Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(21)

“And, if you gaze into the abyss…” Willow murmured.

“The abyss gazes also into you,” I finished the Nietzsche quote, and my skin began to crawl. Whatever lay below us, it found its new visitors intriguing.

Jez made an irritated noise. “That’s really calming, guys. Thanks.”

As good as my night vision was, even I couldn’t see in absolute darkness. I momentarily wrestled with the decision to drop my shields in order to use my power. Holding my palm up, I took a deep breath, said a small prayer and formed a psi ball that glowed with visible blue and yellow fire. It lit up several feet surrounding us, and we moved forward.

A lengthy corridor kept us moving for what felt like ages. The dark behind us swallowed up the stairs, and we still had nowhere to go but straight ahead. Every step I took was like treading deeper into murky, cold water. The atmosphere grew thick with the presence of evil. I felt like I was choking on it as I struggled for each breath.

A pale blue glow drew our attention to a large room to the left. Double swinging doors blocked the entrance. Willow pushed through without hesitation. Metal tables lined the room, and rows of openings made a grid on the back wall. So, this was the morgue.

It wasn’t as creepy as I’d expected, but that did nothing to ease my mind. All that meant was the morgue wasn’t the big bad down here. We had yet to find that.

“Oh, disgusting.” Jez clasped a hand over her mouth and nose. She was staring at a body on a nearby table.

It wasn’t covered very well. An arm hung down, pale and lifeless. The stench of death and decay was overwhelming, assaulting my sensitive nose. I shared Jez’s revulsion. I wasn’t a fan of this place.

“I don’t think there’s anything in here.” As Willow scanned the room, he seemed to grow somber.

“Are you ok?” I asked, unsure how a place like this would affect someone like him.

“Yes. It’s just that I can feel the joy it has, the evil in this place. It thrives on death.”

I turned to leave, but a shelf lined with jars caught my eye. Against my better judgment, I leaned in for a closer look and came face to face with a severed head. It floated in a jar of liquid, eyes wide and mouth agape. It was impossible to tell if it was male or female. Next to it was a smaller jar filled with hearts. I gasped, inhaling a lungful of the musty, putrid air. Immediately, nausea threatened, and I fought back the urge to heave.

“What are these sick f**kers up to?” Jez spied the jars and pulled me away. “And, they say that we’re the monsters. I sure as shit don’t have anybody’s head on the mantel at home.”

Vacating the morgue, we returned to the black hall, following the light of my fireball until we reached another room. As I crossed the threshold, a violent, greedy force slammed into me, seeking a way inside. I resisted, struggling to fight it off.

‘So lovely,’ it whispered in my ear. ‘I’ve been waiting for you. The lost wolf’s come at last. Into the darkness where you belong.’

“Did you hear that?” My voice shook, and my whole body vibrated with fear.

“Hear what?” Jez gripped my arm with clawed fingernails.

Willow shook his head; his dirty blond hair reflected the flicker of gold and blue power dancing in my hand. “No, but I can feel it. Entities like that thrive in madhouses. It preys on those with a fragile grip on sanity. Whatever it says to you, don’t listen.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Should I be offended by that? I know I have control issues, but I’m not slaughtering people in the streets.”

“Yet,” quipped Jez, shrugging when I made a sound of protest. “Sorry, Lex.”

The silence was so heavy that the slightest noise was startlingly loud. When a keening wail echoed down the hall toward us, adrenaline crashed through me. I knew I wasn’t going to like what lay ahead.

A menacing energy pulsed all around us. It brought my wolf forward as I prepared to defend myself. The disembodied voice had ceased to whisper. It didn’t have to. I was already wrapped in a cloak of darkness, feeling the persuasive pull of its influence. It called to the vampire power coiled tightly in my core.

The unmistakable scent of blood hit me like a slap in the face. The distant wail gave way to an ear-piercing shriek. It was hard to tell if it was male or female. Whoever it was, they were suffering.

My stomach clenched. I considered turning back, but it was a selfish urge that I squashed. The closer we drew to the noise, the harder it became to suppress the vampire side of me. My control was being stripped away faster than I could fathom. The last thing I wanted was to prove Jez’s suspicions right.

The bloodlust dominated my focus. I let my gaze wander over Jez and Willow in turn, wondering what they would taste like. A naturally born shifter had to be a delicacy. The angel, that could be heaven right there.

No. None of that. The constant battle between wolf and vampire warred on inside me. This was no time to lose it. Even as I refused to give in, the hunger burst forth to drown me in a wave of illicit desire. Wicked thoughts danced through my head. They didn’t belong to me. It was Arys’s darkness, and I had to remember that.

Jez seemed to be unaware of the battle going on inside me, but Willow was looking a little too intently in my direction. I gestured for him to lead the way, and we continued toward the eerie sounds. My apprehension dissipated with each step. I was eager to see where the tangy aroma of terror came from.