Page 109 of Ravaged Devotion

“Explosives,” Uriel clarified. “The modified bears were also fit with explosives.”

“I like my bits where they are,” Ellery drawled, winking when Rue caught his eye.

Ryker glared.

Ell laughed again.

“What I can do,” Uriel continued, ignoring their childish antics, “is turn off the fog machines.”

“You can?” That sounded appealing to Rue. “Once it’s cleared up, we can simply drive down the mountain then, can’t we?”

“I mean, in theory, sure,” Bowie said, “but what about the creatures? Just because the fog is gone, doesn’t mean they’ll go with it. Won’t they just charge us? They’re pretty big. If enough of them attack us at once, they could probably flip the bus over.”

“There are still two modified bears left.” Ryker rested his hands on his hips. “Even if the others leave or return to being docile once the pheromones in the fog clears, that’s still a big risk.”

“He’s right,” Uriel replied. “We considered that possibility.”

“Then what do we do once we clear the fog?” Rue sort of felt like they were saying they’d still be stuck at step one, just with a less debilitated view. “For the record, I don’t need to watch any of you die any more vividly than I’ve already seen everyone else go.”

“None of us are going to die,” Ryker told him firmly.

“You don’t know that.”

“Your cynicism is always a pleasure, Rue.” Ellery rolled his eyes at him, then said to his cousin, “I almost forgot how much of a Debbie downer he can be. You?”

“He’s practical,” Uriel said. “We need that. It balances out your unrealistic expectations.”

“What? Name one unrealistic—”

“Souvi Glass.”

Ellery’s face fell and his mood sourced instantly.

“These,” Rue desperately snatched a box off the single shelving unit, wanting to change the subject before a fight broke out, “are the drug, aren’t they?”

“We didn’t know it before,” Uriel said, “but yes, I assume so.”

“Did you open it?” Ryker asked them, holding out a hand and turning the clear box over when Rue gave it to him. There was a stack of what appeared to be clear stickers within. Nothing that would give away what it really was.

“No,” Ellery replied, though his tone was slightly colder now. “We assumed it was tape or something of the like and left it alone.”

“How do you know it’s a drug?” Bowie frowned at them.

“Found a clue.” Rue shrugged when his friend’s brow furrowed deeper. “Whoever comes into contact with one of those ends up becoming aggressive. We don’t know the exact timeframe the drug needs to enter a person’s system, but our guess is it happens sooner rather than later.”

“Most likely within an hour or two,” Ryker added. “But that still means someone has to actually place one of them on someone. My dad has been missing since he supposedly left to go fishing with Izan and Vance. Even if he was using these tunnels to sneak around, if he had to come into contact with a person to drug them, wouldn’t we have spotted him at some point?”

“What about that worker?” Bowie suggested. “I mean, aside from us, he’s the only one left, right? Fran? He ran up to the third floor with the rest of us yesterday, but I haven’t seen him since. Unless that monster got to him?”

“We didn’t stumble on his body while searching,” Ellery said, considering it. “He was with us practically the whole time.”

“Do you really think Hollis and Ishleen were the type to allow the staff to get close enough to them to touch their necks?” Ryker quirked a brow.

“Got a better idea?” Bowie asked.

“What about you?”

Rue shifted on his feet when Ryker set an accusatory gaze on Bowie.