Page 68 of Guardians of the Pack

‘Stand away from the door!’ I called. I gave a few moments for the children to move back before kicking it with all my might. The door slammed open – and I ran into a completely empty room. No furniture, no kids, nothing.

‘They’re not here!’ I shouted to Roscoe. ‘Where in hell are they?’

Roscoe hastily used his radio. ‘The kids aren’t here. Report.’

Voice after voice called that the property was empty. I couldn’t understand it; Bastion had done the reconnaissance and confirmed that there were six people here.

We were joined by a grim-looking Bastion and Reynard. ‘The top half of the property is empty,’ Bastion confirmed.

‘Out of the way,’ Amber called irritably. ‘They’re still here somewhere. They’ve got some runes securing the location – a concealment rune. Give me a minute.’

‘We don’t have a minute,’ I protested. ‘They know that we’re here. Any delay means they’ll try and get rid of the evidence.’

‘And the evidence here, my witchy bitch, is the kids,’ said Reynard. ‘So hurry your stubborn self up.’

‘I’m going as fast as I can,’ Amber snarled.

She had her paintbrushes out and started moving from room to room, painting a rune on each wall. The process was achingly slow. Finally, she shouted from the kitchen, ‘Here! They’re through here!’

The kitchen had some sort of wine cellar, the entrance to which had been concealed and sealed. Amber’s runes smashed through the concealment rune and revealed a steel door. It was the oddest thing watching a door pop into existence like that from what had previously appeared to be nothing more than a wall.

As it emerged, so did a plethora of hidden runes. Amber pored over them, frowning and muttering to herself.

Bastion seemed to be taking the whole thing personally. ‘Move out of the way,’ he instructed us all sharply. He drew back to the other side of the kitchen then flew with full force at the metal door. I winced at the impact – surely he’d broken some bones? He bounced back but the door remained closed. Bastion let out a screech of fury; he wasn’t used to being denied. He shifted into his griffin form and ran at the door again.

‘No!’ Amber shouted. ‘Don’t! There’s a—’

This time Bastion’s body slammed into the metal door and it tore open on impact. It flew off its hinges and slammed loudly against the floor. It was a good job that stealth had left the building long ago.

The door wasn’t the only thing that hit the ground. Bastion slumped to the floor like he’d fainted.

‘—curse,’ Amber finished. She rushed to his side and started digging through her bag, pulling out gloop and paintbrushes.

‘Will he be okay?’ I asked, fearing the answer.

‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Leave me to it.’

It was hard leaving Bastion there, stretched out on the floor like he was Aslan in Narnia, but we had the kids to think about and I’d have to rely on Amber to save him. Time was of the essence. That door bursting in hadn’t been subtle.

He’ll be fine,Esme reassured me.We need to go.Her enthusiasm was infectious. Anticipation was thrumming through her and she was looking forward to a fight. I love her, but the bitch sure loves violence.

With one last regretful glance at Amber and Bastion, I stepped carefully around them. Liam was hot on my heels, still on four legs, and my urge to shift was strong. Esme wanted to be in charge.

Patience,I murmured to her.Soon. We may be able to talk our way out of this without resorting to violence.I felt rather than heard her derisory snort.

The steel door that Bastion had smashed open had obscured a dark corridor and steps leading downwards. Liam gave a yip and bounded past me, and the rest of my wolves followed. Their excellent night vision meant the darkness didn’t hinder them in the slightest.

I started forward again. Next to me, Roscoe called up a ball of flames and threw it into the air, lighting the way for those without night vision.

The wolves had gained some ground so we ran down the stairs after them. Growls were echoing along the stone corridor. The last stair opened into a cavernous cellar lined with wine racks and three animal-size cages. Next to the cages were three of the kidnappers.

Gillian, the ogre, was in her creature form. She stood nearly eight feet tall but even so her head was miles from the ceiling. Her left arm was twice the size of her right one, and two tusks protruded from her mouth. She was huge, but the real threat here was the griffin; if she attacked, things were going to get messy real fast.

Charlize was in her human form, but there was no mistaking that she was Bastion’s daughter. Her long ebony hair curled down to her shoulders, and her exotic skin tone and eyes were all Bastion’s. I’d seen him shift enough times to know that it was no advantage that she was in human form, and I watched her warily.

That left James. James was about as dangerous as a wombat, unless you exchanged bodily fluids with him at which point he became deadly as fuck. No fear of that this time.

‘Dammit,’ Gillian snarled at the griffin. ‘You said they wouldn’t be able to find us.’ She swung her mace belligerently and planted her feet akimbo, fixing for a fight. Behind her were the three cages that held our children. They were no better than dog cages; the oldest child, Jason, had to sit with his head bowed to fit in the confined space.

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