Every Bullet Has a Silver Lining (Phoenix Bones: International Monster Hunter Book 2) by William F. Aicher

Author:William F. Aicher [Aicher, William F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: William F. Aicher
Published: 2021-12-09T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Huddled in the center of the room were at least a dozen rusted metal cages, each housing a person. Men, women, children. Some dressed in casual wear, some in business suits, and some completely naked. The one closest to us housed the body we’d been following—the one carried by the scarab beetles.

It wasn’t until his head turned and he looked directly into my eyes that I realized he, and everyone else trapped in here, was alive. I breathed in deeply, and a horrible smell of unbathed human, wet dog, and rotting flesh permeated my nostrils. A tearing sound came from the cage next to him, as his fellow prisoner tore a chunk of meat from a dead cat’s back leg with his teeth. Wolfgang and I exchanged glances, and I knew he was about to do something stupid.

Just then a heavy stomping sound echoed from one of the other passageways, and Wolfgang held back. In my head, all I could see was that flash of Anubis, or whatever the hell it had been, lunging at me, its rank breath heavy on my face as it tore through my chest. What entered wasn’t so far off from that vision. Instead of Anubis, a smaller, yet still hulking, mass of meat, teeth, and fur looking creature—with one missing ear—appeared.

“Hanif,” Moore whispered. I took a second look, and realized he was right. We’d found Hanif and, for some reason or another, he hadn't changed back into human form.

Through the room he strolled, while we hung back in the shadows, hopeful he wouldn’t catch sight of us. He dragged a burlap sack behind him, leaving a trail of bloodied sand in its wake. Then, going from cage to cage, he reached into his sack like a nightmare Santa Claus and pulled out one dead cat after another, crushing them between the bars to feed his starving pets.

This was our chance to attack while he was distracted. I readied my gun, but just as I lined up the shot, he moved behind one of the cages. I took a step out into the light, clearing my view, and cocked the hammer to fire. Then unexpectedly the room erupted into a series of screams and cries as the people in the cages caught sight of me. I can only assume they thought I was there to rescue them, but their impression of an alarm bell didn’t help things one bit. I fired my gun, merely clipping the wolf in the upper left shoulder, and he howled and bounded out of the room the way he came.

Then, like they’d been beckoned, the doors to the sarcophagi began to open and an army of mummies converged on us. I looked back in the direction we’d come, but there was no way we’d be able to wiggle our way under the wall without at least one of us getting caught … Or killed.

“Against the wall,” I shouted as I pushed Moore back. “And watch out for the quicksand.” I frantically holstered my gun, dug into my canvas bag, and my fingers found the power drill.

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