Riley POV
"Are you sure about this?" Marigold bit her lip as I nodded at her, easing my way into the trunk of the car, glancing helplessly around, her eyes narrowed in worry "It was supposed to be me that went, not you" she pointed out concerned.
"Well Tiana's missing now and you need to stay here in case she comes back," I said with a low growl "and I want to see for myself where this elder goes every night. Don't worry about me Marigold I'll be fine" I told her, shaking my head and watching as she exhaled.
She was about to close the trunk of the car when we both heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching and she froze.
"Get in" I hissed.
She climbed in beside me and we closed the trunk until there was barely a slit with which to look through. A pair of elders appeared in front of the car, their voices low.
"Make sure nobody follows you," Elder Michael said gravely "We can't afford for anybody to know what we are truly up to."
"I'm not stupid" Elder James voice, "I will bring back the information as usual and advise you of any complications. Jaxon" he spoke lowly, another person approaching "Your advice is vital to us all, without your information none of this would be possible" he added darkly.
"I'm happy to be of service" Jaxon's voice was low but filled with glee.
I shot Marigold a look but she merely shook her head.
"Go, you don't have much time until you are expected back here. As it is, I grow weary of King Bailey and that infuriating Siren mate of his and their defiance. Soon they won't be able to do anything for fear of retribution."
I tensed. Marigold placed a hand on my shoulder. As they got into the car, I used the noise of them shutting the doors to carefully shut the trunk closed, leaving us in darkness. We heard the sound of the car's engine and felt the car as it began to move. Silence. Marigold and I didn't dare speak, for fear of giving ourselves away. As it was we wore no perfume, nothing that would create a scent, and had attempted to mask our smell with the dirt and pine trees of the forest beforehand. I gasped out loud as the car hit a large pothole, hurriedly putting my hand over my mouth, but neither Elder James nor Jaxon appeared to have heard it. I had no way of knowing where they were going. The trip seemed to take an inordinately long time, and eventually, the car cruised to a stop, the engine cutting off as the doors to the car opened on both the driver's and passenger's side.
"This is larger than I expected" Jaxon's voice was filled with awe as he shut the passenger door.
"What did you expect? We need the space and the facility has only the best when it comes to researching and studying the different species" it was said with disdain from Elder James "We are hardly going to be second rate are we?"
The driver's door shut. I felt Marigold reach for my hand and squeeze it. My heart was pounding as I listened intently. I heard what sounded like a door opening and shutting further away and then nothing. I waited, feeling the minutes tick past, Marigold frowning before she touched the release on the trunk, allowing it to open slowly. We cautiously peered over the edge and climbed out, looking at the building with curiosity.
We were in what looked like a garage. There were several cars parked with ours. The building it was built in front of was plain brick exterior and rather mundane looking. The door was basic and as we walked closer, scanning our surroundings, we were surprised to find that it wasn't locked, consisting of a basic door knob. Surprising. I shrugged at Marigold and opened it, both of us hesitantly stepping inside. The inside was different. It consisted of white hallways and white doors. I saw a desk with what looked like a security guard and instantly ducked down, motioning for Marigold to do the same. He hadn't seen us enter, but that had been blind luck. No wonder the door hadn't been locked. The building was guarded against any unwelcome visitors. We crept underneath the edge of the desk, both of us glancing at each other as he sat there.
"We're going to have to take him out" Marigold mouthed with a silent grimace.
She stood up and I slid around the corner as the man immediately started. "Oy what are you doing in here, you're not allowed...."
I quickly hit him over the back of the head, knocking him unconscious, and let him slide to the floor. He had a keycard attached to his lanyard and some instinct made me take it. I gripped it tightly in one hand. I gestured to Marigold and we quickly continued down the hallway behind the reception area.
"Now what?" Marigold whispered.
"What is this place?" I asked dumbfounded "It's like a hospital but bigger" I added suspiciously.
Marigold grabbed me and pushed me to the side, both of us ducking behind a large plant as Elder James and Jaxon walked around the corner in front of us. We followed silently, watching as the elder used a keycard to enter a nearby room. I frowned.
"Should we go in there?" Marigold hissed.
I shook my head "Let's try somewhere else" I gestured and we moved past them, running to another room.
There were small slits in the doors. I couldn't see anybody standing in the room and I quickly used the security guard's keycard to get us both inside. As we stepped in and shut the door, I turned and gaped, unable to belive what I was seeing and yet unsurprised.
Cages. A bunch of large cages, almost like cells lining the walls. Machinery, the likes of what I hadn't seen before pushed to the side. I saw a stretcher, restraints that would hold someone down, microscopes, and more. There were vials, some with strange labels, and containing blood still inside them, making me feel sick to my stomach.
"Vamp A, blood type A-" I read out loud frowning "Hybrid B blood type A+" Marigold read "What do you suppose this means?" she asked confused.
"It sounds like they've been doing some sort of sick experimentation or something," I said, glancing around the room and shivering "This place gives me the creeps. Let's get out of here and try another room" I proposed.
"You don't think Tiana is in one of these rooms," Marigold said horrified.
I shot her a look but couldn't bring myself to say anything. Marigold's eyes narrowed to slits as she let out a low growl.
The next room was just as bad and just as grim. Except that it contained large basins with taps, several stretchers with restraints, and dried blood on the tiled floor and on the walls. A scalpel lay beside one of the basins, dried blood on it, the point still sharp. If elt myself becoming nauseated. Something gleamed on the floor and I moved, bending down to pick it up. A ring. The stone looked like Black onyx and the band was definitely masculine. It lay on the floor by the drain in the center, as though it had been forgotten. I placed it in my pocket. I had a feeling it had once belonged to somebody, who was not here any longer. I swallowed hard. Marigold looked pale. as though she was about to be sick and I hoped she was able to keep from doing it.
"I know we wanted to find out what they were up to but now I'm not so sure it's a good idea" Marigold whispered "I think we should go back Riley, before we get caught. Whatever they're doing" she made a strangled sound "I'm not sure I want to know."
"It's too late to back out now. Don't you want to know what all this means?" I argued softly "The blood, the machinery, all of it points to the elders hiding something. If we go back now, we'll never get the answers or the proof we need."
I had a suspicion that this wasn't everything that the building contained, that there were more secrets to discover in its walls.
She looked torn. I silently opened the door and slid out. Nobody was in the corridors. In fact, other than Jaxon and Elder James, I had yet to see anyone despite the cars in the parking lot. Strange. Except there was a lift. I got in and saw that it went down one floor. Underground. Marigold tensed as I pressed the button and shut the doors. The lift descended smoothly. I ran a hand through my hair and stepped to the side, peering out as the doors opened. What we saw left both of us in shock.
So many cages. The room was large, with all sorts of machinery, scientific equipment, you name it but the cages, they lined the far wall and were spread throughout the room. Unlike the other rooms we had entered, they weren't empty. I stepped inside the room, tears filling my eyes. Even Marigold was lost for words as we moved closer, our eyes automatically going to each cage. Creatures, of all kinds filled those cages. I saw a vampire, dying of thirst, lying prone on the floor of his cage, his eyes sunken in, a haunted expression on his face. He was not the only vampire, there were more, but there were also sirens. Lots of sirens. Mainly women, but also children. I put a hand to my mouth. None of them looked at us. They were so lost in despair they stared at the ground, at the walls, or at nothing. Some looked as though they had lost their minds. One of the sirens opened their mouth and I saw with disgust and revulsion that their tongue had been removed. I saw shifter bears, still in bear form lying down, squished in the cages, I saw fae, their wings ripped from their backs and bleeding with expressions of despair on their faces. I saw Lycans, I saw witches who had been blinded. The only race I did not see in the cages was shifters. Wolf shifters to be exact. The elders would not cage their own kind.
"Do you like what you see?" Elder James asked mockingly behind me as I turned to face him in alarm.
We had been so lost in our thoughts and so disgusted by what we had seen that we hadn't heard the lift behind us or heard his and Jaxon's footsteps.