Page 46 of Hellhound AU

When I saw Ethel’s car, I texted Rowan that I was on my way. We left the university and headed out onto the backwoods roads. Ethel handed me a coffee, bless her soul, and we were chatting about the suspect. A few minutes after we started, Rowan sent me his location, and I sent a thumbs up emoji. It was still dark out, and when I looked out my window I had a moment to register another car without headlights on heading straight for us, then I was jarred to the side, spilling all my coffee before hitting my head against the side window.

19

Author’s Note:

My friend wanted me to let you all know that the coffee in the previous chapter was not, under any circumstances, pumpkin spice coffee. Pumpkin spice is, according to him, an abomination. So they were just drinking plain coffee. If anyone cares. And they’re both okay, I promise. I’m low-angst like that. No worries! Rowan will save everyone,but Betsy comes first. Or maybe Milo will save himself. Or maybe Ethel will save both of them. The possibilities are endless.

ROWAN

We finally pulled up to a dirt road that looked like it led to a cabin in the woods. What the hell was it with cabins in the woods? Was there some supervillain rulebook that said you needed a cabin in the woods in order to successfully commit crime?

I drove past when Sky pulled off—I didn’t want to be too suspicious, and there wasn’t really any traffic on this road. I made a U-turn partway down the street, though, and turned off my headlights. I debated driving up the dirt path, but I didn’t want to alert Sky to my presence. I pulled the car off onto the shoulder and partway into the woods, then I texted Milo my location and got a thumbs up in reply. I let him know I was following, and without waiting, I got out of the car and ran down the path.

Within a minute I was at the cabin; Sky had already gotten out and was inside. I had a weird feeling in my chest, and I looked back toward the road, feeling the urge to go in that direction. But when I looked back toward the cabin and breathed in, I could smell not just Sky, but also a fainter scent underneath. It was too similar to one of the scents in Betsy’s room to be dismissed.

Milo would kill me if I went back and something happened to Betsy. I knew that without a doubt, so I pushed aside the odd feeling in my chest. I wasn’t panicked, anyway—I just felt like something was off.

I briefly debated waiting until Milo got to the cabin to save the girl, because I knew he would want to be in on the fun. But that weird feeling was pressing me forward, and I decided I’d rather get this taken care of, even if Milo was pissed.

Subtlety was not really my thing, so I barged into the front door of the cabin, because I could smell that Sky was in the front room. He screamed when he saw me, and he was reaching for something, but I walked over and hit him on the head. I didn’t want him dead, but unconscious would be good while I searched the house.

The cabin was rustic, but it was decorated and had furniture. I searched the entire ground floor and eventually found a basement door that was padlocked from the outside. Of course it was a basement. It was always a basement. So predictable.

I didn’t bother looking for a key—I just used my hellfire to break the lock. When I opened the door, I heard muffled movement from downstairs, including the sound of a chain. I walked slowly down the stairs, trying not to appear too menacing. The scent of the human was frightened, and I didn’t want to panic her further.

I reached the bottom, and there was a small room off to the left. It was also locked, but it clearly wasn’t soundproof. The movement had stopped, though, so I figured Betsy probably knew someone was downstairs.

“Betsy?” I called out. “Is that you?”

“Holy shit,” she cried out. “Are you with the police? Oh my god, I’ve been down here for days. Please get me out of here.”

“Okay, Betsy. I’m gonna open the door. Don’t panic, okay?” I burned through the lock, carefully opening the door but notentering. I wanted to try and give Betsy as much autonomy as possible in her rescue.

When I looked in the room, I could see her chained to a metal bed frame with a cuff around one ankle. The room had a rudimentary set up, but it did the job it needed to. There was a sink, a toilet, and that metal bed frame with the chain attached.

I walked in, keeping my hands up and in sight. “I’m going to get you unchained, okay?”

“You’re not the police. Who are you?” she asked, looking frightened.

“I’m a friend of Mildred’s. She’s been worried about you,” I answered.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. Then the panic was back. “Sky, the TA—he took me. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“He’s unconscious upstairs. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

With that, I lifted the bed frame and unhooked the chain. I could’ve burned it off her ankle, but people tended to get a little weird when hellfire was that close to them. Plus, I didn’t necessarily want to let her know I wasn’t human. The girl had dealt with enough.

She seemed exhausted but not bruised or beaten. She started talking as soon as she was free.

“I was getting these emails, you know? I told my one friend about them, but I had no idea who they were coming from. She thought maybe one of my professors, but I thought there was no way. Then a couple nights ago—maybe two or three? I’m not really sure—I was in the lab working, and Sky told me that my professor was asking about me. I got kind of nervous and he noticed, and he offered to drive me home. He’s kinda odd, but it seemed like a nice offer, and I did feel better not walking across campus in the dark. Only when we got in the car, he hit me or something, because I blacked out, and then I was chained in this room.”

“Did he hurt you?” I asked.

She gave me a look. “I know what you’re asking, and no, he didn’t rape me. He was weirdly polite most of the time. He acted like I was his guest and was here of my own free will. If I said anything otherwise he just walked out, sometimes without giving me food or water. He said something about us being soul mates and how I needed uninterrupted space to work on my art. He’s fucking insane.”

“No doubt,” I commented.

“What if he wakes up while you’re down here? You better go check on him. In the movies, they always wake up, you know? I won’t feel safe unless he’s locked up.”