"Run with me, Marlene - everybody. Or we all go down fighting together. We all go up into the light, together. That's the only way I'm going down that tunnel - as a team."
A low growl behind them made the group stop and turn fast.
"I tried to reason with her, too, Marlene. I tried to stay upwind from her," a low rumbled whispered. "Tried to explain what she was doing to me, but... she's so damned stubborn."
When J.L. moved a light near the voice, it was summarily flung away.
"Oh, shit... uh, look, Carlos, man - "
"Shut up, Rider! Go with her, if that will make her move. I'll watch your backs; you will immediately get your bloody, mangled team out of here. You're drawing more of us, and more of them to her - the longer you all stand and have a summit meeting in the f**king cavern about this!"
A section of the cavern wall gave way, and falling gravel and dirt made the team cover their heads.
"I can keep them from your back, but I can't guard your front," the voice said more calmly.
Heavy breathing echoed in the cavern, as the group remained still.
"Come with us, Rivera," the Templar said quietly. "You had faith that she could trust you, hope that you would vanquish Nuit... and love, or the Neteru could not be here with us, not without one of you being dead. Rivera, your choice is - "
"Move her, now, priest! Or I take her deeper into the lair zones. You'll find that choices are very limited in my world. Decisions are also swiftly made."
"Carlos," Damali's voice rang out, still refusing to leave without him or her team, "you'll be a sitting duck here for the Vampire Council. There's safety in numbers! We fought good together."
Two golden orbs in the dark disappeared and came back red.
"That cannot be a good sign, D," Rider said fast. "Let's not argue with the man. He's made his decision. He has serious issues. So let's get the f**k out of here."
"Wise choice," the voice rumbled. "All of you need to roll. Quickly. You're between a rock and a hard place - me at your back, and whatever at your front. You all smell like blood, and I haven't eaten all night... and she smells..." The voice paused. "Fabulous. Get my woman out of here. I'm not myself."
"We get the picture," Big Mike murmured, as the group began to move out. "Let's give boss some space. He's compromised - and it's real cool of him to give notice."
"What did you say?" Damali murmured as she walked toward the darkness, and Big Mike put a hand on her shoulder.
"Her voice is running all through me... Baby, go 'head. For real. You don't understand this craving... yet." The red glow disappeared from the darkness.
Marlene and Shabazz glanced at each other.
"Uh, people," Dan whispered, "I think that's our cue."
"Y'all deal wit your shit later," Shabazz said, his tone firm. "We be out."
"Big time," Rider yelled as the group backed up. "See, that's youth. People our age only gotta be told once."
"Leave him, D," Marlene said, as a growl came nearer.
"He's one of us - we don't leave our own! I saw him fight back there. He fought like a guardian. He didn't harm me. He was once a guardian, too, and it may not be too late! Carlos, listen to the Templar and come with us - "
"I'm not one of you, beautiful vision . . ." Carlos's voice echoed through the cavern in a low, seductive murmur, bouncing off the walls, now making it difficult to locate his position in the darkness. The intensity of it made the sounds beyond them go quiet for a moment, the way birds and crickets go still when a loping predator passes. "Damali, raise your sword, baby, before you have to plant it in my chest."
His voice was rendered at such a low, sensual octave of warning that the walls vibrated from the sound of it even after he'd stopped speaking. Wisdom instantly assaulted her, and she turned away from the darkness to quickly usher her team through the cavern toward safety - but her mind was left in an invisible corner as they ran, and she glanced back repeatedly hoping what was in it would follow. He was one of them; they didn't leave their own. Running as a small huddle, they turned after a hundred yards when they heard a fight ensue behind them. Loud snarls and snaps and screeches echoed behind them. Damali turned to head back.
"Leave him, huntress!"
Reality jolted her and they continued to run, now in a flat-out dash down the treacherous area before them. Hideous sounds were advancing, a loud cry rang through the cavern - it was male, it was low like a mortal wound... it was Carlos.
"No!" Damali turned again, but Big Mike held her, shoving her ahead of him.
"Push forward toward the light. You can't help him now - whatever's got him, got him!"