Page 30 of Warrior Unraveled

Wesley did the same, though in addition to staining his pants with the stuff, he also rubbed it all over his naked torso. Within seconds, they both reeked of it.

He met her eyes. “Ready?”

She nodded.

“Let’s get back to where the other tunnel veers off.”

She grabbed his hand, and felt him freeze for a moment, a soft smile forming around his lips. “Just so I don’t have to waste energy making you invisible with my mind,” she explained.

“Yes, just to save energy.”

Careful not to make a sound, though the approaching dogs were loud enough now to drown out their faint footsteps, they hurried back to the intersection of the two tunnels.

In the distance, Virginia could already see them coming. Bloodhounds, Pitbulls, and Dobermans. On long leashes, their snouts moving constantly, sniffing, their muzzles open and drooling with spit, the animals charged in their direction, dragging their demon masters with them.

She knew immediately that the dogs had already caught on to her and Wesley’s scent. In a few seconds they would be here, proving their worth to their masters.

Virginia gripped Wesley’s hand tighter. In response, he put his other hand over hers and met her eyes. His attempt at reassuring her failed—the dogs had just reached the point where the tunnels intersected, and were only yards away.

The dogs appeared to hesitate, one heading in one direction, two others in the other, while two more dogs seemed indecisive. They sniffed and yowled, tossing doubtful glances back at the demons.

“Find them!” one of the demons yelled.

One of the dogs took off in one direction, dragging his demon owner with him. But a Doberman suddenly made a beeline for the spot where Virginia and Wesley were pressed against the wall.

“What the fuck’s wrong with the dogs?” one demon asked the other.

The fellow shrugged. “Give ‘em time. They’ll pick up the scent again. Won’t you, Rex?” he said to the Doberman who had just reached Virginia’s feet.

Fuck! Another second and they’d be discovered.

The dog continued sniffing. She could almost feel his snout at her pant leg. She dared not move, didn’t even dare look down for fear of making a sound.

Something warm suddenly seeped through her pants and ran down to her ankle. Warm and wet. She glanced down to her feet. The Doberman, his leg lifted, was peeing on her.

Crap!

One of the demons laughed. “Yeah, sure that’ll help him find them.”

The Doberman’s master jerked at the dog’s leash. “Stupid dog, let’s go.”

“Hey, this way!” another demon hollered, his voice coming from the tunnel where Virginia and Wesley had stashed their clothes. “We’ve got their scent. Hurry!”

The other demons ushered their dogs down the tunnel and raced down it with them.

Virginia breathed a sigh of relief, then shook her leg to rid herself of the dog’s piss, but some of it had seeped into her socks and boots. Feeling Wesley’s eyes on her, she turned her gaze to him.

“Don’t even!” she snapped under her breath, cutting off whatever wisecrack remark was sitting on his lips.

“In that case, let’s hurry. They’ll discover our ruse soon enough. But we’re not far now.” He looked at the tattoo on his forearm and took her hand.

They started running down the path from which the demons had come with their dogs. Another turn into a wider tunnel, then Wesley took a fork to the left. There was light at the end of the tunnel, more light than Virginia had noticed in the others.

She instinctively slowed her steps, and Wesley did the same. He motioned to his forearm and pointed to the circle that was still emblazoned on his skin, but had grown fainter. She nodded, understanding what he was trying to convey. The open area they were approaching in about ten yards was the exit the map was indicating.

Slowly they crept closer, until they were at the end of the tunnel where it spilled out into a circular area. Several other tunnels spread out from there, leading in different directions. A demon was leaning against a wall, his expression bored.

Virginia noticed Wesley look up, and she followed his gaze: the ceiling was higher here, but still, there was no way out. No staircase, no opening, no exit.