Night Vision (32 page)

I lifted the photograph off the wall, thinking back to that time in our lives. Twenty-one years had passed…but it seemed like a lifetime ago. I gently pressed my lips to Rhia’s image.

We’re coming for you, cousin. We’re coming…hang on.

She will. She’s strong.
Ulean’s presence enveloped me, and I leaned into her cool strength that flowed around me.

I hope you’re right
, was all I whispered back.

By the time we set out—a large force—it was one thirty. But we had twenty guards with us, and Grieve, Chatter, and I were at the helm. We couldn’t go in en masse, or the cops might interfere, so we’d have to trickle in, to avoid surrounding the building.

We all had garlic on our persons, and backpacks with stakes, ropes, and anything else we thought we might need. My dagger was firmly strapped to my thigh, around my jeans, and my turtleneck was snug and warm beneath my leather jacket. I’d opted for a lighter leather, one that was easier to maneuver in, although it would still protect me against some attacks, a lot like armor.

Luna wore a pair of thermal leggings beneath a thigh-length tunic, with a light jacket and knee boots. Peyton was in her usual jeans and a polo shirt, and she also wore a leather jacket. But it was Ysandra that made me blink. This was the second time I’d seen her dressed for action, and both times it threw me.

She was wearing a catsuit—black this time instead of white, and it fit her like a glove, showing off a curvy but toned figure. The one-piece was banded around the hips
with a silver belt, off which hung several gadgets that I didn’t recognize. Her hair was in a braid instead of the usual chignon, and she reminded me of a modern-day Emma Peel from the old
Avengers
show that I’d seen on late-night TV reruns. All she needed was a Mr. Steed to make the image complete.

The weather was on our side. The snow, which had tapered off for a few days after we routed Myst from the Marburry Barrow, had returned with a vengeance, which meant Myst was near. It wasn’t a fit day out for man or beast. I only hoped the Queen of the Indigo Court would hold off until we were done with our mission. Once we had taken care of Geoffrey and Leo, then we could turn our attention to her again.

Don’t forget Crawl is out there, too.
Ulean’s warning sent a shiver down my spine.

Trust me, I won’t.

As we approached the town, we broke into groups. The Fae could run in a blur. Some might see them, or sense that something had just passed by, but for the most part, they could get in without being noticed. We, however—at least Luna, Peyton, Ysandra, and I—had to be more cautious. And since Grieve and Chatter refused to leave our sides, they, too, had to slow their movements to our own. And I sure didn’t trust my ability to control my new speed enough to make use of it under these circumstances. Too much rode on our ability to remain unnoticed.

As we approached the Abby Theater, I glanced around the sidewalks. There weren’t many shoppers out. The weather was atrocious.

“We’re due for whiteout conditions,” Luna said, holding up her phone. “I just checked the weather report, and we could have a blizzard on our hands.”

“We don’t get blizzards here,” I said, but then shrugged. “Although, with Myst, I guess we do now. At least we’ll be inside for this, but if we are out, and anybody gets separated from the group, try to find shelter.”

I pulled my jacket tighter, making sure it was zipped all
the way up. Lights dotted the streets here and there, mostly from small businesses hoping someone would brave the weather to come buy their goods, but the cars were scarce and pedestrians even more so. Which was a good thing for us.

We slipped into the alley next to the theater and followed it around to the back. The old parking lot behind the building had been turned into a junkyard. A fence ran around most of it, and inside, junker cars filled the lot. But again, signs of life were scarce, and that ran in our favor.

The back of the building was a testament to the word
weathered
. It had fared worse than the front, though I wasn’t sure why, but the brick was broken and cracked, and graffiti artists had done their best to cover the walls with everything from gang tags to actual art. I recognized a Lupa Clan tag and shook my head. The werewolves liked to mark their territory, all right.

There was an old set of double doors that looked welded shut, but when we examined them closer, I saw they were just covered with rust. But then something else caught my eye—a large grate in the middle of the alleyway behind the theater. I knelt by it, running my fingers around the edges. Unlike most of the other grates along the road, this one had no plant life growing up around it. It wasn’t caked with dirt, debris, or ice. I wrapped my fingers around the grating and tugged. It shifted, just a little. I tugged again, and it shifted again.

“The grate—it’s loose. I think it may be some sort of secret entrance.” I stood up, wiping my gloves on my pants.

Grieve and Chatter leaned over to look at it. A moment later, Grieve let out an “Aha!” and a click sounded in the air, and the grate opened easily, like a trapdoor.

“There’s a lever there.” He pointed to one side. “Flip the lever, and it releases the locking mechanism.”

I cautiously glanced down the dark hole. “What’s down there? Is there any way to find out without dropping a light in there?”

Chatter shrugged. “Give me a moment.” He lay down
on his stomach on the road and dangled one of his hands down through the entrance. A moment later, he pushed back to his knees. “A ladder, running down. I don’t know how far it goes—it’s impossible to tell from here, but there’s only one way to find out.”

“Where are Check and the other guards?” I glanced around, nervous that maybe they had gotten waylaid by Shadow Hunters. But I needn’t have worried.

“We’re here, Your Highness.” He stepped out from a nearby car on the other side of the fence. Within moments, all twenty guards were visible. “We just take care not to touch the cars and we’re fine. The fence is not iron.”

“We found an entrance, Check. I guess…we’d better go find out where it leads to.” I started for the grating, but within a blurry flash, Check was by my side, restraining me. He was gentle in his restraint, but it was definitely a
don’t do that
pressure.

“Allow Teral and me to go first, Your Highness. There can be no compromise on this. You cannot go in that dank hole without us checking that it’s safe enough for you. There could be anything down there.” The look on his face was firm, and I realized there would be no give on this.

I stood back, both frustrated and relieved. This was the way it would be, for the rest of my life. Rule and regulations, always having to consider that putting myself in danger put the Barrow in danger.

With a soft smile, I motioned to the grate. “Then go. You two, then Grieve and Chatter, then the rest of us will follow. Leave ten guards out here to keep watch, though. We can’t take a chance that somebody’s going to notice the open grating and come after us.”

“Now you are thinking like a queen.” Check smiled, saluted, and then motioned to his men. “You heard her. Race, take nine of the men and hide, keeping watch. If we need you…” He paused.

I broke in. “If we need you, I will send my Wind Elemental to fetch you.”

Ulean, you can do that, can’t you? If I need you to, you
can make yourself heard to at least somebody in that grou
p, can’t you?

Yes, there are two who have the ability to hear me if I so choose.

Good. Thank you.

“Okay, it’s decided then. Ulean will come warn you if we need help. Check, let’s get this show on the road. You’ve briefed your men on what we need to do?”

He nodded, then swung himself over the edge of the grating. “And it’s into the pit,” he said, as he disappeared from sight.

As I watched Teral, Grieve, and then Chatter vanish into the hole, I wondered what the hell we were going to find in there. And there was only one way to know. I steeled myself, then—with a deep breath—lowered myself onto the ladder and descended into the darkness.

The tunnel into which we were climbing was dark and dank, and cold. I didn’t think it led to the sewers, even though it looked a lot like a sewer grating built for leaves and rainwater runoff. It wasn’t sloped down to encourage drainage, so it might be a decoy.

I was glad for the gloves I was wearing—the rungs were so icy that bare skin would stick to them, I was sure of it, like a tongue to a frozen pole. A showering of snow drifted down on our backs, but immediately after I was down far enough on the ladder, Ysandra was coming after me, so she took the brunt of the swirling flakes, and then Peyton, then Luna, and then the rest of the guards.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever, through the darkness with no lights. We didn’t dare use flashlights or any sort of illumination because of the chance we might warn those who were down below.

Sounds echoed through the passage, the sound of our climb soft against the clinks and distant clangs—all noises inherent to this place reverberated around us. I thought I
heard the
whoosh
of heating units or air-conditioning, machines that were recognizable. But other noises, from farther below, struck me as odd. Soft squishes. A distant call that might be a scream, or a roar. Or maybe, maybe these echoes were in my imagination, spurred on by our surroundings.

One rung after another, I stared straight ahead at the wall behind the ladder. I could barely see anything and went on faith that the rungs below me would be there. They weren’t iron—iron rusts, and whoever had built this place had made it secure and solid. Maybe…bronze, or steel, or some other metal. Whatever it was, the guards seemed to be having no problems with it. Of course, they were cloaked and wore gloves, so the essence of the metal wouldn’t leach through, even if it was iron.

And then, from below, I heard Check whisper something into the slipstream. “I’m down,” he said.

Another few moments, and I found myself at the bottom of the ladder, and I stepped to the side, ready to steady Peyton and the others as they came off the rungs. Within moments, we were all safely gathered at the bottom. Looking up, I couldn’t see the top.

“How far did we come?” I turned to Check. “Do you know?”

His voice echoed in the darkness, even though he kept it low. The resonance down here was incredibly sensitive. “A distance. I’d say at least three stories down, if you want to use a house as a measurement. Maybe four.”

So at least sixty feet. Probably more like one hundred, I thought, glancing around. It was dark. Too dark. We’d never be able to see where we were going or what might be coming toward us.

“We have to risk a light. There’s no alternative.” I debated on whether to pull out my flashlight—it would help, but it was very bright and might be overkill, considering the situation into which we were headed. We wanted to see enough to find our way, not advertise ourselves like a blue-light special at Kmart.

Chatter solved that problem. He held out his hand and whispered something, and a tennis ball–sized orb of fire appeared, hovering in the air next to him. It was bright but not blinding, and it softly illuminated our immediate surroundings.

“That fire thing you’ve got going on there is handy,” Peyton said.

He gave her a faint smile. “It serves its purpose.”

I glanced around. We were at a crossroads in the tunnel, with passages leading to both the left and right and straight ahead. I frowned, trying to figure out which one we should take. But Teral knelt by the juncture where the three passages met and pointed to something I couldn’t quite make out.

“Here—there are signs of tread going in this direction.” He gestured to the passage that led straight ahead. “I think there has been more traffic in this tunnel.”

“That would be the logical choice, then.” Once again, I realized they were waiting for me to make the decision. I cleared my throat. “Let’s go. Check, Teral, lead on.”

And so we moved forward, with Check and Teral at the front, and behind them, Grieve, Chatter, and me. Then came Ysandra, Peyton and Luna, and the other eight guards. I wondered how we were going to keep quiet, but except for the soft footfalls of Ysandra, Peyton, and Luna, there was no noise save for our breathing.