Page 83 of Wicked Curses
Cursing herself for letting things get this bad, she followed Elsa and Gromuck from the room. Before today, she had believed the threat Orin possessed was far more dangerous than the scarog beetles.
She’d been wrong. So very, very,verywrong.
A thick metal bar barricaded the front door. About thirty-five immortals had made it inside before it closed.
Gromuck and Elsa stood in front of an open door across the way. Immortals crowded around them as they tried to see what was inside, but Gromuck held them back.
Sahira pushed her way to the front of the crowd and stopped beside Elsa. She’d never seen this door open before but had been told it was a storage room full of food supplies and barrels of water.
More weapons were secured within, but Gromuck didn’t take those out. On her second day here, Elsa informed her that those weapons would remain stored inside unless something major happened and the beetles somehow managed to penetrate the building.
It had never happened before, but there was a first time for everything, and they weren’t taking any chances. They also weren’t going to hand out weapons to a bunch of immortals confined in a small space; only the workers got those.
Thankfully, Gromuck was stronger and bigger than everyone else here, including the lycans. If they all decided to jump her at once, they’d take her down, but there was no reason for that.
And Sahira hoped things didn’t get to a point where the other immortals might try something. So far, things had been well-ordered in this town, but situations like this brought out the worst in others.
Sahira’s hand tensed around the spear as she met Elsa’s gaze. The witch gave her a wan smile, but she sensed Elsa’s unease as she looked over the crowd.
Gromuck removed a barrel and some glasses from the room. She set the glasses on a barrel with a spigot coming out the bottom.
The orc locked the storage room and made a show of putting the key around her neck; it hung from a thick chain. “Food later.”
With that, Gromuck stomped back into the library. Sahira looked from the barrel to the locked door before also returning to the library.
Most of the immortals remained within. They settled on the floor, in the chairs, and browsed the shelves as they wandered the room. Boris remained at the table, engrossed in a book that would have put Sahira to sleep.
A small line was forming outside the bathroom, but at least they had one and they had supplies. That would keep everyone a lot calmer… or so she hoped.
Something crashed into the wall, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. A few other immortals released small squeaks and were startled, but most barely paid attention.
She hoped never to get that accustomed to this. Sahira gulped as something else bounced off the wall, and a beetle smashed into one of the shutters with enough force to rattle it.
Boris, never taking his eyes off the book, placed his hand against the shutter to stop the reverberations still rocking it. The walls rattled so much that something clattered to the floor.
A book must have fallen off a shelf or table, but the sound sent the scarogs into a frenzy. Their wings hummed as they battered the walls with increased fervor.
The scarog’s wings and feet scratched the walls and roof. Their feet clicked against the shutters as they sought some way to break in.
The interior walls are made of steel, she reminded herself.They can’t break through that.
At least, she hoped they couldn’t.
Sahira gripped her spear tighter as she stepped back. Everything in her screamed to run as her heart hammered, her palms grew sweaty, and adrenaline flooded her veins until she swayed from its rush.
She had to leave, but there was nowhere to go. They were trapped in this building and surrounded by creatures who would tear their skin off and devour every inch of them.
CHAPTERSIXTY
Her gripon the spear became slippery as the beetles scurried over and crashed into the building. More books rattled on their shelves, and another tumbled to the floor.
“Does this happen every time they come?” someone whispered.
“Yes,” Gromuck grunted.
Something crashed off the wall and sounded like it would break the building. Sahira closed her eyes and counted to ten as she tried to control the panic spiraling higher inside her.
Focusing on Lexi and Del, she recalled how she loved standing in the doorway, watching them in their chairs, reading together in the library. When they played outside together, Lexi’s laughter always made her smile when Del spun her in circles.
