“So how are we going to handle this?” Moraxasked, his tail thumping on the ground as he cracked hisknuckles.
“We’ll slip in behind them, take them bysurprise. If some of them die in the process, so be it, but keep asmany of them alive as possible,” I said. Turning, I strode over toTresden and the soldiers. “We’re going to attempt to subdue themwithout a fight.” I switched back to the English language as Ispoke. “If one of them slips by us and makes it up here, shoot tokill.”
“We will,” Tresden said.
“Should some of us go with you?” a youngwoman asked.
“No, stay here to defend the supplies in casesomething goes wrong.”
I doubted anything would go wrong. They maybe more savage than many of the humans we were used to dealingwith, but they were still only human. Walking away, I jerked myhead and gestured for the demons to follow me into the woods asnight descended. Slipping into the shadows of the forest, a smallthrill of excitement went through me as I began to hunt.
***
River
I stepped out of the truck to gawk at themassive building before me. There were actually lights on insidethe building, lots of them. There had been electricity at some ofthe gas stations on the other side of the wall, but I’d never seenone as lit up as this one was. I had no idea how this place had somuch electricity fueling it, but the entire outside of the buildingwas awash in a harsh glow that made me wish for sunglasses eventhough the sky was pitch black.
Clouds had obscured the moon and stars hoursago, making our headlights the only thing lighting the road. Abouta quarter of a mile back though, this place could be seen lightingup the night like a lighthouse beacon.
The large, metal awnings outside of thebuilding covered at least twenty gas pumps. Some of them had hoseshanging down from the silver ceiling toward the smooth, pavedparking lot. This parking lot was one of the few I’d seen where theasphalt hadn’t been destroyed by the weather or the war.
The nearly pristine surface was moredisturbing than reassuring.Why is this placeso untouched?
To my left, a flickering neon sign readingPearl’sstood beside the building.The light of the sign and the glow from the building blazed throughthe fog creeping low over the land.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“I believe they used to be called truckstops,” Corson replied.
That was when I saw the darkened wordsbeneathPearl’sreadingTruckStop. The bulbs used to illuminateTruck Stopmust have gone out over the years.
“Is this what we’ve been heading for?” Iasked Corson.
“Yes,” he replied at the same time somethingmoved behind one of the slated blinds covering the floor-to-ceilingwindows making up the entire front of the building.
“What was that?” Vargas lifted his riflebefore him and settled the butt firmly against his shoulder.
My hands rested against the guns holstered atmy side as I caught a flash of motion behind one of the windowsagain. The reassuring weight of the katana rested against my back,but I reminded myself that my greatest weapons lay within my ownhands.
The lights outside and the dazzling lightsspilling out from between the cracks in the blinds made this placeentirely too attention grabbing for my liking. How could wepossibly hide out in this place until Kobal and the others arrived?There was no way anyone within a quarter-mile radius would be ableto miss it.
Why did Corson bringushereof allplaces?
I strained to see past the blinds, but Icouldn’t make out what was moving beyond them.
“Your guns won’t work on what’s inside.” Allof our heads shot toward Corson as he uttered these words.
“Why does that not sound reassuring?” Erinasked.
“It’s not meant to be,” Corson replied.
“What are we walking into?” I demanded.
“Nothing deadly. It won’t be pleasant inside,but there most likely won’t be any humans or demons in there.”
I didn’t think any part of this journey wassupposed to be pleasant, but if Corson found this unpleasant, wewere probably going to hate every second of it. At least whateverwas in there wouldn’t kill us, always a bonus.
I followed Corson toward the door with Hawkbeside me. Erin and Vargas kept watch at our backs. Our footstepsslapped over the asphalt as we moved toward the building; they werethe only sound in the muggy night.
