Therian Promise(65)
“We both know what will happen if you put them away dirty.”
He shuddered. “Definitely don’t want to go through that again.”
“What happened?” She whispered the question to Kyle, but again Ian answered. Damn the man had good hearing.
“I ignored several small wounds and just absorbed my wings. The next time I unfurled them they were both infected and excruciating. Worse, I couldn’t absorb them again until they healed completely, which meant I was cooped up for almost a month.”
“It’s a raptor thing,” Kyle told her. “If the rest of us are injured in one form, generally shifting to the other eliminates the wound.”
“It works that way with me too if I transform into a bird,” Ian corrected. “It’s only the partial shifts that are tricky.”
“It’s not that I’m not entertained,” Payne cut in, “but I do have other responsibilities.” He looked at Ian expectantly. “Why have you summoned me?”
Erin finally pronounced Ian’s wound clean. He furled his wings then slowly absorbed them. “Give me a minute to change and I’ll explain everything.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Erin asked their newest guest. Payne shook his head so she joined them at the table.
Ian returned a few minutes later in dry clothes, damp hair returned to some sort of order. He picked up the backpack and brought it to the table unzipping it as he began. “I entered the exact location into the GPS so we can use it to find the place tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? They were going to raid the mysterious complex tomorrow? Dread washed over Ava. Even if she weren’t directly involved in the raid, everyone else would be in danger.
“I took pictures of every room visible from the outside and I’m sure we can extrapolate the missing spaces. There are three teams of two guards. They rotate between interior and exterior positions with six hours off in between.”
“Where do the guards go when they’re off duty?” Quinn asked.
“The barracks are connected to the vehicle shed. I got a look inside the shed at one point and saw two Jeeps, several ATVs and various maintenance equipment.”
“So, we take out the guards two at a time and—”
Ian stemmed Quinn’s suggestions with an upraised hand. “Hear the rest before you plan a strategy.” Quinn nodded, but tension arced between the two.
Do Quinn and Ian dislike each other? She looked at Kyle.
Long story. I’ll tell you later.
She nodded and returned her attention to Ian.
“The upper level is living quarters, the ground level offices and laboratories.”
“Laboratories?” Erin sounded surprised. “As in microscopes and test tubes?”
“Yes, and pretty damn sophisticated from what I could see. I’d convinced myself we were wrong, that this place has nothing to do with us, then Osric stepped out of the elevator.”
“Are you sure it was Osric?” Quinn asked the question they were all thinking.
“You tell me.” Ian pulled a camera out of his backpack, scanned through several shots then slid it across the table to Quinn.
“That’s Osric.” Quinn handed it to Erin who looked at the picture then handed it to Kyle.
“Unbelievable,” Kyle whispered under his breath.
Ava had no clear memory of Osric’s appearance, so she didn’t bother looking at the picture, wasn’t sure she was ready for all the feelings his image might unleash. “You mentioned an elevator. Is there an underground level?”
Ian nodded. “I’m pretty sure there is and I’m just as sure that whatever they’re protecting is kept down there.”
“Is Osric working with the Abolitionists?” Carissa rubbed her upper arms, clearly upset by the possibility.
“I can’t imagine what he would gain by indulging those lunatics,” Ian said. “I think it’s more likely this is something else entirely, a threat we were unaware of before.”
“Wonderful.” Erin sighed. “Devon may or may not be missing, Jake’s sisters have been kidnapped, and the Abolitionists harass us at every turn. The last thing we need is a new enemy.”
“We can’t ignore this.” Ian scooted closer to the table. “I’m just guessing at this point, but it’s a pretty educated guess. Osric is obsessed with the possibility of creating a true Therian. He failed on his own, so he’s recruited humans to help him.”
“Or the humans recruited him.” Kyle’s anxiety spiked, rippling across their link and setting Ava on edge. “I don’t think Osric has the connections to set something like this in motion. A secret lab in the middle of nowhere guarded by men with automatic weapons? Sounds military to me.”