Night Vision (33 page)

The going was slow because Check and Teral insisted on checking the passage for booby-traps every ten feet, but I knew better than to hurry them up. The place could easily be rigged, and I didn’t want to be responsible for anybody blowing up or getting impaled by spikes, Indiana Jones style.

Chatter’s light kept abreast with us, and he created another and sent it back to hover alongside the guards in the rear. We were able to see, and no doubt anybody getting close enough to us from either direction would see it, but the illumination wasn’t so bright that it immediately called attention to itself.

Besides, Cicely, not everything that walks in the depths uses eyes to see.

Ulean’s offhand comment gave me the chills, even though I knew she didn’t mean to. But the thought of some creature who didn’t need vision, snuffling and scuttling through the darkness, wasn’t my idea of a good time.

“This certainly isn’t as welcoming as the tunnel was where we went in search of Lainule’s heartstone. Or even where…” I stopped. I’d been going to say where I’d hidden my own heartstone, but I knew, instinctively, that I should never talk about that moment, that experience. The only one I would ever talk about it to was Rhiannon. And even then…as much as I loved her…the inclination to protect myself fully rose up and, with sadness, I realized that there was now a barrier between us, whether or not we wanted it there. The Queens of Summer and Winter were natural opposites.

Grieve glanced back at me, then smiled softly. “No, this is not a friendly place. There are dangers here. I can feel them in the slipstream. If you stop and listen, you can hear the rumblings from the depths.”

I nodded. So it hadn’t just been my imagination. I let myself drop into the slipstream as we continued along the corridor. Grieve was right. The distant pounding of something dark and large, reverberating like a low hum, echoed up to surround me. It was so low that I doubted the others—those who weren’t tuned in to the slipstream—could hear it.

“I can’t hear it, but I can certainly feel it.” Ysandra spoke up, breaking the silence. “There are ancient creatures who live in the earth, and most haven’t shown themselves for eons, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We would do well to walk softly, lest we waken anything that should be left sleeping.”

“Creatures, or spirits?” Luna asked.

“Both,” Ysandra answered.

And with that, we continued along. I was beginning to worry about the time—how long had we been at this? It felt
like hours, but logic dictated it couldn’t be more than an hour since we’d arrived at the Abby Theater. Finally, concern overrode reason and I turned to Ysandra.

“What time is it? Is it still daylight? Are the vampires still asleep?”

She stopped to pull out a pocket watch from the belt on the sleek black catsuit she was wearing. “It’s two fifteen. We have time, but we shouldn’t dawdle.”

“I think we’ve found our way in,” Check said, interrupting. He pointed ahead to where the passageway ended in a wall, against which a large metal door barred our way.

“Finally…” But now, fear began to creep in. The vampires were still asleep—they had to be—but that didn’t mean their guards wouldn’t be fierce. The amount of bloodshed I’d seen in the past few weeks was overwhelming, and we weren’t done by any means.

Check examined the door. “I don’t see any traps.”

Ysandra pushed forward. “Let me look. I can tell whether there’s magic set on it, although it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a trap there.” She knelt by the keyhole and whispered something low. A moment later, she stood, frowning. “Yes, there is some sort of magic here, but honestly, I don’t recognize it. It isn’t from the magic-born.”

“Could be a trap, could be a warning system. Is there any way to defuse it?” I joined her, gazing at the door as if staring hard enough could reveal its secrets.

“Not unless I know what kind it is to begin with. I could try, but if it’s a trap, I might set it off. Same if it’s a warning system. I think…we’re just going to have to brave this one and deal with the consequences.” She frowned again, resting her chin on her hand.

“Let me ask Ulean to see if she can find out what’s on the other side. She should be able to cross through it—”

“Not so fast. Remember, the vampires hate Elementals. The Elementals can read them too easily. So they might have it warded against them.” Luna held out her hands and closed her eyes. “This
isn’t
yummanii magic, that much I can tell you.”

“If it’s not yummanii and it’s not from the magic-born…then what the hell is it? Weres don’t use much magic. Fae? I think we’d recognize it.” Confused and a little worried, I stepped back. “Let me ask Ulean what she thinks.”

Ulean, can you pass through the door without setting off whatever that magic is linked to?

Ulean swished past me, then paused.

I think I can. This is not built to keep out my kind, Cicely. Whatever the magic is, it’s ancient, meant to keep out far larger creatures than me…or you. I think it will sound, though, if the door is actually opened. It’s meant to keep out creatures of the flesh more than those of spirit.

I told the others what she had said. “That means the vampires are afraid of physical threats, and big ones at that. What the fuck could be…” I paused. “The creatures from the depths. Suppose they know enough about them to be afraid?”

Any creature that made
vampires
afraid was something for us to be afraid of. That had proved only too true with the Shadow Hunters, and if my gut was right, whatever was down here was bigger and badder than Myst. I suddenly wanted to be on the other side of that door, if it could protect us.

Ulean, cross over and let me know if anybody is on the other side.
And with a silent whoosh, she was gone. Within moments she was back.

Yes, there are armed guards over there. I don’t think I set off the alarms. But there are three men over there, and they have big guns. There’s also a woman, and she carries no weapon. She feels magical, though, but I can’t tell whether she’s yummanii, or what. They don’t seem to be aware that you are on this side, so I’m thinking that the door is soundproof.

“Thanks.” I quickly relayed the information. “Guns, not good. And big guns, so not good. We need to go in on the offensive. So what have we got?”

But at that moment, a noise behind us sounded and we
turned at the shout of the guards. It was murky, with Chatter’s lights being our only illumination, but there, charging toward us, loped a creature at least twelve feet tall. He was truly a monster—bipedal, but with long, thin arms, and tentacles coming out from both sides of his torso.

His face was troll-like—lumpy and deformed. His mouth was circular, like a lamprey’s, and razor-sharp teeth ringed the opening. But his eyes were what struck the most fear into my heart—they were cunning, and alien. Whatever this was, it was no Wilding Fae or Elemental, but something ancient and wicked, from the early days of the world.

I pulled out my dagger, but self-preservation prevailed and I let the guards push in front of me to meet it. Ysandra moved to the side of the passage, where she could get a clear shot at it, and she held up her hand and began reciting an incantation. I clapped my hands over my ears, remembering only too well how powerful her magic was.

The creature closed in on us, totally unfazed by our numbers, and as it neared the first line of guards, Ysandra let loose with her spell. Everyone within earshot went down on their knees as her command ricocheted through the room, sending shock waves reverberating through the tunnel.

The monster skidded to a halt, looking confused, but it didn’t drop. I’d seen Ysandra stop an entire gang of werewolves with the same spell, but it barely slowed this thing. Less than ten seconds later, it picked up steam again and was headed our way. The guards waited, swords drawn, looking nervous but holding their ground.

Then, as it neared us, an alarm filled the air and a light suddenly flared from the sides of the walls, illuminating the corridor. The door in back of us swung open, and I knew immediately what was happening.

“Hit the deck! Dive!” I leaped to the side, and the others followed suit as a spray of gunfire spewed down the corridor. We went flying, out of the way. I landed on my knees, hard,
slamming against the wall. My shoulder took a jolt that made me think at first I’d dislocated it, but self-preservation won out over pain, and I squeezed against the walls.

The bullets were aimed dead center down the hallway, at the troll-cum-fishman, and their ricochet was enough to knock down a small elephant, but it didn’t seem to do any good. The thing kept right on coming, and now it was focused on the guards from behind the door and not on us. It staggered forward, not hurt but thrown off balance by the glancing blows of the bullets that ricocheted right and left.

We were all in duck-and-cover mode, but I managed a glance over my shoulder before Check came flying over to shield me. What I saw was the guards tossing their guns and getting ready to fight it hand-to-hand.

“It’s a tredobyte!” one of them shouted.

As the creature barreled past me toward the door, a piercing siren lacerated the air, sending me reeling. I covered my ears as I pressed to the wall. Check leaned over me, acting like a human shield as we tried to avoid being trampled.

I leaned against the stone. Another noise sounded from behind us, and a massive jolt reverberated through the tunnel. I whirled to see the tredobyte go down and the day-runners swarm over it, pouring some sort of liquid on it. The liquid hissed against the creature’s flesh. It let out a solitary shriek and was still.

We stood, slowly, eyeing the yummanii. They seemed as shell-shocked as we did, and before they could assess who we were and react, I charged, leading the others as we swarmed, knocking them to the ground and disarming them. We stood back, Peyton, Ysandra, and I holding their guns, while my guards held the men and woman by their arms. The woman opened her mouth and Luna lunged forward, slapping her hand over the woman’s mouth.

“Gag her. She uses magic of some sort and we don’t want to chance her unleashing a spell.” She held the gun out of the woman’s reach. “Fuck! She bit me; somebody hurry up!”

As another of the guards gagged the woman, Luna shook her head, looking at it carefully. A drop of blood welled up, but it didn’t look too serious.

I turned to the tredobyte, examining the creature. It was huge, with reptilian scales like snakeskin covering its body. The tentacles were limp against the ground, and they looked like those of an octopus. I poked one with the butt of the gun and it flipped over, showing barbs that could so easily hook into the skin. I wasn’t sure if they contained venom, and I wasn’t about to find out. Bipedal, yes…but far from anything we’d seen before. Definitely not Wilding Fae, and not anything remotely like the Shadow Hunters.

“I have no clue what this thing is.” I looked up at Check. “But it’s all muscle…there’s no fat on him. He could probably mow down a tank. I don’t know what they used on him, but whatever it was, it worked and left a long gash in his side.” Gingerly, I used the barrel of the gun to push back the flesh of the open wound. Beneath the scaly surface, the muscle and bone were apparent. Blood flowed in a thick ooze, but it was dark and muddy in color and had already clotted, even though the wound was still fresh. The edges of the gash were corroded, and I suspected the liquid had been some sort of acid.

After a moment, I figured we’d learned all we could about this thing and stood up, turning to the guards. The yummanii they held captive struggled, but their mouths were gagged and hands bound by now, and they looked both defiant and afraid. I gazed at them, wondering what the hell to do. If we killed them outright, it would make me feel like a murderer. But could we let them live?

You have no choice, Cicely.
Ulean’s voice was gentle around me, a gust of warm, embracing air.

Check stood there, looking at me. I knew what I had to do, even though I didn’t want to. They worked for Geoffrey and Leo; they weren’t about to switch sides. It meant death for a day-runner to sell out.

“Find out what you can and then…” I turned away. “Find out what you can, then do what you need to.”

Check slowly made his way to my side and touched my shoulder. “Your Highness, I know this isn’t easy for you, but you have to be the one to say the words.” He gave me such a look of sadness and understanding that I wanted to hug him, to reassure him that everything would be all right.

Steeling myself, I looked into his eyes. “Find out what you can and then…execute them.” The echo of what I’d just ordered rattled through me like bones rolling in a coffin.

He nodded, then motioned to his men, and they followed him to one side, dragging the day-runners with them. I didn’t want to watch; I didn’t want to be there, but since it had been me who had ordered the group to their death, I had no choice. I wasn’t a coward and—as Queen—no doubt, I’d have to do this again, someday. And…I’d killed. In self-defense, yes, but I’d taken life before. How could I flinch from standing vigil?

As Check and his men held the day-runners against the wall, questioning them, trying to find out what we could about Geoffrey, Leo, and this complex, it was obvious the yummanii weren’t going to cooperate. They kept silent, refusing to speak. The wounds on their necks were deeply scarred. All of them had been fed from at one point or another.

After a few minutes, Peyton looked at me. “We aren’t going to have any luck, and with those Klaxons going off, surely they’ll be waiting for a report upstairs. We have to get moving or they’ll be fully armed and ready for us.”

She made a good point. I motioned to Check. The look on the day-runners’ faces told me they knew what was coming; the men’s eyes went wide while the woman closed hers, steeling herself. My guards were quick and humane, and as their daggers expertly slashed their throats, the blood poured to the ground. Within ten seconds, they were all unconscious, and within another twenty, they’d bled out enough to die.

Somber, feeling my heart weigh heavy in a way it never before had, I turned back to the room in which they’d been hiding. Stepping over the creature on the floor, I led the way in, followed by Check, Grieve, Chatter, and the others.