Page 114 of Terror at the Gates

I made it to row E before I saw lights ahead and darted into the shadows, peering around the side of the container. They were still some distance away but approaching fast, pausing only to shine their flashlights down each aisle. I turned away and walked down the dark passage, hoping that one of these containers had enough space for Cherub and I to slip between, but they were too perfectly stacked.

I could try climbing and hiding out on top.

I hurried down the bay until I found a single container amid the towering tiers. I slid my backpack off and unzipped it before settling Cherub inside.

“It’s only for a little while,” I whispered, though she didn’t protest like I’d expected.

I left enough of an opening at the top of the bag so she wouldn’t be completely closed off. Rising to my feet, I hefted her onto my back and started to climb. I felt clumsy, learning which parts of the container would hold me, but the locking mechanism provided me with a place to put my feet. I slid my hands up the cold rods and then used the hinge that jutted out from the side as a step, rising higher until I could reach the top of the container.

Gripping the edge, I hoisted myself up, chest landing flat on the roof. I swung my legs over until I could get my knee under me and then crawled to the middle of the container where I slid my backpack off, opening it fully to check on Cherub.

She looked up at me, her pupils wide, almost swallowing the color of her eyes.

“I’m sorry, little one,” I whispered. “Just a little longer.”

With Cherub settled, I shifted to the edge of the container again and rested on my stomach, watching. Now that I was still, I was painfully aware of my throbbing wrist. I checked it, finding blood on the gauze.

It felt like forever before I saw a flash of light at the end of the bay. I pushed back from the edge of the roof and flattened as a bright beam of light slowly scanned the darkness.

The only sound came from the guards, who were chatting as they patrolled.

One of them sighed. “I hate these fuckers, wasting our time.”

“What do you think she wants?” asked the other.

“Who really knows? Rich said she mentioned Zahariev Zareth, but I’d bet my left nut she thinks she can stow away with the cargo. Probably believes in that conspiracy going around, that the church has been building some kind of paradise at sea.”

I hadn’t heard of that conspiracy before, but I didn’t doubt the rumor or people’s belief in it.

“Wait until she finds out there’s nothing out there but hell on earth.”

The guard chuckled in response, and then the light was gone and their voices faded.

I didn’t move immediately. Those men would be back, patrolling in the opposite direction. As I bided my time, I thought about what had brought me here, the witch’s promise of knowledge. I desperately hoped she was trustworthy.

When I felt like I was in the clear, I climbed down from the container and returned Cherub to her sling. I made my way down the remaining rows to M and walked the bay until I found what was supposedly Zahariev’s section.

I felt my phone vibrate, and when I checked it, I saw that Zahariev was calling.

My irritation spiked as I declined the call.

He sent a text immediately, almost like he’d written it before he’d even called.

Answer the fucking phone, he said and called again.

I could hear his tone.Pissed, which usually didn’t bother me, except this time, my scalp tingled.

“What?” I snapped.

“I don’t like trespassers, little love,” he said.

“That’s ironic,” I said. “Aren’t you their king?”

“Lilith,” he said, a note of warning in his voice.

“How do you even know where I am?” I asked, irritated, though I could guess.

“I got a call,” he said and paused. “Are you wearing your cat?”