Page 43

Her eyes grazed over us and her brows rose. She stepped away from the wall with a look of concern. Even in the dim light, it was obvious what we’d been up to.

“We’re fine, beautiful,” he told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “But others will know we’re here pretty soon. We left a bit of a mess.”

“Great,” Kendra groaned. “Noah needs to hurry up and let us in.”

Fallon’s lips formed a tight line. “He’ll do it.”

“Might not be able to wait,” I replied, electricity dancing on my fingertips.

I didn’t want to use it, but Kayden’s right, our time was limited, especially after the brawl.

I couldn’t be sure if it would work or make our lives harder, but we didn’t have many options.

I was ready to let my powers go when the red lights flashed green, and the door slid open.

Kendra made to step through, only for a wall to appear before her, blocking her path.

Well, that was unexpected. Did something set off the security protocols?

“Shit,” she hissed, placing her hands on the brick. “Now what?”

“I’m pretty sure we’ve set off a defence mechanism, but we gotta roll with the punches. It’s Boulder Boy’s time to mother fucking shine. We can’t rely on Noah and Dick anymore,” I said, looking at the big guy.

Kayden grinned like a maniac, his skin shifting to rock within seconds. The guy stormed towards the wall, punching his way through the brick and creating a massive Kayden-sized hole. Bright light assaulted my senses, and I held an arm up to shade my eyes.

“Fuck, not again. Stupid fucking lights.”

“I’ve got you, baby,” Fallon teased, taking my hand and leading me towards the light.

“Watch your mouth.” I blinked furiously, adjusting to my new surroundings as the door slid closed, a resounding click telling us that we were locked in. So much for my high. I tugged Fallon to my chest and leaned in close to her ear. “Or I might have to punish it.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she teased, her voice breathy.

Fuck. This woman. The things she was doing to me.

“It will be like this the whole way to the vault, won’t it?” Kendra asked, drawing my attention away from the hot chick in my arms. She stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the circular room. “The magic doesn’t want us here.”

“Can’t let that stop us,” Fallon replied, slipping from my hold. “Whatever Cormac was searching for is important. We have to get it first.”

A hissing noise filled the room as gas drifted from a vent above at a rapid pace.

The floor shifted, knocking me to my feet, and the next thing I knew terror tore through me like I’d never felt before.

My body shook, sweat coating my skin as screams filled the air.

I was torn between wanting to throw up and shitting myself.

With a racing heart, I forced myself to look for the others and the princess most of all.

She was close, her arms wrapped tight around her as she screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Anger rose in me at seeing her like that, yet it was no match for the terror still coursing through my veins.

I needed it to stop. I wasn’t sure I’d survive much longer. The others must have thought the same, as together, we slowly dragged ourselves towards the next door like gang members who’d just had the shit beaten out of them by their rivals.

Blood pooled in my mouth as I bit my tongue and forced a scream back down. Fuck, we were screwed.

My body jerked forward and then I was sliding along the ground.

Fallon’s arms were shaking as she held her hands towards Kayden, Kendra and me, using her power to move us.

She whimpered, her whole body trembling, yet she kept helping us.

The princess was one of the strongest people I knew.

We hit the door, colliding with each other in the process, and I quickly reached up, slamming a hand on the security pad.

Sparks flew, my power flowing, yet the door remained shut.

“Fuck!” I screamed. We needed to get out of here. “Fuck!”

“Get. Out. Of. The. Way,” Kendra said between sobs, and we shuffled away from the door.

I tugged Fallon with me, pulling her to my chest again and curling my body around hers just as Kendra raised a hand.

Her magic latched onto the earth within the bricks from the other side of the room, raising them into the air and moulding them into a giant sphere.

She flicked her wrist, and the ball smashed into the door with a loud bang.

The room shook as dust filled the air. The lingering gas still pumped terror into our very beings.

“Shit.” Kayden coughed, his big form trembling nearby. “No brute-forcing this time. There must be another way. Maybe some kind of price? A payment of sorts.”

With the security breach, the vault was throwing everything it had at us. We were on our own now. Hacking was out of the question.

“Argh, fuck it,” I hissed, releasing Fallon.

I shoved my hand into the wound on my leg, making a mess of the cut.

With the blood coating my skin, I reached up and slapped a hand on the security pad.

Red smeared down the wall as I slumped back to the ground.

A loud fan noise filled the room like we were about to take off in a chopper, sucking the gas and the fear with it.

“Thank the fucking gods,” Fallon groaned, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. Trembling, she rose to her feet, holding out a hand to help Kendra. “But the door is still locked.”

“Yeah, but the floor is open,” Kayden chimed in. I looked over to see him staring down into a giant circular hole in the middle of the room. “Can’t see shit down there, though.”

I limped to his side and shot some sparks into the black abyss, the light instantly absorbed by the pit. We stood at the edge, staring into the dark.

“I’ll go alone,” I said.

“No way,” Fallon snapped, glaring at me. “None of us are separating.”

“It is dark as fuck down there. We have no idea what’s in there,” I argued. “It would be insane for us all to go.”

“Insanity is splitting up.” She put her hands on her hips. “We stick to—”

Tentacles as dark as night whipped out of the hole, lassoing around each of us before we realised what the fuck was happening.

I swore, letting my power spark at the edges of my skin as I was lifted off my feet and swung around the room.

It didn’t do a fucking thing. I could hear the others’ struggles, but it was all for shit as we were hauled into the hole and overcome by the dark.

At first, I thought I was dead, but then it felt like I was lying blind and in a snake pit.

I could feel long limbs writhing around me, slick with some kind of viscous lubricant.

Tentacles had tugged us in here, so I could only assume it was some sort of giant octopus.

I tossed around the idea of whether to keep quiet or call for the others and, after flopping around like a fresh corpse in the back of a car and getting nowhere, the latter prevailed.

“Fallon! Kayden!” I shouted into the pitch-black. “Kendra!”

No one answered, causing my gut to twist worse than a stab wound.

Where the fuck were they? Where was I?

I tried again but still no one replied.

Soft music started to play. Whatever I was lying on started to shudder as the tentacles literally vibrated.

The music grew louder until the tune could be identified as something akin to a children’s song.

The creature moved, its tentacles whipping away, and the next thing I knew I was on a cold, hard floor.

I shuffled, moving on my knees in the darkness.

My body was still slick as my hands searched the ground and I shouted again for the others.

But the music muffled my calls, pissing me right off.

I hissed, crawling forward, only to unceremoniously fall head-first into another hole.

I tumbled down what I realised was a tube, smacking my head against the sides and leaving every inch of my body no doubt bruised and battered.

Blood coated my tongue, and I landed in a pile. My leg was fucking killing me.

“You four have been very naughty.”

Squinting and covered in the tentacles’ lube, I looked up to find Fallon, Kayden, and Kendra looking much the same nearby. The Overseer stood before us in her rainbow gown with eight guards at her back.

“My poor kraken, so rudely awoken from its slumber.” She frowned and clasped her hands in front of her as she looked between us all. “I am so disappointed.”