and Idris safe—and he’d helped the rescue. There was only one thing left for him to do.
He shoved Idris at Mateo. “Do me a favor and take him. Please.”
“Um, sure. It’s the least I can do. Thanks for, you know, saving my life and all.”
Merlin shrugged as if it were no big deal. He let everyone go ahead of him, other than his father’s new ‘friend’, who brought up the rear. He held his weapon like he knew how to use it. But when the man turned his head to check out a side hallway for trouble, Merlin was gone in a flash.
* * * *
Alun could smell the blood the moment he entered the underground complex. It mixed unpleasantly with the overall musk of a place with too many bodies and not enough ventilation. It surprised him that Dracul had sunk to such deplorable living conditions. And it worried him that some of the warriors might have met their deaths shortly before he’d arrived. Except no, this was human carnage—had to be. The aliens left little behind when they died, other than dust. As a hybrid, Annika had a different scent as well, so that was a relief. He’d been unable to keep her within his sight. Finding her in this warren would prove difficult. As keen as his senses had become as a changeling, his ability to detect different smells was hindered by the many unpleasant odors permeating the complex.
“Jesus,” Damien said behind him. “This place reeks, and fuck, is that blood?” He pushed past Alun, his gun at the ready, and poked his face carefully into the first room they came to. “None of ours, thank you, God.”
“There would be nothing left for you to smell if they were any of the warriors.” He deftly avoided looking in himself. He’d seen too much death already in his lifetime.
“Oh, right.” They went carefully down the hallway. “Do you have any idea where she went?”
The ‘she’ being Annika. “No. She refused to tell me anything about her intentions. We’ve been over this before,” he reminded the boy. “Let’s concentrate on finding her and keeping her safe.”
Damien snorted. “Let’s just hope we don’t run into Will first. This is going to be very difficult to explain.”
That problem didn’t manifest, but as they approached an intersection of hallways, someone streaked past. Alun’s heart thumped in recognition before his brain caught up. “Merlin.” He ran the rest of the way and nearly collided with Craig. Relief flowed through him. Pointing the muzzle of his weapon downward, he threw his arms around the man.
Craig didn’t hesitate to return the hug. “What the… Do I want to know why you’re here and not back with the others?”
Alun pulled away and headed after Merlin as he spoke. “That was Merlin.”
Craig and Damien flanked him. “Yeah, I know. The little snot took off from me and now I have to chase him down.”
“He’s all right, then?”
“Oh, he’s fine, until I get a hold of him. I know he’s your kid and not mine, but I recommend a year’s worth of grounding.”
“I don’t know what that means. As long as he’s safe, have at him.”
“It sounds like a good idea,” Damien chimed in. “I’m going to recommend a similar fate for Annika.”
“Annika?” Craig glanced at Alun. “The trunk?”
“Yes.” He didn’t bother to elaborate. There was no point. They needed to find both of the children. There was no way the complex was safe yet. In fact, gunfire erupted in the distance. All three of them raised their weapons, although Alun feared that he would merely get in the way. Craig and even Damien were far better suited to warfare than he was. Fortunately they didn’t encounter anyone.
“I can’t see him anymore,” Craig lamented when they reached another crossway.
“We don’t have to.” Alun caught his son’s scent and was never so glad to have a body changed from alien blood as he was then. Of course, if not for the change, he wouldn’t have needed to go chasing after a son.
He tracked him down a hall and would have raced the rest of the way, except Craig held him back. “Hang on. See those?” He pointed to round, black things attached along the upper walls. “Those are security cameras. I was here minutes ago. Claude should be watching us, unless something has happened to him. He’ll let us know where Merlin went.”
Just as he said the words, the warrior, Claude, appeared around the corner at the far end.