Page 23 of Hidden

There had to be a way out of this dungeon, a door to the daylight world and freedom. Rafe pushed the idea aside and followed Izetta’s scent down the hall to his right. He passed three cells before he found the one where the tang of blood was thickest. Listening carefully, he waited a full minute before he decided she was alone.

He waved the fob over the keypad outside her door and entered the code, praying that all the cells used the same one. He drew a deep breath when the light beside the pad turned from red to green and the panel at the top of the door slid open, revealing the cell inside. His first view was of a small table on casters that held a tray of sharp implements. The sight of it made him flinch.

Izetta was bound to a table in the middle of the room, her eyes shut and skin slicked with blood. She didn’t stir at the sound of the sliding panel. With silent rage, Rafe pushed the button that released the door lock and stepped inside the cell.

Now her gaze flicked his way, her dark eyes widening a fraction when she saw it was him. Yet she didn’t waste time with questions.

“Get these off me,” she said, voice cracking as she strained against the straps that bound her.

Rafe picked up a long, thin knife, then discarded it for a pair of shears that sliced the thick straps like tissue paper. As soon as she was free, Izetta lunged for the bottled drink that sat nearby. While Rafe freed her ankles, the vampire drank the entire bottle without pausing for breath.

“Here,” he said, passing her the fob. “The door code is 7-2-3-3-5-7. Go get help.”

Izetta’s brows drew into a sharp V. “You’re not coming?”

“Nothing living can leave without permission. At least that’s what the female fae said.”

“And I’m not alive.” The vampire gave a small nod. “I’ll do what I can.”

With anyone else, that wouldn’t be much of a promise, but Izetta always meant what she said. She would do whatever was in her power.

“Good enough,” Rafe said. “Let’s get you out of here.”

She got to her feet, but it was obviously a struggle. Rafe steadied her until she shrugged off his hand with a disgusted wave. They got as far as the hallway.

A bullet skimmed over Rafe’s shoulder, leaving a hot kiss of pain in its wake. He grabbed Izetta, pulling her flat against the wall, shielding her body with his own. Lila stood a dozen yards away, gun held in a perfect shooting stance.

“Did you think no one would notice the cell doors were open?” she demanded. “They have silent alarms.”

Two enormous robed and hooded figures were coming down the hall. Lila glanced their way, going a little pale at the sight of them, then focused her aim on Rafe.

“Run,” Rafe said to Izetta, whispering it in her ear. If anyone could pull a disappearing act, it was a vampire.

There was no time to shift. Rafe leaped forward, somersaulting over Lila’s next bullet to launch himself at the robed minions. He grabbed the closest one, heaving the tall figure backward with enough force that its feet left the floor. Snarling, the hooded minion pulled free and wheeled around, breaking Rafe’s grip with a sweep of its arm.

Rafe caught a glimpse of the second minion’s fist just as it swooped toward his temple. He ducked, driving his shoulder into Hood One’s middle. Pain needled through his joints—hitting the creature was like hitting concrete—but at least the thing was vulnerable. Rafe heard a whoosh of breath, then the thump of flesh as his opponent’s back hit the wall. He let out a wolfish snarl, his beast applauding the violence.

The celebration didn’t last. Pain sliced through him as a fist pounded into his right kidney. Eyes watering, Rafe sidestepped and spun, using the momentum to deliver a cross to Hood Two’s jaw. Rafe felt the skin of his knuckles split as they connected with rock-hard flesh and bone.

Hood One launched toward Rafe once more, talons sprouting through its fine leather gloves. Rafe roared in fury as they raked his cheek, barely missing his eye. As he shoved Hood One away, hot blood trickled down his face like tears. The pain called to his wolf, urging it to join in bloody, senseless abandon.

The next time Hood One lunged, Rafe grappled his enemy close, limiting its ability to strike. Whatever the Hoods were, they were powerfully strong, with ropey, bunching muscles beneath the robes. Rafe smashed Hood One’s head into the wall. It slumped to the ground, the hood falling away to reveal a flash of leathery flesh.

From the corner of his eye, Rafe saw Izetta fly from the shadows, swooping for Lila’s gun. Lila wheeled on the vampire, but the second minion got to Izetta first. Izetta and Hood Two tumbled to the floor. Rafe lunged toward them, but Lila flung herself in the way. Rafe grabbed her arm, twisting it until she was forced to her knees. A noise escaped her, half cry, half snarl of rage. Rafe snatched the gun from her grasp and grabbed a fistful of her thick, pale hair, so she couldn’t stir an inch.

He pressed the muzzle of the gun to her temple, but his gaze went to Izetta. Though clearly wounded, Izetta had pinned the creature facedown, her knee between its shoulder blades and both arms trapped behind its back. Rafe sucked in a full breath for the first time since breaking into the way station.

He bent over Lila. “Let her leave.”

She twisted her head as far as his grip allowed, murder in her eyes. “And then what? She brings all your friends over for a party?”

A frustrated growl rumbled through Rafe’s chest as he tightened his grip on her. She hissed in pain, until he loosened his fist, aware of the soft silk of her hair tangled through his fingers. Up close, her skin was almost translucent, the veins beneath a faint tracery of blue.

Somewhere distant, a door slammed. Rafe didn’t understand magic, but he could feel the air changing, as if spells were starting and stopping all around them.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, his pulse thundering in his ears.

He caught a whiff of something burning, then grunted in surprise at a sudden, searing pain in his fingers. He dropped the gun to the floor. It sizzled, blackening the tile while a brutal thump on Rafe’s back made him stumble. When he glanced over his shoulder, nothing was there.

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