I’m somewhat fishing for a reaction from Joe so I can gauge if I need to panic or just chill the fuck out. This is Joe, my buddy. So what if he’s chattier than I originally thought? He’s still my big, lovable teddy bear. I hope.
My thighs burn as I follow him up the steep steps, my shoes clapping over the uneven stone. “I don’t think this staircase is to code, Joe,” I pant, as the steepness of the steps never ends. The lighting is terrible too, and there’s no railing, so I have to steady myself on the cold stone wall beside us. “Fuck, how much farther?”
“You should exercise more,” he tosses over his shoulder, his breath not at all ragged. I don’t know how a dude that’s nine feet tall and looks like he’s made of solid rock doesn’t get winded from this.
I’m about ready to ask him to carry me when we finally reach the top, where yet another door is being propped open. Joe goes out first and then holds it for me as I follow, my eyes squinting at the windy night air. It’s just past dusk, the first of the stars starting to blink to life.
Frowning, I look around. We’re on some part of the prison’s roof. I can see the backs of gargoyles and spires peeking at the edge, and gravel crunches beneath my shoes as I come to a stop.
“Uh, Joe? Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re coming.”
More prickles of unease begin to creep down my neck, and alarm bells start ringing in my head. I should’ve made a run for it when he spoke his first word, but I have no idea where I am. I try to talk myself down. This dude mostly grunts and eats rocks. He’s in Zen’s squad, and Zen wants me for her own plans. There’s no way he’d hurt me and risk her wrath.
I slowly turn to face him and mask all of the panic that’s surging through my veins. “Where’s Zen?”
Joe ignores me, his heavy steps making the roof creak ominously as he walks to the edge and kneels down at the back of the dormer-looking stone wall. Slipping his finger through what I thought was just an eye-hook stuck into the wall, he twists and pulls, and my eyes widen when the small dormer wall swings open.
“About fuckin’ time,” a deep voice says from the shadows.
My feet back up instinctively as I watch three figures emerge, crawling out of the space before they step onto the roof and straighten up.
All three of them are males I don’t recognize, but I do recognize their scent. They’re sigbins. Like vampires, they drink blood, but sigbins only do it out of vengeance, not a biological need. Their legs are slightly bowed, and when they’re hunting, they walk with their head between their legs. Backward.
It’s fucking weird.
They have big, floppy ears on the sides of their heads and each has a tail like a leather whip. They also smell like ass.
Sigbins only live in small groups, mostly because they have petty fights where they kill each other a lot. They can be vicious, but they’re also dumber than doornails. There’s no reasoning with them.
“Fuck,” I curse, my back hitting the closed door. My hand closes around on the handle, and my body tenses, getting ready to run for it.
At the sound of my voice, all three of the sigbins look over at me. The one in the front with greasy black hair cocks his head. “This the one Alpha Bowen wants?” he asks, his grotesque fangs hanging out past his bottom lip. He looks like the offspring of zombie Dobby and a wild boar.
My eyes fly to Joe, and betrayal douses me like I just got hit with a bucket of ice water. So Joe is the one that took up Alpha Asshole’s bounty offer to steal me? Motherfucker.
While I’m distracted, the door at my back suddenly swings open on me, sending me pitching forward. I nearly eat shit, but I catch myself just in time and turn to look at who just joined us on the roof.
“Zen?”
Anger rises in me. Zen was in on this too? Goddammit, prison squads are supposed to be sacred! I expected much better loyalty than this from my co-criminals. Yeah…okay. In hindsight, that was probably not so smart on my end.
She starts to walk by me, but right as she passes me, she turns her head and speaks