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“Wake her,” someone snapped.
A moment later, there was a loud slap that echoed through the darkness, soon followed by the sting in my cheek.
“Do that again and I’ll bite your hand off,” I said, forcing my eyes open. I glared at the two men standing before me. One had a scraggly beard, bulging muscles, and dark eyes. No doubt some kind of shifter. A Natural.
The second man was leaner, taller, with pale, nearly translucent skin. I couldn’t tell what he was, but I could feel the magic rolling off him.
“What do you want?” I asked.
The lean man glanced at the shifter. “Someone in your situation should be worried right now. You are not in the position to command anything.”
I moved my jaw, feeling the sting in my cheek.
“Why are you here?” I asked, tired. This was all too similar to an incident I had barely lived through before, and I never really thought I’d be in this position again.
The shifter stepped back, giving the tall man some room. We were in a dark space, the only source of light coming from a light orb that hovered over us. Rough walls surrounded us, and a musky scent filled my nose, making me want to sneeze.
“I am only going to make this offer once,” the man said. “Think long and think hard, because if you make the wrong choice...” He shrugged. “No loss on my end.”
I sighed. “I have nothing to give you.”
The man smiled. “But you do. Opening this school is only the start, but the path that you have opened up for us is far and wide.”
“I’m not into world domination.”
“It isn’t world domination. It’s just making sure the humans know their place. They still think they run this world.”
I scratched at my forehead, making sure to use my middle finger to do it. “What do you want?” I asked again.
The man scowled as he tracked the movement. “Join us. With your support, we can make sure the Naturals never have to hide again.” He went to continue his spiel, but I interrupted him.
“No.”
“Careful, Neutral. I said I’d only give this offer to you once. I don’t play games.” His face grew dark, his eyes growing bigger and rounder. I realized he was fighting with his glamor. A fae. Great.
“My answer remains. No.”
“You won’t be able to sit on your family throne for much longer. I suggest you think about what I’m offering to you.”
“I’m still going to say no.”
The shifter behind him growled.
I growled back. The movement of my throat felt foreign, but I still got my threat across. The shifter stopped and stared at me, his eyes going into a brief daze for a moment before he blinked it away. His expression when he looked back at me was that of someone who’d become interested in a new toy or game.
“Adeelah.” The man shook his head. “I didn’t realize how hardheaded you would be.”
“Which is funny because only a hardheaded person would go against everyone and open up a school.”
He nodded. “Touché.”
He tried a different tactic. “The Neutral family is no longer needed. You can’t hide in the darkness and go hunting like you have, not when the Naturals are out now. And frankly, you’re not needed. Your family is obsolete, and it’s only time until everyone realizes that. Our world no longer needs you.”
“No, we are growing,” I said with self-confidence. “We are adapting. Sure, our history isn’t the best, but we are using this as an opportunity to change. The path you want to take, nothing good will come of it.”
“We don’t need the humans,” he seethed. “They need to learn their place.”
“In the 1500s, a small village believed in a myth. So they went and found a special flower poisonous only to one type of people. They made sure to take it with all their meals. Then one night, the Naturals got hungry. They went into town to feed. They were killed.”
“What is your point?”
“Naturals need humans,” I said, anger seeping into me. “Humans are a food source. Can we live without them? Sure. But there are plenty of beings who will suffer for it. Don’t give them a reason to rally together and destroy one of the biggest food sources the Naturals have.”
The muscle in his jaw flexed as his jaw clenched. He looked over at the shifter. “Take her. We’ll make an example of her.”
“I don’t think it’s a smart idea to piss off the Neutral family so early in our plans,” the shifter said.
“Smart man. Smarter than you.”
The man whirled on me, and it took a moment to register the pain across my jaw, along with the ache in my neck. I tasted blood on my lip and wiped it away.
“Speak again, little girl, and I will start tearing your limbs off.” His eyes were no longer human, completely round now, the blackness expanding to engulf most of the white. Something dark shifted around inside of them as he lost control of himself. The magic around him turned sharp and acidic, tasting awful on my tongue, making my lips tingle.
The shifter grabbed my arm and tugged me down what I was realizing was one of the secret tunnels we had dug out for emergencies. Only our security team and higher positioned people knew of it.
“I see your rat has been squeaking,” I said.
Neither of them responded as they dragged me into the darkness. The shifter’s grip tightened, his fingers digging painfully into my arm.
They came to a door and turned to me.
The tall man scowled. “Open it.”
I eyed the huge heavy door. It was another measure to prevent pursuers. Wards on it bounced back any magic thrown at it, and I had the best set it up. Cost a lot, but I thought it was worth it. This was only the first one. On the other side, it opened into a tunnel system that was easy to get lost in without a guide.
They were expecting to use me as a guide.
“I don’t know the password.”
The man came at me, his hair floating around his face. He gripped my jaw and squeezed. I was pretty sure my bones groaned under the pressure.
“Don’t make this difficult. Open the door.”
I sighed in relief when he let me go. I held my hand out, and he looked at it. “I need to bleed,” I said.
The shifter stepped forward, pulled out a knife, and sliced my hand. I winced.
“Not that much, idiot,” I snapped.
He growled, but when my eyes narrowed in warning, he stopped and looked away. I blinked in surprise and confusion. I didn’t hang with shifters all that often, but I knew what that meant. It was a sign of submission. He saw me as dominant and powerful.
“Do it,” the leader said. His magic snapped out and cut across my arm. I blinked and looked at it, seeing a bruise form from the hit.
“Calm down,” I muttered and walked to the huge steel door. I slammed my hand against it, and let my blood smear across it. With my blood, I drew a circle with a line through it.
For a moment, nothing happened, until my blood glowed and then blended into the door. The door swung open.
“See, done,” I said.
“Move it,” he said, shoving by me and walking ahead.
The shifter came behind me and nudged me forward. I barely suppressed my smirk. Did they think I’d never thought about a scenario like this?
They were going to be screwed so hard, and they didn’t even know it yet.
The tunnels were pitch black, only the light orb floating around us making it so we could see about five feet in front of us. We came to the first spot where the tunnels all fanned out.
The tall man turned to me. “Show us out of here. For each dead end you lead us to, I’m cutting off a finger.” He reached out and dragged his knuckles down my cheek. I suppressed a shudder as fear settled low in my stomach. Acidic bile rose, and I forced it to remain down. I couldn’t let him know how much he affected me. “Or maybe I’ll carve up this pretty face of yours.”
“Furthest right,” I said with a glare.
He smirked and continued on.
Slowly, we worked our way through the tunnels. The longer we walked, the more nervous I became. I kept wondering when my backup was going to catch up and beat these guys senseless.
I heard it. A small scuff of a boot that didn’t come from us.
“What was that?” the shifter asked. He turned to look behind us, his nose flaring, mouth partially opened as he took in a deep breath.
I smirked. The slowpokes were finally there.
