Page 12 of Justice
I held up my hand. “Stop.” They obeyed me without question. “The object, the feeling, it’s warning me.”
They didn’t ask against what. We all knew a threat was always looming over our heads. Instead, I heard Ellis’ feet shuffle forward on the gravel. “What would you like to do?”
I took a few calming breaths. “We do what we came to do. We move forward.”
Chapter 6
LIBERTY
In the distance,I spotted a tunnel. Just setting my eyes on it, I knew that was my destination, but my fear combined with the warning made it hard for me to move my feet. Each step felt like lead, making it nearly impossible to move, but I kept pushing, knowing the men were at my back. The closer we got, the more a faint glow seeped into the clearing, lighting our steps as we moved. The glow hadn’t been there when I first spotted the tunnel, its appearance causing my body to tense.
When I reached the mouth of the tunnel, Oak’s hand squeezed mine hard. “That’s it.”
This was it.
The moment I stepped into the tunnel, I felt a giant wave of power rush over me, rolling over my skin, tousling my hair. Each of my vampires followed me through, temporarily swaying as the power clashed into them. Then we moved, taking a step at a time toward the light. Each step harder than the first, each one filled with more resistance.
The light grew brighter as we approached the end. My anxiety heightened. My skin tingled, and although every nerve in my body screamed at me to abort the mission, to turn back, to call it quits and excuse myself from this insane mess in a world I never belonged, I did it. I stepped out of the cave and into the light.
There was a heavy pause, a lull in the cavern’s energy where I now stood. This lasted only until the last man’s foot crossed the tunnel’s threshold, then our bodies were tossed backward with a force of energy, the flash of light nearly blinding us after a long stint in dull low lighting. My eyes adjusted, but my mind refused. Not until Oak growled a sinister sound, his body already moving to block the massive spiders coming at us.
Behind me, I heard someone curse, but my concentration was fully set on the cluster of spiders running full force toward us. Their legs towered over me in height, their sheer mass would surely give me nightmares – if I survived. My name was called, but I didn’t move. Again and again, I heard it screamed until a body slammed into mine.
“Take this,” Sterling shouted as he shoved a knife into my hand, jarring me out of my paralyzed state. “They are coming fast!”
Fastwas an understatement. Their speed rivaled that of my boys, their movement lightning. They reached us, their legs and arms going for me, ignoring the surrounding men completely. Oak swung his blade, the leg of the first spider falling to the ground in front of it, still moving as it pulled along the floor toward me. He swung again, another arm fell.
“It’s not working,” Sterling shouted as he cut into a spider leg. It fell to the ground in front of us, its blood oozing out and splattering my clothes.
A tug on my left leg drew my attention away from the pooling gore to the spider’s leg wrapping around my ankle, its fine hairs brushing against my skin like tiny sharp razors, causing blood to weld wherever it touched. I screamed, shaking my leg frantically, hoping to free it from its hold.
Suddenly the leg went limp. I looked up in time to see Oak slicing through the spider’s stomach, spilling its insides on the floor. He used his shoulder to wipe the gore from his face, not like it did much but smear it before he shouted to the others, “You need to slice it open. It’s the only way to kill it!”
I heard male grunts of acknowledgment before sprays of moisture flung every which way. They would tear one down, and two more would come. The massive spiders, an unending sea of legs. Still, I stood frozen. Afraid to move because those creatures didn’t want Ellis. Or Sterling. They had no interest in Oak or Ramsey.They wanted me. They were after me. They –
“Liberty! Move!” Ellis’ voice broke through my fog, giving me enough of a warning to turn, coming inches away from the needle legs of a spider. This close, I could see its teeth, giant fangs hanging out of its mouth, moving like pinchers as it eyed me as if I was its last meal. “Stab it! Don’t just stand there!”
Ellis’ voice echoed through the cavern as the spider lunged for me, and I dove under its body, screaming as its razor hairs brushed against my arm. Blood traveled down my limb, coating the hand that held the knife, making it nearly impossible to hold. Still, my grip held tight as I arched the knife Sterling had given me above my head, pulling it as far back as I could. When the spider moved again, I jolted forward with all my strength, plunging the blade into its stomach.
The knife made a sickening wet slurp as it tore through its skin, the sound and feel of skin ripping as I dragged the blade forward, making me gag. The smell that expelled from its body and landed on my head, shoulders, arms, legs was so rotten I nearly vomited. I hardly had time to move out from under the beast before it fell to the ground, almost crushing me under its weight.
“Keep going!” Ramsey screamed, and I did.
One after another, I plunged my knife in; one after another, I watched them fall. It could have been an eternity; in fact, I was sure it was. But when the last spider’s guts littered the floor, and we all stood in a weary circle, our backs together, searching for the next threat, I was sure there would be more.
“I think we got them all,” Oak panted, his chest heavy with exhaustion.
“I fucking hope so,” Ramsey grumbled.
“Bet you didn’t realize this was the shit you were volunteering for, eh, brother?” Ellis’ shoulder jabbed into Ramsey’s, and he only grunted.
“What now?” I asked, knowing the answer but dreading it.
“We keep going,” Oak confirmed. We slowly stepped apart. “I suggest in whatever direction those spiders came from.”
“Really? I was going to suggest the opposite direction,” I mumbled.
“Liberty, we are almost there.” Or at least he thought we were. I, for one, was questioning it. Our proximity. My sanity. These fucking vampires.