“Shit! Rez, take it easy,” Knox says, helping me up.
“I’m okay. I’m going to be sore though.” I give them a watery smile, then groan once again when my back pops.God, I’m dying.
“Why did Lisa throw you?” JP wonders, pulling me into a hug.
“Hell if I know, where is she anyways?”
“Showing us an entrance.” Knox’s husky voice rings out behind us.
Turning, I spot her pulling at a root with her teeth, revealing a hole in the ground.
“Is that where Zeke’s at?” JP asks, walking closer to the pit of death.
“Or a hidden portal to Hell,” I suggest, following like a fool.
“Only one way to find out,” Knox states, slipping into the black hole.
ChapterForty-Seven
DR. VAMPINSTEIN
Knox
How did we not know there was a secret passage in these woods? We’ve been playing here for years! I knew Zeke would often go off by himself, he used to say it was his Necromancer side that craved it, and I never questioned him more about it. But to come to this place? It blows my mind. Climbing to the bottom of the shaft, I let my eyes adjust to the darkness before turning around and helping Rez down the ladder.
“Are we sure he’s down here? I can’t see a thing.” Fear tints her voice as her fingernails dig into my shoulders.
“No. But you have a Shifter and a super soaker here.” I chuckle at my own joke as she glares up at me in the dark. “Here. Hold on,” I grab her hand and walk over to one of the sconces, using a lighter in my pocket to light it. Tactical Ops 101. If you’re not a mage versed in fire, carry a damn lighter just in case you need it.
“Thank you,” Rez whispers, squeezing my arm. “If Zeke is here, do you think Lynx could be here too?” Her eyes light up with hope as the words leave her mouth. She takes in our surrounding, looking up at the ceiling before her shoulders fall. “No, this is different. The dirt floors and all the tree roots. Everything is stone where Lynx is. I don’t think Zeke was taken by the Rebels.”
I squeeze her shoulder and whisper into her ear, “We’ll find him.”
I place a kiss on her head right as JP softly lands at the bottom and looks around, wrinkling his nose. “This place is a dump.”
A soft woosh sounds above us, signaling the latch closing, and Rez nearly jumps out of her skin.
“Scared, pussy cat?” I purr close to her ear.
“Wouldn’t you be if you were in my shoes today?” She smacks my chest. “I barely escape from being the Sulks’ newest victim from where it’s upgraded to having Rebels popping out of it in order to grab Supes. I should have died! Then I was kidnapped from a Rebel attack where the Devil's personal pet squirrel and mountain grabbed me. Then I was carried off to the moody and creepy Sleepy Hollow Woods where apparently Lisa isn’t as “rare” as Zeke thought. So, who knows what that could have been!” she rambles off in one breath.
My jaw drops as I just stare at her for a moment.
Where do I even start?
JP grabs Rez’s hand along with the lighter from my loose grip, and proceeds to light the next sconce down the hall, pulling us along.
“You said the Sulks had Rebels pop out of it?” I question, trying to wrap my mind around this new development.
“Yep! Like the damn boogie man, and he grabbed Fish Face instead of me. So, there’s one less harpy. Though I’m surprised he didn’t grab me. We were both on the Sulks, maybe it was because she was closer and standing up,” she says matter of factly as a shudder runs through her. I, for one, have just been tripped up at her confession, yet looking at JP, he doesn’t look shocked at the news.
“Wait. You were on the Sulks and survived? Were you the one next to Katie May in Survival Class when she died?” I ask desperately.
She worries her lip as she nods.
Excitement courses through me at the fact that I’m validated.
“IknewI wasn’t seeing things that morning. I was scouting above that day, and I could have sworn I saw a girl survive standing on the Sulks.” A goofy smile appears on my face as I shake my head thinking back to that day. “And here Dad and the rest of the team didn’t believe me.” I glance up and lose my smile immediately at the look at Rez’s pale face and sick expression. “What’s wrong?” I ask, stopping myself from reaching out to her.
