Page 22 of Lunar Desires
“Go!” Molly hissed, sweeping her arm toward the staircase.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I have to defend my business.”
My face went hot with horror. “Defend it? Against them? You can’t fight witchcops.”
She smiled. “Not with violence, babycakes. With this.” She tapped her lips. “I’ll talk my way out of this. Now, go. Follow the tunnel to the convenience store and be safe. And don’t worryabout this door. My rock posters are special. They’ll reform.” She winked. “Oh. The phone.” She fished it from her pocket. “Good. It’s still intact. There will be no signal below ground, but it’s best you take this. One less thing I have to explain.”
I took the phone, not liking any of this.
Drake gave her an understanding nod. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
“I know. Give me a call in a few days. Sorry about the shotgun. I really need to have another one down here.” She shrugged.
I didn’t want to leave her to face the scrutiny of the witchcops alone. They’d really put her through it—torture was not outside the realms of possibility. I’d heard many stories over the years, especially when it came to hunting shadow witches. They always dodged the witchcops. Slippery, good at hiding—especially the Kingwoods.
Truth potion posed a risk too. If the witchcops used it on Molly, she’d give them our names and that would be it. Cat straight out of the bag.
Did I tell her my surname? No. I’d just said Riley. Right?
Oh. God.
“There’s someone here!” I heard a man cry.
Molly deserved better than this. She didn’t know me, asked no questions, just trusted Drake and gave me shelter.
“Come on,” Drake insisted, taking point.
Rather than languish in a pity party, I followed him onto the staircase.
Taking a pause, I looked back as Molly waved.
“Come out! Now!” the witchcop barked.
Please be okay…
The door slid back into place, plunging us into darkness.
Chapter 7
RILEY
Light flickered to life at the bottom of the staircase, beckoning like a beacon.
Cautiously, I followed Drake down, just about making out his shape before me.
“Do you know which direction we need to take?” I asked, the guilt at leaving Molly behind thickening.
I couldn’t hear anything behind me now.
“There’s a guide we can use. Be careful.”
Dad…
The figurewasmy dad. Showing me the past but telling me nothing new.
What the hell was going on?
