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The tension of last night still lingers in the air, casting a heavy pall over the morning. Sienna’s escape attempt caught me off guard and left a bitter taste in my mouth. Her disobedience had added fuel to the fire of my frustration—we missed a chance at confronting some wayward Serpents yesterday and it still has me on edge.
Standing in the dim living room, Caleb’s voice breaks through my swirling thoughts.
“We can’t afford any more slip-ups,” Caleb says, tone laced with urgency. “The Serpents aren’t going to wait around for us to catch them. They’re going after our weak links, targeting businesses we haven’t visited in a while.”
I nod, feeling the weight of the responsibility that rests on my shoulders. Despite our best efforts, the Serpent threat still looms large, reminding me that if we don’t take care of things soon, we’re putting our community in danger.
Dominic jogs down the stairs, a look of steely resolve on his face. “She’s sleeping,” he says, mouth set in a grim line. “And the door is finally back on its hinges.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. “She’s pretty smart, I have to admit.”
“I can’t believe she managed to use those computer tools to take the door off,” Caleb agrees. “Good thing we installed those reinforced doors when we moved in.”
Dominic heads into the kitchen to start making breakfast. We’ve got a full day at the shop today, but Caleb will stay with Sienna to keep an eye on her. She’s not going anywhere, not with the Serpents lurking around.
I can’t shake the feeling of unease that gnaws at the edges of my mind. It’s there, lurking—telling me that something big is coming down the pipe.
The smell of bacon pulls me out of my head and I sniff the air, a smile curling up on my mouth. “Smells good, Dom,” I call out.
“Thanks. I’m trying something new,” Dom calls back.
A buzz from my pocket has me pulling out my phone and I glance down, a sense of foreboding creeping over me. “Neil just texted me,” I say, frowning at the message. “Some Serpents are lurking around his music shop and scaring away customers. He says that they’re asking to talk to him but he’s refusing.”
Caleb and Dominic are immediately at attention, Dominic flipping the switch on the stove. “Let’s go,” Dominic says, grabbing his coat from the hook.
Caleb snatches his jacket from the back of the couch and the three of us head for the door. Sienna is still locked up in Caleb’s room, so we aren’t worried about another escape attempt. She knows the consequences now.
Tension crackles in the air as we slip into the Firebird. No one speaks, too busy preparing for the confrontation we know is coming.
The Serpents have been doing the same thing at several businesses in the area. When they hit up the Quik-Martyesterday, we went to confront them but they cleared out before we could get there.
Arriving at Neil’s music shop, we immediately spot the greasy-haired meatheads hanging around the entrance, leering at passers-by.
“Yo, what’s up?” I say as we roll up, stepping out of the car as soon as Dom kills the engine. “We got a problem, fuckfaces?”
“Nah,” a bug-eyed Serpent with a flaming skull tattoo on his neck steps forward. “We were here first so clear out, Blade bitches.”
Bug Eyes waves a hand and I step forward, getting into his space. “In case you missed it, this entire place is our territory. Sowewere here first, or are you as stupid as that tattoo on your neck?”
“You wanna step?” Bug Eyes asks. Three more of his buddies move forward as well, four Serpents against the three of us.
“We’d take you down before you could even take your thumb out of your ass long enough to fight,” I warn him. “Slither back to the hole you crawled out of or you’ll find out firsthand what we do to snakes around here.”
“We ain’t going anywhere, pretty boy,” Bug Eyes says, flicking open the knife in his hand. “If it’s a turf war you want, we’re more than happy to oblige. But we have the numbers on our side, sunshine. You take us out and there’s a hundred more Serpents waiting to cut you down.”
As he speaks, half a dozen more Serpents come around the corner, facing us with knives and clubs.
“Bastian,” Caleb says, holding a hand out to keep me from attacking the cretin in front of me. “He’s right. We can’t afford to start something right now.”
“Take it easy, pretty boy,” Bug Eyes says, a smug grin on his face that’s begging to be knocked off. “How about you mind your own business and move along?”
“We’re coming for you assholes,” I warn him. “We may not have the numbers but you haven’t seen the last of us. Watch your back!”
Dom and Caleb flank me as we head back to the car and I slam the door, fuming inside. I’m not going to let those snake assholes crawl back into Caspian Springs—not when so much work was put into clearing their nest all those years ago.
“We need a plan,” I tell them as we head back home. “We can’t afford to get shown up again like that.”
“The man who fights and runs away lives to fight another day,” Caleb quotes. “You remember who taught us that.”
