Truth. I could smell it, along with his abject terror.
“Do you trust him?” Madison asked. “They used the red ones like that on me.”
I nodded. “I don’t think he’s lying.”
She popped open the top of the green syringe, rolled up her sleeve, and jabbed it in her arm. “Here goes nothing. I want my magic back.”
She offered me the other, but I shook my head. I was suddenly feeling pretty damn good, all things considered. Actually, great. Had the inhibitor they’d given me boosted my magic, somehow? Or maybe they’d given me the wrong one.
“Why do they want me?” I asked.
The man writhed against the bonds, and I started to slip a finger into his eye socket.
“Stop! Your blood is special. I think it’s like his. Maybe he’ll use it to make more, but I think it’s something else. We’re not supposed to let the demons feed on you.” The man reeked of fear and piss, and I didn’t think it was me he was afraid of.
Madison touched my arm. “We need to go. We’re making a lot of noise.”
I pushed my face close to the man’s. “Where is my friend, the she-wolf you just brought in?”
“There’s a werewolf woman in 5B. We were told not to drain her, just sedate.”
My heart leapt. Sam was here.
“How do we find her and get out of here?”
He gave us directions to a lab, which had a door that opened to the main compound—our ticket out. If we could get to that door, we might have a chance.
I ripped his key card off his neck and shoved my shirt back in the man’s mouth as he squirmed. “Let’s go.”
Madison nodded. “They’ve moved me a lot. I think I can find the way.”
I shadowed her down the hall, glancing behind us to make sure nobody rounded the other corner. We reached the end and turned right onto another hall lined with rooms.
Halfway down, I stopped and grabbed Madison’s arm.
“What?” she hissed, alarmed.
I put my finger to my lips and inhaled slowly through my nose. The place reeked of mold, refuse, and neglect. But for just a second, I’d sworn I caught a familiar scent or signature. I concentrated as hard as I could, trying to ignore the sickly odors of blood and despair.
There. Recognition stirred in my chest, and I quickly moved down the hall to one of the doors. 5B. Sam.
I unlocked the deadbolt.
“Savannah?” a voice croaked. “What are you doing here?”
My heart froze.
Sam was lying strapped down to a bed. Her eyes were glassy. I crossed the room, undid her straps, and pulled her into a hug. Her body tensed, then slowly relaxed.
I scanned her quickly. She looked pissed as all hell but wasn’t visibly injured. “We’re busting out of here. You good to run?”
“I’m fine,” she growled, and grabbed my wrist as her eyes narrowed. “Billy is behind this,” she spat, her words laced with venom.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I know. We’ll get the bastard.”
Her fists were clenched, and she was visibly shaking with rage. “Let’s go.”
Sam jumped off the bed, and I noticed that she was limping. “You’re hurt.”