Druid Vices and a Vodka by Annette Marie

Author:Annette Marie [Marie, Annette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781988153391
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Published: 2020-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

“Varvara—or her pawns—beat us here,” Zak rumbled, cool and businesslike. “There are three floors left—this one, and the next two. We should split up and search them.”

“No,” Aaron countered immediately. “We have no idea what we’re up against. The Miuras and their people could attack us too. We’re safer together.”

“We should start at the top,” Ezra suggested. “Kai and Makiko are probably on the penthouse level, and if Varvara hasn’t made it up there yet, we can warn them.”

“Right.” Aaron nodded. “Let’s go.”

He shot up the stairs at a quick jog, and Zak followed. Ezra grabbed my hand and pulled me with him as we sprinted up the final two flights. My legs were on fire by the time we reached the top—and found the door hanging open, one hinge broken. Deep scratches marred the steel as though someone, or something, had smashed its way inside.

Aaron drew Sharpie, the long blade coming free of its sheath with a slithering sound. Ezra pulled his pole-arm off his back, and I unholstered my paintball gun, loaded with sleep potions.

Zak drew his hood up again, then pushed his coat open so it wouldn’t impede access to his belt, test-tube-shaped vials circling his hips. He stepped into the dark corridor. Aaron went in second, his vest light flashing across the walls. More deep scratches tore through the beige paint.

Spotting a panel of light switches, I flipped them up and down, but nothing happened. No power. Finding Kai could take a while—unless I could speed up the process.

I reached into my belt’s large back pouch, my fingers brushing across a gently ridged surface. Hoshi?

Her dormant form uncoiled in a burst of silvery scales. The bluish sylph floated out of my belt, her huge pink eyes turning from me to Zak. She spiraled around me, her odd little antennae bobbing.

The men watched as I patted her nose. “Hoshi, can you look around and see if Kai is somewhere on this level?”

As I spoke, I pictured what I meant in my mind—Kai’s face, the building, and an imaginary little scene where the sylph led him back to me. She nuzzled my hand, replaying some of my images along with flashes of color and patterns I didn’t understand. Whatever they meant, they gave me a positive vibe.

Her tail squeezed around my waist and she pushed her cool nose into my cheek. Another image flickered inside my head: Zak’s face, but with Lallakai’s features overlaid on his. The sylph couldn’t communicate with words, but I felt her meaning: Be careful.

She slid her tail away, then launched down the corridor in a flowing ribbon of silver.

Zak watched her go, then glanced back at me. “Interesting.”

“What?” I asked nervously, Hoshi’s warning crowding my thoughts.

“She won’t talk to me anymore.”

Based on the sylph’s telepathic vision, I suspected it wasn’t the druid she didn’t want to interact with.

We continued down the corridor, Zak in the lead, Aaron behind him, Ezra and I bringing up the rear. The soft carpet absorbed our footsteps, the simple walls interrupted by blank doors.

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