Things are not going to plan.
We’re inside a townhouse that was supposedly abandoned about a decade ago, here to check the place over and inspect for any unwelcome visitors now the house has gone to auction. The job was supposed to be an easy one, in and out.
Instead, it’s like a hoarder’s paradise filled with booby traps.
The place is filled to the brim with belongings. There’s furniture and newspapers and years of rubbish all piled on top of each other. There are also hexes on half of the doors, summoning hordes of flesh-eating bugs every time you try to open them.
And skeletons. There are so many skeletons covering the walls, enough to give me the willies. I thought at first glance that they were hunting trophies, but one seems to have skin and hair still clinging to it. Another is still wearing a pair of spectacles.
The air is thick with the scent of mildew and damp stone, along with something sharper and more acrid, making my nose twitch as we head deeper into the house.
Replacing my axe in its sheath, I glance around to meet our squad leader’s eyes. “Where next?”
Midas pauses, assessing the situation with his amber eyes and scenting the air. He’s part wolf shifter, with incredible tracking abilities, but even he’s struggling in this house of horror.
He shakes his head. “I don’t like this. The place smells all wrong.”
He’s barely got the words out when there’s a garbled yelp from the doorway to my left and I see my squadmate and fiancé, Pan, hanging from a giant spiderweb. True to form, he’s entirely unbothered by his predicament and snorts a laugh, wiggling his tatted arms uselessly. “You always say that, man. Maybe your nose is messed up.”
I stride over to him, hacking at the web with my dagger, but nothing happens. My blade is sharp enough to cut through leather like it’s butter, but it bounces straight off.
“Ooh, that’s not good.”
As always, I’m here as the muscle. I might not look like it, but that’s my role: the mindless goon.
Pan just shrugs and shoots me a lazy smile, his dark hair covering one eye. “I’m sure I’ll wriggle free eventually. What’s the worst that’s gonna happen? The spider turns up and tries to nibble me to death?”
Pan’s our resident poison expert, immune to pretty much all toxins. He’s also a bit of a hothead and an act first, think later, kind of guy. It’s something we have in common. Hence why he’s currently held up inside a giant spider web. It’s also the reason for the sparkly ring currently on a chain around my neck that’s resting beside the pendant that’s keeping my other half in check.
“You said that orc wedding last week smelled wrong too,” Pan continues, ignoring the fact he’s currently mostly upside down so he can continue to razz our leader.
“I did, and look how that one turned out,” Midas growls.
The wedding turned into a brawl after someone spiked the wedding cake. It turned out the bride had a mean right hook on her and the father of the groom had a penchant for setting stuff on fire. We were the closest squad in the vicinity, so muggins here got the lucky job of hauling the bride out of there before the place burned to cinders.
Not all that unusual. Our work has always been varied, and it’s often dangerous.
Today’s job seems to be no exception.
“So far we’ve seen blood-sucking bugs, massive spiders, and that stupid trapdoor that Titan nearly broke his neck when he fell through it. What other treats do you think they can have in store today?”
Midas turns to me, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “Something definitely isn’t right here. Look, Lady, whatever happens, you need to complete the full inspection and then we get out of here.”
Lady. That’s me.
Lady Rage.
It’s a stupid code name, possibly the stupidest of all of them. But I didn’t exactly have much choice about it. My first day on the job, after I’d let my other half come out to play, Titan looked me over and gifted me the moniker.
That was six years ago, and despite the dumb name and the sometimes questionable decision-making skills shown by us all, I still love these guys. I love this job too, even though it tries to kill me on a regular basis.
“We’re one man down already, and Titan’s not doing so well on that ankle of his. I reckon we split up and we’ll get this done quicker. I’ll take the first floor, you take the basement.”
“And Lennox?” I ask, my tone dry as I stifle a sigh.
Lennox with the moon eyes, who isn’t actually an official member of our squad. He shows up on some of our jobs and Midas lets him tag along for some unknown reason.
Maybe he owes him money or something. Or maybe everyone else is under a spell that prevents them from seeing just how useless he is. I’m fairly sure we’re breaching the rules of our contract by having him on a job with us, and I’d love to understand why. It’s certainly not because Lennox brings anything useful to the table.
A roar sounds from the next room, just beyond a wall of bones, and everything inside me freezes.
Ohh no, that is not good.
LET ME OUT.
The voice in my head has a different reaction to the bestial roar. While the rational part of me wants to turn tail and get the hell out of here, my other half is donning her metaphorical boxing gloves and getting ready to square up to whatever is lying in wait.
“Stay back,” I hiss at Midas. “Protect Pan, since he’s a numbnuts who decided to go poking around in a giant web.”
Lennox and Titan then stumble through an open doorway toward us and my eyes focus on the way Lennox is dragging Titan’s six-foot-six form forward, and the glazed look in his eyes. Titan’s our diplomacy expert, the one who can talk anyone out of anything. But something tells me his skills won’t be much good right now.
“What the hell happened to him? He looks drunk out of his mind.”
“Babba booey. Slipped on a weird puddle and it was soo dusty. Got up my nose.” Titan taps his face with his fist, blinking hard and then grinning.
Well, aren’t we just the dream team? Titan’s injured and looks drugged out of his mind. Pan’s caught in a spiderweb. And Lennox is a useless civilian on a good day.
I guess it’s just up to me and Midas to get this done so we can get out of here.
There’s another roar from the next room and my stomach sinks as I glance at Midas, who nods. “I’ll protect them. Scout it out and confirm that we can’t go any further and then we’ll retreat.”
I shove down my rising apprehension. This is my job, after all. I’m the one that charges forward and clears the room so the others can do their jobs.
Nodding to Midas, I unsheathe my axe and slowly step forward. Keeping my tread as light as I can, I head into the next room.
It’s dark in here, filled with musty boxes that are piled right up to the high ceiling. It’s also dusty as hell. I scrunch up my face against a sneeze. Damn allergies better not start acting up, or they’re going to get me killed.
“What’s happening?” The panted voice behind me makes my skin crawl, a visceral reaction that has my shoulders bunching and me clutching the pendant around my neck.
Lennox. Exactly where he shouldn’t be, once again.
“Dylan? Lady? There isn’t much light, is there?” he hisses into the darkness.
No, there certainly isn’t. Mostly because the piles of boxes are covering the windows. But there’s definitely something lurking in the dark. I might not have Midas’s sharp senses, but I can still feel the unnatural quiet in this part of the house. It’s like every mouse in the walls is too afraid to move and attract the attention of a predator.
“Lennox. Go. Back,” I hiss. “Stay with the others.”
There. I’ve tried to be gentle about it, better than my usual bulldozing.
“I’m not leaving you,” he says. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep going. Think about this. You don’t know what you’re going to find through there. I can pull some strings, speak to the right people, and we can pull you out of this. You don’t need to do this job anymore.”
I blink at him as a surge of irritation passes straight through me and I struggle to keep my temper.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
LET ME OUT.
I roll my eyes, ignoring both my other half and Lennox. Then I take another slow step forward, careful to keep my tread even. As I pass beyond a wall of newspapers, a strip of daylight lights the way in front of me.
Revealing yet more bones and yet more boxes. This time they’re piled altogether, not like trophies at all. But like we’re dangerously close to some creature’s den.
I can still feel Lennox’s presence behind me, his arm brushing against mine.
“Dylan.” His face twists and an ugly expression passes over his shiny, uniform features. “If you’re continuing on. I’m going too,” he insisted. “Unless… unless you think we should turn back?”
The hopeful lilt to his voice only stokes my irritation.
“I can’t turn back,” I tell Lennox. “Not yet, anyway.”
This is what I do. I’m the last stand, the one to plough into battle and face whatever lies behind the walls of skulls and newspapers.
Lennox captures my hand and squeezes, even as I try to shake him off.
LET ME OUT.
IT’S COMING.
“If you mention my name, they’ll understand. Of course, we’ll have to wait a few months for the wedding. You can let your hair grow out, so it’s not so short.” He pauses, frowning like he just heard his own words.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, incredulous. “Are you proposing right now? I’m already engaged. To Pan.”
“The man who’s currently trapped in a giant spider’s web.”
Well… yeah. He might not be the sharpest tool in the box, but nor am I. We mesh well together, always have.
I do not mesh well with Lennox.
He’s like a toxic goo, always sticking around and impossible to wash off.
Another roar sounds, and I instinctively drop to a crouch. This time it’s deafening and my shoulders raise instinctively. I need to move before whatever it is making that noise makes itself known.
And then I see it through a gap in the piles of crap.
A long reptilian tail.
Oh no. No no no.
I don’t need to go any further to know that we shouldn’t be here. This is one of those jobs where we’re going to have to make a very careful retreat.
NO. WE FIGHT.
Once again, I ignore the internal yell of my other half. We should definitely not fight whatever is in the room with us. We should get out of here as quickly as possible and hope like hell that we can dislodge Pan from his web in time.
Because I’m fairly sure that we’re inside the den of a dragon.
“Of course, of course.” Lennox crouches beside me, blocking my exit. His fingers grip mine and he clings to me, tugging down like a five-year-old trying to capture his mother’s attention. “But tell me you’ll think about it. About us?”
“Lennox. Shut. Up.”
I grip my pendant like it’ll keep my sanity in check, as well as my other half.
“Get. Out.” A growling voice sounds loud enough to make my ears ring.
Then a flash of green light blinds me for a moment and I react just in time, throwing myself onto the ground and covering Lennox’s body as a fireball flies right over our heads.
You know what’s a dumb thing to hoard if you’re a dragon? Newspaper and boxes.
This entire place is a tinderbox about to set alight.
I scan the area, eyeing our exits. I’m still clutching my pendant, but I need a clear head right now, and my other half isn’t great at retreating.
Nope. She’s always spoiling for a fight.
Another guttural roar had the hair on the back of my neck rising. Beneath me, Lennox shakes violently and I can feel his panted breath on my cheek. He smells like stale coffee and mints.
His fingers wrap around my wrist again, and I want nothing more than to peel them off. His touch makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
This is why we don’t let civilians join us. Too many unnecessary risks.
They can’t keep their heads under pressure.
“It’s a dragon,” I mutter. “A dragon, Lennox. That wasn’t on the bloody brief.”
“Dylan,” he whines, squirming underneath me.
“You need to turn back now and run as fast as you can. I’ll distract the dragon.”
Those are some sick final words if I’ve ever heard them.
“I can’t.” He shakes his head, and I fight to keep my internal scream in check. Appraising him, I can see he’s speaking the truth. He seems to have reached that state of fear where your body gives out and your legs stop working.
Fight. Flight. Fawn. And Lennox is fawning like a champ right now.
“Fine.” I peer around, looking for anything that might shield him from another fireball.
“There.” I point at a large cabinet that’s mostly hidden by a human skeletal pelvis. “Go. Hide yourself there. I’ll try to lure him in a different direction.”
No idea how I’m going to manage that. I quickly type out an emergency SOS text to Midas, telling him to stay back.
Lennox grips my hand again and I use the connection to yank him out of the way, narrowly avoiding us both being eviscerated. Another rush of heat brushes past my face and I can smell singed hair. My blood burns as I roll to a crouch. “Go. Now.”
“Dylan. No.”
Then the massive face of the current occupant of the house appears and Lennox lets out a terrified squeak.
I might have been modified to be tougher than the usual human. My skin and bones don’t break so easily, but that doesn’t mean I’m invincible.
And I am certainly not fireproof.
I yank off my pendant, shoving it deep into my pocket as I unsheathe my axe with one hand and my dagger with the other.
Almost immediately, the familiar fury starts bubbling in my gut, rising higher and higher with every passing second. I try to breathe through it, to tamp it down until Lennox is safely out of the way and won’t be collateral damage.
Too late.
My vision tunnels. Heart thundering in my ears and all I can focus on is the rush of blood flowing through me.
Filling me with spitting rage.
Things became less clear after that. It always happens when I let the feral side of me take over and I lose control. All I’m left with are snapshots of action.
There’s heat and screaming. I duck and dive, slash and swing. Roll and then slash and slash until something hot and wet hits my arms.
Two double eyelids blink shut.
Then everything goes even more fuzzy as I feel something sharp stab me in the arm.
But the baddie has been slain. The job is done.
I can’t make sense of what’s happening as I blink down at the needle piercing my flesh.
Darkness swirls around me and my blinks grow heavier.
Before I lose myself to the dark, one last conscious thought rolls through my mind like a stray marble.
Lennox. What happened to Lennox?
Today definitely didn’t go to plan.