“I think we're good,” Darc called back and waved us forward.
Banning grinned at me, I grinned back, and we started to run.
Banning and I arrived at the entrance to Eleanor's hideout seconds after Darc did. A steel door stood before us, set into a concrete box the size of a small shed. Darcraxis turned the handle and something cracked. He yanked the door open and grinned at me. Locks are useless against gods. Hell, they're useless against most Beneathers.
The filtered sunlight that made it through the tree canopy barely lit the dark interior beyond the door. A few descending steps were all we could see. I reached in to hit a switch on the wall and rectangular lights crackled to life on the slanted ceiling. The stairs went down a good thirty feet to a corridor. No sounds filtered up to us from that corridor and no one could be seen, not even a shadow of movement. Darc didn't hesitate; he hurried down the stairs and the rest of us chased after him.
The corridor at the bottom of the stairs took a left turn and ended abruptly in a door. Darc came to a stop and opened the door, then peered into the room beyond before he stepped past the frame. His expression shifted into fury as he did. I hurried into the room after him and instantly located the source of his anger.
The space was rectangular, the length of two shipping containers, and resembled an open-concept apartment. Walls, floor, and ceiling were lined in wood panels—all but one corner, where bare metal walls extended out to form a box. A bed stood on the left with a dresser beside it, a small kitchen on the right, and an open door in the far wall gave a glimpse of a little bathroom. Standing between the bathroom and us was Eleanor. She held a small, black object in her hand. Judging by the antenna sticking out of its top, the single red button on its belly, and the plastic cover over that button, I deduced that it was a detonator. A detonator is never a good sign.
Eleanor smiled. “Lose a few people along the way?”
“Where's Slate?” I demanded.
“Slate's safe.” She slapped the metal wall beside her, right beside a barred door. “Much safer than you are.”
“Elaria?” Slate's voice came hollowly through the metal, followed by the pounding of fists.
“Hey!” Eleanor slapped the metal again. “Keep that up and I'll set off the explosives early.”
“What explosives?” Slate roared. “Eleanor?! What explosives?”
Eleanor looked up with a wicked grin.
The rest of us followed her stare to a web of wires, pale bricks, and blinking lights attached to the ceiling. The hands around me that had been filling with magic lowered and dimmed. Witches started backing toward the corridor.
“Run and I'll set them off,” Eleanor warned them.
The witches froze.
Inside my head, I said to RS,Tell our guys to get their traveling stones ready. We may need to make a quick escape. And tell them to grab a witch if possible.
Is Verin included in “our guys?”
Yes, he's included. As if I'd want you to leave him out.
Just checking.
Just tell them!
Okay,she huffed.
“What explosives?!” Slate demanded again. “What the fuck are you doing, Eleanor? Elaria, are you all right?”
“I'm fine, babe, but Eleanor's got the ceiling rigged to blow,” I called out to Slate.
“Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll survive,” Eleanor said to my man. “That cell will protect you and my side of the room will explode last so I'll have plenty of time to escape.”
“I'm going to fucking tear your head off!” Slate roared at her.
“Temper, temper, darling,” Eleanor tsked him. “I've got the woman you love out here. The one you'd rather share than have me all to yourself. The one you want to marry even though she's already married to five other men!”
“She's my mate, not my wife; it's more binding than marriage,” Gage clarified.
Eleanor narrowed her eyes at Gage. “You're all fucking crazy!”
“Hello, Pot,” Cerberus said brightly. He waved at Gage and added, “This is Kettle.”
