Page 74 of Memories Like Fangs
“She said her father’s extended family has an enchantment there.”
Everett’s eyes lit up with realization. “That only she and I know how to get into.Shit.”
“We have a few safehouses between Washington and Chicago,” Cody said, reviewing the continental United States map in the Atlas.
“Couldn’t the Blood Bitch just teleport straight there?” Simone asked.
“She’s very weak if Quinn can access their bond and talk to her,” Talli explained. “She’s not going to be able to go that distance with two extra passengers with her in a short amount of time. She would have to break it in half if she wants to get there fast.”
“So, what’s the furthest safehouse between Washington and Chicago that isn’t in Chicago?” Maisie asked, scouring the map.
“And, can hold a partially-shifted dragon-shifter?” Cole mentioned. “We only have a few safehouses in general that can do that.”
“There!” Cody pointed to a safehouse in South Dakota, just outside of Sioux Falls.
We’re leaving in the morning, babe. She’s in a rush,Byrd sent through our bond.
I couldn’t help but smile for the first time in a couple of weeks. Out loud to the group, I said, “They are leaving in the morning.”
Cody smirked with a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Then, we’re leaving tonight.”
I nodded. Then, to Byrd:Sweetness, I’m so fucking proud of you. We’re already on the way to you.
I love you so much, Quinn. Hurry—Byrd never got to finish her thought. I could feel shock filter through the bond, followed by fright. I gripped the counter’s ledge, longing to pick up my blade again, but remembering that my enemy wasn’t in front of me in reality.
Not yet, at least.
Suddenly, my head snapped to the side as if I had been hit. My brain rattled in my skull, and shadows encroached on my vision. I felt something like a bruise forming on the side of my head. I knew that sensation.
Our fated mate bond went slack yet again as I lost Byrd.
The marble countertop cracked apart within my grip.
“Okay, I think you have ruined my countertop enough, ma’am,” Everett said, nodding his head toward my hands.
I shook my head as I folded my arms. “I lost her…”
“No, you didn’t.”
I raised my slitted eyebrow as I looked up at him.
He smirked. “We have her. Now, we will go get her.”
The plan was simple: get to the safehouse and get Byrd the fuck out of there as quickly as possible.
We decided to go in with stealth. Maisie, Talli, and Teddy found a teleportation point near the Sioux Falls safehouse for us to use to get there fast. To ensure we could be in and out, we decided to only bring six of us: me, the witches, Everett, and Cody. The fewer people, the less power the magic-wielders had to use, the faster we could get back. Cody knew the safehouse the best out of all of us, so he presented us with the layout for us to memorize as much as we could. Cole gathered the weapons needed for us to infiltrate it, including a spare dagger for me to use alongside Tina, so I was as close to one hundred percent as possible. Teddy and Cody would distract Cooper, while Talli and Maisie would distract Lilah until Everett and I could break in from the back entrance and rescue Byrd. Once we did, we would sync back up and teleport back home. It wasn’t flawless, but it would work.
Unfortunately, the plan didn’t go that way at all.
And, it started the moment we arrived.
“You all think you’re so smart and clever, huh?” Lilah yelled as she stood in front of the millennial gray barn that was our safehouse.
Awake this time, she looked every bit the powerful troublemaker I had guessed she was when I first saw her as a spirit. Her inky waves were perfectly pulled back into a long black ponytail. Despite the early morning hour, she looked incredibly well put together with her dark gothic makeup and in her form-fitting jumpsuit and pullover sweater. She wore a shit-eating grin showing her brilliant teeth that resembled veneers in their perfection.
With her hand on one hip, she twirled a dagger in her hand.Mydagger, Amy. Except she was tainted with tendrils of blood magic swirling around her blade. My grip tightened around Tina’s hilt, the weight of the other strange blade feelingunbalanced and foreign in my other hand. I bit back a growl of irritation.
We were all strategically hidden in the surrounding trees, already in our pairings for our plan. Everett and I were high in the trees closest to the back entrance, but still able to view where Lilah stood. She looked through the trees like she could see exactly where the others were. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually could.
