6. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

S eryn wasn't sure Todd would show, but he stood at the back door of the diner, leaning against the wall. Todd bit his lip and drew his eyebrows together.

When he saw Seryn, he straightened. Whatever worries plagued him were replaced by confusion.

"Thanks for coming, Todd."

"I would say my pleasure, but it's not like you gave me much of a choice. No offense, but you're a scary dude." Todd eyed Seryn's coat. "That thing makes it way worse."

Seryn smiled. He was glad the duster had the desired effect, although Seryn hadn't worn it because of the way it looked. It was practical, with hidden pockets inside the lining big enough for weapons of all shapes and sizes.

He'd packed heavy, knowing he'd need it because the visions hadn't let up. They came one right after the other until they stacked on top of each other. It was getting more difficult to discern the future from the present. In his confused state, he already knew he'd make a mistake.

He tried not to think about his mate. It helped keep him grounded to not focus on Mitchell. Whenever he did, he saw him in a state of duress, which sent Seryn down one rabbit hole after another.

He'd never felt protective of someone before. He'd been in survival mode for most of his life. So much so, it had taken him years to come out from under the weight of it. Daruss and the rest of the Dragon Skulls reminded him every day of how living was so much better than surviving.

"Show me the entrance to the tunnels."

Todd bit his lip right before he shook his head. "You promised you'd help me get out of my situation."

Seryn nodded. "And I intend to keep the promise."

"The door takes a code to get in. The code I use is specific to me. So, if I use it, Niall's gonna know it was me who let you in." Todd gave Seryn the once over with his gaze. "And no offense, my dude, but you look like you're gonna wreak havoc down there and like doing it."

Todd might be young, but he could read people correctly. Or maybe Seryn wasn't that hard to figure out. "That I will."

"I gotta make sure you're not just talking shit. Cause it could come down on me in a major way."

Seryn took a step closer, putting a hand on Todd's shoulder. "If something happens to me, go to Wingspan and find the Dragon Skull Motorcycle Clubhouse. Tell Daruss I sent you. He'll make sure you're protected."

The tension when out of Todd as he sighed. "Follow me."

They went inside the diner. The first door on the left led to stairs, leading to another door with a sign that said employees only and a keypad on it.

Todd's hands shook as he punched in the numbers. "When Niall has an event, a guard holds the door open. Another one takes a wand thingy and pats them down."

It appeared as though he talked when he was nervous.

Seryn said nothing. He just let Todd ramble.

The door beeped and then clicked, and before Seryn knew it, he was inside.

A vision slammed into him. The slight acidic smell triggered it. Mitchell's captors drugged him. He was nothing but blood and bruises as a guard led him from his cell. His hands were free. They didn't tie him. And he smiled as if he were happy to be walking to his death.

"Drugs," Seryn whispered.

Todd met his gaze with one of confusion. His voice was barely audible. "Dude. Shut up. Sound carries down here."

Todd was right. Seryn needed to be quiet. Seryn nodded in appreciation.

He hadn't been sure about Todd at first. He was a liability, but a minute into the mission and Todd proved otherwise.

The tunnels were made of brick pavers.

Seryn chanted, gathering magic. "Stay behind me."

There was less of a chance he'd hurt Todd if a vision confused him.

"You're glowing." Todd's eyes were enormous as he stared at Seryn, but he wasn't so far into his shock that he lost focus. He kept his voice at nothing more than a murmur.

"Sometimes I do that." Seryn sniffed the air, searching for any trace of Mitchell. He didn't have to meet him to know he'd recognize his scent. And with the amount of blood Seryn had seen on Mitchell through his vision, Seryn would react out of instinct.

Seryn let his fingernails lengthen, growing sharp and pointy. He thanked his vampire genes for them. His fangs dropped as he pulled up just enough rage for his vision to sharpen.

The flood lights were bright enough to show anyone coming at them, but it left shadows in certain spots. Seryn figured those spots were where the tunnel split, which meant someone could hide without Seryn seeing them. But his vampire vision would solve that problem.

They would also have to turn off from the main tunnel at some point.

The further they walked the more Seryn's chest ached when he couldn't catch Mitchell's scent. His stomach knotted.

"I take that tunnel when I see Niall," Todd whispered from directly behind him. He pointed to a tunnel on their right just ahead, out of his peripheral vision.

Seryn nodded. "They wouldn't keep the prisoners near him."

Seryn followed his instincts and went to where the air was damp and mildewy. Water dripped from the pipe above his head. The pavers changed to concrete and the walls to some other material. Steel maybe.

The tunnel became more utilitarian with valves on the pipes.

Seryn scented the air. "We're getting close. I can smell it."

"Dude, that's so weird."

Seryn stopped, forcing Todd to stop, too. He heard footsteps, but he wasn't sure where they were coming from. Sound echoed in the tunnels.

Seryn chanted and grabbed Todd's arm, pulling him back until they were against the wall. They'd blend in.

The man appeared just ahead, coming out from where the tunnel split off. He had a gun in a holster on his belt but didn't reach for it. It seemed he had some sort of mission.

Seryn met Todd's gaze and put a finger to his lips.

Todd nodded in understanding.

Seryn reached into his coat and pulled out a knife. He tried to be as silent as possible, removing it from its sheath.

Todd's eyes widened when he saw it. As soon as the man passed them, Seryn grabbed him from behind. He held the knife to his throat. He made a tiny cut on the man's neck, letting him know he could do worse if he didn't get what he wanted.

"You're going to tell me where to find Mitchell Burke." Seryn whispered in his ear.

The man grew tense, his body stiffening. He held his hands up, surrendering, at least for the moment.

"Who are you?" Questioning Seryn meant one of two things. Either Seryn had scared him, but not as much as he should be, or he was arrogant, thinking he had the upper hand somehow. Either way, Seryn didn't have time to go rounds with an idiot.

He ran the blade across his neck, hitting the jugular.

The guard panicked at first. He tried to hold the blood in, but there was too much. He lost tension, sagging against Seryn.

Seryn sheathed the knife.

It was only after he finished he noticed Todd pressed against the wall with a hand over his mouth. He shook as he stared at the dead guard where he lay on the concrete.

When Seryn grabbed his arm, he flinched and tried to pull away. "There might be more of them coming."

"You're going to kill again?" Todd stared at Seryn as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"I'm going to kill every single person who has ever hurt my mate." It wasn't a threat, but a promise. And he intended to keep it.

Seryn had to pull Todd along, but he eventually kept up.

"Who are you, really?" That it took so long for Todd to ask said a lot about Todd's survival mechanisms and it wasn't good.

"My name is Seryn. I kill people for a living," Seryn whispered close to Todd's ear.

Another guard came out of another tunnel.

A woman in a white lab coat followed him. "Niall knows I'm not a medical doctor."

"Yeah." The guard smirked.

"I'm a chemist." In charge of making some sort of drug to sell to the masses, no doubt.

"All we need is something for the pain. He needs to fight." They were talking about Mitchell.

Tears pricked his eyes. He hadn't felt emotion in so long. He wasn't sure when the last time was. Maybe when his foster father subjected him to one of his punishments. He still remembered what had happened the first time he'd cried. He'd never forget that level of pain.

If he let them, tears would fall. He didn't have time to dissect the reasons for them. He let rage take hold, but kept a leash on it, telling himself he needed the chemist and the guard alive long enough for them to lead him to Mitchell.

"How would I know what to give the poor guy? I could kill him, and I don't have pain meds."

"Your job is to make drugs. He just must be chill and alert enough to win the fight. Afterward, he could die for all Davorion cares. Davorion has a lot riding on him this time. More than every fight before." The guard turned to her and grinned. "I'm betting on him winning, too."

Seryn had a gun with a silencer in the deepest pocket. He held the handle with his free hand.

Todd stumbled, making a scraping noise on the concrete.

Seryn grabbed him, conjuring an invisibility spell.

The guard whipped around, pushing the doctor behind him. He had his hand on his holstered gun.

After not discovering anyone, the guard turned back to the doctor, and they started walking again. "Thought I heard something."

Seryn and Todd followed them until Seryn smelled his mate. Mitchell. My mate. He smelled like vanilla ice cream and strawberries.

But it was the blood that made Seryn go crazy. Visions flashed through his mind. Mitchell on his back, naked in bed. Seryn's hands on Mitchell's wide chest, riding him. Kissing. Seryn holding on to Mitchell from behind while on a motorcycle.

He shot the guard and the doctor through the back of their heads. The silencer didn't keep the sound perfectly silent. They never did. But it was nothing more than a puff as if he'd pushed air out of a tub at a high velocity.

Todd cried out, pulling his arm away from Seryn. He covered his mouth.

Seryn let him go. "Stay behind me."

Seryn wasn't sure he knew what was real or a vision, but he knew every single one of the visions centered around Mitchell. Nothing had changed from the moment Mitchell popped into his mind.

Mitchell fought with someone. Seryn wasn't sure who. He'd never met the person, but Seryn would kill him for hurting his mate.

Seryn shot at the person. But the scene changed when Todd yelled for Seryn to stop, that no one was there. But as soon as they turned right, he saw someone standing in the aisle.

Someone pulled a gun, pointing at Seryn, which told him the spell was gone. The man dressed differently than the guards, wearing a gray tailored suit. He was a vampire. Seryn knew because his eyes glowed red.

Davorion.

"Todd." He snapped the name out of his mouth, flashing his fangs at Todd as if he would use them to drain Todd's blood. His anger came through in waves.

Seryn got a shot off first. Davorion fell backward, hitting his head. He lost consciousness but he wasn't dead. Still, he wasn't an immediate threat either..

He focused on the cells. Mitchell was in one of them. Likely the one Davorion stood next to.

And there Mitchell was. He'd sat up, probably curious about all the commotion. When their gazes met, a vision slammed into Seryn. Of Mitchell carrying Seryn. Seryn felt the pain in real time as if it had just happened. Even though he knew it hadn't.

Seryn smiled even though the emotion he'd pushed down before welled in his chest, rising into his throat. He couldn't swallow it down. It stayed there, threatening to spill. "You cradle me when I'm in your arms."

Despite the bruises and cuts, and the dried blood on his face, he still returned the smile. His lip was swollen, so he lisped when he spoke. "That makes sense. You're an angel."

Maybe he knew Seryn was there to help. Seryn didn't scare him. That much was clear. If it was instinct that told him Seryn was no threat to him, Mitchell had good ones.

"You called me an angel."

"Seryn!" Todd's distress had Seryn turning in time to see five guards coming at them.

He shot two in quick succession and pushed Todd toward Mitchell's cell.

One of them returned fire. The bullet stung his right side, but he only registered the pain for a moment before he pushed it away.

He dropped the gun and pulled up his magic. His favorite thing to use was fire because he could call upon it with ease. He gathered fire as big as bowling balls, throwing it at the guard who shot him. He threw another, setting the fourth guard on fire. A gun went off again.

Seryn covered himself with a dome.

The last guy gave a war cry right before he ran at Seryn, pulling the trigger in quick secession. The bullets ricocheted off the dome.

Seryn waited for the guard to get close enough. When he was within reach, Seryn let the dome disappear. He pushed the man back with as much energy as he could. It sent the man flying backward several feet. He landed on his back. The gun clattering across the pavement.

Seryn was on the man before he caught his breath.

He smiled when the guard started fighting him. Seryn held a knife, the pointed end pressing against his chest right over his heart. "I took anatomy in high school."

"What the fuck do you want?"

"The keys."

The guard sighed. "I'll tell you. Just don't kill me."

Seryn smiled. "The keys."

"Right pocket."

Seryn pressed the knife into the man's chest. The shock was apparent, but terror replaced it and then he gurgled as the blood left his heart.

Seryn pulled the knife out, wiping the blade across on the guy's pants as he dug through his pockets and pulled out a set of keys.

He brought them over to Mitchell's cell. "Which one?"

It was clear Mitchell was in pain as he stood next to the cell door. "The second silver one."

Seryn unlocked the door and then handed the keys to Todd. "Let the others out."

Todd nodded, taking the keys.

Mitchell exited the cell, limping a bit as he stepped toward Seryn.

"Are you hurt?"

"The bullet grazed me." Seryn was pretty sure of that but couldn't be one hundred percent certain because he hadn't looked. It stung but didn't cause him pain beyond that. "You?"

"I'll need a doctor." The need for medical attention made the situation more urgent. Seryn knew it was the case but something about the confirmation clouded his thoughts.

Seryn nodded.

Mitchell met his gaze as if he were studying Seryn. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kamden Lange. Everyone calls me Seryn. Your brother sent me." Sort of. Daruss sent Seryn on Jude's behalf, so it was the same thing.

"Jude?" Tears gathered in Mitchell's eyes. "Is he safe?"

Seryn nodded. "We can call him and confirm. After we get out of here."

Seryn put an arm around Mitchell's waist for support, leading him back the way they had come.

Todd followed with the others.