Page 67 of Curse of the Wolf
“Oh? Was it a superior experience?”
“Not really. I had to listen to violin rap music.”
“My flirty wit must be a vast improvement.”
“You think so?”
“I do,” he said with confidence.
We stepped into a wide dark corridor, the interior walls and floor made from the same gray cement—or whatever it was—as the exterior. Only the ceiling was made from a lesser material, something flat and white with a metallic sheen. Few doors occupied the flat walls, and no lights came on as we entered. There weren’t switches anywhere in sight, though modern recessed lamps lined the ceiling. If one could figure out how to turn them on.
If not for the exterior light, I might have believed the power was out. There were also a couple of green glowing circles set into the wall halfway down the hallway. Odd.
A lot of fainttink, tink, tinksounds came from the distance. Almost like water dripping but more mechanical in nature.
“This looks more modern than most of their other hideouts,” Duncan observed.
“I take it Radomir and Abrams never summoned you to this place?” I tapped on the flashlight app on my phone. Even with keener than typical night vision, it was hard to see everything.
Ah, was that anelevatorby those green circles? Those had to be the up-down buttons.
“They did not. I would say it’s unlikely they use the facility, but I smell Abrams’s scent here. Not only has he visited often, but he’s visited recently. I?—”
A loud clang sounded behind us. I jumped and spun, landing in a ready stance, my skin pricking in alarm, the wolf almost tempted out by the noise.
A gate of thick steel bars had descended to block the doorway.
“I… didn’t expect that after we blew our way in,” Duncan said.
“Security is better here than you’d expect in such a remote facility.”
“Better than in a koi pond.”
“No doubt.”
Duncan jogged to the gate, gripped the bars, and attempted to lift them. They didn’t budge. He crouched to give it a more serious try. Given his strength, however diminished by the curse, I expected him to be able to heft open the gate, but the bars still didn’t budge.
Hell. We were trapped.
20
“We might wantto expedite our snooping,” I said to stop Duncan from straining at the bars.
Earlier, I’d been joking about him fainting—mostly—but when he slumped against the wall, weary from his exertion, I worried it was a real possibility.
He noticed my concerned expression and straightened, then nodded firmly. “Right. We’ll likely have company soon.”
“Maybe they’ll know how to open the gate.”
“One would hope. Though I do have more grenades.” Duncan opened a pocket on his pack, pulled out two, and handed one to me. “They’re in limited supply though, so let’s make sure we don’t need them for something else before hurling them at those bars. Especially since we’reinsidethe building now.”
“Okay.” I didn’t see evidence that the first explosion had damaged the structure, but it might be different if we detonated one from within the building.
Duncan cocked his head. “Is it my imagination, or are the magical items we’ve been sensingmoving?”
He pointed at the floor.
“I get that feeling too.” I thought of the magical bats that had dive-bombed me in a cave not that long ago.
