Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

114

Link skipped out of the house and ducked into his car, taking a shaky breath before he took off.

Rhett was out the door soon after that, his heart sinking into his belly when he saw that their vehicle was still in the driveway. Would Jessie have made an attempt to find the kids on foot? He really didn't think so. The feeling of his hackles being raised was telling him otherwise, and he hoped that he would find her. Before somebody else does.

Lincoln took Lily by the hand and they ran in the opposite direction of the downed wolf. Locke was hot on their heels as they wove their way through the halls, finding a maintenance closet, the three of them piling in without an issue. Lincoln shut the door and stood with his back to it, eyeing the two of them with his eyes wide. The weapons cast an ambient glow between the green and blue, enough so that they could see each other's faces. Once they were charged in the sunlight for a few hours, the glow will have more power to it. The silence bathed them in an eeriness as they kept their ears open, listening for any sign of the wolf on the prowl. There was no doubt that the wolf could smell their scent and find where they were, and they were just waiting for it to claw the door down and tear them limb from limb. Lily propped herself against a rickety table, crossing her arms over her chest.

Locke was pacing back and forth.

Lincoln rolled his eyes.  "Could you not pace, you're making me nervous."

"Well I'm nervous being in here with that ravenous killer! I have to do something to make my nervousness go away!"

"You making me even more nervous isn't helping anybody either!"

Lily narrowed her eyes, tuning out the bickering between the boys. She heard what resembled a scream and she slowly pushed herself away from the table, gaining the boys' attention. It was faint at first and for a second, she doubted whether she heard it or not. When the boys fell silent, the scream happened again and their eyes widened simultaneously.

"What was that," Locke whispered, and Lincoln covered his mouth with his hands. Lily arched an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. Whatever it was, it didn't sound human. Silence followed the screams and then they sounded again, Lily gritting her teeth. The shrillness of it made her teeth feel like somebody was picking in between them with a pick. Lincoln cringed.

"It sounds like somebody is being slaughtered," he pointed out, and Lily and Locke gave him a look. "What?"

"What if somebody is being slaughtered?" Locke asked suddenly, realizing the scream sounded like a woman wailing. They heard it again and it was much louder this time, as if the woman was right down the hall. Lily darted toward the door and shoved a surprised Lincoln out of the way, pulling the door open. She stuck her head out and looked to the left. That end of the hall was cast in total darkness, but when she turned her head to the right, in the light cast through the windows by the streetlights, she saw a small animal. She arched an eyebrow as she stepped out into the hall, but to the reluctance of the boys. They called to her as she approached the animal just sitting patiently at the end of the hall.

She cleared the distance between her and the animal, and she dropped to her knees, holding her hand out. The fox that sat before her nudged her hand with its long snout, causing her to flinch backward. She'd never seen a fox up close before, her eyes wide. She had only seen foxes in documentaries and pictures, but seeing one in person was absolutely remarkable. It was no bigger than an average sized full grown cat, with fur as soft as velvet. The color of its coat was a remarkable fire red, and when it lifted its head as she rose to her feet, she could see that its underside had white fur that contrasted brilliantly with the red. A darker shade of red formed an hourglass shaped mask on its face, framing its gorgeous amber eyes.