Page 85 of Tempting the Tiger
If anyone could get a tranq bullet past these spells it would be Skye, but I can understand Ethan’s unwillingness to leave only one person to guard the perimeter. Still, I can’t help my snarl. These fae are between me and Bryn. We need to drop themnow.
The fae closest to us sneers. “The BSG can’t possibly hope to get through us. Might as well go home, pathetic Earthians.”
Fuck this guy.
I ready a flashbang and glance at Ethan. At his nod I press the safety lever, remove the pin, and once I’ve confirmed that Jet, Cal, and Ayo have clocked what’s about to happen, I throw the stun grenade down the stairwell. Our headsets give us a decent level of noise reduction from the intense bang, and with our location behind the wall as well, we’re protected enough that we’re able to rapidly move into the doorway and finally tranq the disorientated fae.
Ayo grabs my shoulder before I can try crossing the ward again. “Hold still.”
“We can’t wait any longer,” I say, trying to move around him. The need to get to Bryn is like a set of claws raking down my spine.
Ethan grips my other shoulder tight enough to hurt. “Hold position.”
Fucking fuckety fuck. I stay where I am, jaw clenched.
Ayo lightly touches my shield charm. “This won’t take long. I analysed the ward while all that was going on. I think I know what to do.” Less than a minute passes before he smacks my bicep, then shakes his hand out. “Done. Ow.”
“Secure the stairwell,” Ethan says to me as he steps up to Ayo. “Mine next, sweet thing.”
Ethan taps his earpiece and updates Skye and Kit while I carefully cross the ward. Cal and Jet hover just on the other side, ready to grab me back if needed, but my tiger growls and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“It worked,” I say, then tense as I recognise the scents of all four fae from Bryn and Milo’s flat.
At least that confirms we’re in the right place, although I have to resist the temptation to kick the bastards as I step over them all and race down the stairs then listen at the bottom, my back pressed to the wall next to the open door. There’s no sound of movement or voices on the other side, and I’m itching to get moving. Still, I hold position, ready to fire immediately if anyone comes through.
Fortunately, Ethan soon joins me at the bottom of the stairs, shortly followed by Jet, then Cal. As agreed on the way here, Ayo heads out to join Kit and Skye in guarding the perimeter—preventing anyone from getting in, or out. Although our young alpha-mate can definitely handle himself, he doesn’t really have enough training with combat in confined spaces, so Ethan wants him in a more open area. It also means Ayo can now adjust Kit and Skye’s shield charms as well, just in case.
The moment Ethan gives the signal, we move. I’m first through the door, rifle raised, with Ethan behind me followed by Cal, then Jet bringing up the rear. We’re straight into a long, narrow corridor with poor lighting and three plain doors on the right-hand wall.
Ethan signals for Jet and I to check what’s behind the first door. I give Jet a countdown, then we burst through the doorinto a room that’s empty of people. On workbenches there are dozens more of the swords the fae who attacked us were carrying, and on the other side of the room, boxes and packing materials.
“They’re not messing around,” I murmur as we move towards the door on the far side of the room.
“No shit,” Jet says in a low voice. “Nothing in here suggests these weapons were made in this room, though. This looks more like a packing station.”
“Agreed,” I say.
Even with Ethan and Cal remaining in the corridor to guard our backs, I don’t want to linger too long. Despite the weapons being the evidence I’ve been searching for since I started my undercover work, there’s no joy in the find. We have a far more urgent mission.
When we repeat the silent countdown and burst through the next door, we encounter two fae I don’t recognise, hunched over workbenches. Their wings are such a faded pale green that they’re almost translucent, masks cover their noses and mouths, and their dull eyes widen when they see us.
“BSG Task Force. Step away from the swords,” I say.
Rather than complying, both raise the gnarly swords they were sharpening and rush us, so we tranq them before they get close enough to test the effectiveness of Ayo’s strongest shield spells against fae craftsmanship.
There are more swords on the workbenches, although these vary in size and design, and there are whetstones for sharpening them. Since there are no other doors in the room and the fae will be unconscious for hours, we rejoin Ethan and Cal in the corridor.
“Two fae tranqued and more seriously fucked up swords,” Jet reports.
The next room on the corridor contains no fae, and seems to have been a storage room judging by the shelving. A quick searchturns up a single remaining grenade, painted vibrant purple for some reason.
I’ve seen hundreds of grenades in my life and I’m well aware of what they can do, but this time there’s a sense of the unknown. Was this the type of weapon that caused the explosion Bryn and I were both caught in? Or is it designed with different magic?
Jet picks it up. “This could come in handy.”
I sigh impatiently. “Put it back. We don’t know what it does.”
He carefully slips it into a pouch on his vest. “Emergency use only, I promise.”
