My phone buzzes in my hand again, and I nearly drop it in my rush to check it. My stomach is in knots. Every alert feels like it could be a body or a dead end. But then I see Rina’s name. I answer immediately.
“Rina?” I say breathlessly. Her voice is low. Tight.
“Jackson and Cole spotted him. Wren.” She blurts out in a hurry. I stop breathing.
“What?” I demand. Lukas drops a hand on my knee to listen into my thoughts and hear the call. He tenses as he catches up.
“They were driving past a warehouse near the river district. Jackson saw him through a window on. Wren’s inside, and just like you said he’s there with Solem.” She says anxiously. Lukas, already at my side, stiffens. I put her on speaker so that he can speak too if he wants to.
“What else?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. My fingers are cold. Rina doesn’t pause.
“Like we discussed, Jackson didn’t go in. He said the whole place is crawling with magic and… Bodies. He thinks they’re prepping for some kind of ritual, and it looks like Wren is right at the centre of it. I remember the plans we overheard for Wren. Solem wants to kill off powerful people, or their family members, and have Wren raise them so that he can hold them over people. If he’s planning some big ritual… They he might be preparing for that now. We need to get to Wren before more people die, and before Wren is forced to do something truly horrible.
“Send me the address.” I demand.
“Already did.” Rina replies.
“And I texted Rowen too, although she’s on the other side of town, so you’ll probably get there first.” She informs me.
“Okay’ we’re on our way now. Tell Jackson and Cole we will be there soon and to sit tight.” I ask her.
“Of course. Good luck and keep in contact.” She tells me before hanging up.
Lukas speeds down the street, ignoring speed limits and even running a few red lights when he can do so safely. I’m practically buzzing with adrenaline, and I suspect that Roxy can tell because she has gotten super antsy. The streets blur past as we move as fast as we can. When we round the final corner, I spot Cole’s taxi pulled tight against the curb of an abandoned street, the headlights are off. Jackson is leaning against the hood with his arms crossed, face like stone. He looks up as we approach, and even he looks rattled. Actually, he looks pissed, and a little unwell.
“They’re in there.” He says, jerking his chin toward the warehouse across the street.
“There’s a window around the back you can look through. You’ll know it when you see it.” He tells us. Lukas and I edge forward, crouching behind a row of super gross bins. The warehouse looms ahead, grey stone, cracked windows, the flicker of movement behind the dirty glass. My stomach twists as I slowly rise just enough to peer inside. And there, there he is… Wren. His back is to the window, but he’s easy to spot. He’s slumped over and shaking. He looks so SMALL. I gasp as I realise that his hands are chained, not just to the floor, but to Solem, a dark, curling metal connecting their wrists. Solem stands over him, relaxed, elegant, cruel. He doesn’t need to restrain Wren, he can’t run away. No, that chain is to make it harder for anyone to rescue him, and as cruel as he is, it’s probably to frighten Wren into compliance.
Around them, the room is a complete nightmare, and now I understand why Jackson looked so horrified when we arrived. Runes are drawn on the floor in thick, wet streaks, I want to believe that it’s paint. But it’s not. It’s blood. Fresh, dark, and gleaming in the low light. The symbols carved into the stone are jagged and wrong, like they were etched in haste and hate. Bone circles line the edges of the space, arranged in careful spirals like they’re meant to hold something in. But worse than any of that are the bodies. So many bodies. Most of them look like they only just died, eyes open, mouths slack, blood still pooling beneath them. Like if I ran in right now and touched one, they’d still be warm. And there are people still moving in the room. Guards, followers, whatever Solem calls his minions. They’re dragging another man forward, he’s half conscious and bleeding, and they are marching him straight into the middle of the largest blood drenched circle. As the man is shoved to his knees, Wren lifts his head. Only slightly. His entire body is trembling. Chains dragging as he moves. I see his face for a split second. His eyes are flicking desperately around the room, searching for exits, miracles, anything. He doesn’t see us. I’m sure of it. Solem leans in to say something, he’s probably speaking in that calm, patient voice I loathe. I can’t hear the words, but Wren flinches like they’re made of blades. Then one of the minions steps forward… And stabs the man.There’s no hesitation. He just plunges the blade in, quick and brutal. Wren jerks in the chains and hides his face, like if he just folds in on himself hard enough, he’ll disappear or wake up from this nightmare. The man collapses to the floor and doesn’t move again.
I can’t breathe. I feel lightheaded. Completely sick. Beside me, Lukas clutches my hand like he might lose his grip on reality if he doesn’t hold onto something. His eyes are wide, horrified.
“Oh shit…” I whisper.
“Oh shit.” I repeat. I look away, unable to stand it.
“Clare…” Lukas says quietly, voice tight.
“Look.” He prompts. I don’t want to, but he wouldn’t tell me to look at this hell without a reason. I follow Lukas’s gaze back to the window and see what he wanted me to see. Another person is being dragged in. That’s it. That’s the final straw that pushes me over the edge. I yank my hand from Lukas’s and whirl around, stumbling to the side as I throw up. It hits the edge of a bin with a wet splatter. Roxy yelps and jumps back just in time to avoid the splash, tail tucked, her ears flattened with worry. She presses her nose against my leg once I straighten up and I pet her fur. I want to reassure her, but I can’t even calm myself. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, the burn in my throat is nothing compared to the ache in my chest. I turn to face Lukas again, my entire body trembling with fury and horror.
“I know we said we’d wait for Rowen…” I say, my voice rough.
“But we can’t sit here and do nothing.” I insist. Lukas exhales sharply, shaking his head.
“Clare, I know, but what are we supposed to do? We can’t fight a demon. We don’t have the power, we need to wait for backup.” He says firmly.
“We don’t need to fight him.” I tell him, stepping closer.
“Rowen’s already on her way. We just need to buy time. Stop them from killing more people. Or from forcing Wren to be part of it. If we can make a distraction, even for a few minutes…” I trail off. Lukas hesitates.
“I’m not crazy. I know that we won’t win a fight.” I press.
“But we might win time. That’s all we need.” I argue. Lukas takes a moment to think it over, then he swallows, looks at me, and nods.
“All right.” He says quietly.
“Let’s make it count.”