AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where are you? We’ve hit a snag.”
“Deeper in the snake pit,” I replied, taking a step forward, my boots sticking slightly to the floor with each move. “I found—never mind. Are you safe? I came in here to get you guys. Didn’t look like you were making much progress.”
“Relatively,” Teo said, a wry edge that didn’t match the gravity of our situation. “We’re holed up. Waiting for you.”
“Keep your heads down. I’m on my way.” A pause, a breath. “And guys? Stay alive.”
“Likewise, tech-boy,” Victor chimed in.
Any other time, I would have smiled. Right then, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I shook off the remnants of nausea and focused on navigation. The lair was a maze designed by a madman, but I knew systems, patterns. People tended to think in loops, and theViper was no exception. His ego would be his downfall; all I had to do was trace the thread back to its source. Plus, I’d already studied the setup from when I was on the boat.
“Left or right?” I mused to myself at a junction, opting for right based on nothing more than instinct. The walls seemed to close in, the air growing denser with every turn. Shadows played tricks, making me see movement where there was none—or was there?
“Dammit,” I cursed under my breath, catching a glimpse of something scuttling in the periphery. This place was getting to me, twisting my senses until paranoia felt like intuition.
“Jace, you close?” Grayson’s voice buzzed in my ear. It was strained with the effort of remaining calm.
“Closing in,” I confirmed, quickening my pace. My heart drummed a frantic rhythm against my ribs, propelling me onward. Every corner turned was a gamble between salvation and ambush.
“Jace!” Relief laced that single word that Sofia spoke. I emerged into a larger space, the Mercy Blades huddled together like a pack of wolves cornered by hunters. Sofia ran into my arms for a second and I squeezed her hard. “We didn’t know how to get out of here. You could have just talked through an escape plan.”
“And miss this? Never,” I replied. “Anyway, I’ve never been happier to see a bunch of uggos in one place. Except for you, Sof. You look stunning.”
“I look like shit,” she said, slapping me playfully on the arm.
“Feeling’s mutual,” Teo answered, stepping forward to clap a hand on my shoulder. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks, feels about right.” I managed a half-smile, glancing at each of them. They were battered, yes, but unbroken.
“Sam isn’t here?” Sofia said.
“No. I don’t think so.”
“But you found something tying my dad to all this shit?”
I licked my teeth. “Yeah,” I said. “I’ll tell you all about it on the boat. Right now, we have to get moving. We’ve got a Viper to hunt.”
We crept through the lair’s innards with the stealth of shadows, ears pricked for the faintest whisper of a trap. The air was thick with the pungency of decay and the sharp tang of fear that clung to my skin like a second sweat-soaked shirt. I was going to avoid the death chamber if I could, I didn’t want Sofia to have to see that.
“Watch your step,” I said, eyeing the floor where a tile seemed just a hair out of place. One press, and who knew what hell would unleash.
The Mercy Blades followed my gaze, understanding without words. We had become adept at reading danger in subtleties.
“Tripwire at two o’clock,” Victor hissed from behind. A thin, almost invisible line stretched across the corridor, gleaming with the electric light from above betraying its presence.
“Got it,” I replied, sidestepping it with care that bordered on reverence.
“Feels like a damn horror movie set,” Grayson muttered.
“You have no idea,” I replied.
“Left here, Jace. It’s clear,” whispered Victor, leading us down a narrower path. “I’m fairly sure this is where we came from. And you’re certain you can get us out, right?”
“Sure,” I said, though right then, I didn’t feel certain. I went ahead of him, knowing that one of these walls lead to a secret passageway that led up a ladder, and we would soon be able to get the fuck out of here.
There was something…odd about the walls here. Slightly unnatural.
“Let me,” I offered, feeling along the cold surface for the telltale sign of a seam. There.
