Chapter 16 · The Moon Almost Marks Her

The phone's still in my hand when the car door flies open.

Darius drags me out. Not rough, but there's no asking. His eyes are full gold now, no brown left, and the veins in his neck are black like ink spreading under skin.

"We need to move." His voice comes out wrong. Lower. Something else underneath it.

Kyle's already at the warehouse door, kicking it in. The lock breaks with a metal snap that echoes across the empty lot. He looks back at us and his face goes tight.

"How long do we have?"

"Not long." Darius's hand is on my lower back, pushing me forward. I stumble and he catches me before I hit the ground. For a second he just holds me there, nose at my hair, breathing in like he's drowning.

Then he shoves me toward the warehouse. "Go."

I go.

Inside it's all concrete and rusted metal beams. Moonlight pours through the broken roof in silver strips. I can see my breath. It's colder in here than it was outside.

Kyle slams the door shut and drags a metal shelf in front of it. It screeches across the floor.