TOXIC BLOODLINES: PARADISE - BOOK 2/4

SQUARE ONE

ELENORE

If someone had told me all this was under my childhood home, I'd never have believed them.

I followed Sara down another flight of stairs. This one took us to a warehouse. Tall shelves of artifacts were stacked up to the ceiling.

"And all this is just here? Nobody knows about it," I asked Sara.

"Oh, people know about it, but they aren't stupid enough to try and break in. See those guns on the walls?" Sara pointed out.

I flinched, "Oh my god."

"Relax, they won't go off. Your face is in the registry, but I can still tell them to shoot," Sara added. "Nobody but Ian and I can be in here without our explicit permission. Even flies."

Hearing that helped me calm down a little, but I was still paranoid. It was like walking through the hidden room at a museum where the real treasures were kept. It had that dusty smell.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sara stopped me from reaching for a ruby-encrusted necklace on a shelf.

Startled, I pulled my hand away when I noticed the strange glow within the stones. "When did you guys build all this?" I caught up with her. "And how the hell could you guys afford it?"

Sara dragged out a dusty crate from the lower shelves and blew the dust off. "We rescued a lot of cats from trees," she answered sarcastically, giving me nothing.

"But where did the money come from? Last time I checked, my dad's not 'Let's build an underground military base' rich. Who is funding this? Do you work for the government? Am I standing in Area 52? What is this?"

Sara stopped. "Let's just say some powerful people would rather have the other monsters out of sight," she vaguely answered, cracking the crate open.

"Hol up, other monsters? Like plural?"

"Wendigos, ghosts, demons but you already know that. Vampires, rabid Faries, Jinn's, Dark elves, goblins, chupacabras, mermaids, man-eating unicorns, Zombies, etc.," Sara casually listed.

"What?"

"Yeah, Cascadia Verde is crawling with all kinds of monsters. And they aren't hot like in the movies, well some of them are. I got involved with two vampire brothers with a jealous ex who tried to kill me."

"What?"

"And then Ian killed them both, this was the year we broke up. 2020 was a shit show," Sara continued.

"Again, what?"

"Oh, and we had a Lycan run through here recently... he was sweet, but a fucking menace. Edgar's still here, in our holding facilities," she went on.

"You're lying."

She pushed off the lid on the crate. "I'm just messing with you... or am I?"

I rolled my eyes. "You play too much," I walked toward the crate and looked inside. "Black salt?" I asked. The container was packed to the brim with it.

"It helps block its energy and keeps it hidden. After the mines, we had to take precautions. Can't have Kim breaking in here and stealing it, again," Sara answered, digging into it before pulling out the infamous book. She blew off the salt grains, and I took a step back. The lights flickered when she pulled out the key. "Wow."

"Make it quick. See what you need to see, then put it back," I told her, feeling the strange energy that radiated off the book tingle my skin.

Sara had her hand on the cover, about to open it. She hesitated. "Mr. Stevens told me I had to give it to Kim, what if she was the one supposed to unlock it?"