Page 55 of The Doctor and the Devil
“I’m sorry for how I behaved earlier,” he said. “For how I have behaved this whole time. You have every right to your anger and frustration. For all my immortality, I struggle with patience when it comes to you. But I will give you what you ask—time. After tonight, I will wait for your summons. I won’t come to you until you are ready.”
I blinked. I hadn’t expected him to agree so easily, given how hard he’d been fighting for me. It was what I wanted, wasn’t it? I found myself nodding to him, heard myself thanking him, but something dark and despondent snaked through my chest.
I didn’t have much time to examine the thoughts swirling through my mind because at that moment, two massive hellish wolves bounded in from the trees where Daphne and Étienne had been skulking.
“No patrols?” Daphne asked.
Charlotte barked.
“Very well. That’s…unexpected.”
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Étienne whispered.
“Likely,” Rafael said, lifting a shoulder casually. He didn’t seem particularly concerned, but Daphne tensed, scanning the area as if she could detect some unseen threat. Her hands went to the pistols strapped at her sides.
“What choice do we have?” I asked.
“Change of plans. Charlotte, you and Antoine stay out here on guard. Étienne, Rafael, and I will go in first. Mina, I don’t know what we’re walking into but…I’m sorry. You’ll have to wait in the carriage.”
“What?” I almost shouted. “Absolutely not. If Laszlo is hurt, time may be of the essence. You might not be able to move him. I’m going with you.”
“It’s too risky,” Daphne said. “I’m sorry. But something feels…off. They tried to come for you once, Mina, I won’t let them grab you again.”
I made an outraged sputter, looking to Étienne and Charlotte for help. Étienne winced and refused to meet my eyes, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Charlotte merely whined and licked my land.
“If Mina wants to come, she comes,” Rafael growled. He took a step toward Daphne, and Étienne tensed, hand on the wooden daggers at his waist.
“Please, Mina,” Daphne begged, frowning. “We need to get moving. We don’t have much time.”
“Fine,” I gritted out. “But we are going to have aseriousdiscussion about boundaries and friendship when you return.”
I stomped back to the carriage, disgusted by my petulance and embarrassed by my mortality. I couldn’t face Rafael as they all turned toward the cemetery, easily vaulting the eight-foot iron fence. I watched them dart among the headstones until they came to that wretched mausoleum entrance to the Order’s subterranean hideout. With a sharp tug and a metallic groan, the door swung open, and I watched with frothing anxiety as the living darkness in the tomb swallowed them entirely.
19
RAFAEL
April 27, 1768
Cimetière des Innocents
Of course,it would be a trap. How good of a trap, though, remained to be seen. Tearing my lingering focus from Mina’s well-deserved sulk in the carriage, I reached out with my senses as Daphne, Étienne, and I descended into the yawning gloom of the mausoleum. We climbed down a staircase for some time until we reached the dank hallway below, which reeked of wet rot, old sweat, and greasy smoke from tallow candles. I paused at the foot of the stairs, uneasy.
“What is it?” Daphne whispered.
“Beyond the hallway,” I said, puzzled. “I can’t sense anything.”
“So?” Étienne prodded.
“I can’t hear anyone through the walls,” I explained. “I can’t smell the blood of any living thing or touch the consciousness of anyone.”
“We’re beneath a graveyard,” Étienne retorted. “Why would you?”
“Because,” I said impatiently. “That means no one is here.No one.Not just guards or prisoners, but rats, insects, and every other cold wriggling thing that makes the deep earth its home.”
“How is that possible?” Daphne asked, taking half a step forward.
“It isn’t,” I said. “It means thisisa trap. It means there is some kind of dark magic at work here that affects my abilities. It means that beyond this hallway, every other supernatural gift I possess is effectively useless.”
