“There,” Jill finally said, nodding to the next doorway. The building was low, only one story, made of prefab steel walls with a slanted roof. It might have been offices or storage. It didn’t seem to have windows.
I took a deep breath and still couldn’t smell Tyler.
We waited for what seemed a long time, but no guards appeared.
“Is it clear?” I asked.
Her eyes closed, Jill took a series of long, quiet breaths. “Two guys on the other side, I think. Human.”
“Armed with silver, no doubt,” Caleb muttered. “Door’s probably locked to boot. They’ll hear us coming no matter what.”
“There another way in?” I said.
“Other side,” Jill said. “But the SUV’s parked there. That door’s probably worse than this one.”
We still had no idea how many—or even what—we were facing here.
“I’ll go,” Cormac said, gathering himself to continue on.
“No,” Ben said.
I shook my head. “They’ll shoot you same as us.”
The hunter’s expression didn’t change. “We hit this door. I can give you maybe twenty seconds to get their guns away.”
“How?” Ben said.
“I’ll take care of it.”
I snorted. “Does Amelia have some hoopy spell for that?”
“I have lock picks. Amelia has the distraction. Assuming the wolf is right about there only being two guys.”
Caleb said, “Can you really get the lock?”
“What is it, a dead bolt? I think so.”
“Then Warrick and I will get the guards. You two”—he pointed at Ben and me—“stay put, cover our backs.”
Cormac nodded. “When I give you the signal, cover your eyes.”
I reached. “Wait a minute—” But the three of them moved off, and Ben held me back. It made sense from a tactical standpoint. Caleb and Warrick were bigger, tougher, and no doubt way more experienced fighters than we were. I still felt like I should have been the one on the front line.
“What’s he got planned?” Jill whispered. She was just a puppy—couldn’t have been more than twenty. She crouched, balancing on one hand, bouncing a little. I swore I saw the ghosts of pointed ears prick forward with interest.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Cormac pulled lock-picking tools from his jacket pocket. I winced—I could hear the scraping from here. The guards on the other side of the door would be waiting for them. They were all dead. I almost ran over and told him to stop, that we would find another way, that Tyler wouldn’t want anybody—anybody else—dying for him.
“Tell me he knows what he’s doing,” I whispered to Ben, who just shook his head.
Then Cormac nodded to Caleb and Warrick, who turned their heads, shading their eyes.
It happened quickly: Cormac kicked open the door, raised his hand, and a blinding white light flashed before him, floodlight bright, filling the room inside. The two werewolves rushed in. The sounds of fighting, a few meaty smacks, were brief. Cormac lowered his hand, closed his fist, and the light faded.
He may have picked the lock, but that spotlight spell was Amelia’s. The guards may have been waiting for someone to kick in the door, but they certainly hadn’t expected to be blinded in the next second.
“Brilliant!” Jill said. No pun intended, surely.