The Haunted High Series Boxed Set

by Cheree Alsop

  I ducked under a curtain and reached the first table to meet the wide green eyes of a woman who was strapped down with an IV sticking out of her arm. She had brilliant rainbow hair that matched the bright colors of her fingernails and what I could see of her teeth when she cringed at the sight of me. The white medical gown she wore appeared out of place on such a brightly colored body.

  “I’m here to help you,” I said in as calm a voice as I could muster with the adrenaline that rushed through my veins. It was hard enough not to phase. Trying to reassure mythics without losing my self-control was going to be difficult.

  “Please,” she whispered. Tears filled her eyes and then ran down the side of her face.

  Sympathy filled me for what the woman had been through. I reached for the straps that held her down to the table, but stopped short. If I pulled the IV out, her arm would bleed. But when I took a step toward the drawers to look for something to use to bandage the wound, the woman’s voice raised in panic.

  “Don’t leave me!”

  I hurried back to her side. “I’m just looking for bandages so you don’t bleed when I take out the IV. I’ll return. I promise.”

  Her gaze held mine with desperation. I cleared my throat in an effort to speak past the lump that filled it and said, “My name is Finn Briscoe. I’m a werewolf student from the Remus Academy. I’ve come to set you free with my friends and get you to safety along with everyone else here.” I looked past her. Even though I couldn’t see the rows of beds beyond the curtain that surrounded her room, I knew what lay waiting for me. “When I get you free, do you think you could help me with the rest of them? If we all work together, we can get everyone out of here faster.”

  Her rainbow eyebrows rose and she nodded. “I can help,” she said in a voice that was stronger than before.

  I searched quickly through the drawers until I found some medical tape and pieces of cotton. They would have to work. I hurried back to the table.

  I reached for the tube that hung from the woman’s arm and paused. Nervousness ran through me. I met her gaze. “To be honest, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  It surprised me when compassion filled the woman’s eyes. She gave a small, motherly smile. “Just pull the tape off quickly and slide it out. The needle won’t hurt as bad as it did going in. Trust me. It’ll be a relief.”

  I pulled the tape off fast like she had instructed, then tore off a piece of the new tape I had found and pressed a piece of a cotton ball to it in preparation. I glanced at the woman one more time. Though our interaction had taken only a few seconds in the grand scheme of things, it felt like hours to me. My heart raced in my chest and the need to help everyone else pushed me to hurry. At the woman’s nod, I slid the needle carefully from her arm. Blood welled from the tiny wound. I pressed the cotton to it and taped it down.

  She smiled. “Good job. I think I’ll survive now.”

  With a smile of my own, I undid the straps and helped her sit up. She lowered her bare feet to the floor and straightened. Though I could see her trembling slightly, she gave me a brave smile. “Let’s free the others.”

  Gunshots sounded overhead. I poked my head out of the curtain in time to see a scientist fall against the far wall.

  “It’s clear,” I told the woman.

  She took the next curtained room and I ran into the one after that. At the same time, I heard the rushed footsteps of my team as they ran to join us.

  I helped a small girl from a cage in one of the rooms. When she stood, her legs were shaky and trembles made her skin turn from pale to purple in waves.

  “Is my mommy here?” she asked in a small voice.

  I knelt down and smiled at her. “She’s not here, but my friends are going to take you to a place where you’ll be safe. You can call your mom from there and she will pick you up.”

  “Really?” the little girl asked. As hope surfaced in her voice, yellow and gold ran over her skin.

  I nodded. “Really. You’re safe now. I promise.”

  I escorted her to the stairs where Lyris waited to take her to the others.

  Vicken’s cover fire rained down sporadically from his place above. Fortunately, his viewpoint gave him an excellent opportunity to hit anyone who entered the Labs from any of the doors. I heard the difference in bullets when the vampire switched from Mercer’s empty gun to the scientists’. The nearly-silent sound of darts hitting bodies told me others were rushing the room.

  As I helped a man with four legs to the stairs where Lyris and Dara waited to assist the rescued mythics to the waiting limos, Vicken shouted, “Finn, I’m out!”

  I glanced up to see the vampire leaning against the railing that surrounded the second-floor walkway. Dark gray liquid dripped down his leg to the floor and the pallor of his skin had changed from white to an ashen gray. He looked as though he could barely hold the empty gun in his hand.

  But his attention was on the door across from him. A glance over showed two women and a man rushing through now that the cover fire had stopped. They each held a gun and had belts with extra clips. The black shirts and camouflage pants they wore set them apart from the scientists we had faced. I spotted two other men in the same uniforms collapsed against a wall where Vicken had taken them down. My heart slowed. If someone had summoned the backup security, we were in trouble.

  I pulled Mercer’s gun from my waist and followed the first woman’s path. Letting out a slow breath to steady my hand, I squeezed the trigger. The sound of the percussion echoed around the room and the woman fell to a heap against the wall. Without taking time to think, I followed the second woman and the man in the other direction. Squeezing two more times, two more percussions sounded and the guards dropped motionless to the floor.

  “Thanks,” Vicken said.

  The vampire leaned with one arm over the railing as though it was the only thing keeping him up. I thought about tossing a gun up to him, but the energy it would take for him to catch it might be the last he had. Instead, I handed my second gun to Dara.

  “Escort the second batch of patients to the limos. Have Lark come down to help.”

  “Are you sure?” the empath asked.

  I nodded. “We need to get as many patients away from the Labs as we can. Backup is showing up and I don’t know how many more might be coming. We have to get out of here.”

  Dara took off up the stairs. When she passed Vicken, I could see the worry on her face, but she didn’t stop to talk to the vampire.

  I made my way up the stairs to cover him. Without a word, I carefully helped Vicken sit against the wall. When he was settled, I reached for his gun, but he refused to let it go.

  “I’ve got it,” I told him gently. “I can take care of this.”

  He shook his head slowly with his eyes shut. “I don’t want to let you down.”

  My eyes burned, but I refused to let them fill with tears. There wasn’t time for emotions like that. “You haven’t. Trust me. I’ve got this.”

  When I reached for the gun again, he let it fall into my hand. I stood next to him and waited for the others. The rush of security continued, forcing me to keep all of my attention on the doors to prevent the lab floor from being overwhelmed before my team returned.

  “Brack carried Alden into the last limo,” Lyris reported when she came back. “They’re on their way to the mansion. If we can get four more out, we can take this next group when the limos pull back up.” She hurried down the stairs with Dara close behind her.

  I kept my attention on the doors across from us. The scattered bodies of black-shirted security told of the heated assault. Bullet holes near my head whispered of near-misses that would have ended my life. Brack had taken down half a dozen near the exit door as the men and women fought to keep us from freeing their prisoners, but Mercer’s guns proved more effective than the tranquilizers or the bullets the guards used.

  I glanced at Vicken. He had one leg pulled up and rested his forehead on his knee while the other stuc
k out in front of him. His pant leg had moved and I could see the black bite of the demon marring his skin. More gray liquid pooled on the tile beneath it. I shied away from thinking about what that meant.

  The sound of Lyris’ voice brought my attention back to the room. “We’re here to get you out.”

  Dara and Lyris helped four captives from cages set by the closest wall.

  One of them, a huge, hulking man with spikey horns, growled and refused to leave his cage.

  “You’re safe now,” I heard Dara say.

  She closed her eyes. I watched the huge man relax as she used her empath ability to calm him down.

  “I’m safe,” the man finally repeated. He followed her as docilely as a puppy toward the stairs.

  I gave Dara a grateful smile when she passed where I stood next to Vicken.

  “This is as many as we can fit. We’ll be back,” Lyris announced on her way by.

  I nodded. “Hurry as fast as you can. Vicken and I will cover the floor until you return.” The thought of them leaving just the two of us alone at the Labs made my muscles tighten. I willed the phase not to come and instead repeated, “Hurry back.”

  “We will,” Lyris said. She shot Vicken a worried look, then turned a questioning one on me. When I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile; she nodded and continued up the hallway after Dara and the others.

  As the minutes ticked by, I couldn’t keep still. I wrapped a bandage around Vicken’s leg, but he didn’t stir the entire time. I didn’t trust any of the blood in the Labs and wondered if I should make him drink my blood instead, but if the demon bite was truly turning the blood of his body against him, adding more might finish him off faster. I didn’t dare risk it.

  Instead, I spent the seconds climbing up and down the stairs. I didn’t dare move deeper into the Labs for fear that someone would come upon Vicken when he was unable to defend himself, but the sound of mythics in pain and crying gripped my heart. Apparently, word of freedom had spread. Mythics called out from every corner of the Labs, begging to be released from their suffering. It made my heart ache and I wished for Dara and the others to get back as fast they could.

  Chapter Twelve

  I reached the bottom of the steps and had turned to go back up when someone said, “Finn?”

  My heart skipped a beat at the sound of Professor Briggs’ voice. I turned to see him leaning against a counter. He was dressed in a medical gown. His feet were bare and the scruff on his jaw was longer than usual. His arms were folded across his chest as though he was cold. With his wrists tucked in at his elbows, I couldn’t see which hand was missing.

  “Professor Briggs,” I replied. The sight of the professor filled me with such relief my knees felt weak. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”

  I crossed to him quickly.

  Briggs gave a smile that twisted the scar marring his cheek. “I’ve been better, but it’s a relief to see you.” He set his hands on my shoulders. “I didn’t expect a rescue.”

  It took me a moment to realize why the action was so strange. “You have both of your hands!” I said in amazement.

  “Of course I do,” Briggs replied. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Well, Ren, I mean Lark, said the scientists took your hand and you were really upset about it,” I explained. I couldn’t help looking from one of his hands to the other. The scars on the back of his left hand were reassuring in their familiarity. The detached part of my mind wondered how Briggs would feel if he could read my thoughts.

  His eyebrows drew together. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you here?”

  “The note,” I replied, surprised he had even asked the question. “I came because of your note I found in the box at the Academy. You left coordinates. I didn’t know where they led, but Vicken did, and here we are.”

  “I didn’t leave a note.”

  My blood ran cold at the professor’s words. I stared at him. “Of course you did. It was in your handwriting. You wrote it to me. You left coordinates and said the Wiccan Enforcer was after you. You said to find you here.”

  Brigg’s face was pale when he said, “Why would I have you come here? This place is full of Maes scientists and demons!”

  “We got rid of the demons,” I told him. My mind was reeling from the fact that he hadn’t written the note. “I don’t have time to explain how,” I said when he opened his mouth to question me. “We need to get you out of here. If this is a trap, security’s not the greatest; we might still have a chance.”

  “Relying on chance is like hoping Vicken will sprout wings and fly you out of here.”

  I looked up at the sound of Lark’s voice. She stood next to Vicken and had one of Mercer’s guns pressed to the back of the unconscious vampire’s head.

  “Lark, don’t do it!” I shouted. “If you shoot him that close, the bullet will kill him.”

  She gave me a flat look. “You said you would do whatever it takes to save him.” She lifted the gun and pointed it at me. “This is what it takes.”

  She pulled the trigger.

  “No!” I heard Briggs shout just before the flashbang went off.

  A bright light sparked in front of my eyes with such intensity that when I closed them as I fell over, I could see the brightness burned into my retinas. I didn’t feel myself hit the ground; instead, I felt as though I had been enveloped in the thickest cotton blanket. For several long minutes, everything was bright, hot, and completely silent. Then the silence lifted.

  I couldn’t say if it was because I was a werewolf, but the sound that returned as the effects of the flashbang faded made it feel as if my ears were bleeding. The high-pitched ringing was accompanied by a low throbbing, humming sound that rushed in and out with each beat of my heart. I tried to cover my ears, but my hands wouldn’t respond. I wanted to open my eyes, but whether they were open or not, all I could see was the brilliant white light. I felt like I was trapped in a torture chamber.

  My body jolted and I was aware enough to realize that I was being carried, but I couldn’t remember why. Nothing made sense past the numbing echoes in my head. I heard the flashbang again and again, and the white light refused to go away. Even after I was set down within the metal bars of a cage, I couldn’t hear the sound of the door being locked or see those responsible for my captivity.

  I fought against the bonds on my wrists. My throat felt tight as though something had been placed around it as well. The need to defend myself made the wolf claw to the surface. The thought of being able to chew through my bonds was a welcome one, so I relaxed my muscles the best that I could and willed the phase to come.

  Someone shouted beyond the bars. I couldn’t make out the words, but the sounds of agitation were apparent. I needed to fight back, to protect Professor Briggs and defend Vicken. I would phase into wolf form and take down anyone who threatened them.

  “He’s phasing!”

  The shout was right by my head. I tipped my chin up and let out a growl, intent on tearing the man’s throat out the moment I reached wolf form.

  Something slammed into the side of my skull. A groan of pain escaped me and I doubled over to protect my head with my bound hands.

  “Phase and die, idiot.” I recognized Lark’s voice above the hum of my ears. “You have a zip tie around your throat. It will tear through your neck if you phase. I’ve seen it before.”

  Tears filled my damaged eyes. “You betrayed us,” I shouted. I felt the zip ties tighten with the strain of my throat.

  “You said you would do whatever it takes,” she replied. “You’re an honest person, Finn. I hold you to that.”

  I tried to look at her, but couldn’t. “He’ll die in a cage.”

  “Vampires are born in cages,” she replied in her elusive way.

  The sound of her fading footsteps let me know that my hearing was returning. My head ached from whatever had hit it. I tried to keep still because moving made it so much worse.

  “Let me see. They got you
bad, didn’t they?”

  My tense muscles relaxed slightly at the sound of Professor Briggs’ voice.

  “I-I can’t see,” I told him without moving.

  “It’s flash blindness,” Briggs replied. “It’s from Mercer’s bullet. It’ll fade eventually.”

  We fell silent. The bright light slowly lessened and then vanished altogether. The relief I felt at not being blind was tempered by the fact that I was stuck in a cage. I waited until the pain in my head reduced enough that I could turn it to look at the professor. He sat hunched in the cage next to mine, his legs underneath him in an effort to find a comfortable position on the metal bars.

  “What will they do to Vicken?”

  Briggs gave me a searching look. He appeared so much less intimidating dressed in a hospital gown instead of his menacing black cloak and with the walking stick in his hand.

  “They aren’t kind to vampires,” he replied.

  As if in answer, two men wheeled a gurney toward us. They were followed by several men and women in white lab coats.

  The man who seemed to be in charge was bald and carried a blue clipboard. I recognized him from Lark’s memory. He was tall and thin, with red glasses that had one lens blacked out. A scar running from the middle of his forehead toward his ear told of the reason for the black lens.

  He smiled when he stopped in front of my cage, but the smile didn’t touch his eye. Instead, his gaze was calculating and appraising.

  “You had quite the impact on our little Labs, Finnley Briscoe,” the man said in a voice that was deeper than I had expected. “My name is Doctor Fagrin. Welcome.”

  I rose to my feet and held the bars to remain steady. Inside, my body still suffered from the effects of the flashbang. I could feel my legs shaking and my stomach felt like it was tied in knots. I ignored the feelings and focused on the man.

  “The Labs shouldn’t exist.”

  Dr. Fagrin gave a humorless laugh. “And where we would be without them?” He gestured with a sweep of his clipboard. “We’ve made more discoveries here about mythics and humans than anywhere else in the world.” He gave me a knowing look. “Why else do you think the mythic population is so low? They should have overrun us by now.”