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27
Deissy
My heart pounds in my chest, the adrenaline pumping through my veins making my movements jarred and shaky. I know that if I want to be successful, I have to get my shit together, so I close my eyes and take a deep breath as we pull up in front of the building.
“If anything seems off when you get inside,” Eira says. “Turn around, and get out.”
“We will,” Paloma promises.
It may be her truth, but for me, it’s a lie, because either I’m coming out with who we came here for, or I’m not coming out.
I meant what I said before. If it weren’t for Tarnley, I would have died two years ago. There’s no way I’m walking out before repaying the favor.
The three of us climb out, and I take a moment to look up at the man I cannot believe I was so lucky to find. Felix came into my life during the darkest moments, and he’s stood beside me through every moment of putting myself back together.
So the fact that he’s standing here beside me now, prepared to die for people he doesn’t even know just because it’s important to me, shouldn’t really have been a surprise.
“Stay behind me,” he says softly then presses a kiss to my forehead.
“I will.” Other than some brief self-defense courses, and what Drexel had time to tell me earlier, I know next to nothing about fighting, but I’m resilient. So I’m truly hoping that comes in handy while inside.
“Let’s get this over with.” Paloma pulls the map out of her pocket and takes a deep breath before stepping up to the back door.
I’m half-expecting alarms to go off and troops to come rushing outside, ready to kill us, but nothing happens. Though, suddenly I have the urge to turn and run as far away from this place as possible. But since I was prepared for this, courtesy of what Magnolia does know about wards, I take a deep breath. Even when the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and every fiber of my being is screaming at me to run.
Paloma hands me the map then withdraws her firearm and peeks her head inside. I hold my breath until she glances back and nods, signaling that we can all slip inside. We follow her with Felix going in first and me following right behind him.
The floor, walls, and ceiling are all a stark white, making it impossible to see where the floor begins and the walls end. It’s eerily quiet, though that could also be due to the fact that my heart is hammering against my ribs in such a way that it makes it impossible to hear anything else.
“Where to?” Paloma whispers.
After checking the map, I gesture off to the right. She heads that way, sticking close to the wall, and we follow her movements exactly. I keep my hearing tuned to anything other than my own racing heart but still hear nothing. Even the sounds of our footsteps seem muted. It’s surreal.
The hallway splits off to the right, so we follow it, creeping closer and closer. Ahead, someone screams. I start to run, but Felix grabs my arm and rips me back, tucking us all in a doorway to who the hell knows where.
“It could be one of them!” I whisper, loudly.
“And if it is? What are we going to do about it?” he asks. “We don’t know who’s up there, Deissy. We have to be smart.”
I know he’s right, but when they scream again, it brings tears to my eyes as I imagine all of the horrible things that could be happening to our friends. I may not know much about this world, but I’ve seen enough movies to be able to imagine some horrible stuff.
Footsteps echo, pulling me back to the present, and I press as far back as I can. “Get that one to the council. They’re waiting for her.”
“Fucking errand boys.” Rainey’s voice is broken but easily recognizable.
Felix nods to Paloma, and she prepares to jump out. But other than the element of surprise, they don’t have the advantage. Especially since we have no idea how many supernaturals are out there. I grab Felix’s arm and hold up a finger.
His brows draw together in confusion, but before he can say anything, I take a deep breath and stumble out into the hall. “Hey, this isn’t the bathroom.”
Rainey’s on her knees between two men. Left eye completely swollen shut, her bloodshot right one narrows on me. She’s bleeding from more cuts than I can count on her face, arms, and what I can see of her neck, and the sight of her makes me wish like hell I had a gun–and knew how to use it.
“What the hell are you doing in here, human?” A man boasting a large serpent tattoo up the side of his neck and cheek glares at me.
“Human? What the hell does that make you two?” I ask, hoping Felix will pick up on my hint at the number of enemies before me.
“Grab her. We’ll take her with us.”
They reach for me, and Felix slams out with his fist. It connects with the supernatural’s jaw, stunning him enough for him to shoot the other and Paloma to finish off the one he knocked backward. And thanks to Fearghas’s additions to their firearms, no one comes running. At least, not yet.
