Chapter Nineteen

  Neith

  A guard charges me from the door to my left, and I take his head.

  You know what? Fuck keeping any alive.

  Ransom and River clearly have the same idea as I do, because suddenly River has shifted and is tearing through the guards pouring out of the doors on either side of us and the two doors further down the corridor in between the cells. Ransom’s spells become deadly and torturous, as he flings them out as quickly as his swords slice through his enemies. Somehow managing to do both at the same time.

  My fire pulls one of the guards closer, as my claws pierce his chest, my hand wrapping around his heart, pulling it free, and crushing it.

  The Voices didn’t pass judgment this time, and I didn’t call on my magic to help.

  I grin.

  Sending tendrils of my fire across the ceiling, I command them to go back through the halls and kill the fuckers we captured. Slowly and painfully, but not to burn them for as long as the guy in my dream.

  I wonder if he’s still burning?

  Not the point. Just like him, these fuckers, don’t deserve to live.

  Rana was very clear in her file, the guards know what they are doing, they are not under any kind of control because control can be broken, and The Owner wanted loyalty.

  None of these guards have been forced to be here or to do what they do. They are here willingly, and that means their lives are forfeit.

  That same magic from my dream stirs, but doesn’t come forward this time. I’m grateful because I think until I know what’s going on, I don’t want to reveal that to anyone, especially not here.

  Not that any of these fuckers are getting out alive.

  River’s eyes drift up to the ceiling, following my fire, and his eyebrows rise as the screams start.

  My smile is sharp and deadly, and his matches mine perfectly.

  We push through the rest of the guards, helping Ransom to end them, not that I think he really needs our help. In fact, I think he would be more than happy to take them all out by himself.

  “Leave a couple for us,” River calls out with a grin that makes the remaining few guards reevaluate their life choices.

  It’s too late though.

  Within moments, they’re all dead and lying in partially dismembered heaps around us.

  I duck into the office while River and Ransom start to talk to the prisoners, reassuring them, explaining what’s happening, and who we are.

  The silence is broken as hopeful voices rise around us all.

  I quickly grab several sets of keys and head back out into the hallway, handing a few sets to the guys.

  “It’s going to take too long to take the spells off of each individual cell, there are hundreds here, possibly even more,” Ransom says, anger still burning brightly in his eyes.

  “They are starting to panic as well,” I add quietly. They’re all being too loud to hear us anyway. “That’s not good. Acting in panic is not safe for anyone involved. We need to keep them as calm as possible so we can get them out as quickly and safely as possible.”

  “It’s probably best if we don’t set them all free at once, it could cause a stampede, and someone could get trampled,” River adds with a worried crease in his brow.

  “Give me a second,” Ransom rumbles. I feel his magic swell, and then a wave of it blasts through the area, shattering all of the spells on the doors, although they all remain locked because we still have to physically unlock them with the keys.

  Shocked silence echoes through the cells, and River takes advantage of it.

  “We’re going to come and free you all. You need to make sure that you remain calm so that everyone can get out of here safely. Someone is going to meet you at the top of the stairs and take you out of the building. We have people out there with food, clothing, and medical assistance if necessary. There are also several people waiting to help you contact your families, if that is where you want to go, we understand that the circumstances may not allow for that. There are packs with necessities, including money and the address of a safe place to stay for those of you with nowhere to go, should you wish.”

  That is something that’s done differently from the way that humans do it. These supernaturals are given the choice, so long as they aren’t a danger to anyone else.

  There’s a ward set up outside of the building that was set up around all of those things and was triggered as soon as we breached the building, so the prisoners had somewhere safe to go and gather the things that they needed to.

  There’s a murmur of agreement, and I’m so grateful that everyone is remaining calm, it’s going to make this all so much easier. As we go through the cells, we repeat the instructions, and I have to hold back my anger and disgust as I unlock a large cell filled with children of all ages. Some of the older wolves and supes come to help guide them out, along with the agents.

  There are more than just wolves here, just like Rana said, but it must have changed since she’s been here, because the ratio of wolves and other supernatural beings is a lot more even than she said it was.

  The Owner branched out.

  Finally, we’re nearly done.

  There’s just one more door left for me to unlock down this hallway, and I almost missed it since it looks nothing like the other ones.

  Unlike the others, there is no glass viewing window, no plaque, just a simple, plain door. It could be a supply closet, actually.

  “Miss,” the woman whom I just let out pauses before heading down the corridor.

  I smile gently, “Yes?”

  “Don’t let him out. Even The Owner is terrified of him. He lost it when she left. We don’t know why The Owner has kept him alive. He’s dangerous,” she rushes out, her words mixing together so I only clearly hear parts of her sentence. The gist of it is that there’s someone in there that The Owner is scared of.

  That everyone is scared of.

  I watch her rush down the corridor, and spot Ransom and River still letting people out and directing them out to the other agents and their freedom, all while making sure that everyone remains safe.

  My head tilts as I study the door.

  I can’t leave someone in there.

  I’ve never been one to be cautious or to think things through, so using the only key that I haven’t used yet, and one that looks completely different from the others, I unlock the door.

  “I really hope you heard everything out there, all the guards are dead. Well, some are burning still, I thought it was the least that they deserved. You can see for yourself if you want,” I ramble as I peer into the complete darkness of the cell. It’s an unnatural kind of darkness. I know he’s in there, I can sense him, and so can my magic. I step to the side and away from the door. “The woman in the cell next to you said that The Owner feared you, and I figured that you might want to help us take his organization down once and for all.”

  I have no idea if I’m allowed to offer him that, but instinct tells me that I need to, and that this guy is important somehow.

  “The guards are dead?” A raspy voice asks from the shadows.

  You can tell a real predator by the way that they’re willing to lie and wait, even in a situation such as this. A situation where he could escape to freedom, he is still waiting in the darkness.

  If I step foot in that room and he doesn’t trust me, I’ll be dead.

  It’s fucking impressive.

  I zone in on movement in the very far corner, and nod, “Or dying. Only the ones down here. My team is fighting the others in the rest of the house.”

  “Are you supposed to offer to let me kill some of the fuckers?” He asks, a hint of amusement in his voice that surprises me.

  I shrug, “Probably not, but then again, I’m not really good at doing what I’m supposed to do. If I were, I probably wouldn’t have opened this door.”

  “Very true,” he agrees, moving cautiously closer, and I only know that because the position of where his voice is coming from has changed, not because I can see him. He asks, “Who are you?”

  “I’m Neith, I’m with SID. We got a tip about this place, and here we are,” I explain. “You?”

  “Trip,” he replies.

  “No way!” I exclaim with a grin. “Rana told me about you.”

  Before I can get another word out, he’s in my face. Towering over me, and I have to stop myself from gasping.

  He’s covered in scars and tattoos, blood and wounds, some new, some not. He’s been beaten far worse than any of the other prisoners and repeatedly as well.

  That’s not what shocked me though, what shocked me were his eyes. They’re shifted, but they are unlike any that I have seen before, slitted like a snake, but bright purple, and I don’t think he is a snake shifter.

  I’ve had recent dealings with one, thanks to my dream, and Trip doesn’t feel the same as he did. Although it might be because he’s not an evil fuck that is making him feel different to me.

  The Voices mutter in disagreement, okay, not that reason then.

  So he’s not a snake shifter, I think, and aim the thought at the Voices to see if they’ll answer me.

  Surprisingly, this time they mutter in agreement.

  They’re obviously feeling cooperative today.

  I refocus.

  Trip is also far stronger than he should be for a shifter.

  Wow.

  His voice is full of menace, and I see the guys start to move toward us from down the hallway. I instinctively know that it would be really fucking bad if they interrupted right now, and I move my hand at my side, signaling that they need to stay where they are.

  I’m relieved when they stop, although I can feel how much they fucking hate it.

  He’s not attacking me though, and I have a feeling that Rana’s name was what triggered him.

  “What did you say?” He demands quietly, the calmness of his voice a direct contrast to the violence coiled and ready to be unleashed in his body.

  “Rana is the person I mentioned before, the one who helped us. She’s fucking amazing, full of fire, has been through shit, and still fights. I call her a friend. Derek bought her from here and used something on The Owner to make sure that he could,” I explain quickly.

  “Rana’s dead,” he replies brokenly, his eyes unsure and moving quickly.

  “She’s not,” I reply. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, aware that he’s tracking my every move, ready to lunge at any moment if I make the wrong move. I know that this is the only way that he’s going to believe me though, so I take the risk and quickly dial Rana’s number.

  “Neith?” Rana’s voice comes through the speaker.

  “Rana,” Trip whispers.

  “Fuck, Trip.” She replies just as brokenly.

  “You’re alive,” he replies.

  A fierce growl comes from the other end of the phone, “The fucking cunt told you I was dead?”

  “I’m really fucking sorry, but we need to go,” I interrupt reluctantly. “Rana, I'll call you back asap. I gotta go kill some shit.”

  She busts out laughing and then replies, “Stay fucking safe, both of you.”

  “Shit,” Trip says, a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “The seal.”

  “Say what now?” I ask because that is absolutely not what I thought was going to come out of his mouth after finding out that someone that he obviously deeply cares about is alive.

  He smirks, but becomes serious again, moving from foot to foot in agitation, before he can explain anything, Ransom and River approach.

  “Is everything okay?” River asks with his eyes watching the shifting supernatural closely, and assessing his threat level.

  I nod, “This is Trip. He thought Rana was dead and was a little confused when I mentioned her name. We’re all good now.”

  “Awesome,” River grins and holds out his hands. “Nice to meet you, man.”

  Trip takes his hand but says, “Did you guys break the seal?”

  Ransom tenses, the words obviously mean something to him that it doesn’t mean to me. “What seal?”

  “Shit, follow me and I’ll explain on the way. I’m surprised that the building is still here,” he replies as he starts to jog down the hallway, and we all follow him. His smile is slightly unhinged as we pass the still-burning and screaming guards. He glances back at me, “I feel like that was your work.”

  I shrug, “It might’ve been.”

  “I can see why Rana likes you,” he grins.

  “Er, Neith, you should probably put them out so the other agents can clear the building,” River suggests.

  I click my fingers, and the screaming bodies collapse on themselves, turning into dust, as my fire rushes back to me, twining around my arms and playing before it dissipates completely.

  “That’s new,” Ransom says quietly as we continue to follow Trip down the hallway.

  My gaze meets his, and I mouth the words, “I’ll explain later.”

  We carry on following Trip, and he leads us a little bit further down the hallway. He stops in front of one of the paintings, presses something on the frame, and the wall opens up to reveal another door.“Okay, that’s a little bit cool,” River admits, and I grin as we carry on following Trip.

  As soon as we’re through the door, Ransom asks, “So why do we have to break the seal?”

  “To stop the building from moving again, it’s a failsafe that is built in, in case something like this happens. I’m really surprised that it hasn’t moved already. It should have,” Trip explains quickly.

  We round a corner, coming face to face with some guards, and as the guards see him they instantly pale. Before they can do anything, Trip’s claw-tipped fingers strike out, tearing their throats out within a blink of an eye.

  “I like you,” Ransom says decisively, like he wasn’t sure before, but this act of violence has convinced him that Trip is, in fact, his kind of person.

  Of course it did.

  Trip leads us through several different hallways and up more than a few staircases, managing to avoid the area where the main fight is, and we only run into a few guards that are quickly and easily taken down.

  When it’s been quiet for a minute or two with no one trying to attack us, I can’t keep my curiosity in anymore. Not that I’ve really managed to keep it in for that long.

  I blurt out, “So, why is everyone so fucking terrified of you, including The Owner?”

  Trip glances over at me, seeming to assess me before he shrugs, “The Owner has this serum that keeps the kidnapped people under his control, he doesn’t need it for all of us. Some are just too scared to do anything but obey him, but he needed it for me. When he told me that Rana had died, I lost it. I killed several of his top enforcers and nearly killed him. He shot me with a dart full of ten times the normal dose, and the serum didn’t work on me, it still doesn’t. I don’t know why he didn’t just kill me, but he put me in isolation and tried to keep me as weak as possible.”

  Torture, that’s what he means.

  “I’d say sorry, but that doesn’t change anything, so instead, I’m going to say let’s go and break the seal, and then you can hunt The Owner,” I suggest with a sharp smile.

  “Deal,” he replies, darkness shadowing his features as a slight growl muddies his tone. He kicks through a door on the left, and we find ourselves in what appears to be a cleaning closet of some kind. It’s a fucking big one, but I guess you would need a big cleaning closet for a house like this.

  Chapter Twenty

  Neith

  It makes me wonder why they don’t just use magic, but then again, The Owner seems like the kind of fucker who would want to exert his power over those below him by making them do things like cleaning.

  Trip strides to the very back of the huge room and pushes a heavy set of shelves off to the side. He then presses something on the wood paneling behind, because of course, even The Owners' cleaning closets have wood paneling, and then I watch in kind of impressed awe as it opens up to reveal a giant and very sterile room.

  Unlike the rest of the mansion, this room is completely white. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, everywhere is white.

  Except for the giant gold and red sigil painted on the wall opposite the door, it’s huge, and it’s pulsating with magic.

  “Whoa,” Ransom mutters as he studies it. “Where the fuck did he get magic like this?”

  Trip shrugs, “I have no fucking idea. I don’t even know how we’re going to break it.”

  “Blast a fuck ton of magic at it,” Ransom suggets.

  River looks at him, “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Even I can feel how strong it is.”

  Ransom winces slightly, “It’s not the best idea, but we don’t have the time to come at this with finesse, it’s gearing up to move the building. I can feel it. If the building gets moved, we lose any evidence that we have.”

  “We can’t risk it. You guys have gotten closer to shutting this place down than anyone ever has before,” Trip says. His expression darkens, “I will not be held prisoner again.”

  “No, you won't,” I reply.

  Ransom looks at River and me, “It’s going to take all of us, and even then, I’m not entirely sure we can break it. Give it as much as possible, but don’t drain yourselves, we’ve still got to fight our way out of here.”

  I nod. Makes sense.

  “On the count of three,” River says, and I feel his magic start to gather.

  I do the same, shifting so that I can send more magic into the seal to break it.

  “Holy shit,” Trip gapes as he watches us both, in shock.

  Then Ransom’s power is unleashed. It’s not calm or sedate, Ransom’s magic never is, but there’s a different undertone to it now that I’m only just beginning to pick up.

  It’s violent, deadly, and wild.

  It’s more.

  “One, two,” River starts, and then finishes with “three.”

  We all release our magic in a steady stream toward the seal, and I immediately feel it try to resist.

  We’re making progress, but not enough. We need to break the seal quickly before it can move the building. I have no idea if they’ve even managed to get to The Owner yet or locate the files. I also have no idea if it would take us with it when it moved or if it would take those that we’ve removed from it. Maybe there’s some kind of spell tying them to the building, so if it disappears, they do too?