“A rat shifter was sent inside to scout, and I read that part of the report before it was locked down.”
“Lucky.”
“Indeed.”
The Uber arrived the same time as we did and quickly whisked us over to the Water Tower Gardens. I climbed out, zipped up my coat, then shoved my hands into my pockets and scanned the area while I waited for Mathi to join me. I couldn’t see the pavilion from where I stood, thanks to all the trees on the right side of the gate, but the park looked quite lovely. The old stone water tower stood at the back of the gardens to the right of the gate and was surrounded on either side by trees, while somewhere to the left there was a play area for little kids. Their screams of delight and laughter drifted joyously on the air and made me smile.
Mathi joined me as the Uber sped off, and pressed a hand against my back, guiding me toward a lichen-covered wrought-iron gate that didn’t appear to have been moved for decades. A concrete path led into the heart of the garden, then split into three; the right one went to the water tower and a nearby wooden jungle gym thing that looked recent while the left one angled toward the little kids’ playground and some tennis courts. We took the third option, which led to the pavilion directly ahead. It was wooden, painted dark green, with a red shingle roof, and rather oddly reminded me of an old eighteenth century stable block, complete with clock tower.
Brega waited for us at the angled doubled doors that led into the building. Like all dwarves, she was short and thickset, but her pale features were heavily wrinkled, her eyes a dark brown, and her silver hair long enough that, even though it had been plaited, it still ran down her back to her butt.
“Right on time, Mr. Dhar-Val. Thank you for the consideration.” Her sharp gaze flicked to me. “I am surprised to find you on this adventure, young Bethany, given your distaste for tunnel inhabitants.”
I smiled. “Given any choice at all, I’d certainly rather be walking through a front or back door.”
She laughed, the sound ringing harshly against the distant noise of happiness. “These tunnels aren’t as bad as the ones we took you and Lugh through.”
“I do believe you said those ones weren’t all that bad either.”
My voice was dry, and she laughed again. “Could be right there. Come along, before someone starts getting too nosy.”
She turned and, with a thick grunt, wrenched the door open then ushered us through. Locryn waited near a yet-to-be-opened grate in the middle of the pavilion. Not only was he older and a little more gnarled than his wife, but he was also very bald—a rare thing, given dwarves’ reputation for hairiness.
“Bethany Aodhán, this is a surprise,” he said, warmth touching his expression. “How is your brother doing? We’ve not heard from him since we broke into that basement.”
“They’ve been concentrating on above ground pursuits rather than beneath.”
“Shame. They’re a good employer.” He reached down and grabbed the two bags at his feet, then tossed them to Mathi and me. “You’ll be needing to put these on so you don’t ruin your nice clothing.”
“These” turned out to be coveralls. I cast Brega a wry look. “So, no rats, but not exactly a pristine environment then.”
“It’s a sewer—what are you expecting?”
I snorted and climbed into the coverall, which not only covered my shoes but was large enough that I could keep my purse under it and still maintain complete maneuverability.
Once we were suited up, Locryn handed us each a pair of heavy synthetic gloves—the type they seemed to use in labs that dealt with chemicals, which was not a great sign in my opinion—then opened the grate. It made no noise, despite looking rusted over.
“This first bit is more a water drain than a tunnel and can get pretty nasty. It’ll require you both to crawl, but it does open up into the main system after about ten minutes. Follow me.”
He jumped into the hole and disappeared, though the sound of his boots hitting solid ground echoed a few seconds later.
Mathi glanced at me. “You want me to go next and scare away the rats?”
I gave him a very unamused look. He laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He sat on the edge, then lowered himself down. A few seconds later, he said, “Okay, Beth, your turn.”
I wrinkled my nose. “How bad is it?”
“It’s an old red-brick drain that’s obviously still connected to the system somewhere. Wet and nasty just about sums it up.”
“Oh joy,” I muttered, then followed his lead, sitting down on the edge of the grate hole and slowly lowering myself down. I didn’t have the upper arm strength that he did, so I dropped more than lowered, but managed to avoid doing myself any damage.
Mathi had definitely understated things when it said it was nasty, though. The smell... Nausea stirred briefly. A lot more than mere water flowed down this thing, if that smell was anything to go by. Thank gods for the coverall and the gloves. I bent and peered into the tunnel. Mathi and Locryn waited a few yards ahead, the latter holding a flashlight that lent the old red bricks an almost golden glow.
“Come along, lass, nothing here to bite.”
“Yet,” I muttered, then got down on hands and knees and scrambled after them. Behind me, there was a soft clang as the grate was moved back in place. Surprise flicked through me. “Brega’s not coming?”
