Page 110 of The Girl in the Forest

“Banshee girl found her way out.” Brin’s voice was hoarse.

I looked at the sad pile of clothes and what could have been bones. Looked away. The pile had too many bits and pieces to only be one girl.

Like Cybelle, I stepped around, closing my mind to the reality. Not only of the girl, or the realization that we currently wandered below the cells where we’d been captives only a day before. I closed my mind to the realization that Amal’s sentient mist had disappeared through that grate, seeping through this tunnel. Was the mist still here? And if this was a way out, would the mist be waiting?

“How long?” I asked Cybelle.

“A few hours in the tunnels,” she said. “It’s a labyrinth. There’s a map in your backpack. Front pocket.”

“You need a map?”

“I might. I haven’t been down here in ages. Njal knows the tunnels better than I do. He’s spent years down here, running security checks.”

“Aren’t the tunnels protected?”

“Wards weaken. The magic isn’t always reliable, which makes it dangerous, and our enemies come up with new ways to harass.” She braced her hand against a low overhang of rock. I tried to count how many enemies the vampires had and couldn’t get beyond Amal.

“We’ll stop in a few,” she added. “But we can’t rest long, so take advantage of what you can. Barend is already hunting you. He’ll have men spread out, covering all the exits, searching the obvious, but eventually he’ll think of the tunnels—if only to see if the magic kills us.”

“You said Njal spent years down here.”

“He wore a security medallion that gave him passage. Here—” She tossed a small silver pin toward me. “We made duplicates. They’re almost the same.”

Almost? My fingers trembled as I fastened the pin—shaped like a rune—to the neckline of my dead girl’s shirt. Cybelle handed pins to Laura and Levi. When she reached Brin, the girl glared before glancing back the way we’d come. Staring into the dark before opening her hand.

Anxiety helped keep the cold away as we walked, stumbled, dragged each other through the tunnel until it widened into a room-like space used by vampires on their security runs. Cybelle did the explaining. Njal was the quiet one, while Kazamir continued to radiate distrust, his eyes narrowed as he studied every shadow for threats. Scattered rocks offered seating; most were square-shaped chunks of stone, and while I helped with the settling in, Njal fiddled with a metal junction box on the wall.

He flipped a switch, and a bank of fluorescent lights flickered on.

“Motion activated,” Cybelle said when I glanced at her. “They’ll stay on as long as we move around. Go off when we leave.”

“I thought vampires could see in the dark.”

“You can’t.” She bent to help Levi as he struggled to sit. “It’s part of the security. If lights suddenly come on in the distance, we’ll know someone’s following.”

Simple and low tech. I shuddered, watching Laura fuss over Levi. Kazamir was assisting Julien. Brin sat apart from us, digging through her backpack for water. I wondered what she was thinking. She’d been too quiet since coming across the banshee girl’s remains. Perhaps she’d harbored a secret hope that the dry well was a way out, and if the girl could escape… she could, too.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t like tunnels, but at least, with my eyes closed, I could imagine myself somewhere else. Walking through the meadow in Grayson’s private wrinkle. He’d be holding my hand, and we’d be laughing. I could hear his voice, deep, husky, the warmth that turned me on in an instant. He’d tease about something. I’d tease back. The sky would be clear blue, and there’d be flowers. I’d watch him, walking on ahead, engrossed in telling me a story while I lingered behind, admiring the strength in his stride. The way sunlight lost itself in his dark hair. The cut of his muscled body, the wildness beneath the skin. Then he’d realize I wasn’t there, turn to look back. And I’d smile, cross my arms and slowly shake my head.

“Noa.” Laura touched my hand. “Are you all right?”

“What?” I was still half in my imagination, like waking from a sound sleep.

“You used a lot of energy back there,” she said. “Your skin is hot.”

“Oh.” I splayed my fingers and watched the slight tremors.

“Keep yourself hydrated.” I heard the healer in her tone. “Don’t syphon anything.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I mean it.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “What did Caerwen tell you to do?”

“Move pebbles around, but I don’t think it’s overload,” I whispered. “It’s more like burnout.”

Laura glanced around at our group; Levi was rubbing at his leg. Brin stared as if lost in thought. The vampires sat across the space and talked quietly with Julien. They’d dressed in black, with serious boots I’d almost consider combat in style. Julien still wore the clothes he’d had on while chained to the wall, and I looked away from the rip in his shirt where the daggers had pierced him. No blood, though. Maybe vampires didn’t bleed like wolves did.

“Can we trust them?” Laura whispered.

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