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I COULDN’T STAND IDLE while Hans did all the heavy lifting, as it were. I made him take Gage and I to the ground. I could barely breathe in the Quad but that wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had him take us to the Deviant dorms. It was far enough away that if anyone was hiding they may be okay. We might get some answers and that was what I was hoping for. Some insight into what had happened. Hans left us at my request to do as Sig had asked. He didn’t like it, but I commanded him and he obeyed. I think I’m beginning to like this ability, it’s coming in handy. Gage and I came up on the dorms silently and found the doors were barricaded shut. That, at least, meant someone was inside.
“Now what?” I asked, looking at him.
“Now I get them to open up.” He took a deep breath, and licked his lips. “Here goes nothing.” He let out a deep and mournful howl that echoed throughout the courtyard, followed by several short yips.
“Nice.” I half laughed. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“I am a Werewolf.”
I nodded, then turned my attention to the door as I heard a bar slide out of the way and the locks click. Tawny’s face was the first one to appear.
“Oh, my God!” She grabbed me, pulling me inside as I grabbed Gage.
“You’re okay.” She kissed my cheek, then started to check me all over.
“You can’t stay out there. It’s not safe. That damn Dragon went nuts and started dropping people from up high.”
“Wait, what? Aella?”
“Who else? You know any other Dragon? I know it wasn’t Sig, he breathes fire. I don’t know what she’s slinging, but people were dying instantly!”
Gage looked confused. “That’s not possible. She couldn’t... She wouldn’t. Ryane you gotta believe me. She’s cursed!”
“Yeah? Then who’s out there with the wings?”
“That’s a good question,” I answered, looking to Gage, who looked at the ground.
“What else is there that you aren’t telling us?”
“Well, there’s another possibility... That it was Greisen Calder. See, well, he’s... Sig and his mom, well.”
“Oh, are you- you’re kidding, right?” I shouted. “That sick fuck is his son?”
Gage nodded yes.
“And that’s why he’ll protect him.”
Again, a nod of yes.
“IF that is true, that still doesn’t explain the actual Dragon I saw! A half breed can’t transform!” Gilda, one of the other girls from the dorm spoke up, she busted tables at the Pepper Pot twice a week, so I knew she wasn’t one to make up stories.
“That we will have to look into as well.” I turned toward the door again. You lock this back behind us. Just in case.”
“You know I will,” Tawny answered. “Be careful, those security asshats are still around. They’ve got guns now too. I know they were using iron for the Fey, so I’ll assume they’ve got silver too.” She hugged me and kissed me for good measure, before pushing us back out into the smoke and ash filled air.
As we rounded the corner toward the clock tower, I heard the radios of at least three Campus Security personnel. I put out my hand and Gage stopped, holding his bat at the ready. We slowly made our way toward them, hoping to catch them off guard. Then I heard the click from behind us.
Fuck. They must have seen us and set the trap. We turned, hands in the air. Gage dropped the bat.
“Well, well what have we here? A couple stragglers? What are you? Human or Otherkind? How shall we find out? Touch test? Warning shot?”
“Please, we are just trying to get out alive, me and my boyfriend here,” I pleaded, trying to sound like a scared little girl. “We were in the Science building before it dropped. I just wanna go home.”
“C’mon boss, look at her, she can’t be too much trouble, and he’s just a tall skinny kid.”
I liked what I was hearing, although I heard Gage growl at being called a kid.
“Down boy.” I whispered. “Give it a sec.”
“We gotta take um in to him.”
“Fine.”
“You come with us or we’ll be forced to shoot you.”
I nodded. “Perhaps we could be taken to someone we could reason with, if not, at least we’d have a face to tell Herlihy about after I tore it off.