Page 140 of Let Us Prey
Is it weird to be so angry you can’t speak and still amused? Hell if I know, but I’m a big sloppy mess of emotions at the moment.
Turning to face my guys, I plaster on a cheerful grin. “Come on, guys. If being here on the right night didn’t do it, I need more ideas. Let’s do this—together.”
Nico shrinks back a bit, slipping deeper into the shadows and my irritation at how he feels like he doesn’t belong spikes my blood pressure again. Tamping down my extreme reaction, I squint, realizing the others are simply staring at me.
“What?”
Bash grins through wolfy fangs, his expression hungry as he replies, “I thought the outfit was hot, but now you’re really looking edible, Cherry.”
Patting myself down, I realize I’ve sprouted my tail, ears, claws, and—holy shit—a twitchy nose, which I’ve never been able to do before. Instead of feeling proud, it just makes me grumpier, knowing I’ve lost control of my shift because I’m overly annoyed by the ongoing drama.“Yeah, well, dinner’s off the table until we figure out what to do with this thing,” I snark in return.
The wolf grabs his chest as if I’ve wounded him, and I fight back a laugh to look over at my research buddy. The dragon continues his reign of silence, but I keep looking at him expectantly, not budging until he throws up his hands.
“Fine!” All the guys have half or partially-shifted in some way, and Aubrey’s s scales shimmer in the moonlight as he stomps to where the glass is wedged in the slot, studying it for a moment. Slipping a claw into the slot, he fiddles with the placement before he continues. “Maybe the Captain has done us a bigger favor than making the chamber accessible. I believe he also knocked loose a piece of stone prohibiting the panel from sitting correctly in the slot. Everybody, move back.”
Bash and Cash retreat as one, and I walk over to where Rennie is watching Aubrey with a fond smile. When the dragon steps away from the pedestal, his wings fold in, and unobstructed moonlight streams through the gap near the ceiling. It hits the glass and suddenly, the entire chamber is filled with a prism of colorful light, shining like jewels. The fuzzy image Nico and I saw previously comes into focus, like someone adjusted a camera lens, and my jaw drops as the unmistakable shape of a dragon doorknockeris revealed.
Not just on the Blood Moon, but in the Blood Moon’slight…
“Now what?” Cash says, stroking his beard as he studies it. “I don’t see a door popping out of… wherever—just the knocker.”
Rennie looks over at Nico, who shrugs petulantly, and then back at Aubrey. The two of them start that weird wordless communication they have sometimes, and I take the opportunity to walk over to Bash. He’s pacing next to his twin again, sneaking glimpses at Nico and rubbing his hand through his fur in aggravation. Catching his hand, I tug him closer and force his wild eyes to meet mine.
“We’ll figure it out, and when we do, the campus will be safe,” I murmur. “Then everything can go back to normal.”
“Will it?” he mutters, his honey-brown eyes drifting to his fox again. I frown again, and he quickly gives me a tight grin. “Well, it will if you wear that cat suit again, Cherry. It makes me wanna burgle your kitty.”
Sigh. I wish I could knock some sense into him.
Wait…
“Hey, guys!” I shout, practically laughing with how the answer has been right in front of us the whole time. “How about we try something simple?”
“Like what, bite size?” Aubrey rumbles, looking at me curiously.
Winking at him, I head to the wall, pushing up on my toes and rap on the stones three times, directly over the image of the dragon’s head. A loud scraping noise echoes through the chamber and a door appears, swinging open like I just said ‘open sesame.’
Holy shit, that worked.
“Let’s go on an adventure!” I switch on Nico’s headlamp and grab his hand, tugging him toward the gaping doorway that just opened. I don’t miss the narrowed gazes it earns me, but he’s an important part of this discovery, so I’m not letting him hang back and be ignored.
Humming the jaunty dwarf song under my breath as we follow the dimly lit path, I hear Cash whisper ‘what the hell?’ from the back of the group. I shake my head, sure he just ran into a cobweb or something, and continue leading the group through the darkened passageway towards a faint light in the distance. Nico’s hand is warm in mine, and my anger from earlier fades a little as we get closer to unveiling the secrets of this place.
“Watch those wings, spicy lizard!” I frown as Bash growls into the darkness.
“It wasn’t me, Sebastian. Perhaps you ran into a sconce,” the dragon harrumphs, but I feel a slight breeze as he readjusts his wings, anyway.
When we get to the end of the tunnel, we all emerge into a clearing surrounded by thick forest. I have a vague idea of how far we walked and in what direction, but the space we’re standing in is completely foreign to me. I let go of Nico’s hand and walk to the center of what appears to be a circle made out of unfamiliar symbols burned into the grass. Before I can open my mouth to ask Aubrey about the markings on the ground, Bash lets out a snarl.
“Did any of you see that? It looked like someone wearing a fucking cloak, hiding in the trees.”
Renard stalks to the edge of the circle, peering into the darkness suspiciously. “I did… and the smell is familiar... "
“Over here!” Cash yells, stomping in a completely different direction to glare at the thick foliage.
One by one, we all glimpse the figure, even as they seem to disappear and reappear at will. Throughout it all, I stand in the middle of the circle as my guys sniff and snarl at the edges of the clearing. Their backs are to me as they try to suss out exactly where the hooded stranger is, and I feel a shiver start at the base of my spine as I consider the possibility there could be more than one—closing in on us. My ears twitch one after the other, flopping into my face limply, and I shake my head, annoyed that I seem to be losing control of my shift again. I open my mouth to get their attention, but a sudden crunch inside of me rips the breath out of my throat, silencing my attempt.
What’s happening to me?!
