Red Blooded

But then again, I could live without it.

I grabbed Tyler’s sleeve and tugged him back behind a partition, where all the supplies were kept. In the other mending room there had been a bathtub crossed with a bed. This one held the chair Tyler had been in, which resembled an evil-looking dentist’s chair, and contained nothing else, except a strange metal cabinet.

“Let’s shove the cabinet in front of us,” I said, grasping one side as I moved past it. It was solid, but not crazy heavy. “I have no idea what the blast will be like, but she’s right, I don’t want to spend any time regenerating.”

Tyler took the other side and we slid it forward, placing it in front of the entryway to the partition. Coming around the side, he whispered low, “Listen, Jess, the demoness may be right. If I was just in a holding cell, we may be in for much more. I can’t help but feel like this is all some kind of weird game.” He glanced around, eyeing everything with distaste. “Like we’re standing in the middle of a chessboard and someone is about to say checkmate.”

He was right. It did feel like that. Wolves are upfront in everything they do. Conniving and trickery are not in our nature. There is no reason to beat around the bush when simply crushing your nemesis with your fists is enough. “I totally agree,” I said. “Something’s off. I had to go through some craziness to find you, but come to think of it, the entire city should’ve been on lockdown once you arrived. They knew I was coming. And once the demons saw me escape to the Sholls, there should’ve been a red alert issued then. We had to come back here eventually. And why are the janitors running the courthouse? You should’ve been under heavy guard. My first thought is they knew I would come to you, so this is not a surprise, but why wouldn’t the guards and beasts have been waiting for me in front of your cell? It’s all strange. Demons do their own thing, but this feels too orchestrated. But we’re not going to find the answers until it’s all over.”

“I hear you.” He turned. “Now help me get out of this monkey suit.” He had the front zipper clasped between his finger and thumb. “It won’t give.”

I reached up to grasp it and it gave me a little shock. “It’s spelled.” I pushed some of my magic into it until there was an audible pop. Then I yanked the zipper down and Tyler peeled it off. “After seeing you on a street corner not too long ago in your Calvins,” I chuckled, “I hadn’t thought I’d see you in them again so soon.”

“Very funny,” he grumbled. “At least they left me my underwear. They’re very cleanly around here. They made sure I was washed daily with this weird gel. It cleaned whatever it touched. I didn’t even have to get undressed.”

“I know,” I said. “It’s cleaned me off twice so far. It eats everything. We could certainly use some of that at home. It would make life a lot simpler. I’m deeming it the only good thing about Hell.”

“Yeah, it works great at home, until it accidentally disintegrates my pet cat.” Tyler wadded up the jumpsuit and tossed it in a corner. His boxer briefs were black and luckily covered him well.

I laughed. “You don’t have a cat,” I pointed out. “So it won’t be an issue.”

“Well.” He shrugged. “You have one, so I thought maybe I might get one too. You don’t own the market on cats, you know. Maybe the rest of us are searching for our own furry cuddle pal.”

I thumped him in the chest. “That’s not funny. My cat is going to be cranky I’m not back yet.” I missed Rourke like crazy, and for my wolf it had been almost intolerable. I had to block out her constant yearning or it would have been overwhelming. Being apart was hard for both of us, but I knew it was harder on him at the moment. Being separated from a mate felt like an open, aching wound. I just prayed that if he was coming after me, he would show up soon. I didn’t want to leave him to be here alone.

There was a loud thud against the door, but not a blast.

“Is that all you have, sweetheart?” Lily called. “That wasn’t very—”

The explosion burst my eardrums and sent both Tyler and me flying backward. We smashed into the wall, the metal cabinet busting through the partition to land on top of us. It had indeed taken the brunt of the blast. Tyler kicked it off and we both sprang up and ran. “Lily!” I called, squinting through the dust the blast had caused as I sprinted toward the door. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

She was nowhere to be found.

She’d been right in front of the door, so it was possible she’d been vaporized. There was commotion out in the hallway and I poked my head out. It was hard to see anything, but her voice carried: “Well, what are you waiting for, idiots? Run!”

I cursed myself and my internal human mothering.

Tyler grabbed my sleeve and propelled us forward. “Let’s go!” He shoved me in front of him and we raced down the hallway.

We ran hard. After maneuvering through two hallways I called, “There’s no one here. This can’t be right!”

“We have to keep moving no matter what. This place is a maze, but I bet there’s only one front door. Here, let me go first.” He came up beside me, but I grabbed his arm.

“Wait,” I said, slowing. “This doesn’t feel right. Maybe we should duck into one of these rooms. Something’s definitely off, just like we stated before. I bet Lily lied and there’s another portal somewhere and she directed us to right into a trap.” Once again I contemplated the Sholls. The mending room we’d come out of was close by. I could smell my scent trail, but surviving the wyverns would be next to impossible without Lily.

“Jess, we need to keep moving. You’re right, this is too easy, but what else are we going to do? Come on,” he said, dragging me along behind him at a quick clip. He brought his nose up to scent the area. “I’m getting a read on something different up ahead.”

I followed him cautiously, trotting along. “Different is not good in this place.”

“You’re telling me. I want out of here so bad it hurts, and I also want a bacon cheeseburger, a regular shower, and—” He held his hand up and switched to internal. There’s movement around that corner.

We both stopped, but I couldn’t hear anything substantial. Tyler began to inch forward again. Tyler, wait. My gut is telling me not to go. Not to mention my wolf, who had begun to howl.