“Here. There should be just enough room for you to squeeze through. But you’ll have to get down and crawl,” Nick said, nudging aside a sheet of steel barely held together by rust.
“Everyone up to date on tetanus shots?” Maggie asked, peeking into the narrow passage.
“I’ll wait for you on the other side.” Nick quickly scaled the wall and jumped down into the yard.
Leading the way, Maggie sucked in her breath and squeezed herself into the crevice. Once through, she struggled to her feet and gratefully exhaled. “I didn’t think I was going to make it.”
Waiting in the shadows, Nick directed them into a concealed vantage point.
“Do we know how many people are in the trailers?” Annie asked.
“No,” Nick said, “but I’m picking up at least four different scents, and one of them is Gina. She’s toward the back of the compound.”
“Great. That’s not going to make the rescue any easier,” Clara grumbled.
“I can smell you, bear!” Gavin shouted.
“I guess we no longer have the element of surprise,” Maggie whispered.
Nick charged the front door of the trailer and barreled right through it with the witches hot on his tail. The door splintered and crashed into the wall.
Gavin shifted into his bear form and tackled Nick.
“Shit!” Maggie yelled.
“Help! Help!” Gina shouted.
Annie swirled her wand in the air, quickly forcing Gavin back to his human form.
“What the hell!” Gavin growled.
Nick’s thick claws landed a striking blow on Gavin’s head. Blood sprayed through the room and landed on the walls as Gavin flew through the air from the force of the hit.
Nick turned and dashed down the long corridor in the direction of Gina’s shouts.
Just as the witches turned to follow him, three bears appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path.
“Fucking hell!” Annie mumbled. “I need to borrow some of your power for this one. Grab onto me,” she ordered.
Maggie and Clara quickly placed their hands on her shoulders. Annie closed her eyes, sucking in as much energy from her friends as possible without draining them too much. An arch of magic shot from her wand and into the chest of the three bears. Her magic surrounded them and lifted them off the ground. She aimed her wand and sent them slamming into the old shipping crates stacked around the compound. Their broken bodies landed on the ground with several sickening thuds.
“Geez!” Clara exclaimed.
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Maggie said.
“Yeah, well … that’s only going to keep them down for a little bit. We need to get the hell out of here before they heal themselves,” Annie said.
“How long do you think we have?” Clara asked.
“No clue,” Annie said. “So Romeo needs to hurry the fuck up!” she shouted down the corridor.
ChapterSeventeen
“Nick! What are you doing here?” Gina gasped as he barreled through the door. She tried again to move, but the ropes Gavin had tied her with were far too tight to move.
“Your rescue crew is here. Let’s go,” he said.
“Wait. You speak as a human when you’re in bear form?”