Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance #7) - Brenda Trim Page 0,2

mindless like male skirm. We are here to help them,” Zander replied, echoing Gerrick’s thoughts. “Alright, move oot.”

Gerrick jumped into motion behind Kyran and Mack. Their group silently made their way to a stairwell that led down to the Underground. The area wasn’t ideal to face demons and skirm. They were entering the burned remains of Seattle and Gerrick had no doubt it wasn’t the most stable of areas, especially when considering a battle.

Gerrick recalled what Seattle was like before the great Fire of 1889. There were horse-drawn carriages and dirt roads, and there wasn’t this sense of urgency to get from one place to the next. It was vastly different from the city today. Then again, life in general back then was very different without modern technology. Gerrick enjoyed the easier way of life, but wouldn’t want to give up his cell phone and the Internet. Having information at the tips of his fingers was invaluable to their work.

The group made their way down weathered cement steps and Kyran paused at the bottom when Mack put her hand on his arm. “Don’t get dead, bloodsucker,” the inked female muttered.

Kyran smiled broadly and stroked her pink cheek with one finger. “Doona do something stupid, like taking on Kadir.” Gerrick watched as Mack smiled wryly and nodded. This was their version of ‘I love you.’ They weren’t the mushy type of couple and Gerrick was glad of that. The last thing he needed was to have it rubbed in his face of what he would never have.

Gerrick looked back over his shoulder and took stock of their group. Aside from himself, Mack, and Kyran, there was Rhys and the New Orleans Dark Warriors. Rhys was Gerrick’s patrol partner. Like Gerrick, Rhys lived at Zeum with the Seattle Dark Warriors. He was the jokester of their group, always pulling practical jokes on everyone, but Gerrick knew there was more lurking beneath the surface with Rhys.

The sound of metal screeching caught his attention as Kyran forced the door open and made his way into the building. The second the door fully opened the scent of mold and stale air hit him. Underlying it he caught hints of rodents, feces, urine and skirm. As they descended a flight of stairs, weathered cement gave way to newer wooden ones. The human authorities were often replacing rotted sections of the underground and Gerrick wondered why the humans hadn’t run into the demons before now. Kadir must be expending a lot of energy to keep his lair hidden.

The next section was very narrow, and they had to go single file. He noted the brick of the previous buildings was wearing away, and in need of repair. They passed several unrecognizable businesses, and had to climb over timber and other debris. What struck him as odd were the many old toilets and it was beyond him that humans left this stuff to rot down here.

Gerrick cocked his ears and heard noise in the distance and pointed in the direction they needed to travel. Aison, one of the New Orleans Dark Warriors, jumped over an old, faded sofa and disturbed a family of rats. Gerrick had to hold back his laugh when the warrior did a little jig to avoid the scurrying rodents.

It was a maze down there and difficult to maneuver at times, which were definitely not ideal fighting conditions. There was so much flammable material all around them that Gerrick worried they would spark the next devastating Seattle fire when they killed the skirm. Unfortunately, Gerrick didn’t see a way around using titanium blades on the skirm since it was the easiest way to kill them.

The scent of brimstone and death heightened, telling him they were close. Kyran held up his hand and they all stopped.

“The females are around the corner and down the hall,” Mack whispered.

Gerrick cast a silencing spell over their group and they crept on silent feet around the corner and discovered they were near the old steam baths. It was far less cluttered and it was obvious someone had cleared out most of the rubble, converting the space into living quarters.

Kyran opened the door and flattened against the wall, with the rest of them following suit. Gerrick wanted to laugh at what he imagined was a comical sight with nine large males standing flat against the wall as if pinned there.

Kyran poked his head around and his stance relaxed. They unfolded from the wall and Gerrick noticed that the business they were entering