They got busy, rescuing their own and I booked it to the elevator, charging toward the thick metal door. It slammed shut, grazing my heel, and I landed at the far corner of the shaft next to my mom and Zack. Renzo threw himself over Zack and me, shielding us as thunder rolled into a deafening boom and amplified beyond. The narrow cracks of the metal walls of what might serve as our coffin widened into chasms, white powder and adobe from above showering down.
High above, a loose beam plummeted. Renzo pressed into us, flattening us against the ground. Dust fell around us and the trembling floor beneath our bellies groaned. As metal scraped against metal, I knew the explosion hadn’t finished destroying the place. Titanium reinforced or not, obviously no metal was indestructible.
Renzo grunted when a chunk of rock slammed into his shoulder, then more slabs of granite and rock rained down until all I could do was crouch and wait.
And then silence.
Zack wiggled beside me. Are you okay?
I lay face down, with too much weight on me to move. And I was pretty sure something had sliced through me. I still have my head. You?
Probably just bruised. Very big bruises. But I’ll live.
Good. Dad? Mom?
She’s alive, my dad replied. And I’ll be okay in a few minutes.
I flinched, hoping Dathan had gotten far enough away from the explosion. He had to be alive. He had to. Hey, are you okay? After a beat, I tried again. Dathan, answer me.
Feeling my body heal and regain strength, I placed my palms under my chest and pushed up. Renzo slid off me, along with the chunks of the building. White powder wafted into the air with each move. I crawled over to where my dad was emerging from a pile of debris. I helped him remove the wires and metal pieces that had buried my mom and in a matter of seconds, we’d uncovered her. I frantically examined the length of her for more injuries. Her head was connected and I whimpered in relief.
“She’ll be okay,” my dad said. “Eventually. Go help Renzo.”
I circled around but he and Zack were already dusting themselves off. They staggered over the debris and limped toward us. I wrapped myself around Zack, lending him some support until he stabilized.
“I wish werewolf blood healed like vampire blood.” Although Dathan dribbled some on my mom’s neck just before the explosion, he hadn’t let her feed from him. For some crazy reason, he’d shared his blood with Zack and me, but his generosity didn’t extend to anyone else. My mom would have to heal the hard way. And that would take time.
But we needed her help to rescue Natasha. We needed Dathan too.
Dathan, I shouted into his head, wherever he was. Are you okay?
Not really, Dathan answered.
Fear coiled in my stomach at how far away he sounded. But at least he’d answered. For how much longer he’d be able to, I didn’t know. Where are you?
I’m in the park. I’m not strong enough to dig myself out.
There’s so much damage to the structure, I told him. I wouldn’t even know where to begin searching for you.
When I ran with the bomb, I didn’t have time to get away from it. Look for the part of the building with the most destruction and that’s where I’ll be.
How messed up was he? How much agony was he in? “Dathan’s buried in the park and he needs our help.”
“I’ll have a look around, see if I can find a clear path to the park.” Renzo slipped his hands under the elevator door and heaved it open. Thin pipes, wood chunks and wires tumbled into the elevator before he vanished. By the look on my dad’s face as he stroked my mom’s hair, he wasn’t anxious to go anywhere. I was rather tired myself.
Renzo reappeared, nearly tripping on a thick wire. “The ceiling is caved in, which would require mining through half a block of this mess. Might be easier to get above ground, and then dig vertically.”
“How about the rest of our guys?” I asked. “Did you see anyone?”
“No. We don’t know how far they got so we wouldn’t know where to start looking for them. Dathan is a bigger priority right now.” Renzo pointed up. “Once we’re outside, we can assess the damage.”
“I’ll help you with her,” Zack told my dad.
My mom’s eyes fluttered open. “I might be able to walk.”
Relief flooded me at hearing her voice. She was going to be fine—if we got out of the building alive. “Mom, no, we’re climbing straight up. You need to save your strength for healing once we get out of here. Let them help.”
My dad hoisted her up. I stepped toward the center, careful not to skid on the mound of rubble, and glanced above. The shaft had been compromised, for sure, but only a few pieces of wall were in our way. I could see a sliver of sky.
Renzo gripped a ledge above and lifted himself off the ground. “Once we get out of here, we have an awful lot of people to locate and rescue. With only us four, it’s going to be slow and we’ll be vulnerable the whole time.”
We’d have to excavate every inch of the place to make sure we got everyone. And all that time, anyone still alive could be suffering. “Maybe the people at the nearby ranch can help,” I said, finding my footing and following Renzo up the shaft.
“The ranch is maintained by humans who would ask too many questions, and we don’t have a telepathic connection to any other shape-shifters around who may be willing to help.” My dad huffed from the floor below as he took my mom’s weight and began climbing. My mom clung to my dad’s back, her arms trembling with effort as he climbed higher up the vertical passage.
Zack was just below with a good grip on her legs, taking some of the load off my dad. With Zack’s support, she could expend less energy to hang on. Still, watching my mom struggle through the pain of her wounds didn’t make me feel much better about the situation.
Her head bent forward against my dad’s shoulder for support and her hair was matted with sweat and dried blood. I wanted to ask her if she was all right, but I could tell she wasn’t. She’d lost too much blood and the damage too great. I didn’t want to distract her and risk her letting go of my dad. I kept reminding myself that if she didn’t have the strength to hold on and she fell back down the shaft, she’d live. She’d live and she’d heal.
Renzo reached the top and held out a hand for me. I took it and heaved myself to the other side. Dad was right behind me carrying my mom, and Zack behind them. When my dad was close enough, I reached for my mom’s arm and Renzo grabbed under her shoulder. Together, we relieved my dad of my mother and gently laid her on a patch of grass. She sighed and closed her eyes. By her slack expression, I knew she had already passed out. I brushed a wisp of hair off her forehead, wishing I had a magic wand to heal her. I suppose it could be worse though. She could be human and already dead.
I rose to scan the area and froze. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Renzo’s jaw set as he surveyed the mountain. “My thoughts exactly.”
“It’s as if nothing happened,” Zack mumbled. “All that destruction below and the rest of the world slept through it.”
“They’re probably reporting an earthquake as we speak.” In the distance, I spotted the ranch and just beyond that, the small town we’d driven through. None of those people had a clue that we had friends trapped below. Considering we couldn’t have any of them discovering we were supernaturals—which they would if they found one of the crew horribly damaged yet somehow alive—we couldn’t involve them.
Once we located Dathan, how many feet would we have to dig through to get to him? Where are you? I waited a beat. “Dathan’s not answering.”
“Let’s call Cedric,” Zack said. “He’ll send help for his king.”
Chapter NINETEEN
Autumn
An hour or so later, some of Cedric’s most trusted people arrived by private jet—Kayla and Joseph, along with three others I’d met at the palace but hadn’t gotten to know. After my dad had settled my mom under a tree over several layers of blankets—thankfully the vampires had brought supplies—my da
d and Kayla jogged into town. They rented a backhoe and flood lights, then picked up food to help the injured with healing.
Zack and I spent every moment hunting for Dathan who hadn’t replied since before we’d called the vampires for help. Because he was probably unconscious, the energy he emitted was nearly nil and the mounds of rubble covering him made the little trace of him even harder to detect. The bomb had annihilated access to the underground park. The area was so vast and Dathan was buried under who knew how many feet of earth. Flying blind could involve endless digging.
Renzo went back inside the compound through the elevator shaft in search of anyone still alive. Although he had navigated us closer to where the park might be, too many barriers blocked him from searching for others. Dathan was our priority anyway. But we couldn’t locate him any time soon without his help.
Meanwhile, he could be dying or dead. Maybe he’d been nearly decapitated by the bomb and when he’d spoken silently to me, his head and nerves had finished detaching. And now he was gone…
I had to keep the faith. As much as Dathan irritated me, I couldn’t deny how attached I’d grown to him. Not in a normal sense or any way that I’d ever experienced or could explain. But I cared deeply for him, that much I knew.
He was alive. He had to be.
My dad kept the backhoe running constantly, taking shifts with Zack while the rest of us used shovels. Every few hours, someone made food runs. I just wished my mom would heal faster.
“Mom, how are you holding up?” I asked, taking a quick break from the manual labor.
She sat up on her elbows. “Better. Not ready for battle yet, but I’ll be able to get around on my own soon.”
It would be sooner if she had vampire blood. We had vampires around now, but I couldn’t ask any of them to share with my mom. Vampires were stingy that way, but I couldn’t blame them.
I watched Zack shovel another load of rocks and drywall into a wheelbarrow. Wait… he was a hybrid, so he was part vampire. Would his blood have the same or similar effect as Dathan’s? The sooner my mom healed, the sooner we could find Dathan and the rest of our people, then get the hell out of there and rescue my aunt.
Zack? Maybe your hybrid blood would help heal my mom. What do you think about giving it a shot?
He straightened, chucked a crumbling hunk of adobe into the wheelbarrow, and sped over to me. “It’s worth a try.”
I withdrew a throwing knife from my back pocket and passed it to Zack. He sliced his wrist and thrust it toward my mom. “I’m part vampire, remember? This might help. Drink up.”
My mom grimaced before clamping onto his wrist and drinking. It’s working. After a few moments, she nudged his wrist away. “Thank you.”
My dad jogged over and gave him a man-nod. “Yes, thank you, Zack. Your color’s better,” he told my mom. “But considering the severity of your injuries, you still need to take it easy.”
I didn’t listen to my mom’s reply as I scanned for Zack who’d vanished. I spotted him in the same place already back to work. I wanted Dathan found and freed as much as anyone else. But Zack could afford to waste a couple more seconds. I sprinted to him, climbed up onto the backhoe and threw my arms around him. My mom hasn’t exactly been gracious when it comes to you and your dad. And she may not come around for a long time. Not while she was keeping her werewolfness under cover. I appreciate you overlooking that.
He kissed my forehead. You’re welcome. Now get a shovel.
“I will if you refuel.” I brushed away a tear with the back of my hand, then snagged the steering wheel and nudged him aside.
“Deal.” He dropped a kiss on my cheek and slid off the seat.
Locating Dathan would be so much easier if he would answer and guide us. Dathan, damn it, where are you?
What time is it? Dathan’s signal seemed a bit stronger.
It’s the middle of the night. Why haven’t you been answering? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.
Due to the severity of my injuries, I required some sleep. My healing would accelerate if you would find me and feed me.
Right, one of us would likely have to supply him with blood. I’d do it in a heartbeat. My blood is your blood. Now where the hell are you?
I can’t explain where I am because I’m buried and can’t see. He paused a moment. Except… you and Zack have shared my blood. You should be able to sense me.
Yeah, I should. But I didn’t. Why? Was he buried too deep and too far away? Or maybe I just needed to rely more on my supernatural perceptions.
I dropped to my knees to get closer to him, then shut my eyes and tuned out everything else as I crawled over the clumps of dirt and pieces of wood, expanding my mind to include Dathan.
“Autumn, what are you doing?”
I glanced up and offered Kayla a brief smile before returning to my quest. “Searching for Dathan.”
As I crept along the ground I shut everything out but him. In the distance someone was talking but I stayed focused. I changed direction when my gut told me to, stayed on the path when the connection to Dathan grew stronger. My knees scraped a rock and I barely felt it. My palm met with something squishy and I kept going.
I stopped. I found you.
I knew you would, Dathan said.
Relief swept through me and I could almost feel his smile. It wasn’t just because we would have his help and protection while rescuing my aunt. Even if I didn’t want to be, and no matter how many times he acted like a douche, he was more good than bad. And he’d sacrificed himself so the rest of us wouldn’t get blown up. I’d never forget that.
***
What seemed eons later, we’d dug to the deepest part of the structure, through tons of debris at the farthest corner of the underground park. As I got closer to Dathan and removed parts of the broken building, others were nearby to haul it away. We’d created a kind of canyon where we could easily climb in and out.
I balanced myself, my knees wedged against a big rock as I reached down to remove the rest of the chunks and gravel to expose Dathan’s face. Dried blood crusted over mutilated skin and I was pretty sure the white over his cheekbone was actual bone. As if half of his face had been blown off.
The undamaged corner of his mouth curved up as he opened his eyes. “There you are, sugar,” he said in a gravelly voice.
I grinned. “You seriously shouldn’t call me that. I don’t think you’re in any shape to duel Zack.”
He chuckled and then winced as he coughed. If Dathan was nearly indestructible, then his face wasn’t the only thing wrecked. I braced myself for more.
Picking up speed, I tossed a mass of steel, some wood planks and more drywall over my shoulder, then brushed away more dirt. His raw neck and dislocated shoulders came into view, then his hips and finally his mangled legs. I wondered if there was any part of him that wasn’t broken.
“What do you say we get out of here?” I asked, my eyes pooling.
“Might prove a little painful to do on my own. While I’ve been lying here unable to move, my bones may have healed incorrectly.”
“Autumn, we can take it from here.” A few feet away, Kayla hitched a thumb, indicating for me to go.
Once I reached the edges of the canyon, Joseph and Kayla went in with a stretcher. Zack draped an arm around my waist. “He’s getting a slide this time on the ‘sugar’ crap. But only because he saved our asses,” Zack whispered in my ear.
Havers sidled up next to us and peered over at Dathan. “While you were excavating, we were doing the same and got access into the compound through the skylight. The top floor is intact and any medical equipment should be functional. Dathan can rest in the chapel.”
“If it’s intact, how did you gain access into the areas we sealed off?” I asked.
Havers snorted. “Who do you think you’re talking to? Besides, I had your dad with me for the new codes.”
“Right,” I said, trying to shake the stupidity from my brain. What I wouldn’t give to be able to n
ap. “Was anyone able to access the parking area?”
“Not yet. We got into some portions of the second floor to determine what parts of the third floor haven’t been compromised.”
“And?” I raised a brow, willing Havers to give it up.
“Research area, offices and the security area will need some reinforcements before they’re safe to walk on,” he replied.
“Which means we can use the kitchen.” I almost smiled, but then thought about Ivan and Valerie. We needed to find the rest of Natasha’s people. But at the moment, my first concern was Dathan. I said goodbye to Havers and followed Joseph and Kayla, hovering until they had Dathan situated in the chapel.
“You won’t want to watch this.” Kayla ushered me out of the room and followed me into the hallway. “But stay on hand in case we need your help,” she ordered and then closed the door in my face. I waited outside the chapel, listening to Dathan’s moans and howls as they re-broke his limbs and set them properly. I didn’t even want to imagine going through that.
By the time the screams subsided, Zack had returned with blood bags. “Found these in the kitchen. Give them to Dathan and I’ll be back in a while to check on you.”
“Of course.” I ran my fingers through his thick dark hair and stretched up to kiss him.
As soon as Zack disappeared around the corner, Dathan called out to me. “Hey, sugar? Would you come in, please?”
As I let myself into the chapel, Joseph and Kayla exited and I closed the door after them. Although Dathan’s skin was blotchy and puckered, no bone protruded from his cheek anymore. “What’s on your mind?”
“Ulric was aware of this place, which means so are the men who took Natasha. And most likely Mortimer. It’s not safe here. As soon as we possibly can, we’ll all go back to my palace while your mother and I convalesce.”
Shapes of Autumn (Boxed set, books 1 - 5) Page 91