Chapter 34
Lola
Marcus turned his head and gave me a tight nod.
Perimeter was clear.
Night had fallen. The acid rain made the dusty cracked floor muddy.
The sand, flying around in the strong wind, had turned the whole area a dark, blurry, and steaming both orange and greenish color.
No human could survive outside in these conditions.
The water falling from the thick and heavy clouds could easily melt their skin if they stayed outside for too long, or even make them blind if they got a single drop into their eyes.
Even though immune, most Immortals tended to avoid staying out when the weather acted up like it did today. These kinds of episodes happened all over the world, but some places had it worse. Arizona was one of them.
The state had not only suffered from the worldwide nuclear attacks humans launched to try and eradicate our kind during the war, they had also poisoned the river and forced the Immortals to retaliate.
I wasn’t there at that time, but I still remembered the news freaking out about all the humans in the state dying when the water from the river had evaporated and rained.
That had been a clever move from our side, but it had also been a destructive one, transforming the large state from a barely livable furnace into a deadly no-man's land.
I wondered how the few humans patrolling around our camp fared most of the time…
Safe to say, when both Divines and Hellrisers had corrupted the Witches and Warlock a very long time ago, they also broke their commitment to protect the earth.
No original Witches—the ones Astrals blessed—would have done something so damaging to the land.
I understood then why my father and the other Astral species had worked to try and obliterate the corrupted covens…
Savi was sheathing all her weapons in her harness and thigh straps as Francesca and I were putting everything back inside the car, leaving no trace of our brief stop. Marcus was pacing at the entrance of our little cave, scanning the surroundings with watchful eyes.
“Where was the tunnel Dimitri told you guys about?” he asked me as I got closer.
I pointed at the huge cliff, where a small hole could be seen. “The building is on the other side, and he said he saw trucks going inside through this passage.”
Marcus frowned, his eyes narrowing. “I watched for a while, and there was no one and no vehicles around.” He paused, turning a skeptical face toward me. “Might be because of the damn weather, but are you sure we’re at the right place?”
“Certain. We followed the map, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but—” He let out a sigh. “I don’t like this. We don’t know what we’ll face inside, why Arc didn’t come back with Dimitri.”
I grabbed his hand and forced him to stand still. “We don’t. But we have a plan, don’t we? In case shit hits the fan.”
Marcus groaned. “I don’t like that plan either.”
“Why not?”
“Really?” I blinked at his sharp tone, waiting. “Because I’m going to get killed if I run to your mates for help and leave you in there unprotected.”
I grinned. “They won’t kill you until after they find me. And don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped away, walking back to the car. “Funny.”
“I am.”
It was safer to go to the tunnel on foot and leave both our vehicles here.
The girls were silent and quick as shadows as they moved ahead of us.
I turned back into my invisible form, using the extra energy to conceal the weapons strapped to my body, walking at the end of our group to protect Marcus’ back.
Wearing his full uniform and helmet made him look deadly.
He had traded his usual one for a more form fitting and reinforced dark leather armor.
His full face covering made his eyes look like bottomless pools of ink, and the dark crow beak appeared definitely sharp enough to stab anyone who got too close.
The girls stopped at each side of the small entrance and looked at us, moving their hands.
Clear.
Were the guards Dimitri mentioned not here? Maybe they had less people working during the night, or they were all inside, protecting themselves from the raging elements.
“Let’s go but stay alert,” Marcus instructed as we reached them. “There should be guards here. We’ll probably find some as we get deeper.”
I let go of my invisibility and shook the toxic water from my body as best I could as we started to make our way inside. And, obviously, Marcus ended up being right.
Not even a hundred feet further in the cool tunnel, the girls stilled. Savi pulled a gun and a dagger while Francesca went for two short swords at her back, as a dozen heavily armed guards’ faces turned to us.
Marcus cursed, pressing a hidden switch on the inside of his left wrist before grabbing a gun at his thigh with his right hand.
But the guards didn’t attack. They stayed still, looking at us, blocking the path.
I didn’t hear them as we approached…Were they even talking before they spotted us? Breathing?
Cold and emptiness filled their dark eyes. Demons. But something wasn’t right.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Marcus.
“I don’t know,” he gritted out.
One of them suddenly moved, throwing a knife at Marcus’ face. My friend dodged easily, his left arm deflecting the blade and sending it scattering to the ground next to us.
Both the girls lunged, focusing their strength on the one who threw his weapon and the two closest to him as Marcus fired at the ones standing to the side.
I jumped forward, grabbing one of the poisoned daggers at my thigh and threw myself against the ones at the back of their tight group.
The first one collapsed at the first slice of my blade against his throat, but two more came at my back, grabbing my hand and forcing it open to drop my weapon on the floor.
My body was pushed against the wall and my arm pulled tight behind me.
My nails turned to claws and I pierced someone’s chest. He groaned in pain but didn’t release his hold, the other one going for my other arm.
But I was already holding another serrated knife and sliced it across his forearm, slashing at the long sleeve of his greenish uniform.
He stumbled back, holding the wound before his knees buckled and his body fell unconscious on the floor.
I gritted my teeth and forced against the hold of the one restraining me, turning around to slash his face with the same blade.
There was no time to acknowledge any of them or how easy it had been before two more came at me, one holding some sort of battle axe, the other pointing a gun at my head.
He fired, the bullet grazing my cheek to plant itself on the wall next to my ear.
How could he fucking miss? I ducked as the other one swiped his axe and slid my foot under his leg, making him fall on his ass before slashing his throat with the poisoned dagger.
Before I could even stand up to deal with the poor shooter, he was already choking on his own blood on the floor, Savi crouching over him. She pulled her blade out from the side of his neck and wiped it on the man’s sleeve.
My heart raced as I took in the bloody mess around us. Marcus was stashing his gun back where he had it and the girls were assessing the carnage, checking if any of them was still conscious.
“We need to hurry, they’ll be back to themselves soon,” I said, starting to walk deeper in the tunnel.
“Hold on,” Marcus said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to a stop. “Are we really not going to talk about how easy it was? I’m telling you, something smells fishy.”
Francesca nodded, although the golden blood on her shoulder showed she’d been hurt. Savi crouched on the floor, inspecting the fallen guards.
“The guy missed you at point-blank range,” Marcus continued. “You expect me to believe that people like them caught Arc and Dimitri and managed to hold them both for so long?”
“They were all demons, too,” Francesca signed. “And they were acting strange.”
Savi stood up holding a bunch of keys and shook them, pointing at the tunnel.
“Think it’ll open the door at the end?” Marcus asked, holding out his hand for her to place them on his palm.
Savi nodded. “Okay, let’s go. But the next guards we find, I want you to mess with their brains.
” He pointed at me. “Do the little trick you pulled on the camp guards. See what’s going on inside their mind. ”
We didn’t find any others from where we left the bodies until we reached the end. After three tries, Marcus found the right key to open the heavy door.
The girls carefully stepped inside and waved us forward.
It looked like a huge garage. Empty trucks were neatly lined against the walls and large containers of all colors were piled on the other side.
Deciding not to waste any time, we kept moving toward the back of the room, looking around ourselves carefully in search of more signs of trouble.
Marcus unlocked the next door and signaled for us to be ready.
I hid behind him as he parried a sword with the reinforced piece at his wrist while the girls rushed in the back lines, weapons out.
I closed my eyes, focusing on each of their energies. Nine demons of various ranks and ages, all fighting as one.
But their emotions? All over the place. They didn’t feel anything except anger and hatred. No pain. No motivation for anything. Their heart and mind were raging, the emotion so high that my powers were useless.
What the Hell is going on in there? I tried focusing on one of them, digging my claws into his mind, searching for something, anything that I could use against him. But he only stared, tilting his head to the side with empty eyes.
“Lola, now would be the time!” Marcus growled as he dodged another hit, pressing me between the door and himself.
“I can't, it's not working!”
“What?” he seethed. “What are you—Lola, wait!”