Page 7 of House of Kallan
He wasn’t usually with us. But when we planned to actually gothrougha Silence facility, we tried to bring one of the darker species with us to truly combat any superweapon they had on hand. Tyrus, Ryker, or even Torin. Torin wasn’t dark per se, but he’s a stupidly strong asshole with magic coming out his ass like a rainbow. Yeah. I stood by that comparison.
We’ve found that there weren’t ever superweapons at these Breeding Houses. It’s as if they were such a little threat that they didn’t care if they’re protected or not.
I’d contemplated whether these Breeding Houses were set up as a distraction. Something to keep us occupied and away from their primary facilities where the actual nightmares took place. But the products of these breedings suggested otherwise. The monsters birthed were not for the faint of heart.
So while they weren’t a distraction, they’re also of little concern if they’re infiltrated. Did that mean they had so many Breeding Houses that if they lost a few, it’s not even a drop from the well? That idea was too awful to think it was true.
More likely, they found that these experiments were disposable. Their deaths and termination of the individuals were of little to no consequence. Like this was a side project that they’re enjoying andmightbe able to use in the future,if they could get the kinks out. But it’s not a make or break for them.
Never mind that these were lives.
Sighing, I turned my attention down and squinted. Earth was too pure to see clearly through. I knew that seemed counterintuitive, but that’s the way it worked.
“Over here, Toby,” Ellis said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. “Look. Foundation.”
I grinned and linked my arm with his while I focused on seeing through the concrete to the heat signatures inside. It’s easier. Barely more than a single layer of the same material, nomatter how thick, was easy to penetrate. When I did, I initially found an empty void.
Pushing beyond that, I peered through the next wall. More monsters. The nasty kind with black souls. “We need to kill the monsters in the basement. Their souls were almost entirely black,” I said with disgust.
“Noted,” Tyrus said. I ignored the chill that raced through me at the tone in his voice.
But beyond that room? That was where the rows and rows of human/monster bodies dwelled. Dozens? How many dozen? They were humans, with monster signatures inside them. That was what the weird combination of colors meant. They were the bred human women.
As I stared, trying to catch my breath, I could hear the screams and I pulled away. Gasping. Stumbling.
Hadrian caught me, pulling me to his chest. “Take a breath, love,” he murmured.
“One is screaming. Right now,” I said. “She needs help.”
“We’re going to help them all,” Ellis said.
“No, I meanright now.Something is happening. She’s a weird twist of colors. Somehow, she looks like she’s being ripped apart.”
Logically, I knew that meant she was likely in the middle of a violent birth.
“Okay, let’s go,” Tyrus said and headed for the building.
Calix caught his arm to stop him. “Relax a minute.”
“No,” I insisted. “Now. We need to go.”
“Tell us what we’re going to meet,” Calix said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Tyrus said. “I’ll kill them all.”
Ellis patted his shoulder as if he were saying ‘good boy.’ Tyrus, our fucking psycho oni, grinned hugely at him.
“There’s a max of ten on the first floor. Throughout the space. There’s no one on the second or third floor.” I paused. Was there a third floor? Didn’t matter. No one was located above the first. Just below. “The first pocket we get to in the basementis empty. The second has a bunch of monsters. Beyond that is where the bred humans are.” Her screams echoed in my head and I pulled away from Hadrian, looking a little wild. My sight was caught between seeing reality around me and the heat signatures. “We need to go, Hadrian. Now.”
“Let’s go,” Tyrus said again, then pulled away. This time, no one stopped him as we moved toward the building, and he vanished into the shadows.
“One of these times, they’re going to have employed demons and we’re going to have more of a fight,” Raiden said, having been quiet until now. Idris next to him, having kept silent as well, nodded. “I shudder to think of that day.”
“Do you think, instead of killing all the monsters they think are most dangerous, they have them locked away somewhere until they can figure out how to control them?” Ellis asked.
Our entire group seemed to hesitate as we turned our attention to him. Ellis, noticing, gave us a smile and shrugged. “Stupid idea, huh?”
“No,” Idris said. “Terrifying idea. Can you imagine nightmares under their control?”
