The corridor is not what I expected, but then again, the building wasn’t exactly what I expected either. The floor is dark wood, and the walls are lined with the same kind of wood paneling. There are fancy paintings with those little lights that paintings like this always seem to have above them lining the walls, and it all looks very fancy.
If this is what the corridor that leads to the cells looks like, then what the hell does the rest of the place look like?
River’s nose turns up, “All this opulence, just in case a buyer wants to see the merchandise before the official sale.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that,” I mutter, utterly disgusted.
We head further down the corridor, keeping an eye on our surroundings, but this is a one-way in and one-way out kind of situation, so there aren’t any more doors down here, just the one we came through and the one that we’re heading towards at the end of the corridor.
That’s it.
That’s what it appears like at least, but I’m not risking there being a hidden door behind one of these paintings or something because it definitely seems like a place that would have secret doors.
Actually, scratch that, I know there has to be another door down here somewhere because Rana said that they were led straight from the cells into the arena to be sold.
Of course, there might be another door down in the cells that would make sense too.
I am also very aware, as we head down the corridor, that we are being watched.
It was decided that we wouldn’t waste time on disabling the cameras before we got into the building. The timeframe that we have to do this in is so small that we aren’t going for subtlety. As if to reiterate my point, the sounds of yelling and crashing come from somewhere else in the building, and I send a silent prayer to anyone who wants to listen that it’s going to go off without a hitch.
We also need all the footage that they have and any back up files, at least that’s what the guys told me when I suggested that we blow up the security rooms, because it would be quicker than trying to hack into them and divert the feeds, or whatever it is that these techy people do.
We were originally going to do that, but the tech team that tried to, said that the security on the system was incredible and it would take them a few days at least to get through it, and we just don’t have that kind of time.
That’s when I suggested that we just blow it up, and was resolutely told no.
It makes sense, I get why we can’t. I’m still mad about it, though.
The Voices mutter, they’re mad about it too, we like it when things go bang, and it’s been a while since I’ve blown something up. Knowing that they aren’t the dead makes so much more sense to me.
Finally, we reach the end of the hallway, and we come to the next door. This one looks like an ordinary door, but we know from Rana that it’s actually reinforced, both physically and with spells.
It’s the entrance to the cells.
River and I turn to face the rest of the corridor, guarding Ransom’s back as he works his magic on the door, literally.
“I’m in,” he says after only a few moments.
He pulls the door open, and we’re immediately met by guards who no doubt watched us come down the corridor on their security cameras. They probably thought that there would be no way that we could get in here. They spill out into the hallway as we back up and prepare to fight.
River growls, as Ransom grins, his eyes lighting up with a feral kind of happiness that is ridiculously hot.
The sound of Betty getting ready to fire is loud, and I take aim and shoot in quick succession before the space becomes too crowded, and I run the risk of shooting River or Ransom, who both look like they’re having the time of their lives.
Detain, not kill, I have to remind myself as I send Betty away and call on Asael in his two-sword form.
The guard closest to me grins, thinking I’m the easier target because I’m littler. I smack him on his temple with the hilt of one of my swords as he swings for me and leaves himself completely open.
Disappearing Asael, I secure the guy on the floor, River and Ransom, having done the same to the ones that they’ve managed to keep alive, and then follow them down the stairs, calling Asael back to me.
There is no way that those were the only guards down here. Not a fucking chance.
As we reach the bottom of the steps, I feel my eyes change, and my fangs and claws grow as anger floods me at the sheer number of cells that seem to go on forever into the dimly lit darkness, and they’ve still tried to make it pretty. The hallway is still covered in dark polished wood, there are even fucking paintings hung between the cells, and instead of bars, they are trapped within clear glass, although it must be stronger than normal glass.
Each cell has a set of heavy curtains on the outside, made of a deep purple velvet with gold edging and fucking tassels.
Then there are the plaques, by each cell is a framed plaque with a number and a description of the supernatural and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Whether they’re particularly good at cooking or would be great as a punching bag.
