Page 98 of Never Tamed
“Andras set your homes on fire. I think it’s time we return the favor.” My grin stretches, wicked, satiated.
Dax laughs. “Now you’re speaking my language, Red!”
“We get some of those whiskey barrels from the brewery,” I say. “Light a match…” I trail off and use my hands to indicate the big boom.
Those things will catch immediately. They’re practically lighter fluid as it is.
Torin straightens, his lips pursed. “More than that. We need something big that can separate Andras from his pack. Most of them, at least.”
“Yeah, get him more on our level.” Mathis nods. “It’s the only way we’re going to actually make a difference.”
“An explosion?” Dax’s eyes light up.
Oh, yeah. This is exactly the kind of thing he wants, and the energy in the room slowly shifts. The desperation, the anticipation, is still there, adding a thickness to the air that clogs my lungs. But now it’s tempered with something else.
Excitement.
“Some teens found a stash of fireworks in one of the sheds. They were a little wet from a roof leak, but they might still work.” Mathis taps his chin. “They’ll certainly make an impression.
“Yesssss.” Dax is practically salivating.
His fangs jut out over his lips and his beard bristles, wild, like his eyes.
“That might work.” A tight smile breaks through Torin’s hardened façade. “That might actually work. We use Ren’s nose to get as close to the Blood Moon’s main headquarters as possible. At the same time, we have our men spread out through the city and set fires to the sewer exits. Create an inferno that cuts off escape routes. It will funnel them directly to us.”
“Create Hell under Rochester’s streets,” Mathis adds.
Rochester has already been a hotbed of demonic activity, in one way or another. The streets aren’t safe from human predators and adding wolves to the mix ups the ante. At least we’ll settle one piece of the equation.
I bob my head. “Exactly. Then, we drop the whiskey fuel and light the fireworks in the center. Anyone who survives will be forced out to the exits. Either they’ll hit the dead ends or they’ll escape from the exits we want them to. That’s when we pounce.”
We take care of everything at once.
Noble finally stops throwing the knife. “You’re forgetting what I said before. There’s no way we can cover every sewer’s exit. How do we make sure Andras goes out the right one?”
Torin deflates a little. “Right.”
“Easy. We give him something to chase,” I say. “Something he really wants. Me.”
The plan unfolds beautifully in my head. Until every head snaps toward me.
“Absolutely not,” Mathis says immediately.
Torin’s eyes go wide. “You want to be used as bait? You’re out of your fucking mind.”
They beat against my mental walls I’ve kept in check, so I didn’t drag them down with my nerves. But now they demand entry and I’ve got to hold strong.
“I won’t be alone,” I insist. “Noble can be with me. But we’ll lead Andras out of the tunnels to a place where we have the upper hand. We can lead him right into a trap.”
And when the iron teeth clamp around him, he’ll have to get through me to escape. Or gnaw off his leg. That would actually do me a favor, and I’d love to see him hobbled.
There’s a moment of stillness and exchanged uneasy looks between the men. Yeah, I didn’t expect them to go for this right away. In fact, Mathis and Torin actually considering my plan feels unexpected.
I figured they’d put their respective paws down immediately.
“Fine. But only if Noble goes,” Mathis replies finally, even though he looks the weariest to agree. “You need someone to watch your ass if things go sideways.”
Noble pushes off the wall and slides the knife into the hem of his pants. “It would be smarter for you not to reveal your powers until we get Andras in place. We need that element of surprise on our side.”
