Page 42 of Hunted in the Shadows
“Not unless you want to drown this car, too,” she said wryly. “It’s a single-use mechanism. Park here for a second while I trigger it. If you give it a minute, the mist should dissipate enough to be safe.”
“Should,” Sylvia echoed hollowly. “Lovely.”
Cliff eased the borrowed green Accord to a stop, the tires crunching over the fallen leaves. He and Gwen stepped out, the humid air scented with moss and earth. He hovered close as Gwen knelt at the base of a towering oak, her fingers deftly tracing the nearly invisible wire. She looked up, meeting Cliff’s eyes briefly. I couldn’t hear what she said, but Cliff shook his head, even as her fingers pulled—triggering the device.
Clouds of mist sprayed from the branches above, the hidden devices coming to life with harrowing precision. I glanced atSylvia, but she didn’t flinch. She stared vacantly as the mist rained and swirled directly around the space our car would have occupied if we’d continued driving forward.
“At least a wandering fairy wouldn’t accidentally pull a tripwire that close to the ground,” she murmured.
“You’re right,” I said readily, trying not to imagine what a brutal way to go that would be—agonizing and humiliating.
Finally, the mist sputtered out and faded, leaving a faintly metallic stench. Gwen stood, brushing dirt off her black jeans. Dropping the limp wire, she returned to the car.
“Let’s go,” she called over her shoulder.
After scanning the muddy path ahead, Cliff followed and climbed back behind the wheel. He glanced Sylvia’s way before turning to confirm with Gwen. “You’re sure it’s safe now?”
“I can sense it,” Sylvia announced before Gwen could answer. “It’s settled into the ground—not the air.”
Cliff took the car at a crawl nonetheless, waiting until we’d passed the hidden devices entirely before moving at a normal pace. We drove for another twenty minutes, evading two more defense automations as the car bounced over the increasingly uneven ground. Some obstacles we recognized. Others were new—brought to our attention by our backseat driver.
It was with a little bitterness I had to admit Gwen was actually pulling her weight. If she’d wanted, she could have taken us over the tripwire without warning and claimed ignorance when Sylvia started shrieking in pain.
This deep into the marshland, sunlight became even sparser behind the towering trees, each cloaked by a mossy curtain. The faint lights of the outpost were noticeable at once—a sight that made my heart lurch. A vast stretch of water stood between us at the cluster of buildings down in the distance.
The tires struggled against the mud until we reached a spot where the earth became too soft to drive over. Cliff pulled off the paved road, parking the car under the shade of a gnarled oak.
The four of us exited the car, and I paused with a mouthful of rancid air to take in the sight. We were too far away to make out any movement on the massive, dilapidated structure.
“It smells like a fish died eating another fish out here,” Sylvia complained, wrinkling her nose.
Cliff snorted. “If you saw the inside of this place, you’dwishthat was what you were smelling.”
Sylvia frowned, looking back at me with a shiver. “I swear I can sense the captive monsters even from here. Aren’t they supposed to be weakened? How do you know some of them haven’t gotten loose from that… What did you call it—the Pit?”
“You know better than most how paranoid hunters are,” I said, the corner of my lips lifting in a self-deprecating smile. “Nothing gets in or out without them noticing.”
But even I could feel the unsettling quiet here—birdsong swallowed up.
Gwen crossed her arms and leaned against the car. “For all the extra tripwires they invested in, doesn’t look like they’ve reinforced the bridge.” She grimaced at the wooden walkway that stretched over the bayou before us. Rainwater drifted along far below in the swamp, carrying twigs and muck and God knew what else. “This is as far as I take you. You have fun, boys.”
“You’re not coming?” Sylvia asked.
“Hell no. You think I spent six months cutting ties just to get roped back in? Keep my name out of your mouth while you’re in there. I started a rumor that a ghoul got the better of me in Texas. The less of these fucks know I exist, the better.”
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. “Why would you practically live in the outpost’s backyard, then?”
“You’re the last one who should be questioning lifestyle choices, Tinker Bell.”
“My lifestyle choices these days have involved savinghumans, you know,” she snapped, flying closer to me and Cliff. Her shoulders squared with a sense of duty. “Can we get this over with? My skin’s about to crawl off my bones just from breathing the air out here.”
I shared a look with Cliff, lips pressed into a thin line. He averted his gaze to the outpost in the distance, ignoring my silent plea to be the bad guy and break the news. Sighing, I braced myself. “Stay with Gwen, Sylv. Someone’s gotta make sure she doesn’t leave us stranded.”
“What?” Her eyes widened with instant outrage. “You want me to babysit?”
Once again, I wished I’d insisted that she stay behind at the shop—where she would be safe in the company of Hannah and a pack of docile animals.
“Yes,” I said, matching the hard edge in her voice. “I’m not stupid enough to invite you into a hunters’ outpost—especially one with updated security measures. You’re lucky I let you come this close.”
