As Brock and I set off in the direction where we’d last seen the sirens, the three copies of me took three different paths. If we were lucky, one set of me would come across Cass. I couldn’t exactly see through the eyes of my replicas, but I had the feeling that if one of the other me’s saw Cass, I’d know it—and then we’d haul ass to wherever he was.
We’d already been down here far too long. It was time to find Cass and end the sirens.
I moved faster across the rocks that made every one of our steps uneven, but I didn’t run. Brock, Cass, baby, and I were getting out of here alive and well.
18Siren soup
Because the bootyshorts had clearly been tampered with, we were going off my newly-trusted intuition instead, which I was hoping was a little bit of magic. I just felt in all my being that Cass was this way.
Once we got to the spot where the sirens had struggled, a mixture of water and blood still marring the ground, I took a left toward a sharp, jutting rock.
“Evie?” Brock asked one of my illusions. Either he was a good actor or he was confused about which one was really me.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know if we were being watched and I wasn’t sure I could make my illusions talk. We were headed right for the giant cliff, and my alpha was no doubt wondering why, when a crevasse appeared in the side.
‘Cass!’I shouted through our bond, and this time I swore I felt something—a tugging at our connection.
Brock eyed the three-foot opening and pulled two guns, one for each hand, before slipping inside.
What the fuck? No word, no hesitation, he just dipped into the cave entrance like it was no big deal.
I scrambled to catch up, my illusions running with me. Could I leave one outside this opening like a sentinel? That sounded like some advanced level shit, but it was worth a try. Slipping into the small opening behind Brock, I attempted to leave one of my illusions outside while bringing two in with me. I had to focus on the projections of myself so that I wouldn’t lose them or make them look spectral. Creating them was pretty easy, but keeping them solid was a challenge.
As we stepped into the darkness, the smell of sulfur and rotting sewage hit me hard. We’d walked right into a little side tunnel. There were two ways we could turn: left or right.
Come on, Cass, where are you?
My left hand went tingly and my eyes widened. Was I doing magic? Or did we have help? The tingling felt friendly, like something familiar I couldn’t place. Without waiting, I turned left and dragged my two projections with me. Brock brought up the rear, the cocking of his shotgun ricocheting off the walls. He’d pulled out the big firepower.
We were on Cass’ trail, I knew it.
Following the maze of cave tunnels, we were led to a bigger opening with another split, left or right.
Loud voices projected far below, and I placed my finger to my lips so Brock would know to keep quiet. As I inched closer to what seemed almost like a balcony with people below, I peeked over and quickly snapped my head back in.
Fucking mother fuck!
Two of the sirens were at the base of this huge cave, and spread out around them were over a thousand demons.
This shit was bad.
Like apocalyptic bad.
“Earth no longer trusts supernaturals!” Calista called out to the demons before her, arms out the side of her body as she projected her voice with strength.
The demons rose up in a mighty, angry cry, muffled with grunts of agreement.
My right hand tingled in warning, but I wanted to stay and hear what they had to say.
“Humanity is ripe for the taking!” the second sister cried out.
“It’s now or never!” Calista yelled.
A wide-eyed Brock was standing before me; my right hand was tingling so much it was becoming painful. I recognized the magic signature then. My mentor, Tianna. It was her. She’d somehow broken free and was helping me!
“To the gate!” Calista cried, startling me from my realization. The cave started to shake as thousands of footfalls rattled the rock beneath us.
Oh fuck fuck fuck.
