Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(84)

I searched his brown eyes, finding them hard and lacking emotion. “You sound like an afterschool special, Briggs. I’m not going to fall for that shit. You’re part of the evil in this city.”

“Let’s not argue. We don’t need to agree in order to work together. I want you on my team, and I’m willing to be very generous in order to achieve that.” He sounded like a politician, spinning nonsense into what he thought was a worthy argument.

“You want me because you see me as a weapon.” I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “I know it was me you wanted, but you settled for Juliet. I will never work for you or with you. I am against everything you stand for. Now where is my sister? She was never locked up at all, was she?”

Briggs had a good poker face. His expression did not betray how mad he was. His energy did though. “You might know how to smell a lie, but I know how to tell one,” he said, looking smug.

I couldn’t stop myself. Without thinking I reacted, lunging across the table. He had to die. Fuck Shya’s demon mark; I’d wear it for all eternity if I had to. I just needed to kill Briggs.

Briggs was ready for the attack. He braced himself when we went down on the floor. The man was no rookie. Not only was he ready, he’d planned for it. In his hand was a syringe I hadn’t seen him produce. The sharp point stabbed into my abdomen, filling me with the cool rush of a tranquilizer.

A deep scratch from a claw marred his cheek. My strength ebbed away before I could do further damage. My vision blurred and grew dark.

Briggs shoved me off him and got to his feet. “You’re too predictable for your own good, O’Brien. Too damn impatient. You’re leaving me no choice. You’re just not worth the risk.”

Everything went black.

I woke up when my face hit the ground. Dirt and leaves pushed into my mouth. I dug a clawed hand into the ground beneath me, finding it hard and cold but vibrating with strong earth energy. Beneath that was the hum of the evil that lived here. It taunted me, but its mocking call was drowned out by my own sense of self preservation.

Suddenly alert and ready to fight, I sat up to find that I was in the parking lot. The night had thinned with the coming dawn. I could feel it in my blood. Sunrise was close, a minute away at best.

Briggs stood in the doorway to the building, watching me with a grim expression. He shook his head and shrugged, as if I’d brought this on myself by refusing to be his weapon.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said. “We can still work something out.”

Forced to choose between the FPA and the sun, I was tempted to take my chances with the sun. There wasn’t much time for me to argue with the puffed up Fed.

“You know Arys will kill you, right?” I got to my feet, holding tight to the earth’s energy. It was grounding, calming.

“Presuming he survives your final death. It’s possible.” Briggs nodded, having already made peace with the domino effect my death would cause.

The old haunted hospital was in a residential area. There were houses nearby. Even as fast as I could move, I knew there was no way I’d reach one in time and get safely inside. Briggs had timed this perfectly.

“So anyone who refuses to join you dies. Is that it?” Could that be why my sister held so tight to the belief that she was doing what was right. Because the alternative was death?

“Sacrificing one for the good of many isn’t a new concept. You’ve been given several chances to cooperate.” He was stiff, unfeeling. Like a monster that he himself had made.

“You know, Briggs, you’re just as inhuman as the rest of us. The difference is, you don’t have an excuse for your behavior.” My skin began to grow warm as the eastern sky blazed with pink and orange rays. My eyes began to burn, and panic gripped me.

Knowing it might be the last thing I ever did, I flung a shot of power at Briggs, seeking out his fragile human heart. He collapsed and clutched his chest. But he wasn’t stupid enough to be alone. The agents watching his back surged forward to drag him away before slamming the door.

It was desperate and made me feel foolish, but I tried the door anyway. It was locked, most likely heavily barred. There was another way into the building. I’d gotten in before. Twice.

I ran for the opposite end of the building but knew that I’d never make it in time. As fast as I was, I couldn’t outrun the sun. It broke over the horizon, and I began to burn.

I fell on my hands and knees, crying and praying, begging anyone who would listen. I couldn’t die this way. The evil entity within the building lurked close, taunting me. It had tasted my death once. Now it would have me again.

‘Arys, I’m sorry,’ I shouted inside my mind, shattering the door between us with my frantic cry. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’

I couldn’t form any other thought. Tears streamed down my face as I waited to burst into flames. The pain never started off small like a sunburn. It was immediate, scorching pain until I was consumed with the raw, burning sensation of fire licking my skin.

Arys was there inside my head, a helpless passenger as the sun roasted me. His panic echoed my own. I hoped it would be fast because it sure as hell wouldn’t be painless.

Instinct took over where rational thought ended. From within me came the guttural snarl of the wolf as it exploded forth. My hands became paws, my face a muzzle, and suddenly I was wolf.