Page 35 of Ignited Spirits
“I feel like vaporizing them would’ve been kinder,” I whisper when the corridor falls silent once more.
Archer slings an arm around me and surveys the downed mages with disinterest. “It probably would be. But we need you to keep charged up, sunshine. You’re our secret weapon.”
I shrug but don’t argue with him as I let the defensive shield drop from around us. “What are we going to do with their bodies? They’ll know we’re here if we leave guards lying around everywhere.”
“Let me see if I can find a closet to stash them in,” Rhys says before jogging down one of the branching off hallways. I hold my breath, hoping he doesn’t run into any more guards on his own. He returns a minute later. “Found one. Luca, Archer, and Cain, can you each pick up one of them and follow me?”
I let out a little huff that Rhys didn’t ask me, but I know my wolves are the logical choice. They’re physically a lot stronger than me, Bishop, or my brothers, thanks to their shifter genes. The cleanup takes less than a minute, and we’re back on the move once again.
We surprisingly don’t run into anyone else for the entire five-minute trek to the end of the main hallway.
I have the urge to kick the plain wall when the corridor doesn’t lead to a set of stairs, an elevator, or a Your Dad Is This Way sign. Instead, it’s a dead end.
“Which way now?” I shove both hands through my blonde hair in frustration, feeling like we’re going to be wandering this maze forever.
“Why don’t we just ask?” Cain suggests.
I turn to look at him and open and close my mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say to my adorably sweet mate who thinks simply asking will get us what we need. “I doubt asking nicely would make the guards tell intruders where to go, quiet boy.”
“Who said anything about asking nicely?” Cain gives me a smile that would be bone-chilling if I didn’t know him so well. He looks every inch the predator he’s supposed to be. And there’s something seriously wrong with me because it’s kind of hot.
Aiden chuckles, breaking me out of my awkward thoughts. “I like your style, wolf.”
Rolling my eyes at myself, I look around at our ragtag bunch. “Anyone know where to find a guard?”
“Nope.” Archer shrugs before turning around and going down the first branching corridor he finds. I hustle to keep up with him. “We just gotta go up and down the hallways until we find one.”
Because I don’t have any other ideas, I keep my mouth shut as we prowl the passage, actively looking for some trouble to get into.
It takes a surprisingly long time to find anyone, and I start to wonder where all the guards are.
Surely this isn’t all the manpower the council spends on their personal prison, right? Here’s hoping they’re just overconfident, and the rest of the plan is as easy as this has been. Knowing my luck, though, that’s a pipe dream.
When we finally stumble across a council goon, Levi is on him in a flash. He moves faster than I can track and has his hand around the guy’s mouth before the man can even think to scream. The dude thrashes around, but he’s no match against Levi’s much bigger frame. Levi drags him with us until we find a conveniently empty room to duck into.
The walls, floor tiles, and drop ceiling are all the same white as outside. The room is filled with stacked tables and chairs that make it feel cramped and cluttered. With the cobwebs in the corners and covering the furniture, this room doesn’t look like it’s been used in a while, which is perfect for what we need.
Once the door is shut behind us, Rhys throws up a silencing dome.
While we should probably be wary of using magic in the council HQ, with their penchant for traps, that ship has sailed. Here’s hoping we don’t trip any alarms, though.
Levi lets his black magic trickle out and coat the guard from the shoulders down. When he’s sure the guy is secure, he steps back.
The council goon glares at all of us until his gaze lands on me. “You,” he hisses, a sneer twisting his bland face.
With buzzed brown hair, medium brown eyes, and a neither rounded nor squared face, the guard is the definition of beingaverage looking. There’s nothing about him that would make him easy to pick out in a crowd.
“Me,” I say back, mimicking his tone before turning to the guys. “Guess it’s safe to say the council has passed around pictures of me.”
“Yep,” Rhys confirms. “Everyone in Hawthorne Grove knows your face and knows you’re wanted.”
“Fantastic,” I mutter.
“You’ll never make it out of here alive,” the guard snarls. Since he doesn’t have a name tag, I’m just going to call him Steve.
I can’t help the eye roll. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before. Unfortunately for you and the council, you are far from the biggest or baddest thing I have to deal with. How ’bout you save us both some time and just tell me where the fuck I can find my dad. It’s a win-win.”
“I don’t think you know what a win-win is,” Aiden comments.
