“Ahh,” he stammered before throwing his hands up.“This is why I stay single.”
“Yeah, that’s the reason,” Ianto quipped.
Tucker gave him the finger before walking over to examine a family portrait on the wall.A man and woman stood behind their daughter and son.
“They look like amsirah,” Tucker said.
“Amsirah look like many other immortals,” Ellery said.
She lowered her hand from my face and stepped away from me.I almost pulled her back, but the more we fought, the longer we’d be here.And I’d feel much better once we were out of these tunnels and back above.
“There’s lightning rods on the buildings,” I said.“Amsirah must have lived in this village.”
“There aren’t as many rods as we have in Tempest,” Tucker commented.
“And?”Callan asked.
“And nothing, I’m just stating what I saw.”
“Why would that be?”Scarlet asked.
Tucker shrugged.“Your guess is as good as mine.”
The red burst once more before the room faded to a dim pink.A corner of the castle was visible through one of the windows, but the other homes blocked much of the structure and the tower where the pulsing light came from.
“This is crazy,” Callan murmured.
“We should check the rest of the house,” I said.
We moved onto the dining room, kitchen, pantry, and downstairs bath before climbing the steps to the second floor.We found more remains in the upstairs bathroom.
When we returned downstairs, we exited the kitchen door, where we discovered three more piles of clothes and remains near the back steps.They’d either been leaving the residence or arriving.
The wide-open backyards spread across all the homes on this side of the road.When the light pulsed over us once more, I spotted more clothes scattered throughout the yards.
Callan ran a hand through his pale blond hair and tugged on it until it stood on end.His pale green eyes surveyed a land that was probably once covered in grass, but without rain and sun to nourish it, the grass had withered and died.Now only patches of dirt spread across the land.
“Maybe we should leave,” Tucker suggested.“Whatever happened here, these immortals never saw it coming.”
I had to agree with his reasoning, especially with Ellery here.
“No,” Ellery said.“We have to find out what that pulsing is.”
“It’s not safe,” I said.“You and Scarlet should climb back out, and we’ll meet you in a little bit.”
She gave me a disgruntled look.“And you’re going to stay?”
“Yes.We’ll stay and explore.”
She scoffed.“That’s not going to happen.I’m not going anywhere until I know what that light is.It’s the answer.”
I wasn’t surprised by her response until that last part.“The answer to what?”
“I don’t know, but it is.”
The fading red light played over her beautiful features and danced like fire in her eyes as she stared at me.I’d only get her out of here if I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and carried her away.
I’d probably end up with more than a few bruises for my efforts and oneextremelypissed-off woman.A cordou would be more fun to tangle with than an irate Ellery.
