“Harutaka, can you walk? Are you tied up?”
“No, I’m not tied up, I can walk.”
I wasn’t sure I could. My feet felt weak, and a chill was spreading in my body. I couldn’t sense my toes. I wanted to vomit. “Okay, better get ready to run once we open this. Kane, I’m about to get this lock. Be ready to open the door.”
“Lou, whatever you’re doing, you need to get it done!” Isabel sounded panicky. The calm, serene voice was gone. That probably meant she could no longer read the future.
The fifth pin clicked and the tension wrench swiveled, turning in the lock. The padlock loosened, dropping to the floor with a loud clang, and I turned away and vomited loudly, coughing and spluttering.
I heard a loud metallic creak as Kane fumbled over me at the door, pulling it open.
“Thanks!” Harutaka’s voice was clear now. “I was sure I was about to… Oh fuck, what’s that?”
“Gods!” Kane whispered.
I turned around, horrified to see light beams in the dark warehouse. And then my eyes drew to the source of the light, and I gasped.
One or two Shades, Isabel had said, and she wasn’t wrong. It was both.
Shadow body manipulation, I instantly knew. When two people stood closely behind each other, their shadows mingled to create one shadow with four hands and two heads. And the Shades had found a way to use that and morph their bodies together. This thing was a monstrosity, its four arms protruding at weird angles from its deformed body, its heads half connected to each other.
It held flashlights in two of its hands, the beams sweeping the warehouse, casting light on the still Shades. And they began to move.
“The flashlights!” Kane barked. “Get the damn flashlights!”
The monstrosity shambled toward us as the rest of the Shades slowly turned around, hissing, realizing their prisoner was getting away. Kane began to mutter in his otherworldly language, raising his hand as he did so. The thing ran at us, and a faraway part of me noted that it scrambled on four human feet.
A large, azure orb of magical energy shot from Kane’s fingers and hit one of the flashlights. It exploded in the thing’s hand, taking off most of its fingers. The creature didn’t even flinch, the discomfort of its body irrelevant. It kept running for us, was almost upon us. In my peripheral vision I saw the other Shades closing in, surrounding us.
I went for my ankle holster, pulling out the small Glock. I aimed at the light, and began to shoot. Spots danced in my eyes, which had been primed for the darkness. The light from the flashlight was blinding, almost impossible to look at, but I kept my eyes straight ahead, my finger pressing the trigger again and again, feeling the jolts, the explosions loud in my ear.
And then a shot hit the flashlight with a clang, and it went out, plunging us into darkness. I was half blind, but could still see the forms of the Shades coming to a halt. The monstrosity kept going, inertia pushing it forward. It tumbled on its four legs, crashing two inches from me, one of its heads hitting the cement floor with a wet, sickening crunch.
“We need to go,” I said weakly. My throat felt swollen, and I could hardly breathe. “The moon is about to rise.”
Kane knelt by my side, fumbling for me. “Can you stand up?”
“Sure.” I tried, but collapsed, groaning, my muscles feeling like jelly. “Maybe not. Can you help me?”
He felt for me, brushing against my waist, which might have been nice if not for the fact that I was dizzy, nauseated, and possibly dying. Then, to my surprise, he lifted me in his arms, standing up straight. I could feel his muscles under his trench coat. He was strong—much stronger than I had thought.
“Walk straight,” I mumbled, and he began to walk. “A bit to the left… no, that’s too much… that’s right, straight ahead.”
In the land of the blind, the half-dead girl with the dancing spots in her vision was queen.
He strode through the door, past the giant, and onto the street. I was groggy, feeling as if I was in a dream. Something large and white glimmered in the sky.
“Oh look,” I mumbled, half asleep. “The moon is up.”
A loud roar of anger rumbled behind us, and Kane began to run. Perhaps I should have been scared, but the jerking movement of my body just made me sleepier, and all I could think of was that one of Kane’s hands was under my ass, and that he really was very strong.
And when I heard the screech of the car, and Sinead shouting, “Get in!” I let myself lose consciousness.
Chapter Fifteen
The licking on my face was insistent enough to rouse me from my deep sleep. I struggled against my attacker, pushing his snout away before he licked me to death.
“Bwargh! Go away!” I said weakly.
Magnus barked happily in response, and placed a paw on my chest. Then he panted suggestively in my ear, sneezed, barked again, and left.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” I heard Sinead say.
I opened my eyes slightly, the light of day piercing through my skull like a hot poker. I was in my bedroom, Sinead standing in the doorway, holding a glass of water. I whimpered pitifully as my headache intensified.
“Here.” She put the glass to my lips and tipped it slightly. I took a few sips. It was cool, and felt like heaven was sliding down my throat. She let me drink some more, then set the glass aside.
“Thanks,” I croaked.
“You’re welcome.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Kane and Harutaka came out of the warehouse just seconds before the moon rose. Kane was carrying you in his arms, which is something guys should do more. The Shades gave chase, but Isabel and I picked you all up and drove off. Then, once we were far enough away, we pulled over and I checked your vitals. Kane said you poisoned yourself.”
I nodded, and immediately regretted it. My head felt like someone had filled it with rocks.
“Your breathing was a little shallow, and your pulse just a bit high, but it seemed like you’d be fine, so they dropped us here. Then I cleaned you up and put you in bed.”
“You also undressed me, apparently,” I muttered, feeling under the blanket.
“Your clothing had vomit and dirt on it. You don’t want that in your bed.”
“Thanks.” I straightened a bit, my movements careful and slow. I reached for the glass Sinead had placed on my night table, and drank the rest of the water. I placed it back and looked at her. She was dressed in clothing she’d taken from my closet, a black T-shirt and a pair of blue leggings. Her hair was wet, as if she had just showered. She must’ve stayed here all night.
Licking my lips, I tried to smile at her. “We did it. Go team.”
“Yeah, go team. The big job is still ahead of us, you know.”
“I know. Did you talk to Harutaka? Will he work with us?”
“He’s actually excited about it. He’s really weird.”