Veiled Spirits by E. L. Finley

Author:E. L. Finley [Finley, E. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Foxtrot Writing
Published: 2024-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

CAIN

“You said we were just going to talk to them!” Bishop shouts in exasperation at Archer. It’s hard to make out his voice over the bursts of automatic gunfire from the approximately twenty men across the warehouse from us. Due to Bishop’s shield encasing the three of us, we’re relatively safe. At least for now.

“It’s not my fault they didn’t want to talk to us!” Archer counters with a grin. Pausing to reload his M4 carbine, Archer fires at the men protecting the weapons crates once more. He’s enjoying himself much more than Bishop is.

“Considering you stole from them last month, I would say it is your fault,” I chime in.

Bishop glares at Archer, who just rolls his eyes. Archer frequently drags the mage into chaotic situations without warning him beforehand. It’s only Bishop’s quick thinking that has kept him alive this long while working with Archer.

Shaking my head at the two of them, I slip out from behind Bishop’s shield. I keep close to the wall and use the various crates scattered throughout the open industrial space as cover. While Bishop is fairly strong, he can’t hold the shield indefinitely. Archer keeps the men distracted, so it’s my job to incapacitate them.

Sneaking behind one of the shooters at the back, I lunge toward him and slap one hand over his mouth. With the other, I sink my blade into his vulnerable throat and sever his windpipe to prevent screaming. I tear through his carotid artery and jugular vein as well. A rare smile crosses my lips as I watch him choke on his own blood. When he finally goes limp, I drop his corpse to the dirty warehouse floor and stab him through the heart a few times.

I feel no remorse as I slowly work through the remaining men the same way. Instead of doing anything to help others, these panther shifters are content to sell automatic rifles and machine pistols to cartels, human traffickers, and the occasional dictator. Their deaths only make the world a better place.

When only five shifters remain, they start to realize something is wrong. Fools. I roll my eyes as they frantically search for whoever killed their associates. As they’re searching for me, Archer manages to pick off four of them. I glare at Archer when I step behind the last one and slit his throat. His warm blood sprays onto my forearms, already dripping with blood from the others.

“I had them handled, Archer.” I drop the last panther’s body to the ground and walk to one of the largest crates. Pulling off the top of it, I see the M4s and MAC 10s we were looking for. At least today wasn’t a bust like last night. We’ve been looking for these weapons for a week. I had to cancel my date with Isabel yesterday to go on another wild goose chase. She agreed to move our date to today, so we need to wrap this up quickly.

“Sorry for stealing your kills, man.” The shit-eating grin on Archer’s face tells a different story.

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