Page 105 of Siren in the Rain

I’m secretly glad the beautiful vampire’s on our side.

“It’ll be okay, Shae,” Ruby says from the back seat, where she’s cuddled up with Emma. “This isn’t our first rodeo and our vanguard—Harper, Dallas, and Cal—is one of the toughest around. We’ve definitely got this.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Deep down, I understand that I have to trust the rest of this team if I want to be a part of it. They know what they’re doing, and they’ll do their utmost to make sure we all make it out safe and sound.

“Don’t forget,” Emma pipes up. “You have powers of your own that you can use in a pinch.”

Her words make me jolt in surprise.

She’s right. For so long, I was used to being helpless, but I don’t have that damn collar around my neck anymore. I may not be some tough warrior, but my voice has power that I can use to protect myself.

Dallas slows down as we make our way into a more run-down industrial part of Long Beach.

“Well, this is super sketch,” Ruby remarks.

It’s not hard to see why such a desolate location was chosen for Divine Beauty’s secret laboratory.

As we get closer to our destination, Dallas turns the SUV’s headlights off and parks along the curb in front of a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Beyond the fence is a large lot and a cement building that’s seen better days. It appears to have been a former factory that Margaret and her people have converted to serve their nefarious purposes.

“Okay, Cal,” Dallas says, unbuckling his seat belt and turning around to face the back. “We need you to take out their lighting and external security cameras.”

“On it, Cap.” Cal pulls out a pocketknife and slashes a deep gash in his thumb that makes me wince.

Blood wells to the surface immediately, and Cal uses it to trace a line down his forearm so the blood can ignite the magic of the black sigils tattooed into his skin. They move and roil like animated creatures as they begin to glow silver.

The pressure in the air around us changes, and the hairs on the back of my neck and forearms rise like I’ve been hit with a heavy dose of static electricity.

That’s when we hear a cascade of popping sounds and the streetlights go out one by one.

“All done,” Cal says with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Come here,” Ruby says with an exasperated sigh. She takes his thumb and quickly heals it with her powers.

We all exit the vehicle and face the next challenge—the chain-link fence.

“What are we going to do about this?” I gesture toward it.

Harper pulls out his ever-present parasol. I watch in amazement as he presses a button and an impressive metal blade appears at the end of it.

“Always so freaking cool,” Griffin marvels.

He’s basically a one-man fan club for each member of MEOW Squad.

Fucking hell. Just when I think he can’t get any cuter, he does.

With a graceful flourish, Harper uses the blade to cut through the fence

with several lightning-quick slashes. A wide segment falls to the ground, leaving a large gaping hole for us to enter unobstructed.

“Holy shit,” I whisper in awe. “That’s an enchanted blade, isn’t it?”

Harper’s mysterious smile at my question only makes me more curious.

“I’ll tell you more about it someday, but for now, let’s move out.”

Under the cover of darkness, Harper, who has the best night vision of us all, leads the way forward, and we follow. I can tell he’s slowing down his speed to accommodate us, but it still doesn’t take us long to reach a docking area in the back of the building.

While we remain hidden in the shadows, Cal does his thing again and manages to take out the exterior security cameras. I really need to learn more about his powers because they’re coming in awfully handy right now.

---