26. Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Winnie
The rain finally stopped and we were five miles away from the bottom of the mountain when my phone rang. “Hello?”
“Technology is not my strong suit. Magic, on the other hand, is a completely different narrative.”
My forehead clenched at the familiar voice. “Shayla?”
“I sense you are close. My sister shared our location with you. Everyone must get out of the vehicles for this. I look forward to seeing you there.”
The phone went silent and I released a hard breath. I hated the way the witches were always so vague about things.
When I pulled up the location Shayla sent and realized it was only a few minutes away, I wondered why they’d changed the plans because, from my understanding, we were meeting them closer to VRC.
“What’s up, son?” Ravage asked from the driver’s seat.
“That was Shayla. She said to meet her at this location and we all have to get out of the cars. Take a left up here.”
Ravage turned onto a dirt road surrounded by trees, and I texted Lyric, letting her know the extremely vague plan before I asked, “Do you know what we’re doing, Ravage?”
“Shayla said she had a plan but couldn’t say more until we got here. Something about other witches seeing her actions before she did them.”
I raised a brow, wondering if she knew the witches who had spelled the wards surrounding the Vampire Research Center.
Three miles ahead, Shayla stood on the side of the road, gleaming in the headlights of the van, and as Ravage parked, she strolled off toward the trees.
“Where the hell is she going?” I asked no one in particular, opening my car door.
Zeke, Marcus, and Erik got out of the back of the van just as Lyric, Sage, and Lynx exited the Jeep.
Lyric slid her hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. “What’s going on? Why are we meeting them so soon? It’s another thirty minutes away.”
I shrugged, pulling her behind me as we followed Ravage.
Under the canopy of the trees stood Shayla, dressed in a long black cloak, her two witch sisters who matched her attire, and a stranger.
“Hello, ladies.” Ravage strolled right up to Shayla, took her hand gently in his, and kissed the back of it. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Alfred Johnathon Kingston, you never fail to amuse me.” Shayla pulled her hand away and I chuckled at the fact she used what Ravage liked to call his government name.
“Alfred?” Sage questioned, her brows pinched. “That’s less badass.”
Ravage snickered. “What do you know, girl? There were kings named Alfred.” He shook his head, staring at the stranger hiding in the shadows five feet behind the witches. “Who is she?”
“Come forth, my dear.”
The woman did as Shayla instructed and stepped into the moonlight. She didn’t have a matching cloak, but she had a book tucked under her arm.
“Hi,” she murmured low, her cheeks reddening as she nervously pushed her mousy brown hair behind her ear.
She looked to be in her late twenties and had a casual appearance. The long brown skirt hanging to her ankles and the knit top so high it almost covered her collarbone reminded me of those shy students in school who’d rarely speak and aced every test.
“This is Crystal Blue Waters. She’s new to our coven and needs the experience.”
The newcomer nervously glanced between us. “You can call me Blue.”
“Were your parents wanting to get you beat up as a child?” I asked with a smirk.
She pulled the book from under her arm and grasped it tightly between her hands while she simply said, “Sprecta.”
It felt like a boulder hit me, smacking against the front of my body and knocking the wind from my lungs before I flew backwards, landing on my back.
I jumped to my feet, fangs bared before Lyric even yelled, “Hey!”
Sage pulled her dagger out, going into a defensive stance.
The newcomer smiled, cocking her head. “You can’t really bully a witch.”
“Put your fangs away, son,” Ravage commanded more calmly than he normally did before glancing around at our crew. “All of you take a damn breath.”
“Blue is a Book Darling,” Shayla stated with a wave of her hand. “Unlike my other sisters, her powers require her to use spells. She is here to practice with us.”
Ravage crossed his arms. “And what are we doing out here, Shayla? I thought we were going to meet closer to VRC.”
“I said the edge of the wards and we are here. Beyond this is dread and gloom for any human and no entry for supernaturals.” She glanced at each of us from head to toe. “Lovely attire. Not only must you look the part on the outside, you must be suitable on the inside.”
“You are not residents, you are not lords, you must be safe to cross the wards,” Cece sang, and my brows rose.
“So, what you’re saying is, you’re going to make it to where we can enter?” I asked, and Shayla nodded.
“This shall not halt you much longer.”
The four witches circled us. Shayla, Delaney, and Cece raised their hands to the sky, and Blue Book Bitch, as I now called her in my head, gripped her book tightly and chanted a bunch of words, none of them sounding familiar.
This went on for about a minute before the witches relaxed, and Shayla said, “It is done.”
“We appreciate you taking the time to do this,” Ravage expressed and Shayla smiled.
“Before you go, we must tell the silver some important things.” Shayla stepped up to Sage, taking her hand. “I can sense the blood in you. We are delighted to see you took the offer like we suggested. Heather has powerful blood. You are safe with her.”
Sage’s eyes bulged as Shayla revealed her secrets. Of course, Lyric had already informed me about Peach feeding Sage her blood, so I wasn’t surprised.
Delaney walked past me, heading to Sage, and I was glad she didn’t have the damn snake out. “Listen to your instincts, my silver. Less is more.”
“Less is more, less is more,” Cece chanted. “Small raindrops bring back life while large rivers will end it.”
I snickered, annoyed by the vagueness of the witches and the amount of time being consumed. And probably because I got knocked on my ass. “Are we done yet?”
“The sun will be our enemy in the morning and we’ll be racing it.” Ravage held his hand out to the new bitch. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Likewise.” She shook it with a smile before turning to me and tilting her head. “Blue Book Bitch is an awfully long nickname for me. You should think about shortening to BB. It rolls off the tongue easier. Kind of like Pooh Bear.”
My mouth fell open and Cece bursted out with laughter. “Blue Book Bitch is an exquisite nickname!”
“This is why I don’t like witches.” I shook my head, and turned toward the car.
“It was nice meeting you,” Blue called out from behind me, and I ignored her. “Sorry I knocked you on your ass!”
Once back in the vehicle, I slammed the door shut, seething.
Fucking witches.
Ravage entered the van, started it up, and we continued driving toward VRC. We were only a few miles away when he pulled over again to stash Sage’s Jeep.
We got out and waited for the ladies to join us, conversing about the only two bulletproof vests we had, leaving the other humans unprotected.
“This one will only fit Erik,” Ravage said, handing him a vest before turning toward Marcus and Zeke. “And you two can fight over this one.”
The brothers stared at it, Marcus shaking his head. “I’m not taking it.”
“Me either,” Zeke stated. They both crossed their arms and glared at each other, being stubborn as fuck. Even though the brothers looked similar, this was the first time they’d appeared to be real siblings.
Erik took off his jacket and held it out to me. “Can you hold this?”
I rolled my eyes and yanked it from him, still seething over the witches.
Erik slid the body armor over his black T-shirt, and latched the sides, leaving them loose. Marcus stuffed two IV bags filled with blood under the vest, hoping to get them past security. The rest of the blood stayed in the cooler in case one of us vampires needed it after the mission. Erik pulled the fasteners tighter and I handed back his jacket.
“Are we all supposed to wear ballistic vests?” Sage asked, strolling up with Lyric and Lynx behind her.
Ravage let out a hard sigh and clicked his tongue. “Naomi could only get two and since there’s five of you humans, I left them in the van figuring y’all could fight over who got to wear them. But since finding out you and Lyric both ingested vampire blood, your chances of survival are pretty high. So I gave one to Erik because it wasn’t big enough for Marcus or Zeke. And that leaves one more, but neither of them will give in and wear the damn thing.”
“Like I said, I’m not taking it,” Marcus stated firmly. “Zeke has a wife and a baby waiting for him. He needs to wear the damn vest.”
“You need to not tell me what to do!”
“We don’t have time for you two to be arguing, but he’s right. You have a family that needs you.” Ravage handed the second vest to Zeke who scowled when he took it, his deep brown eyes locking on Marcus.
“If you get killed, I will never stop blaming myself, even though you’re the one being an idiot.” Zeke took his jacket off and slid on the bulletproof vest with a huff.
I’d never been nervous about much in my life, but my chest tightened as I reentered the Venom van, taking a seat on the left bench along the wall, right behind the driver’s seat. Lynx sat next to me at the end of the bench closest to the door, and Ravage across from us, right in the middle.
Naomi had acquired three pairs of Venom-issued handcuffs lined with spikes around the inside and made of genuine silver—one of our few weaknesses. I’d woken before the sun rose and sawed the tips off so they wouldn’t actually injure us, but would give the illusion the guards had properly restrained us.
Erik went to handcuff a pair on me, but I stopped him. “Hold on, bro.”
Wanting for us to look as legit as possible, I elongated my fangs and raised my two first fingers to my mouth, piercing them. I smudged the blood from my fingertips onto my wrists to make it look like the spikes actually punctured my skin.
“That’s genius, boy.” Ravage said, then he and Lynx followed suit.
Erik latched the cuffs onto my wrists before fastening another pair around my ankles, securing me to the van.
Lyric squeezed in between the two front seats and laid a kiss on me before taking the driver’s seat.
Sage looked over her shoulder from the passenger seat, eyeing me. “Fucking bloodsucker.”
I cocked a brow. “What the hell was that for?”
“I’m getting into my part as a Venom member again. I was using Erik’s persona before he went rogue.”
I laughed and Erik scoffed, taking a seat between me and Lynx. Marcus and Zeke quickly hopped into the back with us, shutting the door behind them, then they took their respective spots on either side of Ravage.
“Alright, mama. Get us there safely.”
Lyric flashed a nervous smile at me in the rearview mirror, started up the van, and began ascending the mountain. We were only a quarter of the way up when she turned onto a rather sketchy road that ultimately led us to a dead end, causing her to slow down.
“Don’t let up on the gas,” Ravage said, leaning forward and peering through the front windshield. “It’ll seem like you’re going to run into the side of the mountain, but Shayla told me the entrance will unveil itself once the second set of wards recognize us as safe.”
With the mountain rapidly approaching, my eyes remained fixed on it, awaiting the entrance to show. “This is sketchy as fuck. Are you sure about this?”
Before Ravage could answer me, the side of the mountain flickered as if the sun shone on, then the illusion dropped, revealing a half moon shaped entrance.
“Holy shit.”
“They have cameras,” Sage whispered, and I barely saw a few dim light fixtures clinging to the cave walls before I sat back.
Lyric rolled the window down.
“Paperwork?” a guard commanded, his voice old and husky.
Sage handed Lyric a folder and she passed it along to him.
“You got three bloodsuckers at once? Great job. Pull on through, following the signs directing you to dock three, and give Randal your folder. He’ll escort you to decontamination.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lyric continued on the smooth road of the cave for about three minutes before she stopped again.
“Back it in,” a man said, sounding a little younger than the last guy.
She did as instructed, turning the van in a curve before putting it in reverse. When she stopped, the guard was immediately at her window.
“Paperwork?”
She showed him the folder and this guy took it.
“Badges?”
Lyric and Sage both handed their badges off. He scanned the backs of them with a handheld scanner, then passed them back.
“Let’s get them inside. Dr. Ishman has rooms set up for them.”
Lyric and Sage hopped out of the van, came to the back and opened the rear hatch. Sage unlocked the small metal cabinet by the door and took out an AR-15, handing it to Lyric before taking one for herself. They took a few steps back, one on each side of the rear of the van, and readied their guns on their shoulders, locked on us.
Making the conscious decision to effectively embody the role of a prisoner, I fully immersed myself in my weak, angry character, and glared at them.
“Passenger side first,” the guard said, his overly confident smile pulling at his pale pink cheeks. His crooked teeth were stained yellow and his beard was short and patchy, barely covering his chin, which was too small for his wide face. He had pointy brown eyebrows that reminded me of Jack Nicholson, and I had an odd craving to watch the Shining.
Zeke kneeled down, unlocking the ankle cuffs for that side of the van, then grabbed Lynx’s arm, escorting her out.
“Get your grubby hands off me, you prick!” she yelled, flawlessly playing her imprisoned vampire role.
The guard looked her over, seemingly confused. “She must be really old, resisting the silver that easily.” I held my breath, worried he’d inspect her wrists. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like pepper spray. “Open your mouth.”
“Screw you!” Lynx spat, and the guard lifted his hand, spraying the shit into her eyes, and she screamed, gasping for air. He took the opportunity to squirt the substance into her mouth and she shrieked again before her body slumped into Zeke.
What a fucking douche canoe.
I glanced at Sage, and judging by the look on her face, she was about ten seconds away from putting a bullet into the back of the guard’s head.
He flipped the canister into the air and caught it with a smile. “Nothing like some liquid silver to calm them down.”
My heart thundered, my gaze locking with Ravage across from me, and I wasn’t sure what question my eyes conveyed, but he slightly shook his head.
Looking back at the guard, he scanned Zeke’s badge, then said, “Get the rest out. We don’t have all damn day.”
“Yes, sir.” Marcus grabbed Ravage, escorting him out next. He stayed quiet, and honestly, I couldn’t blame him. After what the guard did to Lynx, I changed my weak and angry role to weak and quiet. I wasn’t about to fuck around and find out.
Erik undid my ankle cuffs and gripped my arm, yanking me to my feet. Now out of the van, I glanced around at the large cavern in awe as the guard scanned Erik’s fake badge.
Once done, he swept his gaze over us three captives. “These look good. Dr. Ishman will be thrilled. My name’s Randal. I’ll be escorting you through the process even though some of you already know the procedure. It’s just how Doc likes to do things. Follow me.”
As we made our way up a long concrete ramp, it almost felt like we were about to be hanged. Our three fake guards had us vampire prisoners in the middle, Zeke carried Lynx, and Sage and Lyric walked on either side of us. Randal stayed a few feet in front of Sage.
The ramp led us toward the majestic mountain rock walls, damp and cold with a sizable white bay door nestled within a meticulously carved out hole.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the decontamination room,” Randal said, swiping his card on a security pad on the right side of the door and the light hanging above it turned from red to green. “That’s where we’re going first.”
To my surprise, next to the security pad a small window slid open, revealing a keypad, letting me know they’d implemented a two-step security system. The guard proceeded to input a passcode, and I paid close attention.
207948.
I repeated it in my mind multiple times because I knew after I took down that asshole and confiscated his identification, I would require that pin.
Air compressors sounded before a mechanic hum replaced it, the large metal door sliding up into the mountain. We entered a hallway, empty and long, without a single person in sight. The atmosphere felt heavy, devoid of any warmth or vibrancy, making me think I was about to get an anal probe. The stark white walls, impeccably polished marble floors, and fluorescent light fixtures further intensified the clinical impression of the space.
“Ms. Jones,” the guard said, using Sage’s fake name, falling into step with her. “When I scanned your badge, I noticed this is your third time here. Have you seen the new updates to the facility? The doc had everything renovated a few months ago. Now our atmosphere is ‘clean and pristine’, her words, not mine. Everything is so white, it gives me headaches. Even the chairs in the break area and the beds in the private sleeping rooms.”
He smiled, nudging Sage’s arm with his, and I realized he was flirting with my best friend’s girl. I glared at his brown hair, ready to put a bullet into him.
“I haven’t, actually. Didn’t the walls used to be beige?”
My eyes bulged, knowing it was a risky move for Sage to lie.
Randal smiled, turning his head toward her. “You have a great memory. But they weren’t actually beige. They were white, but it had been so long since this place was painted, they’d become discolored.”
At the end of the corridor, we went right and Randal turned his attention toward Lyric.
“I noticed you were new to this position, Ms. Cox. Since you’re unfamiliar with the building, let me explain. This is the outer ring of the lab where everyone comes to get decontaminated. The entire facility works as a hive, the seven inner rings contain different departments like hematology, immunology, surgical pathology, you get the point.”
“This is an amazing experience, sir. One I’m truly grateful for.”
I cocked a brow at Lyric’s extremely fake demeanor. The guard seemed to enjoy it, sporting a smile. I really hoped he didn’t make a move on her. I’d hate to have to kill him early and ruin this mission.
Randal stopped in front of a door, scanned his card, and entered.
Erik, still gripping my arm, pushed me in first and my mouth fell agape. There were shower heads positioned along the backside of the wall, with no dividing walls separating the cleansing stations. On the rack to my right, I noticed long animal control poles adorned with silver wire collars hanging from them. My ass cheeks tightened immediately when I saw boxes of gloves and lube on the counter to my left.
“Latch the two men by their ankles over there,” the guard said, pointing to a wall with chains attached to it, spiked handcuffs at the end of them. “We’ll start with the foul-mouthed woman first.”
Sage pulled the detector I’d given her out of her pocket and pressed the button as Randal continued to bark orders. “Each guard is in charge of their prisoner. One by one you will do body cavity searches, shower them, and then—” The machine beeped, clearing the area of any cameras or microphones, and Zeke’s fist immediately landed on Randal’s face. He melted to the ground, out cold.
I grinned. “Nice.”
“What a dickhead,” Sage said before putting her scanner away, eyeing the room. “This place is fucked up.”
“I hate it here,” Erik said, moving fast, uncuffing my wrists.
I rubbed them before turning toward Randal, ready to break his neck when Lynx stopped me.
“He’s mine,” she moaned. “I need the blood.”
Marcus released Lynx’s cuffs, then helped her hobble over to the guard. He knelt down with her, holding her steady as she pierced Randal’s neck. She took forever feeding, and I realized she’d drained him dry, which was good, one less person in our way.
By the time she was done, we were all ready to move to the next step in the plan. I stripped off my flannel button up, revealing my solid black T-shirt and Venom-issued windbreaker. Under the light jacket, I had my dual chest holster, containing both of my custom Springfields, so I zipped it to conceal them. Next I pulled off my baggy jeans, which had Venom-issued pants underneath them. Digging into one of the large pockets, I yanked out my fake badge and clipped it on my shirt. Knowing it wouldn’t give me the same security clearance as Randal, I quickly grabbed his badge and shoved it in my pocket in case I needed it. My back holster had Luka’s Sig in it. I pulled it out to make sure there was one in the chamber, before I moved the holster to my hip, and slid the gun back in.
Ravage and Lynx had also shed their street clothes, each of us now looking like Venom guards before we left the decontamination room.
“Everyone got their earbuds in?” I asked, and each person nodded, before glancing around nervously at each other, knowing there was a possibility some of us might not make it out alive.
“Let’s go team,” Marcus said, opening the door.
Since he and Zeke had been high ranking in the Venom society, they walked ahead of us, taking on fake leadership roles as we casually sauntered the halls like we knew where we were going. Thanks to Randal explaining the setup of the building, we ignored any door we saw, knowing the rooms wouldn’t have anything useful.
We were at the end of a long corridor that had a large door that said HIVE, the exact place we knew we needed to be. I pulled Randal’s badge from my pocket and tapped it onto the security pad, then waited for the keypad window to open. After I typed in his code, the door unlatched.
Each of us stood in silence, fully aware that a potential threat could be present and we might have to engage in combat the instant we stepped into the Hive.
Marcus pushed the door open and I did my best to keep my eyes from going wide. The walls and floors were the same bright white as the outer ring of the building, but the smell of disinfect mixed with chatter, beeping machines, ringing phones, and people made it all feel like I’d just walked into a hospital.
To the left was a large reception desk where two men in lab coats stood talking. They both glanced at us and then continued conversing as if we weren’t a threat.
The blonde woman sitting behind it had on a silk blouse with a floral pattern covering it and a phone to her ear, shuffling through a folder.
She peered up, catching sight of us. “I’ll call you right back.” After hanging up the phone, she sprang to her feet. “It’s about time.” She came from behind the desk, straightening her pencil skirt as she beelined straight for Marcus. “Do you really need this many people?” Her gaze darted over each of us before she huffed, then shook her head. “I guess you do since there’s seven of you, one for each department. Sorry, I’m on edge. Charles said he’d send someone down yesterday and it never happened. Follow me.”
I had no clue who Charles was, but I really wanted to thank him.
She turned into a hallway on the left, and as we walked it there were windows on both sides revealing rooms filled with lab personnel. None of them even looked up from what they were doing as we passed.
Halfway down the corridor, a hum of computers filled my ears like a sweet sympathy of relief.
“All of these new updates are jacking up our programs and interfering with our progress.” She flung the door open and stepped in, revealing a large area filled with desks and people, all who looked too busy to care. “Which one of you is taking this one?”
Marcus instantly pointed to me. “He is.”
We all had roles to play, and mine was to find the security room, work alongside Jimmy to dismantle the entire building, and steal as many files as possible in the process, so this opportunity was perfect.
“Great. I’ll show him where to set up. Do you need me to escort you to the next area afterwards?” the receptionist asked, peering up at Marcus, giving me a perfect opportunity to slide Randal’s badge into Sage’s hand.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m familiar with the layout, ma’am,” Marcus said so genuinely even I almost believed him.
“Thank you. I appreciate all the hard work you guys do.”
The receptionist strolled into the room and I took two seconds to glance at Lyric. She gave me worried eyes as Marcus shut the door, leaving me behind.