Midnight Burns by Chase Annabel

Author:Chase, Annabel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
Published: 2023-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

London stood at the stern; her gaze fixed on the gate behind us. We left her alone to grieve. I couldn’t help but feel guilty as I looked at the cobra coiled in the hull of the boat. Despite the new form, I hadn’t lost Tyson.

To my surprise, Doran was the one to finally join her. As far as I could tell, he didn’t say anything. He simply stood beside her in solidarity.

“This gate seems eerily quiet,” I observed, in an effort to break the silence.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Britt said.

“Did you?”

Her blonde head swiveled to face me. “Did I what?”

“You worked alone a lot. Did you enjoy the quiet?”

Britt frowned. “Are you asking me if I liked working as an assassin?”

I shook my head. “Not the work itself. The independence.”

“It was a solitary life.” She didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic.

I noticed the callouses on her hands. “I don’t think I would’ve made it.”

Britt laughed. “Don’t underestimate yourself. You’ve spent years living in the wilderness and bathing in a puddle. I think you would’ve survived.”

I rubbed my opposite arms. “But I wasn’t alone like you. I had a team.”

“And you think what? You would’ve given up if you’d had to build that outhouse by yourself?” She shook her head. “You’re kidding yourself, Aster. You’re much stronger than you realize.”

London turned to face us. “We all are.”

A murky expanse came into view. It was darker in color than the sand and seemed to have attracted a variety of insects.

Max scented the air. “Is that a swamp?”

“A strange place for it,” Doran remarked.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s infested with demons,” Liam said.

I readied my spear. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

Max inclined his head toward the cobra. “We should send your new pet ahead as a scout.” Tyson reared up and hissed at the werewolf, prompting a rumble of laughter from Max. “I guess he still understands English.”

“Kami’s a swamp expert,” London said with a trace of sadness. “She and I dealt with more than our fair share of them in Britannia City.”

“Swamps in the middle of a major metropolis?” Liam whistled. “I hate to imagine what kind of creepy crawlies lurked in them.”

“The kind that can eat you and then live inside your bones,” London replied.

Liam shuddered. “Can you try being less descriptive next time?”

I noticed the hint of a smile from London. “Sure.”

The boat crawled to a stop. The cobra slithered out of the vessel and headed toward the swamp. Tyson seemed to be taking Max’s suggestion on board.

I heard a crunch and lifted my foot to find a squashed beetle. “I didn’t even notice him.”

Britt halted in place. “Because I don’t think he was there a second ago.”

I glanced down to see a swarm of beetles. They crawled across the sand and over our boots. I shook my leg in an effort to cast them off.

Liam was less cool about their appearance. He ran in circles, swatting at his body and shrieking.

“They’re just beetles, man,” Max said with a disdainful shake of his head.

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