“I’m sure she won’t stop trying until she breaks through Johnny’s spell,” Brock said. “Ray is gathering our strongest wolves. I’m going to station them around the gate.”
“Just in case another nasty creature tries to come out of it?”
“Basically, yeah. Besides, I’ll feel better knowing they’re there in case we need help.”
“We’re going into the fucking underworld, home of the Akuma and all sorts of other fun-loving demons. What could possibly go wrong?” I grimaced.
“We’ve got this,” he said. Though he had no way to know how things would go, I appreciated the sentiment. The odds were stacked so overwhelmingly against us that I didn’t want to stop to think about it. No matter what, I was going down there. I’d do anything for Cass.
“But if things get too dangerous down there, you come back here for help, and I’ll get Cass out,” he added.
I nodded, though I’d never leave him behind.
“We have to hurry. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re running out of time,” I said, and Brock pressed the pedal to the metal; the dense greenery of Oregon whizzed by.
By the time Brock barreled down the driveway to our house, a couple dozen werewolves, my dad, and Cho were outside waiting for us. We threw our doors open, grabbed our borrowed selkie skins, wrapping them around us, and leapt out.
Right away, Sabine was in front of me. “How are you feeling?” she asked, staring deep into my eyes as if she were a medical instrument, trying to take my emotional temperature.
“Like I’m gonna kill some siren bitches.”
“I see.” She blinked at me a few times, but she couldn’t quite keep the smile from showing on her face.
“The baby’s fine,” I told her, trying to hurry this up. “She’s kicking up a storm. And I feel well too.” I tried to move past her, but she stopped me with a gentle hand to the shoulder.
“You have to at least take a minute to drink and eat something. You’re heading into the underworld, there’s no telling what will happen once you enter.” Her eyes were serious as she pressed a bottle of water into my hand and slung a backpack, presumably full of snacks, over my shoulder.
Shit, she was right. I needed to at least hydrate. “Thanks, Sabine. I’ll do it while we move.”
She hesitated, her eyes clouded with worry, but finally conceded. “I’ve filled the bag with your prenatal vitamins, electrolyte water, beef jerky, and dried fruits.”
Chortling, I nodded. “Thank you.” I was hungry enough to eat a whole pizza. Hell, several pizzas.
Adjusting the bag around my Glock and katana, I started walking toward the gate when Cho jogged up to me. “Evie, wait.”
I turned to face her as she pressed Cass’ iridescent, sequined booty shorts into my hand. I looked down at them, tearing up. Damn pregnancy hormones. They were the shorts he wore when he wanted to impress.
“What are these for?” I whispered around my mess of emotions.
“I cast a spell on them. The shorts will lead you to their owner. Once you’re through the gate, just pay attention to their directions, and you’ll find Cass.”
Wow. I prayed I would one day be half the witch that these badass women in my life were. Between Cho, Tianna, and Willemena, I had some serious catching up to do.
I squeezed her hand. “Thanks, Cho. This will help a lot.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, squeezing back. “You’ll find him.”
I nodded a little too fervently, working to convince myself. Cass was family. I was getting him back. Without a doubt.
“I also don’t figure it’ll be all that easy for you and Brock to fight with those selkie skins hanging off of you. I have a spell that should work to mold them to your own skin so they don’t slide off. We don’t want to risk the underworld figuring out you aren’t demons while you’re down there.”
No, we sure as hell didn’t.
“That’d be great, thanks. What do you need us to do?” I asked, arranging the seal skin to fit a bit better around my shoulders.
“Nothing. Just give me a few moments. Oh and I’ll remove the spell that keeps you from shifting. Just in case,” Cho said, bowing her head.
Man, what would I do without this amazing witch? It was a smart thing to do since I might need to be in my fox form down there.
