Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) (12 page)

Chapter 18

Nightfall came quickly. Less than twelve hours after barely escaping with her life, Kali was back inside the bank. Five of them stood on the elevator, waiting in edgy silence as the steel box completed a slow descent. And when the doors opened again, only four emerged.

“Thank you, cousin.” Cixi bowed deep. The gesture was mirrored by Shen. “We will take it from here.”

“Are you certain, Cixi. Secrets guarded so closely are best left buried.”

“We’ve come too far to stop now.”

With a grave nod, Shen removed a long cord from around his neck. At the end of the braided leather dangled a thin and rectangular card. He offered it to Cixi. “This is your way into the vault and beyond. Ghosted with a false identity that cannot be traced by this bank’s systems, it will open the inner doors only once. You must find your own way from there.”

“Great,” York muttered.

Cixi took the necklace, bowing again slightly. “Thank you.”

Shen shook his head. “Do not thank me. That doorway, some say it is the gateway to hell. The catacombs are a maze, designed to keep intruders from finding an immense treasure hidden within. Even if you locate the treasure, the labyrinth may not let you escape.”

Kali exhaled softly. Beside her, York whispered, “That’s it. I think I want off this merry-go-round.” Pursing her lips together to keep from smiling, she bumped him lightly with one elbow. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’ve been to hell before,” River said. Kali took it as his own peculiar form of agreement.

Seconds later, the doors closed and the elevator was gone, leaving the four of them alone in darkness. “Okay,” Kali said, unsure why her voice dropped to a whisper. “What now?”

York moved closer, softly murmuring against her ear. “Let’s go find some buried treasure.”

Cixi’s scoff floated across the darkness. “We need light, siren. Why don’t you conjure a ball of fire for us?”

Clicking on her flashlight, Kali aimed the beam’s glow so Cixi wouldn’t miss her smirk. “Is that enough light for you, Cixi?”

York snickered. “Let’s go, ladies.”

The ghost key did exactly as Shen said it would. After gaining access to the vault, they entered one of the larger storage rooms the bank manager had directed them to. It was completely empty. Heavy still composed the walls and floors. A door of the same material stood opposite from the one they’d entered, numerous latches bolting it shut like the jaws of a leviathan. With one swipe of the ghost key those locks retracted, one by one, and the door creaked open. Whatever mechanics powered it hissed with the effort.

River stepped through first. York gestured for Kali to follow and brought up the rear behind Cixi. He seemed determined to keep a close eye on the strange woman, most likely feeling responsible for the decision to keep her involved and any consequences, good or bad, that stemmed from it.

They walked for what felt like miles to her sore ribs in a passageway so narrow it forced them into single file formation. The dirt ceiling hung just above their heads, low enough that York could barely stand straight. An obscene silence stilled the air. Darkness pressed all around. Kali had never felt so grateful for a flashlight. Leather scabbards that rested on either hip itched beneath her clothing. But their weight was a comfort. Should anything have emerged from the darkness, Kali was certain she could defend herself.

Eventually the straightaway ended, broadening into a large circular junction that was surrounded by tunnel openings. Half a dozen options led in very different directions. They faced an impossible choice.

So, this must be why this place is called a labyrinth, Kali observed silently.

“We should split up,” Cixi said.

York shot her suggestion down instantly. “No. Everyone stays together.”

“But we could cover more ground and much faster.”

“Yeah that ‘no’ was kinda final, not an invitation for debate.”

Cixi scowled. “How could I have ever forgotten how impossible you are, Yorkshire?”

“I don’t know. You ain’t exactly a stroll through the garden yourself.”

Kali interrupted their banter. “What if one or both of you go wolf?” she asked. “Then you could use your heightened senses to see if there’s some sort of clue as to which way we should go.”

“Go wolf?” York repeated. His frown was worse than Cixi’s.

“I was just about to suggest that,” River said at the same time.

Shrugging, Kali responded to York. “It’s what you do isn’t it? Well, of course you guys call them skins.” She stopped. York was shaking his head.

“After all this, don’t tell me that you still think we are werewolves.”

“Uh…no?” Kali’s eyes darted around uncertainly. “You’re Warekin.”

“Rhane never really explained this to you?”

Now River was shaking his head. His mouth turned slightly downward. “I don’t think he did.”

Cixi just looked bored. “Give her the science lesson later. Bring out your skins or I’ll change into mine.”

York ignored her. “We’re not werewolves because our actual cells don’t change. War skins emerge from potential mass cells, which are composed of entirely different DNA. It’s a different creature, a weapon that is dormant until called upon. That’s why we call them skins.”

Making a mental note not to utter the “go wolf” suggestion or anything similar to it again, Kali nodded. “And that’s why injuries don’t transfer.”

York winked. “You got it.”

“Shall I summon a skin now?” River stared intently at the tunnels.

“Go for it.” York gestured to Cixi. “Now kindred are different. If you want to call anyone a werewolf, it would be them. Their physical cells react to moonlight and become those big, ugly, hyena wolves—would you call them wolves, River?”

He answered just as he lost his mouth to the large wolf head enveloping his human one. “No.”

“Yeah, let’s stick to trolls. Kindred become big, ugly were-trolls when exposed to moonlight. Well, they used to. Now a lot of them appear to be able to control transformations at will.”

In the glow of the flashlight’s beam, Kali could see the way Cixi’s entire face had turned bright red and wondered if York was intentionally antagonizing the woman. So far, she genuinely appeared willing to help recover the missing artifact. Her actions had gotten them to this point. If that statue was the only way to get Rhane back, Kali was keen to accept help from any source and considered it more prudent to remain on Cixi’s good side for a little while longer. She would just have to trust that York knew what he was doing.

River’s silver wolf melted from shadows in the mouth of an eastern tunnel but abruptly ghosted into another. Several minutes passed before he reappeared, only to disappear into the next.

“Two could accomplish this much faster.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight, Cixi.”

“Then don’t,” she snapped, and tossed her hair. “Come with me. The girl is injured and slows us down. Leave her.”

“Not happening.”

Though Kali thought she’d been keeping up just fine and hated to side with Cixi, she saw the harsh beauty’s point. River had an extensive area to search. The multiple pathways could take an hour to investigate, maybe more. Another nose looking could cut that time in half. And it wasn’t like there was an immediate danger to worry about while waiting. They’d spotted no other signs of life since entering this realm. The catacombs were deserted. “York, if you need to, I’ll be fine.”

“
Not
happening,” he repeated.

Accepting that he had his reasons, Kali dropped the subject. For a third and fourth time, River returned and was gone again. Nearly an hour into his search and their waiting, York’s head suddenly snapped up. He angled an ear to the tunnels, listening. Then he whistled softly.

“What is it?” Kali whispered.

“He found something.”

“Well,” Cixi said impatiently. “Shouldn’t we go to him?”

“He wants us to wait here. He’s coming back.”

For another agonizing five minutes, they waited. Finally, the silver wolf slid from the darkness to sit in front of them. Then the wolf was gone, and River stood in its place. “I know where we must go. But there are hidden security measures, intended to maim, trap, or kill any intruders. We must be careful.”

“Alright. River, take point. Cixi follows. Kali, you’re in the back with me.”

The passage River led them into was a strange one. A damp chill rose from the floor and drifted from the walls, clinging to Kali’s skin and cooling every breath. Stale air barely circulated. The old, earthy scent of underground hung around them. But it wasn’t the smell or the chill that unsettled Kali’s nerves. It was the whispers. Indistinct voices chattered constantly, almost too low to be heard, and followed every twist and turn the four of them made.

Unexpectedly, the air transformed, becoming fresher, lighter. The surface beneath Kali’s feet altered, and a different noise resonated in the tunnels—the metallic clink of footsteps. She aimed the beam downward, confirming her suspicions. Dirt and stone were gone, replaced by metal.

River didn’t slow the pace until a door stopped them. The structure was burnished metal like everything else in this part of the catacombs, but oddly absorbed any light that touched it, refusing to be illuminated even beneath the beam of the powerful flashlight. Kali couldn’t spot any seams or hinges. A dusty window occupied a space just above eye level. On tip toe she could see through the window, but only more darkness greeted her from the other side.

The whispers had gotten louder.

Expelling a loud breath, she turned to York. “Okay, how do we get in there?”
And do we
really want to?

He shrugged. “River brought us here. I’m hoping he’s already got that part figured out.”

River answered by pointing to a nearly invisible line on the dark surface. It ran from floor to ceiling. “There’s an inscription here, a simple phrase repeating over and over.”

The writings had to be microscopic. Kali couldn’t see anything. But York leaned closer, narrowing his eyes as he read. He scowled. “It’s the old language.”

“Hello,” she said. “Care to share?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Tracing the words with one finger, he read the script aloud. “By their chained blood may all be freed.”

Kali’s heart lurched, hammering ice through her system. She licked her lips nervously. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know.” York studied the smooth metal door and peered beyond it through the window. “But I’ve got a hunch. Builders are most likely responsible for all aftermarket parts within this labyrinth. If that’s the case, this little inscription is yet another cockamamie rationale for ruining someone else’s life. The better question is the one you asked earlier but hasn’t been answered.” He stared at River pointedly.