Page 6 of The Blood Widow

They dropped in one by one, disappearing with a draining zinc. I was only halfway through when my body weakened.

"Shit."

I had two more in me, and there were ten more cages. With an exhausted sway to my steps and a shake of my fingers, I moved to the closest cage and fumbled with the latches. Thank goodness they didn't need a key. The locks were just zip ties. With one of my many knives on me, I cut the binding that held these people in this nightmare.

"Get in the corner, now."

The newly freed captives froze, letting fear control their actions. Instead of running or even grabbing a weapon, they crumbled in on themselves. When they didn't move, I kept barking out orders.

The door to the outer hall opened just as I snapped the final lock. A massive man who looked more like a bear shifter than a vampire walked in. My instincts kicked in. I gripped the knife in my hand and sent it flying toward the guy's head.

Thwap. The guard’s body slammed back into the door, closing it. His dead weight would give me a few more seconds.

My palms sweated as I gathered my magic and ran to the corner with everyone left in the room. I made two portals. Like the others, they were listening to me for once, appearing on the ground. Pointing at the correct one, I growled at the people to jump through it.

The door was opening again, the guard’s body being shoved aside.

"Stop, you fucking shits," someone yelled from the other side the door.

I could only leave once they all were gone, but my portal was small because I was weakened, so their escape was going too slowly. I flung another throwing knife at the people trying to getin. The door must have a magic blocker because they weren't using supernatural strength or telekinesis to get inside.

Luck was on my side.

"Thank you," the last woman said, hopping into the yellow-fading magic.

I was almost out of energy. My knees shook, and my eyes fluttered. Shit, I needed to get through my portal. It flashed as if to tell me to hurry.

"Get her!"

I dropped into the portal as it flickered one last time. This might not have been the plan, but that was the life of the Blood Widow. I could only hope my magic stayed hidden, so I didn't have angry supernaturals hunting me down. I liked to be the one doing the hunting, thank you very much.

Chapter

Three

The color scheme in my room wasn’t as bright as my living room, but my purple and white comforter lightened up the plainness. I went to the only other thing in the room aside from my bed - my dresser. It was long and white with gold knobs on each drawer. I kicked the side of it to open the secret latch, giving me access to the keypad. I might live in a rundown apartment, but I took my friends' information and safety seriously. Some creatures I had gained favor with, by helping them, were small and needed to stay hidden. Like my fairy friends. People would love to get their hands on the rings that summoned them to me. Fairy dust and even fairy body parts were used in powerful curses. If the little things weren’t so fast, they’d have gone extinct by now.

I scrutinized every corner in my room to make sure no one was around before I dialed the code. Nothing appeared to be moved or changed, so when the click signaled the safe being opened, I relaxed. The money and diamonds shining back at me had me sighing in contentment. When you had nothing of your own growing up, it was nice to own something so extravagant.

I moved some papers and weapons to grab the box in the back, it was one of the first gifts I’d ever received. The box wasmade from an ancient oak tree. It kept everyone out except me. It might fit in the palm of my hand, but it was more valuable than all the money in the safe. Inside, it held the key to changing my appearance, and the magic rings that summoned my friends.

I didn’t always take a ring with me, but on hunting nights where I sneak around the Underground for people to kill, I took Beaut’s ring. Like tonight, she came in handy when I needed help.

I didn’t have time to waste. The kids were probably freaking out at my friend’s safe house. Bell ran one of the largest safe havens around. She was brilliant at relocating people and finding families for the younger children who were orphaned.

I put on my favorite yellow diamond necklace that changed my appearance, though the lightweight jewelry wouldn’t change me completely, thankfully. My stomach fluttered and electricity ran through my veins, telling me the magic was working.

I grabbed the mirror off the dresser to watch my face transform. Slowly, my cheeks lowered, my face became round, my skin grew some blemishes, and it wasn’t as striking, but the face was still mine. My vampire side gave me porcelain skin and a strong, toned body. My demon side gave me my powers and strength. Only my yellow eyes were abnormal, so they had to change. After I rubbed them a few times because they itched, a pair of bright blue orbs shined back at me. Creepy. If someone saw me now, I’d look mostly human.

One of my friends had a great skinwalker ability that she could give others, for a hefty price. Skin walking had similarities with shapeshifting, but instead of animals, she could shift into almost any human she came in contact with. I didn’t understand all the limitations, just like my pocket portal magic, her magic was illegal, so there was no one to teach me these things.

“Time to go,” I sighed out and called on my portal. Bell wouldn’t be able to pick up the kids until tomorrow, so we were spending the night in the safe house.

The yellow swirling circle appeared on the wall below the only window in my room. Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I got on all fours to crawl through my portal. My head popped out on the other side to little screams of the two children.

“No! Stay away. Please, don’t hurt us!” the little boy cried out.

Once I was all the way through, I lifted my hands and sat on my legs to stay unintimidating. “It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you.”

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