Page 24 of Witch's Spark

“I’m not sure, something’s just telling me we need to stop.”

Faye nodded. She’d trust her mates. Both of them. Either of them. They waited for a few more moments before Penny waved them forward, but motioned for them to crouch low. Moments later, the wall tapered off, turning into a shorter one that only came up to Faye’s waist. Or it would have done if she’d been standing up.

Voices came from over the wall, and she sucked in a nervous breath. They were too far away, or too muffled at the very least, for her to be able to tell what they were saying, but at this point, she really didn’t care. She just wanted to get past them and onto rescuing whoever was down there.

Saying that, she wasn’t entirely sure she liked the idea of leaving any of the hunters about. All they’d do then was hurt someone else. Maybe they should have called the Council after all, they’d at least had the manpower to deal with the situation, even if they chose to ignore it.

Penny called them to a halt again, before motioning them on wards again, and down an equally depleted corridor. Why couldn’t the bad guys choose a nice comfy stately home to make their lair in or something? It’d be much nicer to sneak around in.

What on earth was she thinking that for? Why would she want to sneak around anywhere more than she had to. It wasn’t even like she wanted to sneak about this time. It was through necessity, and doing it for her sister that had her still here.

“I think we’re nearly there,” Penny whispered. Faye just nodded. There wasn’t really anything else she could say to that. Except that she hoped Penny was right. It would mean they could get out of there soon.

A steel door loomed before them. Completely out of place in the run down mill. It made no sense. Or it did make sense, if the place really was being used by the hunters.

“How are we going to get it open?” Penny sounded a little bit panicked.

“Let me,” Faye replied. She wasn’t completely sure that she could do it, but it was worth a try. If she couldn’t manage, then at least she’d tried. She’d still be embarrassed though. Putting her hand a

gainst the lock, she sent sparks into it, hoping they’d turn the levers inside it. There was a loud click, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Being with Penny and Reese really had unlocked something within her. Just one of the many good things that had happened as a result. Other than having two people she loved in her life.

She glanced at the red-head as subtly as she could. Did she love her? She supposed she would. Soon. Probably very soon. Though right now, the feelings very much verged on just major like.

“Ready?” she asked them both. They nodded, and Reese pushed open the big metal door, letting the three of them slip inside.

The first thing Faye noticed was the smell. It was rotting meat and sewage, making awful images of what could happen in here flash through her mind. She tried to push them away. They’d give her nightmares if she wasn’t careful. Though at least she could be comforted through the night if she did. The people that were down here, not so much. They were probably far more traumatised than she was.

A groan of discomfort came from the left, and she automatically turned that way, making her way hastily in the direction of the sound. When she reached the person who’d made it, she gagged, almost losing the little she’d eaten for breakfast. No person should be degraded to this point. Because now, it was clear where the rotting meat smell was coming from. The man’s leg was rotting away, and the stench was unbelievable.

“We need Mia,” Faye muttered, making her way over to the man and unlocking the shackles around his wrists. He groaned again, but was barely conscious. He probably didn’t even notice they were there.

“We could call her?” Reese suggested. Faye shook her head.

“Too loud. Can you fly to her? Bring her, and Felix. And get them to alert the Council. This is far bigger than we thought, we can’t keep them in the dark any longer.” He nodded once.

“Want me to get the Shifter Council involved?”

She shook her head. “There’s no point. They don’t have the jurisdiction, and you know it.”

“True.”

“What are the Councils?” Penny asked, looking confused, and more than a little ill.

“Our ruling bodies,” Faye answered, looking away from her and back at the man. She contemplated trying to use her magic to heal him, but she wasn’t sure she trusted herself to do something like that. Not without practice on less serious injuries first. “It’s okay, you’re safe now,” she told the man, despite knowing the words might not be true.

“I’ll get Mia,” Reese said, transforming into a bird in front of them. Faye didn’t even bat an eyelid, she’d seen him transform enough times by now for it not to affect her. Penny, on the other hand, stood transfixed.

“I need a hand moving him,” she said to the other woman after Reese had flown off. Penny nodded, and lifted the man’s shoulders. Between them, they moved him slowly back into the slightly cleaner area. It wasn’t much, but anything that helped was better than chained to the wall.

Faye just wished they could move faster, but there was no chance of that, not without injuring the people that were down here. In total, the two of them found six people, one of whom seemed to be on just about their last breath, Faye hoped they could hold on for just a little longer. But the worst one, was the teenage girl. She was probably about fifteen, and far too young to be subjected to whatever torture had left so many long slices along her skin. It was disgusting what they’d done to these people.

“What do we do now?” Penny whispered. She’d pulled Faye off to the side, out of earshot of the people they’d found in the dungeon. Not that any of them were conscious enough to be paying any attention. “We can’t sneak them all past the guards, we’re just not going to have enough time.”

“You’re right.” Faye pushed a hand over her face, trying to work out what the best solution was. “We just need to stall, I guess.” She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Do you think you can do it?” Penny asked.

“I’m not so sure,” Faye responded. She could try, but if she failed, then she’d already tipped their hand. Which was definitely no good.

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