York followed the direction of his gaze. “Great idea—but those are closed to everyone except the ruling class. And I’m pretty sure they’ve marked you off the guest list.”
Rhane knew York was right. But the whisper urged him forward.
Go
.
“York, carry Kalista. We’ll move faster.”
He went toward the towers built in the likeness of Primes. One looked to the heavens, calling out to Warekin ancestors. The other Prime, he who was killed in the massacre, held a protective gaze over the city. The tunnels were sealed and the city abandoned not long after his death.
The three men moved as fast as possible while maintaining stealth. They had to remain invisible for as long as possible. Reapers were in the city, fanning out, trying to surround them. Rhane used every alleyway and shortcut he remembered to prevent that from happening. He signaled to York and then scrambled up and over the remains of a well-fortified wall. War followed. York climbed to the top and peered over. Landing that while carrying Kalista would be tricky. Hurting her simply wasn’t an option.
Rhane called up softly, “Give her to me.”
York nodded and dropped her into Rhane’s waiting arms. He made the catch expertly, forming a cradle to absorb the momentum through his arms and shoulders. Inhaling her scent, he swallowed hard and couldn’t resist pulling her to his chest for a moment to feel her heart beat solidly against him.
York landed lithely next to Rhane. “I hope this works.”
They had entered a Courtyard of Primes. The barren, rocky soil bore not even a shadow of the sanctum’s former glory of lush grass and flowering gardens. Rhane led them to the nearest statue and halted at the base. He was unsure of what to do next. War and York waited quietly.
“Take her.”
York nodded, slipping Kalista from Rhane’s arms.
Rhane studied the stone surface, running his hands across the immense head, then down through the neck and shoulders. It was hard to shut out the whispers of the horde moving about in the ruins. Gabriel bellowed again, far hungrier than the rest.
Long dormant defenses responded in Rhane’s body. White fur rippled across his forearms. His vision sharpened tenfold as his eyes transformed to something less human. Rhane restrained the partial changes and calmly reversed them.
“Rhane, buddy, we got a lot of action headed our way,” York said tightly.
He was right. From the sound of things, Reapers were almost on top of their position. Their moans and whispers came from all directions. In seconds, the Warekin would be fighting tough odds to stay alive. Rhane shoved the thought aside, moved on to carefully examine the wall of rock that made up the fourth pillar of the sentinel’s hind quarter. A groove between two panels showed itself to him. Pulsing blue light illuminated the seam.
The voice spoke again.
Blood
.
Rhane slipped a knife from his boot and used the serrated blade to slit his palm wide open. Blood spilled from the gash, pooling in his hand. Hot droplets spattered on the cool earth.
“As soon as we get back, assuming we get back, I want you to talk to someone.” York was only half kidding.
Moving the bloodied left hand across the pillar like a brush, Rhane painted the seal red. The stones brightened. Symbols of the old language appeared, rising from the statue as if beckoned forth by some unspoken command. Rhane heard a noise, stone grinding against stone, and more blue symbols appeared in two vertical rows. The columns parted. A tiny crack at the foot of the statue widened to become a gaping hole. The dark crevice led down into the earth and beneath the city. No one made a move. York and War seemed entranced by the blue light.
“Get inside!” Rhane yelled. Kalista, cradled safely within York’s arms, was beginning to stir.
A noise above them made Rhane’s head snap up. Too late. He met the Reaper’s furious eyes a split second before it lunged. Four hundred pounds of predator landed on top of him, growling and snapping at his face. The smell of it was rancid, like rotting eggs and vomit. Rhane twisted so the weight of the animal collapsed them both into the passageway. He felt the sharp angle of every step of the two flights he and the Reaper tumbled down. Landing solidly at the bottom, the impact flung them apart. Rhane recovered first and was on his feet in a flash, pumping the remaining bullets into the Reaper’s chest and head. It went down and didn’t move again.
He moved away until his back touched the wall. It took him another second to appreciate he was in absolute darkness. York called out from deeper within the passageway.
There was a bit of humor in his voice. “I’m coming up on your right. I’d say don’t shoot, but I doubt you’ve got anything left to shoot me with.”
“I still have a knife.” Rhane slipped the expended pistol back into its holster.
York sniffed the air. “Well, we won’t have to worry about this thing for the foreseeable future. And you’re still bleeding.”
Rhane flexed his hand. “It’s healing.”
“Kali is coming around.”
“Good.”
York shifted uneasily. “How did you know this would work?”
Rhane looked where he knew York’s face would be had there been any light to see it. “It was something I’m not sure I understand.” He paused thoughtfully. Not wanting to take the chance that Kalista could be awake and listening, he shook his head. “We’ll talk later.”
“Fair enough,” York agreed. “But did your spider sense show you the way out of here too?”
Rhane walked away without replying. York called after him, “Seriously.” At least York was joking again. It was a good sign. The big guy’s relaxed manner meant the immediate we’re-probably-all-going-to-die danger had passed and things were unlikely to get worse.
“Even we can’t see down here without a luminary source of some sort,” Rhane said, addressing the most pressing issue. “We need to find light.” He continued toward the scent of Kalista. She was just ahead. He tried not to think of how little air flowed down in the tunnels or how tight of circles the currents moved in. York spoke at the right moment, redirecting those thoughts.
“I smelled ignitable materials over this way. Maybe there were torches left behind. Let’s feel around and see if--” He didn’t finish the sentence because a torch lit, breathing light into the darkness. Another lit as Rhane walked past…and then another. Rhane stopped.
York frowned. “That’s weird. Are you doing that?”
“Not consciously…”
War looked up. He was grateful for the light no matter the cause. “What happened to our company?”
“I took care of the one that followed me down. The doors closed as we fell. Nothing else got through.”
The younger kin visibly relaxed. “How do we get out of here?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Rhane, there’s something you should know.” War stopped, looking slightly troubled.
“What is it?”
“I saw River. He was on the plane.”
“Are you certain?”
“He was unmistakable.”
Rhane knelt beside Kalista. Her eyelids fluttered. “War…we’ll deal with that later.”
“Good idea,” York said. “I think she’s about to freak out.”
“She’s not going to freak.”
“If she doesn’t freak, I’ll do the repairs for the entire east wall of the manor.”
“York, she’s fine.”
“Come on. Let’s say she screams a tiny bit. What are you giving up?”
“That moped I was going to get you will be upgraded to a compact car.”
“You cheap--” York began but didn’t finish as Kalista sat up, going from semiconscious to wide awake in an instant. She scrambled away from them, kicking up dust. Her eyes were wide with unfinished fright from an earlier encounter. The torches expanded in a burst of intensity as if someone had stoked a fire. Changing from orange to an unnatural grey, the flames pulsed methodically.
“Whoa,” York breathed. “Her trick is way cooler than yours.”
Rhane kept his attention on Kalista. His voice remained low and gentle. “It’s okay. It’s Rhane. You’re with me now. And you’re safe.”
Her chest expanded rapidly with shallow respirations. The sound of her heart thudded in his ears. Her lips parted.
“You’re safe,” Rhane repeated firmly.
“There was a m-monster,” she stammered.
“He’s gone.”
She looked at him. Recognition flooded her eyes. Rhane could see the tears she held back, tears best shed later. He waited quietly, afraid to say anything that might break down the dam she was trying so hard to build. If Kalista fell apart, they would be stuck underground that much longer.
Her glance flickered over his shoulder to where War crouched out of the way. “I saw that boy on the plane. And then on my balcony.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And I think I saw him change…from something else. It wasn’t human.”
Rhane turned and glared at War. The boy looked very contrite. Mouthing “sorry,” he stood and repositioned himself out of Kalista’s line of sight. Rhane looked back at Kalista. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
The conviction in her response made him smile. “The boy is with me. That means you can trust him.”
She nodded. Some of the tension and all of the fear left her features.
“Can you stand?”
“I think so.” When she wobbled with the effort, Rhane leaned in to steady her. She looked around with more than a little confusion. “Where are we?”
He grimaced. “Underground. These are hidden labyrinths beneath the ruins.” He removed a couple of torches from the recess in the wall. The flames were of normal intensity and color again. Handing one to York, he kept the other and faced Kalista. “We need to get moving.”
Behind him York muttered, “That totally counted as freaking.”
Chapter 43
Kali walked next to Rhane, feeling embarrassed because he’d had to come to her rescue yet again. Even chicks in movies didn’t need saving this much. Her mind reeled with events of the night. There hadn’t been much time to process any of it. Her terrible nightmares had become a crazy, life-threatening reality. Horrible creatures were hunting her. Mack had made a black market deal to sell her. Now he was dead and so was his mistress. Defensive moves Kali hadn’t known she possessed had come to her like second nature. A fire bomb had propelled from her freaking fingertips after appearing out of thin air. Now she was in a top secret passageway. And the boy walking ten feet behind her was human only on a part-time basis.
The tunnels were seriously creepy. Light from the torches cast odd shadows, creating an eerie ambiance. Add to it the strange quiet. Only the sound of their footsteps, or rather,
her
footsteps resonated in the silence. She was the only one in their entourage who made noise as she walked. But in comparison to everything that had happened, Rhane, York, and Warren’s ability to move like ninjas rated very low on the scale of weirdness.
There were so many questions to ask. Kali wasn’t sure where to start. She wasn’t even sure if Rhane would answer any of them. She wasn’t sure if anyone knew where they were going. To her, everything looked the same. Her companions seemed confident. Then again, Rhane always appeared certain of himself.
“How did you know where to find me?” she blurted.
He glanced at her with a secretive smile. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you since that night at the theater.”
She thought that over for a second and decided Rhane’s stalker confession was harmless. So far he had done all the saving and none of the endangering. “Do you know why those things are after me?”
“Honestly, no.” After a pause, he asked, “What were you guys doing out here in the middle of the desert anyway?”
Kali let out a long breath. “My boss acquired a rare artifact. He came here to sell it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you usually accompany him on such risky business ventures?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I mean, I’ve traveled with him before on digs, but usually the selling and trading he handles alone…or with Wesley.”
“What made this time different?”
“I don’t know. Mack wanted me to come. He said the buyer asked for me specifically.”
Rhane looked doubtful. “And your parents let you go?”
“Wesley talked to Lisa. He must have been convincing because she said yes.” Kali shrugged.
“How long have you known Wesley?”
“Since I was a little girl. He said it was okay. And I trusted him. That’s why I’m here.” Her lip quivered. “Shannon, the intern who was with us, said they had arranged to sell me.” Rhane’s eyes seemed to change to an entirely different color. Kali brushed it off as a trick of the light. She remembered something the old man had told her. “Our bus driver said something about a reward.”
Rhane stopped walking. “Tell me his words exactly.”
“He said,” she tried not to shiver while remembering Mr. Ma’s soulless glare, “if he delivered me to his master, he would be rewarded with life.”
Kali didn’t miss the subtle look exchanged between the men. Rhane abruptly resumed walking. She scrambled to catch up to his ever increasing stride. “What aren’t you saying? What’s going on?”