least amount of vinesand vegetation trying to take it over. I didn’t know what our oddswere of finding running water inside, but I was willing to have myhopes crushed rather than just sitting around in gargoyle blood allday.
Stepping onto the sagging porch, I spottedthe remains of chipped red paint peeling away from the house. As Iwalked across the porch, one of the boards cracked under my footand gave way an inch before catching.
When I was sure it wouldn’t collapse, Ilifted my head to study the street. I held my breath as my gazedarted over the hushed roadway. The cracking sound probably hadn’tbeen that loud, but it still echoed in my ears and I was certainthat if anything or anyone was lurking nearby, they’d heard thesound.
“It’s fine,” Hawk said. “It wasn’t thatloud.”
I tore my attention away from the roadway asCorson turned the doorknob. He pushed against the door, but theswollen wood held firm in its frame. Resting his hand on the door,he leaned his shoulder into it and shoved harder against the wood.It gave way beneath his weight with a crack of wood and a squeak ofrusted hinges.
He swept inside in a crouched position withhis talons fully extended. The rest of us had our guns in hand, butI didn’t think we’d get a chance to fire them before Corsoneviscerated any threat coming at us. The tips of his claws scrapedacross the wood floor, gouging its surface and kicking up dust ashe moved.
Stepping into the house, I froze and suckedin a breath as I looked around. It was like opening a time capsule;it appeared as if nothing within had been touched since the day thebombs had fallen. The layer of dust covering everything was sothick that if I’d had allergies, I’d be in the middle of an attackso bad right now, I’d sneeze all the dust out of the room. Thescent of mildewed, old, rotten wood hit me, causing me to wrinklemy nose at the oppressive smell.
Behind me, Erin sneezed and my nose tickledso badly my eyes watered. I walked into the living room behindCorson, my eyes going to the dust-coated pictures on the mantle andthe single, small sunflower sprouting in the center of thechimney.
I had no idea how the flower had gottenthere, perhaps dropped down the chimney by a bird or dragged in bysome animal, but the cheery yellow flower was the only spot ofcolor amongst the gray enshrouding the home. Its head tilted backto absorb the small stream of light filtering down the chimney. Myeyes were riveted on it as I was torn between being awed by thesign of life and beauty continuing on here, or crying from theemptiness and loss encompassing this place.
This had once been someone’s home, and now itwas nothing but a rotting structure. I tore my eyes away from theflower and back to the rest of the house. Pictures still lined thewall, but there was so much dust on the glass I couldn’t see whatwas held within their frames. Knitting needles and a basket ofthread sat next to the rocking chair beside the fireplace.
I rubbed my hands over the goose bumpspopping out on my arms. I’d been so focused on everything in herethat I hadn’t noticed the others had already moved on. I found themin the kitchen, standing by the sink. Erin was turning the fauceton and off but no water came out.
“Probably tree roots in the pipes,” Hawksaid.
“Could be a well and, with no electricity,the pump won’t work,” Vargas said.
“Possibly,” Hawk agreed. “Either way, itdoesn’t do us any good.”
Corson jerked his head toward the back door.“We’ll try the next house.”
I followed them outside and across thebackyard to the house next door. My eyes scanned over the growingtrees and woods creeping in. Before, I’d heard the laughter ofthose who had once resided here; now their tears and screams ofterror resonated within me as they’d fled from the war baring downon them.
I felt hollow inside, empty and cold despitethe nearly hundred-degree temperature of the day. Death hungheavily on my soul when we arrived at the back porch of the nexthouse.
The door was already partially open. Eitherit had never been closed by the people fleeing, or it had beenreopened by an unseen hand. Corson led the way inside again. Thedust coating in this house wasn’t as thick as it was in the otherone, but rotting leaves, dirt, and assorted debris littered theonce tiled floor.
The others walked over to the kitchen faucetwhile I made my way into the living room and stood staring at thethick, green vines growing through the floor. The vines had twistedtheir way up the front of the gray stone fireplace to allow onlypeeks of the old splendor to show through the vegetation.
Something about the fireplace drew me towardit. Unable to resist, I walked across the floor and steppedcarefully around the rotting floorboards to stand before thefireplace. The thick vines scraped against my skin when I shoved myhand through their drooping green leaves. The granite mantle of thefireplace was cool against my skin as I felt blindly over it.
