Page 75 of Hunted
I turned and kept my attention focused on the hallway in front of me.More intruders poured in now.The air stank of rot and twisted magic.All this just to take back one reluctant slave?It seemed over the top.But whatever their purpose here, the Order of the Triple Moon was throwing everything they had at us.
I squared off and let my presence stretch to block the hallway, defending the route to the tunnels behind me so the others could make their way to safety.I could sense Sanka casing spells somewhere above me on the upper level of the theater.A burst of cold and ice shards told me Yukio was around the corner in the next hall over, protecting that route as well.The cultists must have blown out the entire west side of the theater and its foundation.
I didn’t like the implications.The crazy witches had somehow amassed a fuckton of power.Dread settled in my belly at the thought of the dark things they must have done.But I had other things to focus on right now.Pushing my aura outward, I crippled cultists with fear.The ones who managed to shield against my bubak power fell to the knives in my hands.Never fight with magic alone—it was a basic lesson.Whoever trained these assholes had done a terrible job of it.
Robin appeared at the far end of the hall as I yanked my blade out of my most recent opponent’s throat.Her hair was a mess, one side of her face was splattered with blood, and she was covered in dust and debris.Her aura shimmered with searing heat, every step measured and lethal.I glanced down and saw the floor tiles crack wherever her feet landed, steam rising from the surface.
Fire dripped from her clawed fingertips and her eyes were slit-pupiled and glowing.But her protective rage was doing its job—Ruya strode quickly behind her, one hand clutching the back of Robin’s blouse, notnearlyas dirty and roughed up as Robin was.Clearly, our alpha had taken the brunt of whatever had happened upstairs.Thank the every deity that existed.
Martina followed at Ruya’s heels, bruised and blood-flecked, but upright and brandishing her fangs and a knife in warning.The curse breaker was awkwardly draped over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.Sanka rushed in behind her, his back to Martina’s, one palm glowing with bright red magic, the other gripping a short blade laced with sigils.
Sadavir approached from the adjoining hallway in naga form, moving like a ripple of sinuous steel.Ruya’s true mate was impressive in his usual form.But as a naga, he was even taller, broader.The coils of his long, powerful tail were so thick they took up the breadth of the hallway.His long snake fangs dripped with glistening venom and the blood drops across his chin said he’d put already put those fangs to good use.Yukio trailed behind, eyes narrowed, casting illusions—fae glamor that made it look like the hallway had collapsed into impassable rubble.
I locked eyes with my furious alpha.
“West wall,” Robin snapped, confirming my assessment.“Push them back and take down the ceilings so they can’t find the tunnel entrance.Hold the line until Ruya and the betas are out.Her dragon eyes flicked over us all in a hurried headcount.“Fuck.One short!We need to find Josh.”
Sadavir hissed and surged forward, but Robin held up a hand.“Stay with your mate!The vampire is harder to kill than our omega.”Robin snapped.Then she turned her back on him and ignored him, whipping her head toward Sanka.“Sorcerer.I want them to think we were crushed here when the ceilings fell in.”Her blazing eyes lit on me.“Bubak, find our vampire.”
I peeled off as Robin continued to issue rapid-fire orders to the court, shadows wrapped around me like a second skin.I needed to find the missing beta, or we’d all die here waiting for him to show up.
In the western wing, I found utter ruin.A spelled antique tapestry lay scorched on the floor, symbols blistered away.Bookshelves had been toppled, and smoldering pages were strewn everywhere.One of Ruya’s tea sets—her favorite—lay shattered beneath a falling beam.For some reason, the sight of the scattered pieces of gold-painted porcelain made my blood boil.She was supposed to be safe here.We all were.This was our sanctuary.
A cultist lunged from the hole in the wall behind the debris, his blade aimed for my gut.
I didn’t move.
My shadow moved for me.It rose in an unnatural arc, took shape around the man, and closed like a fist.He screamed once—an echo swallowed in velvet dark.I let him drop, his eyes glazed and catatonic with horror, and kept moving.
Footsteps skittered through the vents above.I looked up—and nearly laughed out loud.The fluffy white cat’s yellow eyes gleamed beyond the vent grate.Several rats and a weasel followed her in a procession, whiskers twitching, tails lashing, as she followed the duct work toward the tunnels.
She paused, gave me a slow blink of haughty acknowledgement, then vanished deeper into the walls, her rodent army following.Of course.
Cicely darted into view, arms full of small bodies—an opossum, two snakes, and Cheese Crackers—with Odin riding along on his shoulder like a supervising gargoyle.What was he doing here?I thought was with the others.My heart thudded with delayed fear at seeing him here, so near the cult’s improvised entrance.
He grinned, his shiny gold curls flopping into his eyes.His glamor had slipped, and his true form was visible, little horn nubs and pointed ears peeking through his tangled hair.The ankles that peeked past his loose linen pants were covered in fur and ended in goat hooves.I wanted to grab the fool and yank him close, make sure he was unharmed.But I held back the silly impulse, covering my relief with irritation at his reckless concern for every living thing.
“Go,” I rasped, flinging an arm toward the hallway behind me.
He winked, nodded, and slipped past.
Another shockwave rocked the walls, as if the cult wouldn’t be content until they brought the theater down on our heads.I tasted sulfur.
That wasnotgood.First blood magic, now something demonic?What were the cultists up to?I swore.It didn’t matter.Whatever their means, they were effective.We were clearly out of time.
Sanka’s powerful aura approached from behind and he jogged into the room.“Come on,” he said curtly.“Ceiling is rigged to come down in five.”
I joined him in the hall, trailing darkness and terror behind me in case any other cultists decided to come rushing in through the hole in the foundation.“Everyone’s accounted for?”I said, as we hurried back out of the west wing.
Sanka shot me a dark look.“Almost everyone.Josh hasn’t shown up yet.Vir’s losing his shit.Yukio says Acacia probably made the vampire run to save her asset.Robin went off to search the guest wing one last time.But she made me set the spell to blow the place up anyway—forced the others into the tunnels and went all alpha on us.”He shrugged.“We can’t wait.There’s cultists surrounding the property—not sure how they hid from us while they planned all this, but I can sure as fuck sense them now.I can feel them charging up for something big—I think they’re making a circle to cast a net spell.And whatever bullshit they’ve used to bolster their magic—I can’t take them out this time, dude.”
His dark brown eyes were full of regret.“I hope Yuko’s right.I hope Josh did a runner and saved his own skin.Because we can’t stay here looking for him when it might mean Ru the rest of us end up property of the fucking cult.”
I ground my teeth together.He was right, damn it.But...I couldn’t just run away when one of us might still be trapped in here.Especially a beta.I wasn’t an alpha, but the gamma instinct to protect and defend was still strong—and whatever else he might be now, Josh was still a beta.And one of ours.He needed my protection.
I stopped.Sanka turned to look back at me, impatience warring with resignation as he studied my face.“Fuck’s sake, Dusek,” he half reprimanded, half whined.“Really?You’re supposed to be the practical one.Tell me to move my ass and stop defying my alpha’s orders.Remind me I’m a fucking beta too, even if I ain’t half as fragile as the rest.”
I shook my head at him.“Five minutes?”
