Page 21 of Discord
14
Ripley
Everyone wanted to get to that storage facility now that we had more information. I needed to be there and so did Ravyn, but we both had essential jobs and couldn’t just close up shop for the day. Felix and Balthazar said they got all kinds of bad vibes when they went out there the first time to scout and so didn’t particularly want to go back out when it was dark.
Of course, Felix wasn’t scared of anything. One of the shitty rich warlocks at the academy had this massive dog as their familiar. Don’t ask me how that familiar got reborn to help that warlock because the two of them together were awful. Not every witch or warlock got a familiar. If anyone shouldn’t have gotten one, it was him. The warlock would try to bully people with his big dog, and the familiar just went along with it.
He’d tried that with me, and Felix was seriously going to try to take on that dog so it couldn’t get to me. I was a freshman, and he was a senior. I’d only taken my second battle magic class, but the warlock was so shocked I flung elementary battle magic at him and his stupid dog, that he backed down and didn’t mess with me ever again.
I liked Balthazar, but he was a little crazy. I mean, he’d told Reyson to give it to him rough… like Reyson couldn’t lose control and break his damn spine! I already knew Balthazar didn’t back down from fights. He’d beat down anyone who had something to say about his makeup.
If those two said the storage yard was creepy and that they didn’t want to go at night, then I’d took it as a serious warning. Now yes, It would probably be easier to get the jump on the shifter standing guard and raid it successfully under cover of darkness, but there was also the increased chance of us getting jumped at night.
None of us were stupid. Crazy? Yes. Stupid? Fuck no.
So, we were waiting until my next day off. Things were calm in the library, with primarily regulars coming in who already knew what they were looking for. Professor Krauss came back in to help, and we all appreciated it. She said she really liked her retirement, but she also wanted to enjoy it without the threat of war with Hell.
She was helping a lot, and she gave Ravyn a glowing recommendation. She recommended we bring her, which we were already planning on doing. I was a little jealous when Professor Krauss asked her to do independent study, but I didn’t make an enormous fuss about it. Cursed objects were Ravyn’s passion, not mine, and she deserved it.
Everyone was antsy, including me. Ravyn was blowing up my phone like this was some kind of fun outing to play with dangerous things to bring back to her museum. She also thought Killian was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. She was working through some shit because she swore off men, and she thought dating familiars was a bad idea when I was doing it. Although, now that Reyson gave Killian his body back, she was changing her mind on the subject.
She also didn’t know how he felt about any of this. Ravyn never had any issues talking to the opposite sex unless she actually liked them. The fact that she hadn’t put him on the spot and asked him to his face told me she would break her no men rule pretty damn soon.
The day finally came. My sedan was nowhere near big enough to cart that many people around. Ravyn had a massive SUV, in case she needed to pick things up for the museum. She loved that gas guzzler and drove it like a bat out of hell. She was delighted to drive everyone, as long as the back was free in case she wanted to liberate anything old and dangerous and bring it to the museum.
My sister wassuperweird like that - she’d get far too excited by magical objects that could kill her.
The storage facility was way out of the way. We were mostly silent, because this was major. This was a crucial step in stopping Dorian for good and putting a dent in Silvaria’s plans. Ravyn cranked her music up and sang off-key with Killian the entire drive.
I could only talk to Felix. I’d never had a conversation with Killian until Reyson changed him. After this car ride, I was convinced he was perfect for my sister. They had the exact same taste in music, and he knew all the words to her favorite songs. They were both doing car karaoke like we were on our way to a party.
I’d never been to a storage facility built on a Native American gravesite, but as we approached I realized they’d definitely designed it to have majorly creepy vibes. I saw why Felix and Balthazar didn’t want to come back at night. There was a front office, but no one was staffing the desk. Most storage facilities had security cameras everywhere, in case someone wanted to break into one and steal the contents. There wasn’t a single camera here though, and there were no employees either. This place gave me bad vibes. This was a place people stored terrible shit they didn’t want anyone else to find. These people weren’t worried about being robbed, they were more worried about being seen on camera bringing shit here.
Ravyn came to stand next to me.
“The museum could make bank if we raided this place. Itreeksof dangerous magic!”
“I don’t like this place,” Killian said. “Every one of these containers has something nasty in it. Where are the cameras and employees? This isn’t just a burial ground. There are ley lines here. This shouldn’t even be here.”
“A lot of palms were greased to get this built. It’s out of the way, off the grid, no one ends up here unless they know it’s here. There are counter surveillance measures in place, so they don’t record anyone coming, going, or bringing things here. Don’t you want to know what they are keeping here?” Ravyn asked.
“Demon hostages and a painting with a soul in it. Really, Ravyn? Can you stop acting like any of this is fun?”
“It is, Ripley. Just because it’s not a shelf of books that bite doesn’t mean people can’t enjoy it. Someone needs to take care of that shifter down there. I’m guessing it is guarding a demon and a dirty painting.”
We had planned on unleashing Reyson on the shifter guard, but Bram had other ideas. His clothes totally shredded as he shifted and took off. I’d never seen a Hellhound before. Yeah, I’d seen drawings, but they didn’t do him justice. He was the size of a pony, with inky black fur, and his eyes glowed red.
I’d never seen a dog like this before, not ever, and people were always mixing breeds trying to make the next Goldendoodle. The Hellhound shared features with a pit bull and a Doberman. Bram had a thick, blocky skull, but tall, straight ears like a Doberman. I knew what they did to Dobermans to get their ears to do that and I really hoped someone hadn’t done that to Bram to fit some sort of Hell aesthetic.
The shifter took one look at Bram, barreling towards him. If it were me out there, I’d say fuck Silvaria and her nasty shipping container, and get the fuck out of there. There was a reason Silvaria chose a shifter instead of any other supernatural species, it was because they could be counted on to never back down from a fight, even if they were sure to lose. I’d only ever seen them do that once, and it was when Reyson was involved.
This one was no different. He shifted into his wolf form and took off running at Bram. This wasn’t even going to be a fair fight. Bram was triple the size of this wolf. I should look away and not watch this, but this was an evil wolf, and he had it coming. I didn’t particularly care if Bram ate him.
Oh, fuck. The wolf jumped straight at Bram’s throat. Bram snatched him out of the air with his teeth and just shook the shit out of him. I could hear his spine break from here. He flung him to the side like a piece of trash and shifted back. He was totally naked, with blood all over his face. He was magnificent.
“Talvath is in there! He’s weak. We have to get him out!”
“Double team it?” Ravyn asked.
