Why was I lying on the rock in this godforsaken mine instead of looking for you?
Lucian.
I reached for my pugio—nothing. And then for my sword, absent as well. I opened my eyes at last to find Lucian kneeling above me with another syringe, his thumb poised on the plunger in preparation to stab.
“I’m hoping you’ll listen to reason,” he said with a sunny smile, “but either way has its perks.”
“Don’t youdaredrug me again,” I rumbled.
“Then let’s be calm and talk things over.”
I assessed our surroundings and tried to determine the time—day, night, who knew?
“How long has it been?”
“A few hours.” Lucian lowered his arm. I rose to a seated position and glanced at my watch. My timepiece had stopped, likely as soon as we’d entered into the Shade Vale. My hunger told me it had been at least that long. Lucian pressed a blood bag into my lap and moved away before I could grab hold of him. “First, eat, and then we’ll go find Vincent.”
“Where is Seneser?” I sniffed the air but couldn’t detect his scent.
“I sent him along with supplies to locate Mother. He’ll mark the way for us.”
“And that damned cat?” Lucian’s plan was so outrageous, it might actually work.
“Readying herself for the day’s toils.”
Lucian’s light beam swung in her direction, and I spotted your sullen feline a few yards away, licking herself. Her iridescent eyes flashed in my direction.
“And my weapons?”
Lucian shone his light against the cave wall where he’d deposited them.
“Let me just remind you,” Lucian said lightly, “if you injure me, I won’t be able to tend to Vincent.”
I shot him a suspicious look. “Why would you help me? Why not abandon him in pursuit of our mother?”
“I… don’t know,” Lucian said as if the impulse were peculiar to him as well.
A few minutes later I’d eaten and recovered my weapons, Lucian’s medical supplies were packed, and we were only waiting on your cat.
“I could stab it,” I said. If I knew it wouldn’t upset you, I’d seriously consider it.
Lucian eyed the animal. “Spooky, take us to your master.”
Nothing.
He tried to coax her with a pet. Still nothing. Finally, I bellowed your name. The cat shot me a hostile look, raised herself onto all fours, and padded slowly down a passageway we’d traversed the day before.
“We tried this one already,” I said impatiently.
The cat stopped and shot me a prissy look over her shoulder.
“This animal had better not be leading us in circles,” I grumbled.
“Might want to lower your voice. I’d prefer the element of surprise.”
Lucian was right. And yelling at your peevish cat certainly wouldn’t make her go any faster. We dimmed our headlamps, so their light was only a faint glow, and followed your pet through a rabbit’s warren of chambers. I never would have taken this pathway on my own, for it was far too winding and disorganized. Every few meters, I marked our way, so we’d not get lost, but even that slight hiss of noise felt risky.
It seemed we trailed that feline for hours, until at last we came upon a corridor that had been recently disturbed. There were shards of kitchenware, scraps of metal, and most alarming, a scattering of human bones. The dumping grounds of the beastborn’s lair.
