Page 29 of Capricorn Blessed

I hmmm but don’t agree or disagree.

We walk down the dirt road silently, watching our steps.

The building is smaller than I would have expected. It is maybe ten feet by ten feet. The roof is sagging enough that I’d be worried about being inside in the rain. A rusted door is centered on the wall. I don’t see a lock.

“Something seems off,” whispers Kenric. “Even if it’s only the goons from the diner, they’d be squished inside. Let alone a panther.”

“I don’t like it,” I answer. “The Council has a ton of money. Why would they use this as their base?” I pull my sword out of its sheath, raising it in front of me. “Ready?”

When the men nod, Beorn reaches out and jerks the door open. It squeals, and I flinch. Blinking furiously, my eyes adjust to an empty room.

“What the hell?” Kenric asks, leaning in the doorway.

“They have to be here!” I say. “There’s nowhere else around. Surely they didn’t just abandon their vehicle.”

I turn back to look up and down the road. No buildings magically appear, just the empty road with the SUV and the slightly wider dirt road we left our car on.

Humming under my breath, we step inside. The walls appear damp, and the room smells musty. I sneeze, stirring up more dust.

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for weeks or months,” I say.

“But there’s nowhere else they could have gone. There’s nothing around. Not even trees for them to have gone and hidden in,” Kenric says. “We have to be missing something.”

“Like a trap door?” asks Beorn, pointing at the floor in the middle of the room.

We all move closer to the little divot, just slightly off-center.

“Good catch,” says Dennis. “This part of the floor does seem unleveled.”

Beorn places his finger in the hole. A click sounds. The floor shifts, revealing the outline of the trapdoor Beorn predicted. He grabs the handle that appeared and pulls up, grunting with the effort. The door swings upward, revealing a set of steep metal stairs.

“Woah!” breathes Dennis. “I guess we are going down there?” he questions with a shiver.

“Yes,” I answer, “but once again, you can wait here or in the car.”

“Not going to happen,” he answers.

I roll my eyes but don’t argue.

A light from somewhere down below guides us down the stairs. Beorn climbs down the stairs last, pulling the trapdoor shut behind him. A hallway opens off the stairs. The floors are a shiny, white tile. The doors each have a keypad set into the wall beside them. Everything looks sleek and new.

“This is more what I was expecting,” I murmur. “Now let’s go find Izzy.”

We creep forward, trying not to make any noise or alert anyone to our presence. I’m slightly surprised no alarms went off when we entered, but maybe luck is on our side.

The first few doors we pass are closed and don’t have windows, so I have no idea what’s behind them. The hallway ends in a T. We look at each other, pointing and having a silent conversation before Dennis and I head to the left, and Kenric and Beorn head to the right.

Voices up ahead make me freeze. I glance at Dennis,then we tiptoe to the open door, pausing to listen again. A laugh track sounds. I peek around the doorframe, my eyes landing on the TV across the room playing an old sitcom.

Glancing around the room, it appears to be a kitchen-living room combo. Couches surround the television and coffee table that’s piled high with board games. Bookshelves line one wall with more games and movies and a few books carelessly piled on one shelf.

The other side of the room has two stainless steel refrigerators. The rest of the appliances looked older but functional.

A loud snore draws my attention back to the couches. Focusing on the one facing away from us, movement makes me realize someone is asleep on the couch. Guess this building isn’t as abandoned as we hoped, but if this is their security, we are in good shape.

Grabbing Dennis’s hand, we move farther up the hallway toward the doors without keypad entry. I point to one and shrug. Dennis nods. I pull my sword from my back as he rests his hand on the knob. Twisting the handle, he pushes the door open.

The room is pitch black beyond. We make eye contact and shuffle inside, pausing to listen. When the only sound is the hum of the air conditioner, I feel around the wall, hunting a light switch.

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