Page 74 of In Prey We Trust

“Now go threaten the kitchen staff. It will shake up our avian friend until I get the communication system locked down.”

“With pleasure.”

Zoetrope

Renard

Though I agreed we need to come here, I still have grave misgivings about being back at Apex. The campus had an unsettling feeling to it during the aftermath of the blasts, and I couldn’t figure out why. Being back here in the dead of the night, even with our reinforcements, feels similarly wrong. We aren’t even in the tunnels to cross the border onto the land yet and my gargoyle senses trouble.

“We must be careful, everyone. The rumors are very specific about how long preds can stay on the grounds before they become ill. I know Fitz has given the leaders earpieces and radios that will penetrate the tunnels, but check-ins are not optional.” I look at my family, then ma petite’s friends, and last, my prey crew. “When Fitz hacked the hospital records, the symptoms were severe and there is nothing here that is worth anyone being injured.”

Aubrey looks doubtful as he gazes at our ragtag crew. “Tell me the codes again.”

“Code Lannister for a coward who might stab us in the back,” Dolly says with a salute that makes her look ridiculously adorable.

Fitz grins as he rubs his hands together. “Code Shonda means someone’s going to die and I’m not sorry.”

I look over at Aubrey, and he rolls his eyes. “We really need to get control of their TV consumption.”

“Don’t diss Grey’s, poetry boy,” Fitz shoots back as Dolly giggles. “We’re learning a shit ton about what not to do in emergencies, right, Baby Girl?”

Aubrey groans, putting his hands over his face as I sigh. “Fine. Everyone knows the codes and has the maps. Felix and Fitz, your teams should head to the right at the fork and ours head left. The priority is getting into any locked rooms, especially those marked with Council names, and looking for anything relating to the four maps we haven’t figured out yet. Check-ins are every thirty minutes.”

With a grimace, I watch as everyone starts into the tunnel that goes beneath the forest surrounding Apex. I’m concerned, but I don’t see any other option to help us unravel all the mysteries we’re facing.

Hopefully, the team leaders can keep their charges in line and safe.

My group is headed for the areas around the forest atrium we discovered last year where we found the damn paintings. There were quite a few locked doors in the areas around that little temple, and I want to break into all of them. Aubrey’s group is headed for the library/Tower underground to look at his precious archives. Felix has the quadrant under the lake and Admissions, while Fitz branches off towards the Shird and the Ring. Despite all the prep work, something about the campus is making my skin itch and my amulet buzz.

“Perhaps the leftover magic?” I murmur to myself. “But the scent is here, and it’s not fresh, but not old, either.”

“Is something wrong?” Chess looks at me curiously and I shake my head, then nod. His reaction is comical, then he asks, “Are you sensing something the rest of don’t? Not to be nosy, but I feel you’re holding something back. I mean, it might be personal or you’re just not sure…”

The Captain speeds up a little without being asked and I try to figure out how to explain to my friend that I’m sensing things that simply cannot be real. I was there when it happened and I know the result like I know the back of my hand. Yet… Since the night Delores joined me at the club, the traces of a person long gone and a past I choose not to confront have come roaring back. I don’t know how to admit I’m afraid I’m having some wild delusion.

Or worse, that you’re somehow right.

Huffing at the voice in my mind, I let out a slow breath. “I keep having this feeling that someone or something that cannot be real is present. It’s made me question myself and my sanity, mon amie, because I know it cannot be possible. So either I’m losing my mind or someone knows about things no one should ever know about from my past. Those options are not optimal.”

“Well, I doubt you’re losing your marbles, Ren. Your brain is trying to tell you something and if you’re the only one who knows the story, only your interpretation is being considered. I know you’re pretty close-lipped about the past, but you might need another perspective.” Chess shrugs and shines his light on the wall, holding his hand up. “Look at this.”

My frustrations melt away as I join him. When he pulls the light away from the rock, there’s a design I recognize from the pillar we had to shine a light on. Something about it tugs at my subconscious, but I can’t make the thought actualize. “They applied this with some sort of paint or magic that only illuminates when the torches aren’t lit.”

“Aye,” The Captain says as he walks over. “There are many spots in the tunnels with these markers. We paid them no mind, as preds are an odd lot. Shouldn’t have been anyone down here other than prey, but none of the scallywags made the glowing sigils.”

I rub my hand over my face, realizing whatever this plot is trying to accomplish, it’s been in the works for a long time. It’s unclear why Dolly’s arrival triggered the beginning of their machinations, but she said the hooded attackers mentioned looking for her. She’s young, so it couldn’t have been that long, but why would they seek her, anyway? Turning to Chess, I motion for him to snap a picture. “I suppose they could be here to guide their acolytes.”

“X marks the spot, eh, Your Grace?” The Captain nods and points to the tunnel ahead. “We need to be following only the same mark, then. Others might lead to different outcomes—good or bad.”

“Yes. I assume the marks, if there are more, will correspond to the ones from the pillar as this one does. Whether they’ll give us any new information, that I cannot say.” I turn to Chess and grin. “Perhaps you can use your night vision? Mine is better in a form that does not fit well in these tunnels.”

“Can do, Your Grace,” he snarks and I glare.

It’s not my fault the prey think I hung the moon because I don’t eat them, the little shit.

“Knock it off, Chester,” I growl as we head down the tunnel. I can feel the temperature changing, so I know we’re going deeper underground without a noticeable descent. These tunnels were crafted expertly and I can’t help but wonder if they were originally for prey passage or if this ‘Society’ we can’t find info on has always used them for their various needs.

As if he can read my mind, Chess murmurs, “If these really were constructed for a secret society, I feel like we haven’t hit the ‘main area’ yet. It’s not like I have experience, but everything you read or watch shows big gathering zones or temples where they do—whatever the hell it is they do. Have you ever seen something like that, Captain?”

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