“We’re under the city.”

  “Well, I’m not that stupid.” She glanced toward the entrance. “This way.”

  A roar startled her. Faye jerked with a start and stared to where they had come. Their escape had been discovered. Gripping Malek’s hand, Faye took off running. They moved through the dark cave until she had to use her electrical powers to light the way. Malek stumbled so many times she lost count. Her muscles burned so badly she wasn’t sure she’d make it to the surface again. Finding a little alcove, Faye shoved Malek in and rested next to him, drawing in as deep breaths as she could. They were going to have to hide out there for a bit until she had enough energy to keep going.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Faye hadn’t heard from anything that sounded like trolls in at least the thirty minutes they’d been hiding in the tiny alcove. She wondered if they were even small enough to get into the caves, but she really didn’t want to find out, or know how they would. Surely they had a way to the surface even if they didn’t use it all that often.

  She knocked her head back into the stone wall and drew in a deep breath. She’d much rather be down there with Molly, though she was pretty sure if it had been Molly, that they all would have been dead. Molly was preferable for the trolls than Malek, but he’d been powerful enough to for them to know he was worth something.

  “Do you know much about trolls?” Faye asked as she tried to will her body to heal. It still wasn’t.

  Malek turned to look at her. “Some. They’re not common in Europe like they are here.”

  “I don’t think they’re all that common here.”

  “Well, now they’re not common at all.”

  Faye glared at him. “Speak, my friend. You obviously know more than I do.”

  Malek gripped her arm to look at it. “Your injury is not healing.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “You know how to solve this problem.”

  “It’s not a problem yet. Stop changing the topic. Tell me about the trolls. My friend, Lamek, is a troll, but he’s never shared much.”

  Nodding, Malek released her hand. “Trolls are isolationists.”

  “Like agoraphobic but trolls not humans?”

  “Yes.” Malek gripped her hand again. “They don’t leave. It’s a community thing. They do live longer than humans, but not like us.”

  “Witches, you mean.”

  “Correct. Or vampires. A troll may live to be a hundred easily but as soon as they age over that their health drastically declines.”

  “I wonder how old Lamek is.”

  “I would anticipate it was fairly young when Molly imprisoned him.”

  “So she’s just going to keep him there the rest of his life?”

  Malek shook his head. “I don’t know Molly’s intensions with him. I didn’t even know she had imprisoned him.”

  “She did it because he killed her sister.”

  Malek paled.

  Faye cocked her head at him and then narrowed her gaze. “You knew her sister, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. I knew Pearl.”

  “Pearl? Her name was Pearl?”

  Malek gave the slightest nod. “They were only a few years apart in age, which is very rare for witches.”

  Faye wanted to correct him the way Molly had, but she held her tongue, keeping that information to herself, not to mention, she knew Ben was lingering around somewhere, and she wasn’t sure how much Molly had shared with him. “Because you guys are control freaks.”

  Snorting, Malek nodded. “You could say that.”

  “No, I know it. It’s ingrained in Molly’s blood. Trust me. She can’t let go of anything.”

  “I believe that is why she likes you so well.” Malek reached up and cupped Faye’s cheek. “She can’t control you as much as she wants to.”

  “Pretty sure it’s my ass she likes.” Faye held a finger up to her lips to quiet him. Malek understood and remained silent. Faye stared out at the entrance to the little alcove they had found because she thought she heard something off in the distance.

  Sure enough, she could hear something burrowing its way through the tunnel they had traveled down. Faye swallowed as panic worked its way into her chest. There was no way out of the alcove they had found themselves in. She was going to have to fight whatever it was, and she was pretty darn sure it wasn’t a troll.

  Faye pushed to her knees and waited for it to come. Malek stayed quiet, leaning against the wall. She glanced back at him. If this went how she figured it would, she might have have to take his energy like he’d offered, though she wouldn’t have any time to make the bond or make it pleasurable for him like she preferred.

  Whipping her head toward the entrance, Faye braced her body. The pawing, the growling, the heavy breathing. It was all reminiscent of what she’d heard the last time she’d come to make contact with the trolls. Faye tensed her muscles, preparing for when they’d shift around and smell them. She had no doubt they were following the blood trail.

  She bounced on her toes as her energy kicked up to full gear. She changed into her vampiric form at the last minute and hissed as she pushed her way out into the main part of the tunnel, taking one of the trankyn’s with her. Its head lodged against the wall, bursting with blood that made her nose scrunch from it. Malek would be a much better option than whatever the hell these things were, though if it was down to live or die, she’d drink from it.

  Three more came at her. Two took her arms while the third landed its paws right on her chest. Faye groaned as she landed hard on the ground, the air pushed from her lungs. She dug her long black nails into the neck of one of them, ripping as much of it with her as she tore her hand away. It cried before its breath was gone.

  Faye focused in on the next one, the one gnawing at her already acid-eaten arm. She briefly wondered if Ben had jumped off her or if he was still planted somewhere as she fought off the next creature. She flung it hard, her feet kicking out until it landed with its brethren dead against the wall. She was far more prepared this time than she had been the last, which was to her advantage. And she could see better, though her eyes kept blearing over when she least expected it.

  Crying out as heat and liquid surged around her neck, Faye curled in on herself. Everything was difficult. It was hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to move her limbs. She must have blood pouring from her somewhere. Having to refocus her brain and her eyes, Faye looked up just in time to see the trankyn pounce at her. She lifted her arm to block him but failed. Drawing in short sharp breaths, Faye did the only thing she could think of. She plunged her hand in the direction she knew it was in. Her fingers collided with something soft, something that burst and streamed liquid down her hand and arm to her chest.

  Claws dug into her chest as it tried to get away, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull out. Faye wrapped her arm around its body and pulled it in tighter to her, digging her deadly fingers in farther to whatever bit of flesh she’d managed to get hold of. When it finally collapsed on top of her, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to get it off. She laid there, completely silent and still until Malek came over and pushed the thing off her chest.

  Faye gasped. Malek dragged her back toward the alcove, but they only made it to the entrance when he shook his head at her. “You’re out of options.”

  “Shit balls.” She expected him to offer a wrist.

  Instead Malek kissed her hard as his hands skimmed up to her cheeks. Holding her head as his tongue swept around hers, small nicks here and there appearing on his flesh, she tasted him. Every witch had a unique flavor, at least of all the ones she’d taken energy from, but Malek did not taste good.

  He moved from her mouth down to her chin and her neck. She still didn’t feel the bond begin, which she assumed he would start since he’d need magic as much as she would need energy. Confused but not willing to give up what he was offering so freely, Faye plunged her teeth into the side of his neck as she gripped the back of his head to hold him still.

  The rotten flavor hit the back of her tongue, and she wanted to withdraw from him. Instead, she swirled her tongue in circles, soothing the bite and easing the blood flow. She took as much as she thought she could stand and he could lose before moving away. Without warning, Malek kissed her, this time not as furiously and with far more tenderness.

  When he slowed until he pulled away, he closed his eyes. “Molly doesn’t know what she has.”

  Faye was about to ask him what he meant when she jerked with a start as Ben stared at them over Malek’s shoulder, his hands on his hips and a glare on his face.

  ###

  Ben had seen everything. From Faye saving Malek, to her idiotic attempt to fight her way out of the cave. He decided he couldn’t hide any longer. They had to talk to form a plan to get out of there. He was the only one who could travel around without being suspected since no one knew he was even there. Shifting in the dark corner of the cave, Ben watched as Faye took energy from Malek, as they kissed, as they connected.

  When they finally stopped, he wasn’t sure what to say. He’d listened to Faye defend Molly’s attraction to her, listened as Faye insisted Molly and she were together, but then this? He didn’t understand it in the least. This was different than what he and Joel had done with Molly years before, and as soon as Faye had shown up, that had all stopped.

  Faye stared directly at him, her chest rising and falling as Malek continued to kneel over her. Her voice was the first to ring through the quiet of the alcove. “We have help.”

  “What?” Malek asked as he sat back on his haunches and turned around to face Ben. “Should have known. You’re what got us out of the cage?”

  “The one and only.” Ben glared at him. He hadn’t liked Malek much from the start, but this whole weird relationship thing he was doing with Faye was pushing it toward the edge of downright hatred. “You can thank me later when I get us out of here.”

  Faye smiled. “Glad to see you embrace your shifter nature.”

  Ben didn’t say anything to her. He still wasn’t fully comfortable being naked, but there was no other option at that point. He walked into the cave and back. Squatting down, he gripped Faye’s arm and dragged her up until they were covered in shadows.

  “What’s the plan, Benny-boy?”

  “I told you not to call me that.”

  “This is your day, Ben. Tell us where we’re going.”

  “I’ll have to explore a little.”

  “Then do that. I’m going to take a minute more because of this acid shit you decided to use. What the hell was that thing, anyway?”

  “Cropeck.”

  “Seriously? I’ll have to look that up in the database when we get out of here.”

  “If we get out of here.”

  “Then find us a way out, Ben.” Faye sighed and held up her arm to watch as it healed.

  Ben wanted to make sure she was in as good a shape as she could be before he walked away from her and left her with Malek and no one as backup. He didn’t trust Malek, and he was surprised Faye did.

  “I’m going to check out the rest of the cave and see where it goes.”

  “You do that. I’ll stand guard here.”

  Ben walked away from them and around the corner. So long as no one else or nothing else was coming after them, he was going to stay in his human form. The shifting so much was exhausting him more than he and anticipated.

  Ben’s bare feet on the dirt was an odd feeling. He was so used to wearing shoes that he struggled to get used to it. A fine layer of dirt covered the hard stone floor, so it was cold but soft at the same time. Focusing on what he could find, Ben wandered around the cave, not too far off that he would get lost. He wished he’d had his tablet with him because he’d be able to map the cave better.

  When he got back to the alcove, Faye looked to be in far better condition than when he’d left them. Malek still didn’t look all that great though. Ben sat on the ground, trying to hide half his body. Faye tugged off her jacket and threw it at him. Thankful, Ben covered his hips with it.

  “I think our best bet is to go farther into the cave.”

  “Any idea where we are?” Faye asked.

  Ben shook his head. “Not one clue. Without my tablet, it’s hard to tell. It all looks the same to me, and while I may be Tainted, my eyesight is not as good in this form as yours is.”

  “Right.” She turned to Malek. “You up for walking?”

  “I’ll have to be.”

  Ben rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “I don’t think the trolls can fit down the cave, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have more creatures to send in after us.”

  “They’re pissed,” Faye commented.

  “How can you tell?”

  She pointed to her ear. “I can hear them. They’re moving around more than I have ever seen them.”

  “You’ve seen them before.”

  Faye locked eyes with him, and she gave a slight nod of affirmation.

  “When?”

  “Only once before. My friend sent me down here.”

  “For what?”

  Faye pursed her lips. She glanced from Ben to Malek and then back to Ben. “For Inanis.”

  “For what?”

  “This drug everyone is going on about.”

  Ben wrinkled his nose. “They’re making them? Wait, it has a name?”

  “No! And yes, it has a name.” Faye held her hand up to stop him from continuing. “They are not making them. They’re actually collecting them from dealers, or they’re sending people to do it? I don’t know. But they’re trying to get it off the streets and out of the hands of Tainted.”

  “Interesting,” Malek whispered. “They don’t come to the surface, so they’re definitely sending someone else out.”

  “They don’t come to the surface?” Ben asked.

  “Never.” Malek stared at Ben. “That’s why the punishment for Lamek is so humiliating. He’s forced to the surface for onlookers to stare at and admire him. It’s literally degredation every second he’s stuck there.”

  “Wonderful.” Faye rolled her eyes.

  Ben ignored her. “You didn’t finish telling Faye about the trolls.”

  “Some other time.”

  Ben couldn’t fault Malek. They needed to get out, not get a history lesson, though he was now curious how much Molly had kept from him in the long term of things. She’d help him hide his Tainted side for decades but at what cost. Had she not let him fully into her world because he didn’t want to be?

  “Ben, focus.”

  “Yeah. Let’s get going before they realize Faye went all vamp on the trankyn.”

  “Shut it. It was the only way out.”

  “I know.” Faye helped Malek up.

  Ben wrapped the jacket as best as he could around his hips and continued to walk. If he had more energy and felt safer, he would shift back into something to hitch a ride with Faye just so he wouldn’t have to be butt-ass naked around them. Though, neither Faye nor Malek had commented on it. He led the way as Faye kept her arm wrapped around Malek’s waist while they walked.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Faye grabbed Ben by the shoulder and held him still as she listened.

  “What is it?”

  “I hear cars.”

  Ben grew a broad smile. Faye pointed up. She had no idea how far below the surface they were, but they had to be decently close for her to hear them. Faye walked a little faster as the sounds grew louder.

  Ben helped Malek while Faye moved ahead of them. Something else was coming up behind them in the tunnel, and she did not want to find out what it was. Faye shifted into her vampiric form and ran as fast as she could until the rock under her foot changed to be harder and more solid. Slowing down, she saw the door out in front of her.

  Faye pushed it open, finding a tried and true sewer line. The bottom was covered in at least six to twelve inches of sewage, which she turned her nose up at, but there was a door, which meant they could shut out whatever was coming.

  Racing back, Faye stopped and pressed her hands to her knees. “We’ve got to move. Ben, you’re going to have to either shift into the spider or something that can run fast.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Something is coming.”

  “What about Malek?” Ben pointed his thumb in Malek’s direction.

  “I’m going to have to carry him.”

  “You will not,” Malek argued.

  “Try me. I dare you.” Faye glared at him. Ben shook his head. “Come on, Ben. I know it hurts, but you’ve got to. I can’t carry both of you at the same time like this and we’ve got to move. They’re not that far behind us.”

  “What is it?”

  “I have no idea, and I don’t want to find out, but it slithers. It doesn’t run.”

  Ben shuddered before he tensed.

  “Loosen your muscles, Benjamin. Don’t tense.”

  “It hurts.”

  “It’ll hurt more like that.” Faye pointed at him and transformed into her vampiric form. Malek glared at her before looking at Ben whose body morphed in front of them to the skoll he’d first shifted into. Faye smiled and held her hand out for Malek. “Now. There isn’t time.”

  “How do you know something is coming?”

  “I can hear it, smart ass. Would you like to wait and find out if I’m pulling your leg?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” Faye didn’t give him a second chance to back out. She gripped his arm and wrapped his body around her shoulders. Her knees bent under his weight, and he definitely slowed her down, but she was still able to move faster than her human form with him on top of her.

  Ben beat her to the door, but he hadn’t shifted to open it. Faye set Malek down, opened the door. Ben whimpered at her, but she sent him a serious look right back. He took the hint and hopped through, the splash loud when he landed. Malek climbed through next, and Faye went through last.

  She glanced through the door before shutting it behind her. She could only hope whatever the hell was following them didn’t have hands. They walked together this time, Faye back in her human form but Ben still shifted into a skoll. Malek hobbled, struggling to slog through the definitely twelve inches of sewage at their feet.