As I opened the door, I noticed something reddish-black, glossy and smooth, embedded in the center of the threshold. Having no idea what that was, I closed the door behind me. I quickly scanned the first floor as I kept the brim of the cap low. I moved fast, so if I showed up on any security cameras, I would be nothing but a blur.
I passed empty offices, following the scent of recently smoked cigarettes that hung thick in the air. I moved farther in, finding an office where metal folding chairs were spaced out. Full ashtrays sat on one of the metal tables, next to used coffee cups. There was nothing else. No paperwork or computers, not even a printer or a landline phone.
Weird.
Darting out of the office, I raced down a wide hall faintly lit by dull yellow light. A set of double doors was at the end, and when I pushed on them, they opened easily. I stepped into a large room and my heart nearly stopped in my chest.
“Holy shit,” I murmured, feeling my cell vibrate in my pocket.
Cages. There were cages in this room.
There were about ten of them. All of the cages were empty. For a moment, I was frozen as I stared at them. Anger and horror swirled inside me. They kept people in those cages. They could’ve kept Bethany or my brother in one of these cages. Energy stirred inside me, and I wanted to let it go, blowing this building off the face of Earth.
I finally moved to the cages and saw the chains. Chains. The same strange material I’d seen over the door encased the chains. In here, it looked like some reddish-black stone I’d never seen before. The cage in the middle looked recently used. A red rusty substance covered the cuffs. Blood. It took me a moment to realize it was blood, probably from someone pulling against the metal. The shackles were also covered with the same reddish-black material. In another cage, liquid had dried in the middle. It wasn’t blood—human at least. It looked sort of transparent. Luxen blood.
Stepping back, I lifted my gaze. At the end of the room there was a door marked Stairs. God only knew what I’d find on the second floor. Maybe cages that weren’t empty. Purpose filled me. I prowled toward the door, stopping short when I remembered my phone had vibrated.
I reached into my pocketed and pulled it out. It was a text from Kat. One word. Company. I spun around. “Shit.”
Not going upstairs pissed me off, but if the officers or Vaughn had shown up, Kat was at risk. Whatever was up there had to wait. I raced through the building, and when I neared the entrance, my heart rate jumped erratically. Kat. It was due to Kat. Something was wrong. Her heart was beating way too fast.
At the door, I heard an unfamiliar voice. “Christ. You’re right. She’s one of them.”
“Told you,” another responded. “What’s in this barrel will do far worse. So you better think carefully before you answer the next question. Who are you?”
I made a split decision. Holding the image of Vaughn in my mind, I mirrored his appearance. It wasn’t perfect. If anyone knew him well or got too close, they’d see that I didn’t look exactly like him. Stepping outside, my jaw locked down as I saw Kat on her knees, a man holding her arm with one hand and pointing a gun at her forehead with the other. Rage as potent as the Source exploded inside me. My hands curled into fists as I willed my voice to answer.
“What’s going on out here?” I demanded.
The one with the gun stepped aside, and he was still holding her arm. I did not like that, either. “We found her sneaking around back here. She’s one of them.”
I frowned as I moved closer, not liking the grimace of pain tightening Kat’s face or the panic crowding her gaze as she stared up at me. “Good job. I’ll take this one.”
“Are you sure?” asked the other officer, a shorter one.
Nodding, I reached down and grasped her arm, hauling her to her feet. “I’ve had my eye on this one for a while.”
“The cages should be prepped,” the one with the gun said, letting go of my other arm reluctantly. “It took a while for it to work on her. You might want to double it up.”
My jaw ached.
“Since we caught this one, shouldn’t we get a reward?” the shorter one asked.
“Reward?” I repeated, voice low.
The one with the gun laughed, and I felt Kat shudder. “Yeah, like with the other one. That was one hell of a reward. Husher won’t know any different as long as we don’t mess her up.”
Like the other one? As long as they didn’t mess her up?
I didn’t even stop to think.
The rage inside me turned deadly. These people…these horrible human beings did not deserve to live. I pushed Kat aside as I lifted my hand. Lightning crackled around my arm, flaring red-white as it surrounded my body.
“Dammit!” The one with the gun yelled, “It’s a trick!”
Too late.
The pulsing white light struck that bastard first, sending him several feet in the air. The light arched, smacking into the shorter officer. He flew into the side of the building with enough impact that it left a dent. Clothing smoked. Skin burned.
A moment passed, and the Source pulled back into me. Both men, sprawled a few feet from each other, shuddered once and then turned to ash.