“You weren’t expecting this?” Asher asked.
She shook her head and bent to retrieve a gun from her bag. Brie didn’t detect the scent of Savages, but she had no idea what lay beneath this wood, and she wasn’t going to take any chances.
Asher watched as she checked the gun for bullets. He didn’t bother to ask if he could have a weapon; Cabo had made sure his bag didn’t have any before handing it to him.
Once she was sure the gun was fully loaded with wooden bullets, Brie knelt to wedge her fingers under the piece of wood she’d uncovered.
“Let me,” Asher offered. “You cover me.”
Stepping back, Brie kept the gun aimed at the plywood as he gripped a corner of it. Though it was damp, the wood didn’t weigh much, and he pulled it out of the way. He stopped himself from heaving it aside. He couldn’t attract the attention of the kids.
Instead, he shoved it to the side and spun to face any threat erupting from below. Nothing launched itself out of the ground, but the rich aroma of earth and people wafted up to greet him.
Except, there were no people down there. A small pit ran beneath the plywood and further under the earth. On the other side, leaning against the wall, was a small step ladder.
It took him a minute to realize he wasn’t staring into something nefarious. The kids had built a fort beneath the earth. That was why the stepladder was there; the kids could easily jump into it, but they would need help getting out again. Asher glanced around to make sure no one was coming, but the woods remained empty, and the kid’s voices were still coming from the cul-de-sac.
“What is this?” Brie demanded.
“A fort.”
“A fort?” she asked incredulously.
“Yeah. Once, Nathan, Logan, and I built one in the woods behind my house. We didn’t get to play in it much, but it was fun. I’m guessing you never built one as a kid.”
“I was too busy trying not to die as a kid.”
“That sounds like a childhood nobody wants.”
“They were different times, and there were a lot more superstitious assholes.”
Asher was already curious to learn more about her, but that statement really intrigued him. In this light, the scars on her face weren’t as visible, and her jacket covered the ones on her wrists, but he pondered if those superstitious assholes had something to do with them.
Now was not the time for her past, and he seriously doubted she’d tell him. That was something he was going to have to earn. For now, they had to retrieve the stone and get out of here.
“Let’s find the stone,” Asher said.
“That’s just it,” Brie said as she stared into the hole like it was a pit of scorpions. “It’s supposed to berighthere. Maybe a few feet down at most, but it should be inthislocation.”
“Do you think the kids found it?”
“I’m not sure,” she said.
“What will that stone do if they have it?”
“I don’t think it will do anything.”
“You don’tthink?”
“I’ve never had them do anything to me, but I’m also a vampire.”
He sensed there was something more to it. “And?”
“And those stones propelled the demons back somehow. I have no idea what they’re capable of doing.”
“So having one in a child’s hands is probably a bad idea.”
“Probably.”
