Greatest Curse (Book 2)

Asher and Laken

(Asher)

"There's a water-"

What was he trying to say then? Lance was proving to me where his loyalty really lay, and it wasn't with the side his father had chosen.

Water.

Water...

A waterfall? Were we somewhere with a waterfall close by? If that were the case, we'd be up in the mountains closer to the southern border of the town where it was mostly wildlife territory.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced over to where Laken lay on his side, head resting on my lap. He was still pretty shaken and seemed to only be able to calm down if he was physically close to me. He'd dozed off close to an hour ago and since then, I'd been plotting and putting together a plan of escape.

Careful not to awaken the sub, I fished out the folded napkin from my back pocket and unfolded the delicate paper.

It was a map.

A layout of the building we were kept in. Lance had neatly sketched out the underground level of the building where Laken and I were kept, and the level above us. The blueprint was complete was corridors and hallways, and even shorthand notes scribbled here and there pinpointing the areas I should either avoid or would have to resort to knocking out a few guys.

Kill, if need be.

My gaze flitted to the sleeping sub.

Kill, definitely. If I knocked them out, we'd probably never make it out.

Folding the napkin, I returned it to its hiding place in my back pocket, resting my head against the cool wall. Closing my eyes, I focused all my other senses into my surroundings. My hearing and sense of smell.

I focused on the scents around me, my nose wrinkling in disgust at the scent of moss mixed in with dust and quite possibly urine and a few other unpleasant odours I'm sure came from dead and rotted rodents. We were in an enclosed area so my sense of smell would only get me so far. And in such a foul smelling place, my lungs burned for a breath of fresh, clean air.

My hearing took me further, accompanied by the scuttling and squeaking of a rat zooming past the cell's gateway and through the bars of the gate that sealed us below. It's claws scraped against concrete, ascending and then scratching against wood.

The door that led down to the underground level.

I focused my hearing beyond that, to the muffled voices up on the next level.

Well, of course, they damn well wouldn't leave the building unguarded.

Straining my hearing, I managed to pick up on a few words here and there. Most of it was nonsense and plain old talk conversations, but I did manage to catch a few that made sense and related to something useful.

"...taken..."

"...it's...trap...we'll trade."

"Them...for...guys..."

"...not..."

"...make...believe..."

Over my dead body. Guess I need to get out of here before they decide to find us. But if Lance was really on our side, surely he would know, and he would warn them.

Still, I couldn't just wait to be rescued. Laken believes we need to wait. He has faith that his mate would come for him. I didn't want to diminish that faith, so I said nothing. I just kept quiet while I plotted our escape.

Expelling another sigh, my jaw clenched as fatigue settled in, firmly gripping me down and pulling me into a black nothingness. My sleep would remain light given location and circumstance. But if I'm to make a move tonight, I'd need that strength.