We crouch behind the bins, throwing out ideas in hushed, frantic whispers, trying to come up with anything that’ll buy us time without getting us, or worse, Wren, killed in the process. A fight is out of the question. Getting caught is basically a death sentence. But a distraction? Something small, simple, and annoying enough to disrupt things, to throw off their timing? It suddenly hits me, we’re trying to come up with something complicated, but we can just keep it simple.
“We cut the power.” I whisper. Lukas tilts his head.
“The building’s running on mains, probably still hooked to the city grid.” He responds thoughtfully.
“If they’re about to do some big ritual, there’s no way they can work in the dark.” I reason.
“And it’ll throw the guards into chaos. If we’re lucky, they’ll think it’s just an equipment failure. It’s a shame Wren is chained or we could snatch him while the lights are out.” I sigh. Lukas gives me a doubtful look, then he nods slowly, and glances around.
“So the plan is to find the fuse box, kill the lights, and get out. No heroics.” He says firming, his tone is a warning. He doesn’t want me taking any unnecessary risks. I nod my agreement.
“Right. Just flicking switches. Easy.” I confirm. We slip back to where Jackson and Cole are waiting, and quickly explain the plan.
“Keep eyes on the building. If anything changes, we’ll need to know.” Lukas tells Jackson.
“I’ll have the engine running.” Cole adds, grim but steady. We break off and start scanning the sides of the warehouse, checking for panels, wires, anything that might lead us to the fuse box. Every second that ticks by is another second Wren is chained to a demon in a room full of corpses. Another second that people are probably being killed in front of him. My heart won’t stop racing. It’s a dull roar in my ears. Three minutes feels like thirty, but FINALLY, Lukas spots something.
“There!” he whispers, pointing toward a rusted metal door flush with the wall, half concealed by a stack of pallets. I rush over, nearly tripping on the uneven concrete. I grab the handle and tug on it. Locked.
“OPEN, dammit.” I hiss angrily, yanking again. Magic sparks under my skin like it’s waiting. I let it go without thinking, too sharp, too fast, and the metal door rips open with a loud bang, crashing to the ground as it hits the cement with a clatter. The sound echoes and it is way too loud.
“Oops.” I whisper. Not sure what the whispering is for, but maybe they didn’t notice the huge crashing sound? Lukas winces.
“Subtle.” He comments.
“I panicked!” I insist, already reaching into the box. There are so many switches. Way more than there should be. Great.
“I have no idea which one it is.” I mutter. Well, whatever. I start flicking them one by one. One… Two… Three…
“Clare…” Lukas starts.
“Almost there, just-” Click. The warehouse goes black. Voices shout from inside, muffled, startled and completely confused. The building erupts in a sudden frenzy of movement and yelling. Lukas grabs my arm.
“It worked!” I whisper, elated and breathless.
“It did. Now let’s get the hell away from the fuse box before someone checks it.” He hisses, dragging me away. We run, circling back to the window, my breath burning in my throat and I find myself jealous of Roxy who runs along beside me, seemingly effortlessly. I peek over the edge of the window. Nothing. The entire room is cloaked in shadows. I can barely make out shifting shapes and vague outlines. Solem’s perfectly crafted ritual just got thrown into a blender, and I hope it’s as disorienting from the inside as it looks from out here.
“I can’t tell what’s happening.” I whisper.
“Which means they can’t either.” Lukas replies, seemingly pleased. Not unless they’ve got demon night vision at least… Which, to be fair, some of them might. But even then, if only a few can see clearly, the rest will be stumbling in the dark, yelling, bumping into each other. Confused people make mistakes. Even if they CAN see, they’ll be too busy reacting to the sudden black out and trying to figure out what’s going on to get on with the ritual. And hopefully, that’s enough to stall them until Rowen gets here and we can save Wren.
I’m actually feeling weirdly optimistic. Maybe that’s stupid, considering we’re standing outside a demon infested death warehouse, but the blackout worked. The shouting inside tells me we’ve disrupted something, maybe even saved someone. We’ve bought time. We’re going to get out of this. That hope lasts exactly three seconds because something clinks against the glass of the window. A soft, sharp sound, almost delicate. My heart seizes and my eyes snap up to see something awful. Solem is staring directly at me. His face is still, unreadable. A faint glimmer of amusement in his otherwise black eyes. Like he’s been waiting for me to look. Then the window explodes. Glass shatters around me. Before I can flinch, before I can breathe, a hand reaches through the jagged opening and clamps around my arm. It’s cold and strong. Pain lances through my shoulder as I’m yanked off my feet and hauled through the window like I weigh nothing. The impact knocks the air out of me as I hit the floor hard and roll across slick concrete. My hand lands in something wet and warm and thick. I know what it is before I even feel the stickiness. Blood. So much blood. I choke on a scream and scramble backward, slipping and sliding in the mess beneath me. My eyes struggle to adjust, but the room is still completely black. I can't see a damn thing. I’m so incredibly screwed. I glance back to see if Lukas is safe and I immediately realise our mistake. With the room blacked out, the moonlight outside is brighter than inside the building. Our silhouettes were visible outside. Damn it! A low voice cuts through the dark, calm and curious.
“Now… Who are you?” Solem asks. His voice is cold, clinical. Like he’s studying a stain on his rug. I can barely breathe. I keep still, frozen in place, praying Lukas didn’t try to follow me. I hope he and Roxy ran and made it back to the taxi and the whole lot of them are already three blocks away. But I know Lukas. There’s no way he left. Not when he saw me dragged in like that. Suddenly, the lights flick back on, I guess someone made it to the fuse box. The warehouse snaps into brutal, vivid clarity. And it’s so much worse now that I can see. The blood beneath me is part of a massive pool that stretches across the floor, fed by the bodies piled at the far end of the ritual circle. Bones, symbols, candles… This room looks like it belongs in a horror movie. The messed up kind that give you nightmares for months because you just can’t believe that anyone could be so disturbed. I lift my head and lock eyes with Wren. He’s chained, pale and shaking. His mouth drops open when he sees me, and for a second, we just stare at each other. The panic in his face is instant and intense. He knows what this means. He knows what happens to people who get caught in here. And Solem… Solem looks unbothered. He stands at the center of the carnage like it’s a stage. Not a single drop of blood on his immaculate shirt. His suit is pressed. His silver hair gleams in the artificial light. Everything around him is madness, but he is calm and in control. He looks down at me with mild curiosity, like I’m a lost insect that’s wandered onto his desk.
“No answer?” He asks. One eyebrow lifts in faint amusement.
“That’s disappointing.” He sighs. I try to speak. Really, I do. But my voice is trapped in my throat, drowned by nausea and fear. My brain is still catching up to the fact that I was just pulled through a window by a demon. Solem shrugs casually.
“No matter, I suppose. Your name is irrelevant. You’re not supposed to be here. And I’m going to kill you either way.” His tone is light. Flat. Like he’s telling me I’ve parked in the wrong spot. Wren makes a soft, desperate sound in the background. His chains rattle as he shifts, trying to move, maybe trying to stand, but Solem doesn’t even glance his way. He just takes a slow, deliberate step toward me. I don’t have a weapon, I don’t have a plan. My magic is weak, and there’s nowhere to run. So basically, I’m about to die in a pool of someone else’s blood. Shit.