“What is this thing made of?” she screeched, slapping her palm against the snake emblem on the door. “Also that was rhetorical, I know it’s metal.”
Hunter growled behind her, the sound pained. Eva felt the hair on the back of her neck raise, and as she slowly turned to meet the eyes of a seriously pissed off cat.
“Don’t you dare eat me,” she said, hoping her tone was light and non-threatening. “I will not go through all this and then be eaten by you. I just won’t, could you imagine the humiliation when I tell all the other ghosts?”
Eva knew she was rambling, but the word vomit wouldn’t stop as she moved slowly, grabbing one of the slimmer knives on the wall.
“I’m going to try and pick the lock,” she explained, hoping Hunter understood. “Not that I’ve ever picked a lock before, but it can’t be too hard. Can it?” She even looked at Hunter, waiting for him to reply.
He gave her a slow blink, which seemed like the only response she was going to receive.
“You’re a great listener,” she continued, hoping her talking was enough to stop him from wanting to use her as a scratching post. “Do you…”
The ground quaked, so violent the entire room rattled. A large crack appeared beneath their feet, splitting the hard concrete into a spiderweb. The fractures continued to move, breaking off and moving up the walls until it splintered around the door.
Hunter let out a hiss, scrambling back. His paw had caught a sharp piece of concrete, the pads sliced and bleeding.
Reaching for one of the thicker knives she shoved it into the crack beside the door, using all her strength and weight to force it open a little more. Fur brushed along her side, Hunter adding pressure against the wall as the cracks opened up further, wide enough she could just make out the corridor.
The knife snapped halfway up the blade, wedged in the concrete.
“This isn’t work…” Eva couldn’t get her next words out before another blast rocked through the room, and this time she threw herself over Hunter, protecting his back as a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down, along with dust.
“What the fuck have you done?”
Eva froze at the voice, a hand snaking around her ankle before she screamed, pulled across the floor and debris. Dutch sneered, face twisted so viciously he looked like a monster, eyes flicking to Hana who lay forgotten.
“What the fuck have you done?” he asked again, free hand circling around her throat.
Hunter roared, his large paw swiping at Dutch hard enough it loosened his hold. It allowed Eva to turn onto her stomach, reach for one of the weapons that had fallen off the display. Her fingers brushed metal, jumping to her feet just as Dutch threw Hunter across the room. He crashed against the chair in the centre, causing it to creak as it collapsed at the weight.
Eva let out a hiss, fangs lengthening. “Don’t touch him.”
Dutch stood covered in dust, his smile on the wrong side of sanity. Four cuts sliced along his face, including over his left eye. “You killed her, pretty lady,” he said. “Which means you’ll have to replace her.”
“I’m not your toy,” Eva snapped, gripping the broken knife tightly behind her back. “Or Augustine’s.”
He took a measured step forward, head cocked as his smile turned into a grin that creased his cheeks so far it pulled at his wounds. “This is going to hurt.”
Eva blinked, and Dutch had already moved. He was a dark smear in her peripheral, and the shift of air gave her a millisecond warning before his fist brushed across her cheek. She twisted, her legs moving as she tried to blur her own movements. The initial contact with his fist had been a shock, but the pain was already forgotten as she danced back out the way, trusting herself not to fall over the debris on the floor.
She fucking specialised in movement, and in that instant she thanked her mum for forcing her to take dance lessons as a young kid. Because while she may not have even been able to match Dutch’s fighting skills, she could move, maybe even faster than him.
Hunter groaned, pulling her attention away for the smallest second. It was enough, and before she knew it she was airborne, followed by a pain radiated down her spine and the back of her head. Warmth spread through her hair, her eyes darkening at the corners.
Dutch crouched before her, his face hazy as he reached down to grip her chin. Her arms felt weighted as she pushed his hold, blood roaring in her ears. She couldn’t make out his words, his lips moving but no sound coming out.
Her strength seemed zapped as something was pressing into her hand, her fangs pulsating along with the headache forming behind her eyes.
Fuck. Did he have wood?
She couldn’t die, not when she had to protect Hunter. He was just a kid.
Eva felt the broken blade hidden in her hand. What was once an impressive length was now barely the size of her palm, but it would be enough. It had to be.
“Fuck you,” she wheezed out, using the last of her strength to thrust. The broken knife entered at an angle in Dutch’s face just below his eye, and from his sudden inhale of air she knew it had hurt. She watched the pain ripple across his features, morphing into fury as the darkness pulled her into its welcoming depths.
Chapter25
