Chapter 29 #2
I nod and shift in my seat. Pain spikes in both my back and chest where I was struck.
“It’s true. I fought it more than once. During the first interactions, it was strong, but this last time it unleashed some sort of dark magic it didn’t have before.
Like a stream of dark smoke or mist. It dropped me in two hits, and that’s not easy to do. ”
I glance around the table, noting that there are more humans here than creatures. If any of the humans take a direct hit, they won’t live to talk about it like I am now.
After working out some logistics, Kade ends the meeting.
Night has fallen and we’re heading out immediately.
The members around the table clear out of the room quickly, heading to the supply and ammunition room to gear up.
I’m moving slower than the others, so I’m the last one out, which leaves me alone in the room with Kade.
He clamps a hand on my shoulder, stopping me, and I wince.
“You sure you’re up for this?” he asks, concern buried in his gaze.
I shrug his hand off and leave without answering. It doesn’t really matter if I’m up for this fight or not. There’s nothing in this world or the other that will keep me from getting to Haven.
We split into two groups, entering the sewer system at the access points the vampires have been spotted exiting and entering the last couple of weeks. There are only five of us on my team. Kade is one of them, and I’m pretty sure he picked this team to keep an eye on me.
Thanks to my fast-healing abilities, my head is no longer swimming, but the impact wounds on my upper back and chest make it difficult to carry a weapon. I do anyway, suffering through the extra weight.
Violet is also on our team, along with Jax, and Blake, another human. With a possible attack from the vampires as well as the demon, I can’t help but think it would be better if we were storming these sewers with the full force of the NYC Order instead of two small stealth groups.
The demon and its followers have done a phenomenal job of handicapping us.
Both groups go radio silent as we enter the tunnels.
Our team heads into the interceptor sewers, the main artery in a municipal wastewater system, down by the Midtown waterfront.
The other team is entering the same network of tunnels via a manhole on South Street in Lower Manhattan between Fulton and Dover Streets.
The plan is to work our way toward each other. There are literally miles and miles of tunnels to check, which makes it the perfect place for the demon to hide Haven. It will take days to search every inch. A fact that we all know but no one is voicing.
Kade leads the group, using hand motions to direct the group into the tunnels.
The humans have night-vision goggles to see.
Jax and I don’t need them. Our steps are light and swift as we start out, but before long I begin to flag, my battered body protesting.
It isn’t long until I’m lagging in the back of the group.
Up ahead, Kade pauses and glances over his shoulder. He frowns when he sees how far behind I am but doesn’t say anything. He just waits for me to catch up.
“You okay?” he whispers, and I give a sharp nod, though it isn’t true. Pain still shoots down my arm, my chest feeling like there’s a spike driven straight through it.
The look on Kade’s face says he knows I’m lying, but even so, he gestures for us to keep going.
We walk for another five minutes before the tunnel opens into a vast, cavernous chamber.
Six or seven smaller tunnels feed into the space, spilling water and sewage into a murky pool below.
The ceiling rises nearly thirty feet overhead.
The smell is overwhelming, but relief runs through me. This is a large enough space to shift. Moving around the others, I catch Kade’s arm, stopping him before we enter one of the other tunnels.
“I need a minute,” I say, and then hand him my weapon.
He tears off his night-vision goggles—not needing them because there are some lights in the room—giving me a confused look as I walk a little distance from everyone else.
It’s risky to do what I’m about to, but it’s necessary.
I start to strip. My magic can rematerialize my clothes after my shift, but I’m going to have to get into that pond and I don’t want to be drenched in sewage water after. When I’m down to my underwear, I slide into the water, doing my best not to breathe, and control my gag reflex.
The water only reaches my waist, and for that I’m grateful. When I’m in the center, I gather my magic, feeling it flowing beneath my skin. I could shift now, but I wait, building it up so that the shift will be quick, and hopefully also quiet.
Jax pulls the others back, recognizing what I’m about to do.
When I’ve gathered so much magic it feels like I’m going to burst, I let go.
The shift is instantaneous. Faster than a blink, I’m towering over the pond. The water sloshes around my flank, sliding off my scales as I stand, maneuvering the best I can in the confined space. I want to stretch my wings, but there isn’t enough room.
Under his breath, I hear Kade let out a curse. He’s never seen me in my dragon form before. I only need a couple of minutes like this and I should be able to heal well enough to be functional again. Even now, my wounds are starting to knit together, my strength returning exponentially.
I wait as long as I dare and then shift back.
The displacement of water makes the sewage water slosh back up, hitting me in the face.
I hold my breath as I wade back to the edge.
I toss my underwear, not caring who’s getting a show, and then change quickly back into my clothes, feeling a million times better than I did before.
Jogging over to Kade, he holds my weapon out for me, but I shake my head. “Keep it, I don’t need it anymore.”
The corner of his mouth kicks up, and he gives a sharp nod. “Glad to hear it.”
Picking a tunnel, we set off, every step bringing me closer to Haven.