Page 90 of Deck of Scarlets

“Looks like a Drarkoth has joined the party,” he muttered.

That was news to me. “I’m guessing we’ll discuss that later?”

“Yup.”

Just as I was about to peek around the damaged wall, Josh’s voice filtered into my mind, halting me in place. Don’t move, he warned, stepping around to examine the body more closely. He opened the half-torn button shirt, revealing a symbol on the sunken chest. The same symbol as the girl we found in the bathtub had.

Fuck, he hissed.

What does it mean?

Another sacrifice was made.

Pulling back the hood of my cape to cool down, sweat had dripped down my neck and drenched my hairline. Josh’s forehead creased with worry, his own sweat leaving a trail down his temple as he typed something into his phone. Between the intensity of the heat and the stench of decaying bodies, I was seconds away from passing out.

Were they capable of working with other demons? Like the Magidoz and Olemak?

Remember what Thatcher said? It is not uncommon for them to nest near one another, Josh explained, interrupting my internal questioning.

“Josh—”

He covered my mouth with his rough hand. It’s best we continue to communicate mentally.

I removed his hand. There could be a good chance they already know.

He rolled his eyes and nudged me forward, following the trail of blood ahead. They’re too busy feasting on their victims to care about us right now.

Thanks for that mental image.

Just trying to keep you on your toes.

If I die, it’s your fault.

At the very end of the trail was a wide, open hole in the basement floor. The sides slanted in, causing crumbles of dirt to roll down along with pieces of cement at the bottom, hitting what sounded like an empty echo. It also happened to be the designated spot where Chloe and Baron met us unintentionally, covered in what seemed to be Magidoz sludge. It would seem they faced more peril upstairs than what we countered out back.

Chloe and Baron exchanged looks before nodding to us, then jumped one after another inside the gaping hole.

I stood frozen over the edge, waiting to hear a scream or shout, but nothing happened.

You can do it too, you know, encouraged Josh.

I turned to him; a small smile displayed on those full lips. The way his eyes looked over at me, blue and crystal-like, mesmerizing with long, dark eyelashes. His hair was tousled and damp with sweat, just like his face, and his lips parted slightly the more I stared deeply at him. Josh reached forward and brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Moments like these, where he seemed to genuinely care, were few and far between, and—

Suddenly a rock flew out of the hole, landing in between us, almost knocking one of us on the head. It was clear that either Chloe or Baron—and my money was on Chloe—were not happy with our delay, and I was grateful for the wake-up call.

Clearing my throat, I took a step back from Josh and edged myself around the opening, a cool draft along with the smell of fresh dirt greeted me, but not enough to shake the fear of dropping down some odd feet that could potentially break my legs. What if the hole was deeper than we expected and that’s why I didn’t hear their shouts of pain?

A tender hand touched my shoulder. Close your eyes and let your gifts guide you. Josh’s soothing voice became the diving board of my actions and my physical strength as I jumped straight down into the unknown.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ilanded with a soft thud on more dirt, the rush from the drop sent a thrill through my nervous system. A flashlight blinded me in the face, and someone pulled me aside so Josh could land where I stood just a few seconds ago. The flashlight was then angled to the ground, revealing Baron behind the bright light and Chloe’s tight grip still on my arm. I patted her off and readjusted myself, relieved to have made the drop, surprised that the impact didn’t break my kneecaps.

Baron dimmed the light just enough to where we could recognize our silhouettes and motioned for us to follow him through the underground tunnel.

Are Drarkoth’s known to make tunnels? I asked Josh, trying my best not to trip and blow our cover.

They don’t. This was done by a Magidoz, Josh responded. A fucking big one.