Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Colbie
W e decide we need to get moving as soon as possible. We still need to cross a small portion of the rift to get to the tunnel, and although the ferals are usually active at night, the rift is shrouded in shade, so they may be just as active during the day.
The guys and I gear up for war. All of them strap on weapons, and I change out of my dress and into my spare watch uniform Hunter’s dragon provided.
“Keep an eye out for the Chaos Kingdom’s symbol on the wall of the tunnel. When you press a hand against it, a secret passage will open and lead you directly to it. It will still take a few hours, but nowhere near as long as it would if you were going the normal route,” Christos explains when they come to see us off.
Hunter hands over the bag of children’s items we got from their parents. There are DNA samples, items of clothing wrapped in their scent, favorite toys, and photos of each of the children. We weren’t sure what a unicorn needed to track, but Lena assures us she has everything she needs when she glances at the items.
“Keep an eye out for the Tideman family,” Gryffin tells Nox’s parents. “They are wrapped up in this somehow, and they stole a book from the royal vault that we need to get back.”
“We will add it to the list,” Santos assures us.
“I can’t stand that asshole and his stuck-up wife. They were tolerable until they banished their son for mating a man, which is inexcusable. We should love our children no matter what,” Lena growls. “It will be our pleasure to see him punished.”
A sense of relief washes over me as we walk toward the rift and the tunnel. That is one less task we have to concentrate on, which lifts a weight off my shoulders, and I feel like I can focus on finding Nox now.
“Colbie, stay in the middle of the group so we can protect you if the ferals find us,” Micah instructs as the guys surround me.
“If anything happens, let us deal with the ferals. Only shift as a last resort. You don’t have the experience to fight in your animal form, even though they will instinctively protect you like it did when we were attacked yesterday,” Hunter adds.
“She seemed to do alright yesterday,” I point out, feeling a little annoyed, but I also know they are right. I need to focus on getting better in all my forms as well as learn some self-defense in human form. I love that they want to protect me, but I want to be proactive in the same thing. I also acknowledge I don’t have those skills yet.
“She did, but shifters are different than the ferals. Shifters have reason and logic and are calculating. Ferals run on pure animalistic instinct. They will act first without pausing to think,” Gem explains gently. I can feel how conflicted he is about harming the ferals.
“Do we have to kill them? Can’t we just incapacitate them until I get the book to fix them?”
“All of the guns are loaded with tranquilizers today. I took care of it while you were getting changed,” Micah tells me, and I smile at him, grateful for his forethought.
“But we won’t hesitate to use the other weapons if it comes down to you or them,” Liam warns, and I feel nauseous. I’m just going to pray we don’t run across any of them.
It’s a half hour walk across the open plain to the base of the rift, then another half hour through a craggy canyon with dense vegetation before we get to the tunnel entrance. There is a guard station, but it is currently unmanned. Lena said the faux alpha had his people stationed there since he invaded the village, and she needs to reassign her own people to operate it, but it might take a few days.
The hour journey is spent in silence, the seven of us not wanting to draw any attention to us, but I can’t help feeling like we are being watched the whole way. Just as we pass the guard station and prepare to enter the dimly lit tunnel that leads to Eryx, the vampire kingdom, a snarl echoes around the canyon. I stiffen and feel the guys, who were already on full alert, turn in the direction the noise came from. They fan out in a semicircle in front of me, their weapons up.
I watch in horror as a creature barrels out of the trees, my mouth dropping open in shock and surprise. I assumed ferals would be in their animal form, but this one looks like it’s stuck mid-shift. It is upright but hunched over like its spine is twisted, and its hands are clawed. Its clothes are shredded, and I can see fur sprouted all over its body. The feral’s face is twisted, like it got stuck, and it has a snout, but the eyes are still human, and that’s what makes me feel sick. The sheer agony in its gaze almost brings me to my knees. I also can’t tell if they are male or female.
They don’t seem to comprehend they are in danger, continuing to rush at us while snarling and spitting as Micah raises his gun and fires. The tranq dart lands in its chest, and the feral stumbles but keeps coming. Two more darts hit its torso from Liam’s and Brodie’s weapons, and it finally stumbles before it goes down hard.
We wait to make sure it’s definitely out before Gryffin approaches and flips it over. It’s unconscious, but I can see from the rise and fall of its chest that it’s still alive.
“What are we going to do with it?” I ask, feeling incredibly sorry for the creature. They can’t help that they have become this.
“I think we will just leave it to nap. We will be long gone by the time it wakes, and it will just get aggressive and agitated if we take it back and put it in the cells under Zalfari,” Hunter replies as he scans the area for more trouble.
“We will round them all up once we have the book and you have full access to your powers, then we can fix them all in one go,” Gem assures me, running a comforting hand up and down my spine. I’m pretty sure he needs as much comfort as I do, so I turn into him and wrap my arms around his waist. He and I both sigh as we soak in the reassurance.
“How can anyone be so cruel?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.
“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not limited to a specific species. Cruelty is found throughout the kingdoms, and we just have to do our best to punish those responsible,” he mumbles into my hair.
“Come on, let’s get going. I want to be in the secret passage when that thing wakes in case it tries to track us, and I don’t know how long it will be down,” Micah urges, and we start moving toward the tunnel.
Unlike the huge entrance to Hunter’s hoard, which can fit a dragon, this one is much smaller and only big enough for a large pickup or SUV to get through.
“It’s to limit traffic so neither nation can flood into the other in case either decide to go to war,” Liam explains behind me. He and Brodie are bringing up the rear with Gem and Gryffin at my side, and Hunter and Micah take point in front.
Despite my enhanced eyesight, I struggle to see more than a few feet in front of us. A ball of flame bursts to life in Gem’s hand, and he tosses it into the air where it hovers, keeping pace with us.
“That’s handy,” I tell him, admiring his magic.
“It sure is. I just have to concentrate to keep it where I want it so I don’t accidentally set anything on fire.”
Gryffin chuckles. “Like you did at that party in college. Remember that? Burnt down half the frat houses. The parentals were livid because they had to pay for it to be rebuilt.”
The other members of the bond group, apart from Micah, hoot with laughter.
“I thought Evie was going to have a coronary when they were called into the neutral zone by the dean,” Hunter agrees.
“Why was that again? What caused you to lose control?” Liam asks in a teasing manner, and Gem turns and glares at him.
“You know how hard it was for me to gain control of my fire when I first shifted. I’d only been doing it for six months by then.”
“Funny thing, Colbie. When mythicals first shift, they are warned that heightened emotions are a trigger for their new magic and that they should avoid situations that could cause them to lose control.” Brodie has a teasing tone, and when I turn to look at him, his eyes are twinkling with undisguised glee.
“That makes sense. So did you get into a fight or something?” I ask, returning my gaze to Gem, who winces.
“Ah, no, the opposite actually,” he says cagily, and I think about what the opposite of fighting would be, and then it clicks.
“Oh…” A wave of jealousy floods me, but I push back at my creatures. These guys had a life before me just like I had one before them. I can’t get stabby over past actions. It’s the future ones that count.
“It was my first threesome, and the Sanderson twins were kinky as fuck,” he argues. “They liked fucking the same person. You try holding in your powers when you’re being railed from behind while someone is trying to suck your soul out of your cock.”
My eyebrows jump in surprise. I automatically assumed he had been with two girls, not two guys.
“Didn’t you burn all of Bella’s hair off her head? It took her ages to grow it all back.” Hunter snickers in front of us.
“And Blade had third-degree burns on his chest. Dad had to pay their family compensation.” Gryffin sounds as jealous as my animals feel.
“The twins were male and female?” I ask, and Gem winks at me.
“Told you they were kinky. I’m pretty sure Blade got off on watching his sister. It was kind of uncomfortable when I realized what was going on, but by then, it was too late. I didn’t get laid for a good six months after that. No one would come near me, too worried that I would lose control again,” he grumbles.
The bond group bursts into laughter, and this time, Micah and I join in. We spend the next hour getting to know each other better. I find out that all of them attended college before joining the watch or the military like Micah. They all have degrees, and I am blown away to find out Liam is actually a qualified elementary school teacher but has never used his qualifications, moving straight to the watch with the other guys instead.
My heart is full and my mind is distracted from the interaction with the feral when Micah and Hunter stop abruptly in front of us. Micah pulls out a flashlight from one of the backpacks and shines it on the wall to the left. “I thought I saw something. It glows slightly, kind of like some of the phosphorus corals near my family’s sea home.”
The spotlight illuminates a symbol that isn’t familiar to me. It’s eight arrows in a circular pattern kind of like a sun. When Hunter puts his hand against it, there’s a grinding sound, and then the wall slides back, revealing another tunnel. This one is slightly smaller than the one we’ve been traveling in, but still wide enough to walk three abreast. Unlike the previous one, though, that seemed to cut straight through the mountain and was cold and clammy, this one appears to slope downward, and the farther we go, the more it warms up.
Sweat starts to pool between my breasts, and my hair begins to stick to my face. “Is it me or is it getting hotter in here?” I ask, fanning my face. Gem and Hunter don’t seem to be affected, but the others have a sheen of sweat on their faces as well.
“The tunnel must be connected to the thermal pools and underground springs that run under and through this mountain range, or at least adjacent to them. It’s too warm for it not to be,” Hunter says, pulling out a canteen of water and passing it back to me. The others follow his lead and pull theirs from their backpacks.
“I think I can see light a little further up.” Brodie squints down the tunnel, beyond Gem’s flame, which has kept us out of the dark yet again. “Do you think we are almost there?”
Micah frowns. “No, we’ve only been walking for about two hours. Lena said it would take at least four.”
“This walking crap is bullshit,” Liam grumbles.
“Apparently they have an ATV and electric carts they use, but because this trip was unexpected, they couldn’t arrange for anyone to have them waiting in the tunnel,” Hunter tells his teammate who perks up.
“So we can use them on the return journey?”
Hunter rolls his eyes but nods. “Yes, Liam, you lazy fucker.”
Liam flips him off, and we continue on our way, but Brodie was right, and the tunnel does get lighter the farther we go. I’m excited, although I feel a little claustrophobic knowing there’s a massive mountain range on top of us, but instead of an exit, the tunnel opens into a huge cavern with a shimmery pool of water and a small waterfall trickling prettily over rocks. The light comes from a weird moss-like plant that glows brightly.
“Oh, wow, this is amazing.” Gryffin sighs as we look around. There is more than one tunnel leading away on the other side of the grotto.
“Which one do we take?” I ask, pointing at the exits.
Hunter hurries over to them, studying the edges of each tunnel. He runs his hand over something on the one on the left. “This is the Chaos Kingdom’s symbol again, so this one. The others have the other kingdoms’ symbols. We will be fine. Shall we keep moving?”
Micah is distracted by the shimmering pool of water, though, and the throbbing desire inside my body has kicked into overdrive. It’s always been there, but the walk and the conversation were enough to keep it contained. Now that there is a body of water nearby, however, the need to finish the mating bond with Micah is screaming at me.
He squats down and runs a hand through the liquid before lifting it to his mouth to taste it.
Gem cries out, “Wait! What are you doing? You don’t know if it’s drinkable.”
Micah rises to his feet and turns and smiles. “It is. It’s fresh with some minerals, but it’s fine. I knew you could heal me if it wasn’t, plus Colbie’s hydra bit me, so I would be okay,” he replies, and Gem sags with relief.
“Oh yeah, it’s going to take a while to get used to that.”
Brodie throws himself on one of the thick bits of moss covering the ground, puts his hands beneath his head, and closes his eyes. “I’m just going to take a nap while you two go do your thing,” he mutters, and the rest of the guys spread out, pulling out canteens, granola bars, and jerky. I ignore all that and focus on the shifter in front of me who is slowly removing his clothes, his eyes bright with desire as he gestures to the water.