Page 273 of Shadowblood Souls
So much more devastation than I’ve ever caused… so far.
I lift my gaze from the screen to Clancy. “And you think we could do something about this?”
His little smile comes back. “I know you could. If you have the skills to battle literal monsters, why couldn’t you take down the worst of humanity? You shadowbloods have the ability to turn the tide against the evil forces in this world, to save the innocents they’re harming, the lives being destroyed every day…Bring something good to society on a massive scale. Wouldn’t youlikethat?”
The truth is, part of me would. If I had the opportunity to prevent even one of those images from becoming real, I’d jump at it.
But I don’t trust the man in front of me.
“And I’m going to do all of that while shackled to a chair?” I say pointedly.
The corner of Clancy’s mouth twitches. I think he suppressed a larger smile.
Does he find meamusing? My teeth set on edge.
The next thing I know, he’s walking over to me and pressing buttons on the side of the chair.
The cuffs click open from my neck, wrists, and ankles. A breath of relief rushes into me.
I sit up straighter, rubbing my wrists, fully registering my clothing for the first time. I’ve lost my mock turtleneck with its Kevlar protection, but given the amount of blood splattered on it during our raid of the facility, it’d probably be rank by now anyway.
I’ve been left in the wide-strapped black tank top I had on underneath, my pendant necklace tucked beneath the neckline, and a new pair of black sweats. I run my finger along the waistband just enough to confirm that I’ve got on the same panties as before.
They invaded my privacy, but I can admit it could have been a lot worse.
I glance up at Clancy again. My captor doesn’t look frightened of me, and I’m still not picking up any whiffs of anxiety.
He has Griffin monitoring my emotions. Griffin knows I’m not angry enough to go on the attack just yet.
I have the other guys to think about. What happens to them if I let loose my claws and slice open this man’s throat?
What if this is the best opportunity we’re ever going to get, and reacting with violence would mean consigning us all to a lifetime of total imprisonment and torture instead?
Clancy tilts his head toward the door. “Come with me.”
Cautiously, I peel myself out of the chair and follow him.
Griffin trails along behind. As we step out past the steel door into a hallway that I realize looks as if it’s roughly carved into stone, I glance back at him.
He offers me a smile of his own, but it’s the same stiff kind he gave me right before the gas knocked me out in the facility. Not the way he used to smile, the expression lighting his whole face up.
DidClancydo this to him, or was it the other guardians? Because if the man giving me this grandiose talk was responsible for killing the light in the boy I loved, he’s going to end up with his throat severed eventually, one way or another.
As soon as I can figure out how to do it without screwing things up for the rest of my guys.
Panels on the ceiling send an artificial glow over the hallway. More steel doors are imbedded in the rocky walls, labeled with numbers.
I peer at them as we pass. The faint tingle in my marks tells me Dominic and Andreas, at least, are farther behind me.
My claws itch at my fingertips. “Where are my friends? When do I get to see them?”
Clancy casts his voice over his shoulder. “Like I said before, the bunch of you make a lot of trouble when you’re all together. I don’t think we’ll be arranging a full group reunion until you’re more settled in. But you’ll have the chance to see them one or two at a time once I know where you stand. Assuming you’re on board.”
“On board with saving the world?” I mutter.
“Something like that.”
We turn a corner into a wider hallway with a set of double doors just ahead. Clancy presses his thumb against a panel at waist height while offering his face to another scanner higher up.
