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The boy nodded, his blue eyes widening. “My sister was invited here last week and never came home.”
Gray felt bad for the kid. After seeing what Sandy was capable of, what hope was there that his sister was still coherent?
“It’s too dangerous.” He needed the boy to understand. It wasn’t safe here for him. This wasn’t a game. The stakes were pretty high.
“No,” the boy said firmly. “It’s not. They only take birds.”
“Your sister’s a bird?”
The boy nodded before pushing his long hair out of his eyes. “I’m a mouse, like my mom, and she’s a crow—”
“Like your dad,” Gray interrupted, thinking back to the bird bar where they interrogated the crow biker gang. They said one of their friends went missing at the park. Maybe it was the same bird.
The boy nodded. “He’s missing too.” He shifted his eyes to the tiled ground before wiping at them with the back of his hand. He gave a little sniff. “No one believes me that they’re here.”
“How do you know they only take birds?” Grayson flung his bookbag off his shoulder, zipped open the closure, and fished out his shirt.
“I’ve been here, inspecting every inch of this stupid mall looking for my sister. If they wanted me, they would have taken me by now.” He hung his head in defeat. His shaggy hair flowed back in his face.
“Put your clothes back on,” he ordered, noticing the boy was shivering. “You can wait in my car.” He hoped Cass had left it unlocked as he asked.
“No,” the boy said firmly.
“Look, kid…”
“Phineas.”
“I know you want to find your family, but this is dangerous.”
Phineas exhaled sharply with a hiss. “You think I don’t know that? Like I’m just a stupid kid?”
“I don’t mean it like that. I don’t want anything happening to you,” Grayson explained softly. He pulled his T-shirt over his head before slipping on his flannel. Phineas stared at him, crossing his arms in protest.
He had to go back outside anyway to notify FUC and ASS of the situation. Maybe on the way he could convince the boy to wait there while he went back in to find the others. With the information Phineas shared, Grayson figured Cass was captured. Again. They weren’t merely separated like he’d hoped.
“Please go get your clothes and meet me back here. I have to go back out to my car to call for help, but I think I know how they took my friend. At least where.” He’d keep his instructions vague and tell the kid he wasn’t inviting him along for the ride later on. Otherwise, he’d probably never talk Phineas out of leaving the mall.
Phineas squinted at Grayson, weighing his options. “Fine,” he said after a moment of deliberation before getting up to walk toward his waiting clothes.
12
This can’t be real.Cass’ mouth hung open in disbelief as she stared at the underground forest before her. Chirping birds filled the treetops. Whether they were wild birds or shifters, she couldn’t tell. This wasn’t the hallway of labs and prison cells she’d expected. A brilliant light overhead emulated the sun. Now she knew why the elevator had taken her so far underground. This chamber needed room for the trees. Was this Sandy’s lair? If so, how did she pull it off?
She hesitated to take a step forward. This wasn’t some amusement park. It was the likely hideout of an evil scientist who experimented on shifters. Even though the view before her was beautiful, looks could be deceiving. Cass knew that more than anyone.
She was about to turn around to look for a hidden door in the hallway when a robin landed at her feet. The bird looked up at her with one of its round yellow eyes. Then it opened its beak. Instead of a chirp coming out, it said one word. “Run.”
Cass nearly fell over. She shut the door and turned. The bird had a human voice. It was similar to the seagulls in the park, shifters with a bizarre blend of human and animal traits. They seemed to not be able to control it. Was this what Sandy intended? Shifters who could talk in their animal form?
She ran down the corridor. Her heels slipped on the damp floor, threatening to slide her feet out from under her. She slowed up slightly, afraid to be thrown into the fake forest with the other mutated shifters if she fell. Maybe she was being watched. She didn’t intend to stick around to find out.
Thankfully, the open elevator waited at the end of the hall. Cass expected the wall to close, locking her out. She hopped on, stamping her feet, trying to get the damn thing to work. Somethingclickedin the floor. The open wall in front of her slid closed. She stomped on the floor in various places until it started its ascent.
Cass froze, afraid to step on the wrong part of the floor. She glanced down, studying the rug to see what part she’d hit with her toe. She rolled the carpet up to find a series of buttons below. She must have accidentally hit one when she entered the mall with Grayson.
The slow elevator squeaked to a halt as she reached the main entrance to the mall. The unfortunate barrier remained in front of her. She’d have to find a way to…
“Where the hell did you come from?” a familiar voice said behind her.
