by Paige Orr
Annika does something on her laptop, causing code to fly across the screen quicker than I can keep up with. She continues to type away for a few minutes, obviously looking for something, not that I have any idea what that could be. Soon enough though, she turns to us with a huge grin on her face, motioning for us to gather around the laptop.
“I managed to hack into the local council's files and find a blueprint from the planning permission for the house where these bastards are hiding. The only place that looks big enough to hold all of them people captive is the basement, but I won’t rule out them having them split up into all of these fucking rooms, rich wankers.”
“Can you tell us where they are most likely to have guards stationed, and if there is an alarm system in place?”
“Do I look like fucking Napoleon, the guys will have a better understanding about where guards will be, but I can tell you that there is an alarm. I should be able to disable it remotely when we get there though. The joys of all this smart shit, it’s not all that secure if a hacker is involved, especially since it all runs off the internet.”
I turn to the guys, discussing the places where they think there are most likely to be guards, and come up with a plan on how to best tackle this shit it’s better to be over prepared, than under prepared.
I can feel the others getting antsy as they begin to pace back and forth behind us while Nika writes down the address. We have a hell of a fight on our hands, but hopefully taking down the ones that attacked us in the woods has evened the oods out at least a little. Thank fuck I didn’t try to do this shit on my own, human or not, I could never take down so many people. I’m fucking good with my guns, but no one is that good.
Once I’ve passed the address over to Cailean, who will be taking his car with Elias to lead us to the address. Me, Nika, Morpheus and Zaphyr pile out of the house and into my car, waiting to follow them once they pull out. The house that we’re heading for is surprisingly close to my own, and I can’t help but shiver at the idea of having a load of radical extremist living so close by.
It’s always the people who you least expect who are the craziest of us all, usually the stepford wives and their cash cows, or even little old ladies who you think are sweet. I’m not saying that we all don't have some darkness inside us, and are willing to do things that others would frown upon, but people like the cults seem to completely turn their backs on the light.
Adelaide always taught me to find a balance, because without darkness there is no light. I haven’t always got it right, but I’ve always tried my best to keep that balance. Having a friend Like Nika has helped a lot too, especially since Witches believe in the three-fold law. She’s always lecturing me on how all the negativity I put out in the universe will come back to bite me, but I just call that karma being a stone-cold bitch.
I let myself get lost in thought throughout the drive, making sure not to get myself too worked up before even getting there. The last thing I need is for my adrenaline to skyrocket too soon, and for me to crash at the worst of times. I know that the cult member might not even be there, but surely we will at least be able to get to their captives. There will at least be a few people guarding them, so at least the guys will be able to get some retribution.
I think over all the different scenarios that could happen, wanting to be prepared for all eventuality until we pull up about a block away from the address that Nika narrowed their location down to. Excitement fills the car as the guy's eagerness to get going is practically contagious. Nika isn’t one for getting herself into the fray of things, but even she seems to be filled with anticipation.
Cailean and Elias get out of their car, making their way over to us, and knocking on the window. I can feel myself getting giddy at how close we are to ending this shit, after being hurt twice already thanks to the cult, I have my own revenge to get as well. I roll down the window, looking up into Cailean’s serious face with bated breath.
“Alright, Melissa. You’ll be with me and Elias going through the front door while the others take the back. As long as we stick together, we should be able to handle all the members.”
“Okay. Remember though, they have a Witch on side. Annika didn’t have enough time to find out who it was, so we have no idea what power level they are. Just be careful.”
Zaphyr chimes in from the back seat, sounding cocky as all get out.
“Don’t worry about us, little songbird. These bastards won’t know what hit them.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself, you may be Fae, but somehow they have managed to capture just over forty of your people. Underestimating them will just get someone dead.”
He lets out a huff, sulking that I’m ruining his fun, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt just because they thought what could a puny little human do. We might not be the strongest, but because of that humans are really fucking sly, they will do anything that they need to, just to make sure they come out on top.
“Remember that they’ve been really fucking smart about this. We will be more likely to make it out without anyone being injured, if we air on the side of caution.”
This time it’s Morpheus who speaks up, with a sullen expression plastered on his face. You would think I’d just taken all his candy away from him, by the way he’s looking at me.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just blast through them all and not give them the chance to retaliate?”
“No! Think about this logically, if you were in their shoes, you would have something prepared after knowing that one of the members was found when putting the sigils in place.”
The look on his face tells me how unhappy he is, but he nods his head anyway, turning to look out of the window. Anika digs around in her purse, before letting out a sound of triumph as she turns back to us.
“Alright fuckers, since you won’t have Mr. Shadow Master with you, I made a cloaking potion earlier today when Mel and Z were getting themselves shot up. Just take a swig each and it will last long enough for you to get inside unseen. Mel, put your phone on vibrate, and I’ll send you a blank text when we're in position and I’ve dealt with any alarms.”
She tosses the potion bottle across where I’m sitting, and Cailean's hand shoots out, snatching it from midair and making my heart leap into my throat. Seriously guys, a little consideration for the jumpy human would be great.
Elias opens my door for me, holding his hand out to help me get out, and I give Mercy and Justice a quick check, just to make sure I’m fully loaded, before we begin to make our way towards the house. I can feel that typical calm that usually fills me when I have to go into a bad situation, filling my limbs and leaving me more alert.
With the Harpy, it was such a surprise that I never got the chance to get into my zone, but knowing a bit better about what I could be walking into is helping a hell of a lot. We stop a couple of houses down from the one we are going to, taking Nika’s potion as the others split off from our group, making their way around to come at the back door.
We give the potion a few minutes to kick in, and I can feel the guys gazing at the side of my face. I turn to them, raising my eyebrow, but they just clear their throats, looking away from me. I would usually deep dive into every reason that could be behind their looks, but right now I’m too focused on what’s in front of us to really think about it. They Can always tell me later why they looked so dazed.
I pull my guns out as we start to silently make our way down the rest of the street, sticking to the shadows just to be on the safe side. It’s not that I don’t trust Nika’s magic, because I’m telling you, she’s fucking baddass, but It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
We crouch down underneath the front window, waiting for Nika’s text to come through, and I slow my breathing down. I wouldn’t say that I feel nervous, but no matter how calm you are in a situation like this, you’re always a little jittery, no matter what books like to tell you. I doubt the guys would like me shooting wildly because my hands are shaking, so I numb myself to
what we’re about to do.
It doesn’t take long for the other to get in position, and Nika’s text comes through, causing Elias to jump, a blush staining his cheeks. I’ll have to joke with him about that later, but now, it’s time to kick some ass. I creep up the front steps, pausing in front of the door, before reaching up to try the handle.
Surprisingly, it’s unlocked, and I slowly open the door, just in case there are any creaks in the hinges that would give us away. We slip inside with no issues, keeping low as we carefully make our way through the house, listening for any sign of life.
We are almost halfway through the house before I start to become frustrated at the fact there is no one there. I know we planned to stay together, but at least if we split up then we can check the place quicker. I motion with my hands, letting the guys know I’m splitting off from our group, and before they can try to stop me, I turn around, making my way into the left hallway.
This place is fucking huge, and I know that someone could be waiting anywhere to get the drop on us. I’m just hoping that we can find the Captives before they even know we are here. I’m not stupid enough to think that we'll be able to get out of here without being seen, especially with all the captives. But at least if we release them first, those that are able to will be able to help out. I’m pretty fucking sure they’re going to be pissed at the situation, so who are we to tell them they can’t get their own back.
I grit my teeth as I continue to make my way through the first floor, not even finding a speck of dust out of place. As if anyone keeps their house this fucking clean! Finally, I manage to find the kitchen, and realizing the blueprints that Nika showed us before we headed out, I make my way over to the pantry where the entrance to the basement is.
I open the door on the floor, cringing when it lets out a noise loud enough to wake the dead, and just crouch there for a moment listening to make sure no one heard me. I let out a sigh of relief, looking down into the dark fucking abyss that’s this houses basement, and brace myself before starting down the stairs.
I just get to the bottom of the stairs when something hard hits me across the back of the skull and the lights go out.
Motherfucker!
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cailean
We continue on with our search of the house when we lose sight of Melissa, knowing we don’t have any time to waste, but I can’t stop myself from worrying about her. She has a penchant for managing to get herself hurt, and that’s the last thing I want on my conscience right now. I wish she had stayed close to us, at least then we could have done everything in our power to protect her from harm.
After her little stint in the forest with Zaphyr, I know that sometimes that’s still not enough to protect her, but at least we could try. Two strong Fae are better than one, even if I do say so myself. I can’t really fault Zaphyr though, and I’m strangely happy that this whole incident, plus Melissa’s involvement, has made us work better together.
When we were children, the four of us got on like a house on fire, but once we got older and others began to influence our outlook on life, we drifted apart until we eventually hated each other's guts. I can still remember when I used to think that the rivalry between the Seelie and Unseelie courts were fucking stupid, but over the years I’ve become jaded.
I actually forgot just how well we all worked together, and you never know, maybe going forwards we can be more amenable. If so, then when both me and Zaphyr take over the throne, we could try and start to put all the bad blood between our people behind us. Over the years there has been so much blood spilled from each side that I know it won’t be an easy task, but maybe it’s about time that someone at least tried.
We finish scanning the lower floors of the house, meeting the others just outside of the kitchen, and finding no signs of Melissa. I don’t know whether she has just started up stairs or not, but I thought at least one of us would have seen her. Not only that, but there's absolutely no sign of the cult members, and I can see frustration on Annika’s face as she whispers to us.
“I’ve never been wrong before, they have to be here somewhere. There was no time for them to be able to fuck my reading up.”
“It’s alright Annika, we know how crafty these bastards are, and as quick as you were with finding their location, they could have still had the chance to move everyone.”
She nods her head at me, not looking convinced, before scanning our group. Her eyes turn back to me, filled with worry, and I know exactly what she’s going to ask next. She proves me right when she starts whisper shouting at us.
“Where the fuck is Mel? You guys were supposed to be keeping an eye on her!”
“We tried, but you know what your friend is like.. She broke off from us, not giving us a chance to follow her. I think her frustrations at not finding anything, clouded her judgment.”
“Oh for fuck's sake, I swear one of these days I’m going to kill her for putting me through the ringer like this!”
She lets out a huff, filled with exasperation, and I have to say, the feeling is mutual. Since meeting Melissa, she has drivn me fucking crazy with how she throws herself headlong into danger. The woman has absolutely no sense of self-preservation. Zaphyr looks like he's ready to rip the place apart to find her, but instead he turns to me after blanking his expression.
“So what should we do now? Do we continue this search even though there is no sign of the cult members, or our people. Or do we look for Melissa?”
I’m sure if Melissa wanted us to find her then we would, why else would we not be able to find her anywhere. We probably only have one more shot at finding our people, especially since the cult has already managed to get the necklace of harmonica. I can’t figure out how they managed to get themselves past all my guards, and the wards placed on my home, but they did.
“We need to keep looking for anything we can. They obviously had to get out of here sharpish, so maybe they’ve left something behind that can lead us to them.”
“It’s really starting to piss me off that they’re managing to stay a step ahead of us. It’s like one step forward and two steps back!”
“I know Zaphyr, but you have to try and calm yourself down. Our people need us to be focused, we can’t screw this up just because we’re pissed off.”
I can see that he has more to say, but thankfully he leaves it and agrees with the plan. The cult might still be one step ahead, but we’re catching up quicker than they were expecting. We’ve got them running, which means they’re more likely to make mistakes. Now we just have to make sure that we don’t miss that mistake because of our own frustrations.
This time we agree to stick together in a group, we don’t want anyone else wandering off on their own. I hate that I don’t know if Melissa is safe or not, but this is bigger than how she makes me feel, and right now I can't afford the distraction. With the necklace in their possession, it must mean that they have everything that they need to perform their ritual, which means I don’t have the time to look for her.
I put Melissa to the back of my mind, promising myself that once I have found my people, I can look for her. But until then, it’s time to get my leader's cap on. We head out into the hallway and make our way towards the stairs. If there isn’t anything upstairs, then I don’t know what we’ll do, but we can cross that bridge when it comes.
We slowly make our way up the stairs in single file, making sure not to step on any creaky steps. When we finally reach the top landing, it splits into two directions, the left hallway is shorter than the other, so I turn down the right hallway, the others trailing behind me.
Every room that we pass is completely barren, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think that no one had been here in months. I trust Annika though; she hasn’t led us wrong yet, so I really should believe in her. With each empty room that we come across, I can feel my stomach sinking, and without even checking the other hallway, I know that we won’t find a single clue. Stopping once I reach the last ro
om, I turn back to the others with a shake of my head.
“I think you guys know as well as I do, that there is no point in continuing this search. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the reason that we can’t find Melissa, is that she caught one of them leaving and followed them.”
Morpheus turns towards the wall, lashing out with his anger, and I stand silently as I watch his hand go through the layers of plaster. I can understand why he’s so upset, but he should know better than to lose his cool like this. He spins back around, stepping up until he’s face to face with me.
“Have you maybe stopped to think that we can’t find her because these fuckers have hurt her!”
“Of course I have, but we can’t find her. We have searched this house top to bottom, which means if they do have her, she isn’t here anymore. Once we get back to the apartment, Annika can try a spell to loathe her, but until then there isn’t much we can do.”
“How the fuck can you be so calm right now?! Our people are suffering and now on top of that, Melissa might be too!”
I finally feel my patience snapping, and I grab him by his collar, spinning and slamming him against the wall. We bare our teeth at each other, ready to tear each other apart.
“You think I’m fucking calm?! Are you really that fucking stupid?”
Elias and Zaphyr approach us, holding their hands out placatingly. They pull us apart, holding us away from each other as we struggle to get out of their grasp. I know that I’m acting irrationally, but after the amount of pressure I’ve been under since the disappearances began, I really can’t be arsed with Morph’s shit! Eli, ever the peacemaker, tries to calm us both down.
“If Melissa has been taken, do you think you two killing each other will do her any good? Or our people, for that matter! We need you both to be on the same side, this shit is exactly what the cult wants!”