any weapons or backup, she decided that being dragged underground by a shapeshifter was slightly better than being torn apart by another shapeshifter above it. The instant the back of her head pressed into the loosened dirt, she drew a quick breath, held it and closed her eyes.
For the first couple of yards she knew she was going straight ahead. Burke’s side and leg bumped against her, giving her a good enough handle on their orientation to know when they took a downward turn. Behind them the scraping of claws became a sound that rumbled through the earth. The Full Blood’s roar was a tremor that made every muscle in Paige’s body tense in preparation for claws to be dragged through her from above.
Cole had told her about the time when he was taken for a similar ride by the Mongrels in Nebraska. She’d wondered why he hadn’t been able to get away or grab at something to slow them down. Now that she was the one being pulled through the dirt like the tail end of an earthworm, she knew just how helpless he’d been. She quickly lost all knowledge of where she was, how deep she’d been taken, or even if her head was pointed up or down. When the sounds of the Full Blood faded, she couldn’t tell if they were too far behind them or if the lack of oxygen was causing her senses to dim.
Her chest started to ache. Soon she would have to draw a breath. Even if that meant filling her lungs with dirt, she couldn’t just suffocate without a fight. Her limbs twitched and her ears filled with the sounds of her own desperate grunts as every part of her fought back the urge to take a much-needed gulp of air.
The grip under her arms tightened.
Then her body moved forward even faster, making her think she was falling into unconsciousness. As it turned out, she was just falling.
The filthy cocoon of dirt was gone.
Her arms and legs were free to flail but weren’t organized enough to soften the impact when she hit a solid earthen floor. What little wind she had left was knocked from her lungs, to be replaced by air that stank of mold and the hint of exhaust fumes. Once the ringing in her ears faded, she could hear the chugging of a nearby motor. Opening her eyes unleashed a torrent of tears to slice through the grit caking her lids. She scrambled to stand up while swiping at her watering eyes, hoping she wasn’t going to knock her head against another low ceiling. Not only did she stand up without giving herself a concussion, but there were several feet to spare.
The room was supported by wooden beams lining the walls and ceiling with gaps wide enough for Salvatore to emerge from a wall like a leathery portion of sentient ground. Burke hunkered on the floor with his elbows resting on his knees and flipped the switch of his flashlight off. There was plenty of light in the room thanks to three bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling and powered by a generator against the adjacent wall. Pumps brought air in from outside through hoses that poked out of the ceiling at random intervals like headless snakes.
Paige’s eyes darted back and forth, up and down, soaking up as many details as possible. She figured the room was about nine by twelve feet and must have been several yards below the surface. Apart from the two diggers, two feline Mongrels lay on the floor. Two more paced the room on either side of her, visible only as ripples in the air. She not only spotted the distortions, but could smell the oils that bent light around the shapeshifters’ bodies.
“Where am I?” she asked. “Someone had better start talking!”
One of the felines lifted her head, which was somewhere between that of a tigress and a mole. A long rounded snout filled with needlelike teeth opened to form words that were colored by a buttery southern accent. “Or what, Skinner? You’ll fight your way through us?”
Responding to a subtle nod from the feline, Burke tossed Paige’s machete, stake, and Beretta. They hit the floor near her feet, kicking up a slight puff of dust.
“Go ahead,” the feline Mongrel said. “You’ll make enough of a ruckus to bring those Full Bloods straight down here, and if you make it through them after us, you’ll still have to tunnel your way out.”