Then he strode away, a stiffness to his stride that said he was talking about himself. Octavia trailed after him. “How long does it take?”
“I’ll have to let you know.” He gave her a broken smile over his shoulder. “Just don’t give up. Life is worth living, more so now you’re in it.”
As the rest of the guys joined the others on the sidewalk, Octavia was slower to follow, her emotions all jumbled. She was so used to being stabbed in the back, she just assumed they would eventually do the same and guarded herself from getting too close.
But maybe Pythia was right.
A pit opened in her stomach at the possibility that they might truly be her mates—fear and wonder and, more damning, hope soared. She hovered around the fringes of the group, hanging back while they joked with each other.
“Just like old times.” Darren flashed a smile, the tension between the two groups melting away.
The sun began its descent over the horizon, the massive buildings loomed around them, already casting shadows. They were on the opposite side of town from her abandoned zone, though the area wasn’t in much better shape than the place she’d claimed as her own.
The buildings were run-down and decrepit. But instead of being abandoned, they were populated by the poor denizens of the city who paid rent to the slumlords. The stink of garbage and urine clung to the air, so strong even a stiff breeze wouldn’t be able to erase it.
As they strode through the city, the few people about watched them with suspicion before scurrying away, not bothering to look back.
“Where are we going?” They took another left, an area where apartment buildings were even more dilapidated, the roads broken up by cracks and potholes large enough to swallow a small car, while the sidewalks had buckled like a large ocean wave had rippled under the earth.
The smell became worse as they turned down another block and an underpass loomed in front of them. Even with her enhanced vision, the darkness beneath was impenetrable, the inky blackness hovering like a monster ready to grab and shove them into its gaping maw.
The metal gate that should be blocking the entrance was mangled and twisted, hanging drunkenly off the hinges. Murky water trickled out in a small stream, the smell a mixture of stale algae, sour garbage, and putrid decomposition of something that recently died.
She hesitated, resistant to going into the hole, sensing the malevolence hunkering down just beyond the opening.
Something was waiting for them.
“What is this?” Everything inside her rebelled at going any farther.
Darren grimaced, checking the placement of his weapons. “One of the entrances to the city’s storm drains.”
Nikos cursed while Atticus paced, his eyes more red than green at the thought of being trapped under the earth with no way to escape. She could sympathize. The thought of going underground didn’t make her feel all warm and fuzzy either. “Please tell me we’re not going in there.”
Darren gave her an apologetic smile. “There’s a large drainage reservoir about a mile down where the water collects. When it reaches a certain level, it’s funneled to a treatment plant. Some homeless live there, a couple of gangs use it to sell their weapons and drugs, while a few teenagers use the place to party. Up until three weeks ago. Now, anyone who goes in there…doesn’t come out.”
Octavia stifled her groan of dismay, but apparently not well enough, because Darren and a few others chuckled. Whether she liked it or not, they were going in. But it did bring up a good question, and she couldn’t quell her suspicions. “Why were daemons investigating anyway? I thought they only cared about policing themselves. Why would delta team investigate humans?”
Two of the daemons from the other team frowned at her, but she shrugged. “Pretend I’m new.”
“There were reports of magic whispered on the streets.” Darren straightened and turned from where he was studying the opening, his expression a little hard around the edges, as if insulted by her question. “Daemons aren’t the only ones who have special abilities, but we’ve received no intel indicating the presence of any other supernaturals in the area.”
“Let’s move.” Warrick walked past them and headed toward the tunnels, taking all the attention off her. “I’d prefer not to be in the tunnels after sundown.”
Octavia’s question forgotten, everyone followed Warrick, both teams entering the tunnels. Octavia moved more slowly, her mind a little boggled at learning there were other supernatural creatures in the world, and she couldn’t help but wonder what else existed.
But as the men began to disappear into the darkness, she focused on what was important…could this be Kronos’s new hunting ground? Where they sent their newly turned to practice their abilities on unexpected prey?
It would make sense, a way to keep them hidden and out of the public eye, until they were ready. Not to mention that if they were discovered by whatever lurked down here, no one would miss the people who disappeared into this hellhole.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, the temperature dropped a good ten degrees. The cool air should feel refreshing. Instead, it tasted tainted, almost stale, when it invaded her lungs, and she could practically feel the spores take up residence.
Rats squeaked in the distance at having their home violated. She followed the rest in a single-file row, grimacing when her boots skidded in the sludge. It wasn’t like mud, more like gooey slime that adhered to her, as if in search of a host.
The darkness was near absolute. The guys’ black uniforms merged with the shadows, disappearing so well she could scarcely pick out their shapes. Thank goodness Atticus and Nikos hovered within easy reach. No one spoke, their footsteps nearly soundless.
The silence was fucking creepy.
Hell, she couldn’t even hear them breathing, while her own sounded like a chainsaw. Compared to them, the way they moved, she might as well have been a toddler with a bell around her neck.
Now she understood why Warrick said she needed more training. While she would be a deadly shadow to humans, she was clumsy compared to the stealth of the elite daemons.
They came to a fork in the tunnel and everyone halted. Darren gave some hand signals, then disappeared down one of the tunnels with three of his men, leaving one behind. Warrick pointed to her and two of the guys, gesturing to the other tunnel, then he was gone, too.
Atticus took the lead, the stranger next, while Nikos brought up the rear. A low hum of power rose from the stranger, a constant leak like he couldn’t quite shut it off. He didn’t seem as experienced as the rest, but she didn’t make the mistake of assuming he was weak.
Ignoring the garbage that sloshed around her feet with every step, she picked up her pace until she was at his elbow, only then realizing how massive he was compared to her. She should feel intimidated, but there was something comforting and warm about his nearness. “What’s your name?”
He gave her a measured look, not slowing his pace while they schlepped through the ankle-deep water. His reply was as almost as quiet as her question, the baritone giving it a little rumble. “Atinius.”
“I’m—”
“Everyone knows who you are, little Valkyrie.” He seemed amused, not annoyed at her chatter.
She winced, and it took her a second to realize the rumble that came from him was laughter, and she muttered under her breath, “The compound gossips more than little old ladies.”
They lapsed into silence when Atticus glared at them over his shoulder, and she gave Atinius a wry smile and fell back into place.
The farther they went into the tunnels, the deeper the water, and she grimaced when it reached her knees. Debris that she didn’t want to examine too closely bumped her legs with each step, while the smell got even more atrocious.
She had a sneaking suspicion Warrick had purposely sent them the long way around while he and the others went directly to the location of the disappearance. She wished she knew whether it was to dangle her out as bait or if he was trying to prote
ct her. She hated doubting the guys, but a lifetime of pain was hard to overcome.
When the sounds of battle, the clash of weapons, echoed down the tunnel, everyone picked up their pace. As they neared the reservoir, the rush of water became a roar.
Magic spilled down the tunnel like a freight train heading straight for them.
Atinius pulled out the massive weapon that hung on his back, dodged the magic more nimbly than even Nikos, and charged into a monstrous underground room. She and the others hurried after him…and emerged on a small walkway suspended a good ten feet over churning water and running along the edge of the tank. Opposite the water was a steep drop to a filthy cement slab below. Emergency lights were more of a dying yellow glow, making the underground cavern resemble the pits of hell.
The reservoir was gigantic, water constantly churning as more and more was dumped into the tanks from above, like a caustic waterfall of garbage and sewage. The roar of water drowned out all other sounds. Metal railings surrounded the reservoir, most of the bars broken or rusted clean through, the tank so deep and murky that she couldn’t see the bottom. They were halfway across a wobbly crosswalk when the others came into view.
Five daemons were fighting near the base of the water tanks, barely holding their own against monsters she only vaguely recognized—guard dogs. They were another of Kronos’s failed attempts to create super soldiers, monsters straight out of nightmares that could no longer pass for anything remotely human.
Unfortunately, one of Darren’s men disappeared into the mass of churning beasts, his scream ending in a gurgle. They tore him apart. The creatures shoved chunks of flesh into their mouths, moans of pleasure making a shiver go down her spine. The guys must have been the first ones in the room, and they overwhelmed the poor man in moments.
One of the creatures sucked on the guy’s femur bone, then crunched down, devouring it in one bite. Then he lifted his head and caught sight of the other daemons. Hunger and avarice gleamed in his eyes, and he surged back into battle, bloodlust riding him hard. Another and another creature followed until a tide of creatures swarmed the remaining daemons, her heart stalling in her chest to see her men fighting for their lives.
The creatures no longer resembled anything remotely human, their outer shell shed to reveal monsters no one could imagine were real. Each one was different, having been fed a different strain of the serum. Atticus roared, drawing the attention from the creatures below, and one of the monsters shot into the air, jumping a good twenty feet across the room to land on the edge of the walkway in front of Octavia and her small tam.
The only way they could get off the walkway was by going through the monster.
The thing looked like it had been doused in crude oil, every inch of it oozing some sort of black tar. It was three times the size of a human, its arms just as long as its legs, dragging on the ground as he lurched toward them in a loping run. Deadly claws tipped his fingers, sparks flickering where they struck the grate, but it was his eyes that captured her. They were milky white, with no pupils, or even eyelids, for that matter.
The creature issued a challenging roar at Atticus, its mouth gaping so wide it could swallow a person whole. As it neared, the walkway between them quivered under its weight.
Atticus charged, his form bulking up with each step until he was a towering mass of pure muscle. The two of them collided with an audible thwack and fell sideways in a tangle of arms and legs while they grappled. She watched in shock when the metal railing cracked, and they spilled onto the concrete floor with a heavy thud some ten feet below.
Nikos gave her a crazy smile, then charged across the walkway and leapt through the gap in the railing, joining the fray in a slash of blades. Magic thickened the air until she could barely breathe.
A wave of putrid water gushed out of one of the tunnels like a flash flood, overflowing the gutters trenched into the ground, threatening to sweep half the creatures off their feet. A few weren’t as lucky, and were swept into the sewer tunnels, where they clawed in vain toward the surface before sinking and disappearing from sight.
Keegan used his abilities, turning the foot-deep water in time to save the men from being bowled over and dragged away. The water drained as quickly as it arrived, disappearing in minutes, leaving behind a sludge of mud and rotting garbage.
The guys systematically destroyed any creature that came near, working in teams, each knowing what the other would do. Warrick, Keegan, and Darren worked to hold the line, while two of Darren’s men watched their backs, cutting down any creatures that tried to sneak up on them. Same with Nikos and Atticus. They obviously worked together often, flowing around each other, fighting in a way that was awe-inspiring.
Yearning to join them swirled in her veins, the need to protect them beating at her, when the magic in her bones surged in warning.
Something was coming.
When Atinius moved to jump into the fray, she grabbed his arm, her grip bruising in her effort to hold him back. “Wait.”
He frowned, power thrumming just under his skin, but he did as she asked.
That’s when she noticed the laser dots on his chest. Just as she launched herself forward, a gunshot blast reverberated in the tiny space. She landed with an oomph, the big man underneath her. Instead of having a hole in his chest, a chunk of his arm was missing.
Atticus gave a vicious snarl of denial, whirling until he saw a small command center twenty feet up that overlooked the cavernous room—where a small army of Kronos soldiers waited with guns aimed at one target—Octavia. Claws tipped his fingers and he sank them into the cement walls like they were peanut butter and pulled himself up, hand over hand, reaching the top in seconds.
Just as a red dot landed on her chest, he leapt on the small platform.
The shot went wild, skimming the tip of her shoulder and along her upper arm.
The injury burned like fire, pain searing along her nerve endings, and she cursed, realizing they must be using poisoned ammunition. Oh, the bullets were very deadly on their own, but coated with the potent toxin, they had the ability to knock any one of them out with just one shot. Already she could feel her heart race and her head turn woozy.
When another shot sounded a second later, she jerked, bracing herself for impact.
Nothing.
Heart in her throat, she looked up, her eyes locked on Atticus. Panic clawed at her insides when she saw him jerk, taking a shot directly in his chest. He ripped out the throat of the soldier holding the rifle, then staggered back. He gripped the railing, staring at her with devastated eyes while blood gushed down his chest.
She watched him lose focus before he fell with a thud to the floor below and didn’t move.
A scream of denial shredded her throat.
Atinius’s grip on her tightened, and she became aware of the swarm of red dots dancing over them. The daemon aimed a wide-eyed look down at the churning water beneath them, then back at her. She grimaced, pulling her attention away from the edge, not wanting to know what was floating in the sludge with them any more than he did, then gave a nod.
They were after her.
If she disappeared, they would follow.
Atinius grunted, then rolled. They splashed into the tanks, his back taking the brunt of the giant belly flop as he crashed through the turbulent water. Brackish water filled her nose, sucking away precious air, the rancid stink coating her like a fine layer of tacky film as she was sucked under the surface. The slap of water on her face chased away the effects of the drug, but it wouldn’t be for long.
She had to act fast.
She grabbed onto Atinius and clung to him like a monkey when he began to sink, the drug knocking him out to the point that he was barely coherent. He didn’t have a tolerance for the drug like she did, not having the benefit of repeated exposure by Kronos.
The water churned like a whirlpool, threatening to tear him away, and she knew if she lost her hold he would drown and sink to the bottom to rot or be pulled through
the filters of the tank and shredded.
She reached up, pinching his neck as hard as she could until he blinked, his dazed expression sharpening in the murky sludge that was supposed to be water. Relief poured through her, and she pointed toward the surface, her lungs screaming for air.
His large hand circled her back, and he began to clumsily kick toward the surface.
That’s when she saw them…a dozen soldiers running along the pathways above them, keeping pace with the flow of the sewage. Two of them went so far as to dive into it. The current quickly swept them away, pulling them under the surface.
Trusting Atinius to keep them afloat, she searched for a way to get them out alive. Her heart sank when she spotted three arches looming on the far side of the reservoir. The burbling water barely passed under the stones. A metal grate reached down, collecting the larger pieces of garbage…and they were heading straight for it like a bug targeted by a giant flyswatter.
They had a choice…swim to the side and be taken by Kronos or risk their lives on the chance that they could survive drowning.
Magic tingled under her skin as the Pythia Stone woke from her slumber, and her lilting voice whispered in her mind. “If you stay, everyone will die.”
Everything inside her rebelled at the thought of leaving her men behind.
Then she firmed her resolve.
She would do whatever it took, even abandon them, if it meant they would live.
“Dive.” Octavia tightened her grip on Atinius.
He ignored her, fierce lines of concentration carved into his face as he struggled to keep them afloat.
Gunk splashed her, and she sputtered, spitting out the water that made it into her mouth. “It’s the only way. If they catch you, they will kill you.”
He stilled, gaping at her in disbelief, and the churning mass took hold, sweeping them away from the edge. When he tried to swim again, she shook her head. “It’s the only way you’ll live.”
When his face hardened in acceptance, she took a deep breath, then nodded.
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