Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3) (16 page)

“
F
uck
.” Vulgar, yet very apt Aria thought as the mad lizard with the bat wings came darting through the hidden door first, his hiss of excitement unmistakable.

After it came a canine creature much like Harold, who scuttled on all fours.

Behind them both strolled Merrill, hand outstretched, a little black remote in it. Of more concern was Ace, who staggered behind and held a tranquilizer gun.

She almost opened her mouth to accuse him of setting her up, except she noted Ace had the fingers of his free hand on his collar. His expression seemed tauter than usual. Even though she stood a few yards away, she smelled burning flesh.

Whatever Ace did now, it wasn’t willingly.

I need to fly.
She pulled at her inner eagle, willing it to come forth. But as before, her eagle refused to listen.

And Merrill laughed. “What’s wrong? Are your wings not working?”

“What did you do to me?”

“Something I do to all new test subjects. Inhibit your ability to change. A neat trick, wouldn’t you say?”

No, because it brought forth a fluttery panic and she couldn’t help but ask, “How long does it last?”

“Only a few days. I’ve yet to have my scientists perfect the formula. But never fear, it will last long enough to get you to our new installation where a shiny new cell awaits, along with your next dosage.”

She took a step back. “You won’t get away with what you’re doing. Too many people know about Bittech and the experiments.”

“I know. A shame. Packing up and moving is such a pain in the ass. But Parker’s promised me an even better location, one where I’ll have access to even more shifter genomes. Now be a good girl and come with me.”

“Never.”

“Ooh, a bad girl. No wonder Harold wanted you so much. A shame he slipped his leash and got impatient. But never fear, my faithful sidekick, Fang here will be more than happy to help me with my next round of experiments. My pet lizard, though, can only watch. He has a tendency of ripping apart his paramours. And you’re too precious to lose quite yet.”

Ice filled her veins. “I won’t let you do this.”

“You won’t have a choice.” Merrill smiled as he said, “Anytime now, Ace.”

Ace looked down at the gun, but didn’t move otherwise.

Merrill’s gloating expression turned sour, and she noted his finger holding down a button on the remote. “I said shoot her, you stupid fucking lizard.”

“No.” The single syllable was pushed out by the man with leathery skin. The whiff of roasting flesh tickled her nose.

In that moment, she felt sorry for him, and thankful. Despite the pain, he was trying to help her, and what was she doing? Standing around like a fucking idiot.

“Shoot her, goddammit.” Merrill blew spittle with his angry command.

“Fuck you.”

Not liking that answer, Merrill did something with his remote that drew a sharp gasp from Ace.

Body gripped in a convulsion, Ace couldn’t hold on to the gun. Hell, he couldn’t even remain upright. He hit the ground twitching.

Leaving Aria truly alone with a madman and his pets. His very, very dangerous pets.

“Grab her, but don’t damage her. We need her whole for what I have planned.”

“As my massster commandsss.”

Grawr.

“Like hell,” she retorted. The camouflage boat she’d untied had drifted a few feet from the dock. It didn’t take much of a leap to land in it. She thanked her lightweight, petite frame for it not tipping over. Although it was close. She waved her arms for balance as she adjusted to the sway and made her way to the engine.

She plopped onto the last seat on the boat as Fang came tearing at the dock on all fours, his barely human eyes wild with animal hunger.

She couldn’t look at him and start the motor at the same time. Besides, who wanted to look insanity and death in the eye?

A quick glance down and she noted the pull cord. Yank.
Whirrrrr
. Yank harder.
Whirrr
. A third and the motor turned over.
Rrrrr
.
Rrrr
. She slapped the throttle.

Vroom
.

The boat shot forward and just in time. There was a splash in the wake she’d just left as Fang leaped after her.

Hysteria at the situation made her wonder just how bad he’d reek of wet dog when he got out.

On the shore, Merrill stood waving his remote, his face a mottled red. “She’s getting away. Fly after her, you overgrown fucking lizard.”

The mad one flapped his leathery wings and lifted from shore.

As the boat gathered momentum, drawing her farther from the hillock, she couldn’t help a hysterical laugh and even waved bye-bye to Merrill.

She’d escaped. Fang and his dog paddle would never catch her. Merrill was stuck on shore. And if she could make it to the tree line only yards away, even his flying pet wouldn’t be able to catch her.

I’m free.
Free to tell everyone in the shifter world what happened beneath the floors of Bittech Institute.

A reckoning would come once she told the shifter world. Merrill and Parker might take off before the hammer came down, but no matter. They could run and hide, but those seeking justice would find them.

And I will help in the hunt.
They would pay for what they’d done.

A sudden engine noise had her craning, and she noted that a new man must have emerged from the open door on the hillock. The guard and Fang piled into the boat she’d set adrift. Damn Fang for grabbing it and dragging it back. Stupid dog knew how to fetch.

But she did have a head start and less weight in her vessel. What did chill her to the bones, though, was the shrill cry in the sky. The crazy lizard hunted.

Maybe he’ll get distracted by something in the swamp.

A vain wish.

A shadow swept over her. She didn’t need to peek upwards to guess what it was. She veered her boat under the concealing fronds of the boughs on a drooping tree and ducked low as she puttered through them, sharply turning a few times. As she guided her craft through almost hidden intersections, she fervently prayed she’d not only lose her tail, but also the eyes in the sky.

When she felt she’d gone far enough, she killed the motor and let it drift as she listened.

The hum of insects filled the air, along with the gentle sucking sound of water lapping at a muddy shore.

Then she heard it, the piercing ululation of a hunter overhead. Had it spotted her? She craned to look above. However, the heavy foliage screened her view. So where was the hunter?

She kept low with her hand on the pull cord of the motor, yet when a creature finally revealed itself, it surged from under her boat, tipping her into the water!

T
he discovery
of the scent revived him.

Finally a clue. Loping to the back of the truck, he grabbed the lip of the roll down and pushed. It went ratcheting upward, a noisy indication of his presence, which hid his gasp.

Within the truck he found boxes, stacked on top of each other, and a cage. A big, empty cage.

Princess yipped, drawing his attention. Turning, he noticed she seemed very interested in the utility shed at the back end of the loading dock parking area. A pretty big shed, actually, for the amount and size of yard tools this place needed. As he neared it, he realized the shed also hummed.

Perhaps Bittech kept a backup generator outside. Not unheard of, but of more interest was his dog. Parked in front of the closed access door sat Princess. She cocked her head and then pawed at the door.

The realization it required a keycard to open galvanized him. Throughout his search of Bittech, not once had he used the card in his pocket. He’d not needed to because that Bittech was just a front.

Sliding the plastic rectangle free, he popped it into the card slot. The light went from red to green.
Click
.

He pulled the door open and stepped into an empty room. The entire shed was swept clean, not a single lawn tool to be seen. But at the back, dull metal door gleaming, one elevator door—with a card slot.

“What do you think, Princess? Is this the secret lair?”

Yip
.

The card once again gave him access. The doors slid open, and he stepped in, the myriad of smells setting off a chain reaction of recognition and repugnance. Alien, lizard, simian… All the flavors were there, along with human. And was it wishful thinking, or did he detect a hint of Aria’s sweet scent?

The walls of the elevator didn’t prove exciting. Scuffed metal panels with a rail running along the back. No buttons here. Just a screen saying,
Please scan your access card
.

He flashed it and heard a beep. The screen changed and showed several choices. Instead of numbers, the floors possessed names:
Admin, Research, Holding.

The first option sounded as if it might have folks who would probably recognize he didn’t belong. Research would probably involve guys in white coats, if there were any left. It didn’t take a genius to realize Parker and his merry band were jumping ship.

Option number three it is.
Call it a hunch, but he’d wager that was where they kept their prisoners.

The smooth gait of the elevator didn’t let him know how far he sank, but it felt as if he descended a while. It made him wonder how the hell they’d built such a place and without anyone noticing. Then again, shifters were kings when it came to hiding.

As the elevator descended, anticipation churned in his gut. His fists clenched at his sides. What would he find? Aria was so delicate. It wouldn’t take much to hurt her. Or was she already gone? Taken away in one of those trucks.

No. He refused to believe he’d arrived too late. The belief didn’t dispel the anxiety, which, he might add, didn’t mean he was afraid or about to turn yellow-bellied.

Nothing wrong with caring.
And if you didn’t agree, he’d happily take you out to the swamp for a big hug until you changed your mind.

The doors slid open with only the slightest
whoosh
. Braced, he waited for someone or something to jump at him. But there was nothing to see, just an abandoned counter with a swivel chair on castors and the dusty rectangle left behind to show where a monitor used to sit.

Constantine walked the long hall lined with cages. Empty cages. Mostly. A few held misshapen lumps that emitted a foul stench. Others had blankets strewn in them. One cell even held an abandoned stuffed bear.

The scents stung his nose, the scent of wrongness. Alien. Fear…

At the bars of one cage, he stopped. Sniffed.

Aria was here.
This was her cage. The one he’d wager she escaped from before finding him. He spun around, horrified at what it all meant.

His dog whined, and he turned to find her standing before a cage. He ran to her, wondering if she’d found a clue, only to skid to a stop.

It seemed they’d not taken everyone. In the cage, something wrapped in a woolen blanket moved. A head lifted, the face covered by dank and stringy hair.

“Help me,” it whispered.

Constantine gripped the bars. “Do you know where they hide the key?”

“Help me.” The figure scuttled closer to the cage, remaining on all fours. Princess backed away, a low growl rumbling.

The alien aroma left a bad tang in his nose, but Constantine didn’t flee. It wasn’t its—or was that a her?—fault she’d become something less human. Something twisted.

He crouched down as she came close to the bars. “How can I help you?”

With a whip of her head, the hair flew back, and mandibles snapped at his gripping fingers. Constantine fell backwards, digits intact, but one of them oozing blood as the tip of her pincer mouth caught him.

The blanket fell away, and he could now see the true horror within the cage. Less woman, more spider, with stunted legs growing from her torso covered in bristled hair. Most horrifying, she maintained some human features, and a voice.

“Help me. Meat. Feed me. Meat. Hungry.” She cackled.

He shivered.

The pointed tips of her legs, covered in human flesh, jabbed through the bars, but Constantine, taking a moment to scoop his dog first, was already fleeing. They could take his fucking man card for running. No way was he sticking around this place. Not when Aria wasn’t here. He had to find her before they turned the woman he thought of as his into one of those things.

With his dog tucked under his arm, he returned to the elevator and hit the level above. There he found more signs of a rapid departure in the shape of doors left open, a few boxes fallen and a general air of rapid abandonment.

And in one room, Aria’s scent and a snoring body
.
Not hers, but that of a guard.

Aria had been here, and recently, too. Now if only he could follow her scent trail. However, the varied and frenetic mishmash of odors from the mass exodus overpowered her more delicate bouquet. A quick search of the other rooms down the hall didn’t find any trace of her, so he went up another level.

He exited to find more chaos. More abandoned offices with open drawers, loose papers, dusty marks of items taken.

But as he went down the hall, he caught a scent. Her scent. He ran toward the red EXIT sign at the far end. He pushed through the door to find another elevator. And then a cavernous room and, at the far end, another door and stairs. All along the way, her scent taunted.

He took the stairs in threes, bolting up them, urgency fueling his speed. At the top, he paused only a moment before slamming open the door and startling a man. A man he knew by face and name.

“You’re Merrill.”

“How did you get here?”

Constantine smiled, the chill smile of a predator who had cornered his prey. “Does it matter? Where’s Aria?”

“Gone. Hopefully dead, the problematic bitch.”

At those words, Constantine charged him. And once the man lay dead—
regenerate from that, asshole!
—he went looking for his chick.