Amber Silverblood: Rogue Wolf

Chapter Nine

Going back to the door we came in from, Dex fished a key out of his pocket and put it in the lock. I watched, interested, as the keyhole morphed around the key to let it fit, and when he opened the door...

My eyes widened and I took a step back. "No, no, no! Dex, are you insane?"

Majestic's corridor of doors stretched like an endless hallway in front of me, lined with every type of door imaginable. It was abandoned right then—or at least I hoped it was—and I reached to slam the door shut before anyone could wander by.

"Sugarsnout, relax!" Dex said, stopping me. "I've got this under control, all right?"

Biting my lip nervously, I backed down and let Dex step through the door. Reaching behind the door from the other side in a way that shouldn't have been physically possible, he rummaged around for a few seconds before producing a white lab coat.

"Put this on," he said, tossing it to me. "There's a rubber band in there too. Tie your hair back with it."

I did as he said. "So, you just happened to have a disguise ready for me back there?"

He shrugged as I buttoned up the coat. "I was hoping we could do this the easy way, but I came prepared."

I did my hair up, and found one of those weird shower cap things nurses wear in the coat's pocket. Slipping that over my head, I looked at the door nervously.

"Okay, but hear me out," I said slowly. "Why would I walk straight into Majestic's headquarters when I know they're still looking for me?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'hiding in plain sight'?" Dex asked. "Yeah, they're looking for you, but I promise that this is the one place on Earth that they're not looking."

"Even so..."

"Trust me," he said, taking me by the shoulder and pulling me through the door. "You've got nothing to worry about because I brought my secret weapon!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

He dipped his hand into my chest pocket, almost making me slap him, but when he pulled it out he was holding a surgical mask. Tossing it to me, he grinned.

"There," he laughed as I put it on. "I barely recognize you!"

"You are insane," I muttered. Still, I did feel better once I had my face covered.

Dex led the way out of the corridor of doors, which didn't take as long as it looked like it should have. Maybe it was magic, maybe it was an optical illusion. I didn't care. My skin was crawling like I'd given birth to a nest of spiders, and I couldn't stop looking around. We only saw one other person on our way to the elevator, but I kept my eyes on him and refused to blink until he chose a door and went through it.

"And where would ze young lady like to go zees morning?" Dex asked in a corny French accent, waving me into the elevator like some kind of chauffeur.

"Not now," I mumbled, moving to stand with my back against the wall. "Let's just get this over with."

He snapped his fingers. "Aha, ze mademoiselle weeshes to visit ze Department of Magical Biology and Zoology? Oui oui, of course!"

"If you don't cut that out, I'm going to ride this elevator right up your—"

"Okay, okay!" He sighed as he selected the floor he wanted from the incomprehensible mess of buttons that lined the wall. "Geez, you're no fun at all, Amber."

The elevator began to rise, and I crossed my arms, digging my nails into my skin. This was by far the stupidest thing I'd ever done. I had been to Majestic's headquarters several times before, but never in secret like this. Especially when they were actively hunting me. My heart was pounding like it wanted to break out of my chest, and I jumped at every small noise—and there were a lot of those. Dex, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed. And why wouldn't he be? He wasn't the one they wanted to lock in a cage and pump full of acid.