Faces peer out the windows, scared, confused, and defeated. An old man holds a cane to his chest. A woman clutches her child, and a twenty-something couple whispers furiously, holding hands like they can hold off reality with sheer willpower.
We’re forced up the steps and shoved into seats. Metal screeches as the door slams shut behind us. I look over at Reid. His jaw is tight, and his chest is heaving, but neither of us says a word as the bus jerks forward. There’s no explanation or instructions, just the dull roar of tires over pavement as we’re driven through town, past the places we know, the streets we’ve driven. All of it out of reach behind the locked windows of this fucking bus.
The bus finally stops outside a massive gated warehouse complete with a chain link fence topped by barbed wire. Soldiers flank the entrance and glare menacingly at us as we’re herded off the bus into the warehouse through a huge rolling door. The space inside is wide open and crowded. People are sitting on the floor or leaning against the outer walls. Some are crying, and some argue, but most just look shell-shocked. My eyes scan the crowd, searching. I don’t know what I’m looking for until I hear my name.
“Julian! Reid!”
My head snaps around.
Elenor… Gigi.
She waves wildly, tears in her eyes, pushing through the crowd. Right behind her is Kara, Reid’s sister. The sight of them nearly drops me to my knees. Reid doesn’t hesitate as he rushesforward and wraps Kara in a fierce hug. Her fingers clutch at his back like she’ll never let go again, all her regular cool composure missing as she cries into his neck in relief.
I go to Gigi and as she wraps her arms around me for a second, the weight of everything lifts.
“I knew you’d make it,” she breathes against my shoulder.
I pull back, scan her face. “Where’s Luna?”
Gigi shakes her head. “She’s not here. I went out to get supplies and they grabbed me. They took my bag, shoved me on a truck and brought me and a bunch of others here. I haven’t seen her since yesterday, but if they had gotten her, she’d be here too.”
My heart sinks. I grip her arms. “But she’s at the house?”
She nods with a reassuring smile. “Last I saw, yes. She was safe.”
They lead us out of the crowd and we slide down against a wall beside them, backs to the cold metal, knees drawn up. Kara leans her head on Reid’s shoulder, still looking impeccably put together even here and now. Gigi leans on mine, and for a moment, the four of us just breathe, just exist.
Then we start to talk about what we’ve seen and what we’ve done to get back here. We talk about the powers and the chaos happening out there, but none of us say anything about what we are able to do now. This isn’t the time or place to share that. Kara finally regains her icy demeanor and glares at a few of the soldiers who walk past with guns held threateningly.
“I was trapped on campus for the first few days, but when things kept getting worse, I slipped away and went to the private airfield I use to fly from. It took an ungodly amount of money, but I finally managed to get a helicopter pilot to fly me and a few others heading north. It took two days just to get over the border, hopping from airstrip to airstrip. We could only fly during the day and had a hard time getting fuel.” She side-eyesanother pair of soldiers passing by. “Imagine my surprise when these British wannabe warlords scooped me up at the airport. They came rushing in, barking orders and demands, then they just forced me into a truck. Like I was some kind of enemy soldier.” She sits back and crosses her arms with a shake of her head. “I should have had the pilot set down on our property instead. I’ve been here ever since. I just wish they’d tell us what they want!”
I study the uniformed men stationed around the huge room with narrowed eyes. I know what they want. They want power, it’s as simple as that. The only question is if we’ll let them have it. For now, we’ll wait, but not for long. Our girl is out there and we didn’t come this far to not get to her.
Chapter 61 - Gage
Dawn breaks slowly over the fields, a pale smear of gold barely cutting through the morning haze. I’m walking. Again. My thighs are sore, my feet ache, and I can’t stop thinking about her. Every fucking step I take is for her. For that soft smile, those gorgeous eyes. For the way she always pretends she’s fine, even when she’s cracking inside. I need to see her. Need to know she’s safe.
Brannick caught a scent yesterday morning on the wind while we were packing up camp. He said it smelled like his kind, which, considering he’s a giant wolf that sometimes growls at pop cans and is afraid of rabbits, could mean anything. He got twitchy with his ears going alert, eyes scanning the tree line like something might come leaping out of the shadows.
“I will leave you now. I’ll move faster alone. If they’re my kind, I need to meet with them and see if they have news from home. You will complete your quest alone, my new friend.”
Even though we just met, I feel a connection to this man from a strange world and I can’t help but worry about all the dangers here that he won’t know about. I reach down and liftthe rifle into my hands, holding it out for him to look at. “Do you have these types of weapons in your world?”
He shakes his head. “I have been confused as to why you carry this metal stick with you. It cannot be much of a weapon as it does not even have a sharpened edge to it.”
I turn away from him and lift it to my shoulder, pointing at a tree thirty feet away. “It’s not a stick and it doesn’t need to have a sharp edge. It does far more damage than any blade could.” And then I pull the trigger. The sharp noise of the shot has Brannick jumping back with wide eyes that quickly narrow.
“It is made to deafen someone? I still don’t see how…”
“Go look at that tree up close and then you will.”
He looks at me with suspicion but goes over to the tree. I watch his shoulders tense up as his fingers run over the damaged bark and the hole the bullet created. When he turns back to me, his expression is thunderous. “You said there was no magic in this world!”
“That wasn’t magic, Bran, it was a bullet. Look at what it did to that hard tree. Now imagine what it will do to flesh and bone. You need to watch out for these types of weapons. They come in different sizes. Some are long like this, some are small enough to fit in a man’s hand, but all of them will do incredible damage to a body.”
I hold the rifle out to him and show him the dangerous end of it as well as the bullets and trigger. He leans closer to study but then rears back with an explosive sneeze. He shakes his head hard and rubs at his nose with a scowl. “It smells like tainted, rotting iron.” His eyes lift from the rifle and meet mine with the most serious expression I’ve seen from him so far. “This weapon is evil, my friend. You should melt it down and bury it.”
I set the rifle down again. “In the wrong hands, it may be evil, yes. But so is any weapon in the wrong hands. Just keep aneye out for them, especially in your wolf form. That beast would make for a very tempting prize for a hunter.”
