Page 53 of Malice
CHAOS
“Motherfucker!”
Malice’s shout triggered every primal instinct I had, sending me bolting for the door in nothing but a towel. I didn’t even notice that I’d summoned a sword until I barreled down the hall and made it to his door.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I bellowed as I stormed inside his room without so much as knocking.
Sin and Grim weren’t far behind me. Grim’s shadows bled outward along the floor, darkening most of the room and betraying his agitation.
“Someone or something triggered the wards.” Malice was leaning over his desk, eyes scanning the multiple computer screens.
“Where’s Merri?” Grim demanded. His expression would have been terrifying if I didn’t know mine was the same.
“She’s not in her room?” I growled.
Sin shook his head. “I was just there. She’s not.”
“Fuck,” Grim snarled.
Apparently I was too furious for words, but that didn’t keep me from expressing myself. A tremor sent the books on Malice’s shelves crashing to the floor.
“Knock it off,” Malice snapped, his eyes finding mine. “We have no way to know if this was done by an enemy or something as innocuous as a tree falling after the storm.”
“Always assume it’s an enemy. That’s the only way to stay alive.” Even still, I put away my sword.
“Well then, what are we waiting for? We need to find Merri and fuck up whoever breached our wards.” Sin turned on his heel but stopped, looking over his shoulder at me. “You might want to put some pants on first.”
I had fought wars wearing less, but he was probably right. I bared my teeth by way of answer and shoved past him on my way back to my room. It took precious seconds for me to yank on a pair of joggers and shove my feet into shoes, but I still managed to catch up to them as we all gathered at the front door. Reaching for my hoodie, I frowned to find it missing, but a stray red hair on the bench beneath the row of hooks told me everything I needed to know.
Knowing Merri had snagged it quelled a small piece of the storm raging within me. But it didn’t come close to ending it. She was most definitely outside. I had no doubt now. Which meant that she could be in danger.
“Merri is out there too. We need to split up and each take one of the four quadrants of the property. Find her first. She is the priority. The rest we can deal with after she is safe.”
“Agreed. We scour the property, locate Merri, then kill whoever came through. Malice, I assume you don’t need to be told that Christian will have to answer for this?” Grim said, his voice low and measured.
“Once we know what happened, I’ll see if that’s necessary.” Malice was tense, the muscles in his jaw flexing at the stress of what Grim insinuated. Christian fucked up.
“Let’s get going. Every minute we waste talking is a minute Merri is at risk.” Sin borrowed my earlier move as he shoved past the other two horsemen, determination radiating off him as he headed outside. He opted to go south, and I went west. I was already sprinting, so there was no way for me to know which route the other two opted for. Nor did I care. All that mattered was getting to Merri before anyone or anything else.
As soon as I left the main grounds, I caught sight of footprints in the muddy path that were too small to be anyone other than Merri’s. The others were too far away now, but that was fine. I’d find her, they’d find the intruder. Everyone wins.
The tracks she’d left were clear, and they didn’t waver. It wasn’t the usual path she selected for a walk, and given the unwelcoming conditions of the terrain, the fact that she hadn’t opted for an easier route told me she’d come this way for a reason.
“What the hell were you up to, Red?”
As I went deeper into the rough, my stomach sank. The soil was unstable, shifting alarmingly under my feet, and with a glance down toward the lake, it was obvious the earth had given way recently. The water was cloudy, and a mess of rocks, dirt, and trees lay on the shoreline.
“No,” I whispered as my eyes locked on the dirty white shoe floating at the water’s edge. Merri’s dirty white shoe.
If she had fallen into the water, none of us would know. She could be hurt—or worse. I rushed down the hillside, moving with the loose dirt and letting it help me along. I hadn’t even reached the water before Merri slammed into my chest, her soaking wet body making a loud smacking noise.
My relief at finding her hale and whole was immediately overshadowed by anger, and I pulled her hard against me.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Red?”
“Me? Oh, you know, just nearly drowning in a lake deeper than I’ve ever seen in my life. No big deal.” Her voice was high-pitched and on the verge of hysterical. “Malice should really have a sign made. People could get hurt.”
I gave her a little shake. “Why the hell did you cross the ward?”
