Everyone dove back toward the car that had previously sheltered them just as an arrow struck the Lamborghini’s door.
“We don’t have time,” Viktor said. “He’s growing impatient and will jump down here soon when he’s certain of a kill.”
“Viktor, I can still shift,” Blue insisted, not taking no for an answer. “He’s blind in the dark. He won’t see me.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Christian offered as he peered up at Kallisto. “Nothing distracts a man like a set of knockers. That’s the only weapon she’ll need.”
Raven gripped Wyatt’s arm. “How do I use my energy against a ghost if I can’t see him? You’re the expert.”
Wyatt bit his lip. “Good question. Blast the air and see what happens. The ghost is four paces away at your three o’clock. Better hurry before he blinks himself back up to the roof again.”
As Raven gathered her light and channeled it to her hands, static sparked in the depths of her irises.
Viktor leaned into their huddle. “Raven, flare all the energy you can. Blue, when I say, you shift and circle overhead. Track him if he jumps. I do not know where Claude is. Shepherd, give Christian your gun.”
Without questioning orders, Shepherd passed his firearm over. Christian wasn’t the best shot, but he was the only one who could see Kallisto.
Raven lowered her voice. “Is he still at my three o’clock?”
Wyatt glanced up. “Yeah, buttercup. He’s all yours.”
Raven stood up and threw out her hands like a zombie. A pulse of thick energy rippled through the air as she took a few steps toward where the ghost presumably was.
“Now!” Viktor hissed.
Blue’s clothes fell away, and her falcon ascended the skies.
“Holy Toledo, it’s working!” Wyatt’s smile broadened, and he gave the ghost the finger. “You reap what you sow.”
Christian stood and aimed the gun at Kallisto. Shooting wasn’t his forte, but if he could get one hole in that sodding bastard, it might buy them enough time to get out of this cage.
Claude appeared from the shadows. The ambient lights from the city exposed Kallisto, who backed out of sight. All Christian could see was his tiny head. Too small a target to hit.
When Claude charged, Kallisto jumped.
Christian turned in a circle, scanning every section of the parking area and alley. Then he swung his gaze up to the opposite building. Without missing a beat, he aimed his gun and fired. Kallisto stumbled backward, clutching his stomach.
“Gotcha,” Christian said flatly.
Raven leaned against the car. “We have to find a way out.”
Viktor stood up and led everyone over to the gate. Christian walked backward, keeping his eyes on Kallisto’s location. The Mage had no means of healing himself for the time being, not unless he jumped down to the street and stole healing light from another Mage. That wasn’t likely, but it wasn’t impossible either.
Wyatt tried to climb the bars, using his feet to walk the wall beside it like an orangutan. He lost his footing and slid down. “Maybe Blue can get us out from the other side.”
As if she’d heard her name, Blue landed on top of the gate.
“I’m not sleeping here all night,” Wyatt said. “Too many freshies in this neighborhood.”
Raven snorted. “What’s the matter, afraid of making new friends?”
“Why didn’t the store owners wake up already and check out the gunfight?”
Raven leaned against the bars. “Maybe they don’t all live where they work. Or maybe this is such a shitty area of the city that they’re used to hearing gunfire and screams.”
“Claude’s gonna get tired, and mistakes will be made.”
“Wyatt is right,” Viktor said. “We’re not safe here. There are criminals who know who we are, and if they get wind of the fact that we’re trapped in here, they will go on a killing spree. If any humans heard the gunfire, they will have called the police. We have no time.”
Raven lowered her eyes and walked past Christian before stomping the ground with her boot heel. “What about this?”
Christian dragged his gaze down to the metal cover beneath her feet. “Over my rotting corpse. I’ll not go wading around in the sewer.”
She poked her finger through the manhole cover and tried to lift it. “We don’t have any other options. Unless one of those cars can take us into the future, we’re going underground.”
Wyatt shuddered. “Did you ever see Shawshank Redemption? He crawled through miles of shit to freedom.”
Shepherd cracked his knuckles. “I’ve been through worse.”
Christian’s stomach was churning at the wretched thought.
“Lift the lid,” Viktor ordered him. “We have no choice.”
Christian gave a mirthless laugh. “Aye. Pop the cork on a seventy-year-old bottle of filth. Let’s see what bubbles to the surface.”
Raven got on her knees and sniffed around the manhole cover. “Maybe it’s a storm drain.”
Christian knelt beside her. “And maybe it goes to a special place in your worst nightmares. You’ll have sewage seeping into crevices that—”
Her hand flew up. “Don’t talk. Just take the damn lid off before I change my mind.” Raven looked down at her nice boots. “This wasn’t in the brochure.”
An arrow nicked Shepherd’s leg, and he cursed. “Hurry your ass up.”
Claude roared in the distance.
“I’m a fecking lunatic—that’s what I am,” Christian muttered. He lifted the manhole cover and rolled it toward the cars as if it were a Hula-Hoop. Steam rose from the hole. “I’ll not forgive you for this, lass. Not ever.”
Raven sat with her legs dangling inside. “You can stay locked up in here all night, Poe, or you can follow me into a hot shower. I’ll rub every inch of your body with a loofah. Your choice.” Her tongue sensuously swept over her fangs just before she disappeared into the darkness below.
Damn her.
Chapter 16
Gem nibbled on a slice of havarti cheese. “Isn’t this divine? I never eat in bed because of Viktor’s rules. Did you try the salami? I sliced it to fit perfectly on the crackers.”
Niko ate another olive. The sheer purple fabric that hung from the canopy sparkled behind him. He was sitting cross-legged on her bed with his back to the fire. “I’ll pass on the crackers. I don’t want to leave crumbs in your bed. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather eat by the fire?”
She glanced at the flames burning in the hearth. They had moved the couch aside, and Gem admired the way the dancing light added life to her room. “Eat whatever you want. I’m not picky about little things like crumbs in my bed.”
“It’s not the crumbs I worry about but what they’ll attract.”
Gem hadn’t thought about bugs. Rats had never been an issue that she’d noticed, but the thought made her shiver. “I’ll brush them off before we go to sleep and sweep in the morning.”
His brow furrowed. “I should sleep on the couch.”
“Don’t be silly. We’re having a sleepover. Isn’t that what humans do? I really despise all the formalities that adults take on. My Creator used to grow impatient with me at times. After thirty years under her care, I still behaved like a child in her eyes. But why is having fun something only children should do? Why should we always hold our tongues and conform to an unwritten code of conduct? Children are nowhere near as cruel as adults, and they look at life in wonderment. To live in a world with all this splendor and not enjoy it is a sin.” Gem stuffed a cracker with cheese and meat into her mouth.