Page 109 of Mortis

Arlo’s voice was low and cold. More menacing than I’d ever believed him capable of sounding. But it was a sentiment I resonated with deeply, because Arlo was right. We were going to get Teddy back. And this time, I would make certain every remaining member of Mammon’s cult was eliminated.

I abhorred killing. Absolutely detested the act of taking a life. But Teddy’s was currently on the line, and for him, I was willing to make an exception.

17

KAEL

Night was upon us. Arlo drove the hearse along the motorway with a complete disregard for mortal laws. I appreciated it, considering we were on a mission to rescue someone we both loved.

I stiffened.

Loved.

Was that what this was?

I thought of Teddy asleep against my chest, or smiling when I called him my treasure. His excitement when teaching me something new, and the unbearable ache I felt when he cried. The future I had begun imagining with him without even realising I was doing it. Humans called that love, I knew they did. I had learned enough about their emotions to recognise the signs.

Which meant . . . I loved Teddy.

Something warm bloomed inside my chest despite the terror clawing through the rest of me. How strange that I should finally understand love at the exact moment I was terrified of losing it. Preferably, I would have liked more time to consider it.

Unfortunately, Teddy had been kidnapped, so introspection would have to wait. And we weren’t about to let something as menial as a speed limit slow us down.

It had taken us a while to determine exactly where we were headed. Given that I’d spent my captivity locked in a musty crypt below ground, I hadn’t exactly known the address. Which meant Arlo had turned to the wonders of the internet.

“Did you see any signs when you ran?” he’d asked, tapping furiously at his phone.

His initial searches had included creepy underground crypts, ancient cult dungeon, and in a moment of desperation, places suitable for human sacrifice. Unsurprisingly, none had been particularly useful. So he’d turned to my foggy memories of the night I escaped, hoping something might stand out and lead us to Teddy.

“I don’t remember exactly,” I replied, shoulders slumping. “But I eventually found myself on a grassy hill, and there were several tall buildings in the distance.”

Arlo stopped typing. “Tall buildings. Like skyscrapers?”

“I suppose,” I replied.

I wasn’t exactly sure what a skyscraper was. But the buildings were tall enough that it looked like they were reaching for the sky, so the description was apt.

He narrowed his eyes and hummed. “Interesting.” I wasn’t sure why he suddenly sounded pleased, but he waved a hand and said, “Keep going.”

Dragging a hand down my face, I tried to force something useful from the pit of my memories. “There were trees. Oh, and a road nearby. I remember hearing vehicles.”

Arlo nodded slowly. “Urban, but not city centre.”

I stared at him blankly. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m deducing,” he replied as though the answer was obvious. “Sherlock Holmes does it.”

“Who is Sherlock Holmes?”

Arlo’s eyes widened, and he looked genuinely offended. “We’ll deal with that cultural failing later. What else?”

I closed my eyes, and for a moment, there was nothing. But then the Beast stirred.

There.

A memory flashed through my mind. A blue road sign glimpsed between the trees as I fled along the edge of a busy road. Most of it was nothing more than a blur, but I remembered a large B, and something about the west.

“There was a sign.”