Page 76 of Moody as a Minotaur

“But…” That was the wolf shifter again.

“Follow me,” Levi repeated. “I can get us out.”

“Uh… Pow? What’s going on?”

“You said not to question what happens next a minute ago,” I said. “Now you have to do the same thing.”

At least until we were out of here.

Levi tightened his grip on my elbow and pulled me forward. I assumed he was going to the door, but I couldn’t see a thing. Where were the emergency lights?

My footsteps sloshed through the deepening water. When Levi stopped, I heard the squeal of hinges that reminded me of the sound the metal door had made when we’d been brought into the room.

So far, so good.

I expected lights in the corridor. There weren’t any. Funding was always a problem with universities, right? Maybe they weren’t keeping up with general maintenance because of budget cuts. I liked that reason better than the idea that the hunters may have sabotaged the lights to complicate our escape.

“Don’t touch anything. Try to make as little noise as possible,” Levi whispered. His words were barely louder than Fin’s panicked breathing.

Levi walked forward. I got the sense Levi wasn’t even touching the walls with his free hand to check where we were or where there were openings to other tunnels.

Although I still couldn’t see anything, in my imagination, we followed him to safety like an obedient line of little ducklings. I really hoped we all made it out, and that we didn’t lose one down some dark and unexpected drain. But if we did, I’d saved ducklings before. I could do it again.

“Hold on a sec,” one of the women whispered as we rounded the first corner.

“What…?” Levi started to ask, but he cut off his question when there was another whooshing sound, but this time it sounded like a blowtorch. Light flickered over the tunnel wall. I turned to look behind, but Levi was already pulling me forward again. And finally, our feet were no longer sloshing through water.

That was a good sign. One that I hoped meant that Levi knew where he was going.

Fin was still clinging to me. And behind us, I thought I heard more squeaky footsteps as wet shoes rubbed over the smooth concrete floor. I hoped those were the supes and not the hunters.

Man, I wished I had my phone with me. Having a flashlight, even if it was only the small pinprick of light from my phone, would be amazing about now. Of course, if we had a light, we’d be easier to find in the dark, so it was probably better this way.

I really hoped the assholes who’d brought us here didn’t have night goggles. University students wouldn’t have access to equipment like that, would they?

Levi slowed.

What was happening? What could he sense that I couldn’t? He squeezed my hand gently as if to reassure me. My whole body felt jittery, like I’d had too much coffee.

We waited. One beat. Two beats.

Then Levi was moving again, and I was right at his heel.

Lights flickered on. We were back to where we’dstarted the night, the place where Tammy had taken people’s phones and insisted that we wear hoods. No one was waiting for us. I glanced at the group Levi had rescued, because there was no other way to describe what’d just happened.

There were eight of us: Levi, Fin, the four young supes, the one woman’s human boyfriend, and me. We were all drenched. And the young people, even the ones who hadn’t shifted to their human forms yet, had wild looks in their eyes as they scanned the area for threats. The fire mage was trembling and crying. The shock of what’d happened was setting in.

“Thank God,” Fin whispered behind me. His hand was clammy in mine. Neither of us let go. “We made it.”

As if summoned by Fin’s words, an older man I didn’t recognize ran down the stairs toward us. He had gray hair at his temples and wrinkles around his eyes. I knew the university had mature students, but I doubted this guy was one. Instinct had me dropping Fin’s hand and shoving him behind me. As soon as I saw the gun in the older man’s hand, I raised my own.

“Stop right there,” I shouted. “Put your gun down.”

The man sneered and adjusted his grip on his gun. His hand was steady. This man wasn’t scared to use his weapon. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Before I could retort, Kyle burst out of the hallway we’d just used. Damn it. I’d hoped we’d lost the hunters in the tunnels. Kyle looked as surprised and dismayed to see us as I was to see him.

Now what?