Chapter 35
Jade
The world was on fire. At least, that was what it seemed like as we drove back to the Pack Lands. There was absolutely no way we could get back in. Fire surrounded the woods that led to the manor. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Knox leaned forward then he reached for the door handle.
“No,” I held my hand up. “we have to go somewhere else. We can’t try to get through. Damian’s witches are around. Either they know we left and are searching for us, or they don’t know. We have to be careful about this.”
Knox nodded his head then dug into his pocket. That same velvet pouch that kept his scent from the air. “This will keep them from our scent but we will need to be careful.”
“We could go back to my parent’s home?” I didn’t think it was a good idea, but I had to try.
Knox shook his head. “Go to the library.”
I turned my car around and headed toward the only library I knew. It was only a few minutes away. “Do you think everyone is okay?”
Knox worried his bottom lip. “I honestly don’t know, Jade. I hope so. It could be just a distraction.”
“Is there another way in?”
I parked at the back of the library and Knox wrapped his hand around my wrist. We were being completely covert now. Or what I imagined that to be. It was getting late and the library would be closing any minute. I had never been or seen the backside of the building before. I couldn’t recall a time I had even stepped foot inside of it. But I did know there were two sleeping wolf statues perched out front. I should have known this would be somewhere safe to go. I had all the documentation at my fingertips in the office too. I could have figured this out on my own, but I didn’t. I had been preoccupied with everything else going on.
“Can you communicate with Rafe?” I whispered.
Knox held his finger up to his lips and shook his head. This wasn’t good. The back door was unlocked. It led us to a little reading area that had some magazines in between two large couches. Knox locked the door behind us and leaned behind the closest couch. He grabbed something and the entire couch flipped forward to reveal a door underneath.
I blinked in surprise. He grabbed my hand and hauled me forward. The trap door didn’t make a noise as he yanked it up and out of our way. From what I could see there was a ladder built into the side of the tunnel. A very dark tunnel. Knox motioned me forward and my heart skittered inside of my chest. This was the last thing I wanted to be doing. I shimmied across the little space and put my feet on the rungs. The metal was cold beneath my hands as I descended into the darkness.
Don’t forget about me. I’m still here. There is nothing to be afraid of. As far as I can tell, there isn’t anyone down there.Nalia spoke reassurances inside of my head. It gave me the emotional strength to continue down into the unknown. Knox closed the latch above us and I heard a slight thud as the couch went back into place above it.
Having night vision was an incredible perk of being a wolf, but it did nothing down here. I was completely blind. I had been traveling down for a little bit when my foot couldn’t find the next rung. My heart stopped as it swung lifelessly there looking for the rest of the ladder. My breath hitched as I slowly lowered myself to find another rung below the one that was missing. Instead of the ladder, my foot connected with the floor. Relief coursed through me in a thick current. I moved out of the way, knowing that Knox would be right behind me. A few seconds later, there was a scraping noise nearby and light illuminated Knox’s face. He held a match up in front of him and I was able to see some of the little cave we had crawled down into. I squinted at the walls of the kitchen we had landed in.
“The darkness is reinforced with magic. No being can see through it, not even a mermaid. They can see through the darkest waters too.” He fumbled along the wall for a bit before lights illuminated above our heads.
We were standing in an outdated kitchen that had two doors on either side of the countertops. Knox immediately went to the one closest to us. The door swung open easily and soundlessly again. There were two twin beds shoved against the wall and a side table in between them. Knox then went to the other door. There was a little bathroom complete with pink tiles from the seventies or eighties. I wrapped my arms around myself.
“So this is where we will be staying?” I had to ask.
Knox nodded. “Yes, we will be down here for a while. I can’t get in touch with Rafe through our bond or the other Guardians. I think it has something to do with the magic being used around the Pack Lands perimeter.”
“Do you think they’re trying to draw him out again?”
Knox sat down at the circular table in the middle of the kitchen. He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Yes, but I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about Tracey.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh?”
“I shouldn’t have pushed her the way I did but I need her to tell me what she’s thinking. I thought if I could taunt her she would come speak to me, not throw a hissy fit from hell.”
I screwed my lips closed and shook my head. “I think you caught her on the worst week ever too.”
Knox’s face fell. “Oh, no. Please don’t tell me she’s on her period.”
I shrugged and he almost fell out of his chair.
