I reached out, stretching for the little cliff. My fingertips brushed the stone surface, but didn’t find purchase. My throat closed with terror.

  Until Ares’s hand wrapped around my wrist, jerking me to a stop.

  I panted, dangling above the endless drop. Ares dragged me up. I scrambled onto the shallow ledge, clinging to the rock in front of me. To my left, the train track snapped and plummeted into the darkness below.

  Sweat ran down my back as I pressed my face against the cliff wall. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” Ares panted, his back pressed against the cliff.

  The ledge that we stood upon was only a couple feet wide. I looked up. The main part of the tunnel path was about twenty feet above us. Fortunately, there were little ledges like this one that we could use to ascend.

  “If we’re careful, we can climb up,” Ares said.

  I nodded, my muscles shaking as adrenaline poured through my veins. “That was insane.”

  “We got lucky that the tracks didn’t snap sooner.”

  “And that you’ve got crazy vampire strength and speed.” I’d have gone splat without him. Why was it that the desert always lent itself to Wile E. Coyote antics? I drew in a shuddery breath. “Ready to climb?”

  “I’ll go first.”

  I followed Ares up the cliffside, clinging to the rock ledges. When we reached the top, I flopped onto my stomach, gasping. I gave myself a few seconds, then sat up and looked back down the tunnel, the way we’d come. A huge portion of the ground was missing, plummeted into the earth. The ghost with the crushed skull stood on the other side, watching us.

  I waved.

  He didn’t wave back. The earth that had fallen away began to knit itself back together, magic putting everything back to rights. Within moments, the ground looked normal, as if it’d never broken apart at all.

  “Hider’s Haven has some serious protective enchantments.” I turned to look at Ares, who was getting to his feet.

  “That won’t be the worst of it.”

  I stood, joining him. We set off down the path. I kept my eyes glued to the ground in front of us, heart in my throat. The train track continued, stretching deep into the mountains. I inspected the walls to try to figure out what had been mined here, but I saw no traces of valuable stone or metal. An empty railway car shoved up against the side of the tunnel revealed no goodies either.

  “Up ahead.” Ares pointed to a ghostly blur ahead of us. It lay along the ground, almost like a puddle.

  I hurried toward it, dread in the pit of my stomach. As we neared, I realized that the ghost was a flattened person. And it wasn’t cartoonish. I swallowed down bile. “He looks like he’s been crushed by a steamroller.”

  Run. The ghost didn’t say it—he couldn’t say it—but I heard it in my head all the same.

  I took off, sprinting down the corridor with Ares at my side. What the heck could flatten a man like that? Ideas flashed through my mind, each more horrible than the last.

  When the mountain began to groan around us, stone scraping against stone, I realized.

  The walls had begun to close in on us from either side, an inch every second. Dread chilled my skin. Immediately, I conjured a heavy iron bar on the ground in front of me, hoping that it would slow the mountain from closing in on us.

  I leapt over the bar and left it behind, praying it would work. We sprinted as the walls ground toward us. Then they stopped. I glanced behind. The iron bar was straining as it held the walls apart.

  “Faster,” Ares said.

  I sprinted, breath tearing through my lungs. “Leave me.”

  He was so much faster that he should just race ahead.

  A loud snap rent the air. The walls rushed in on us. The iron bar had broken. My heart thudded as I conjured another, then another, leaving them on the ground behind us.

  The walls stopped their deadly movement. I pushed myself until my lungs burned.

  Snap. Snap!

  The walls began to close in once more. They were only a foot from us on either side, the corridor now only three feet wide. Ares cut behind me so that I could race ahead, making me want to scream my rage. He’d never save himself if it meant leaving me behind.

  It drove me insane.

  I conjured more iron bars, but they wouldn’t hold the walls forever.

  “We’re near the end!” Ares shouted.

  Up ahead, the corridor widened. I gave it my all, sprinting as the metal bars snapped behind me. The walls closed in.

  They were nearly brushing my shoulders by the time I spilled out into the main hall, where the walls didn’t move, thank fates.

  Ares squeezed out behind me, his broader shoulders scraping against the enclosing stone.

  I bent over, panting and sweating. My lungs were on fire.

  Ares hadn’t even broken a sweat—not since he’d spent the run behind me.

  “You really just need to leave me behind sometimes,” I gasped.

  “You totally had that.” He sounded slightly winded, at least. “Good work with the iron bars.”

  I stood up and scowled at him. He grinned, then leaned forward and kissed me, his lips pressed hard to mine.

  I enjoyed it for a half second before pushing him back. “You need to take me seriously, you know. You should try to save yourself. Don’t risk your life like that.”

  His gaze turned somber. “It’s my life to risk. You can’t make that decision for me.”

  My heart stuttered. He was right. I couldn’t make those decisions for him, nor should I. But damn it, I didn’t want him dying for me. Which he seemed willing to do. It was crazy.

  “I knew we’d get through that,” he said. “I believed in you.”

  “Uh huh.” I nodded, my heart and brain flopping around like fish out of water. He sure did say the right things. And it really sounded like he meant them. This was all too much for me. So I avoided it and turned. “Let’s go.”

  We started down the path, jogging slowly alongside the railroad tracks. The farther we went into the mountain, the staler the air became. Then it got fresher.

  “Air’s weird,” I muttered.

  “We’re coming up to something.”

  In the distance, the walls of the corridor glowed golden and bright. My dragon sense roared, covetousness welling within me. Though my trove was full of plants, cars, and weapons, the dragon side of me was a huge fan of gold. Huge.

  It liked gold like a cat liked tuna.

  The gold tugged at my dragon soul, pulling me down the corridor toward the glowing golden lights. I ran faster. As we neared, a white glow coalesced to form a ghost. Again, he was dressed like a miner. But this time, he was covered in deep cuts that dripped pearly white blood.

  I shivered.

  The ghostly miner just shook his head at us and whispered, “Go back.”

  “Not really an option, friend,” Ares said.

  “I gotta agree with you,” I said to Ares. “But given how the last two challenges have gone…” The smart part of me wanted to listen to Mr. Bled-To-Death.

  Of course we wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

  Ares reached for my hand and I took it, then walked by the messenger. Sadness tugged at me for all the people who’d lost their lives down here. I shoved it aside and we continued on.

  It didn’t take long for the golden lights that glowed in the walls to coalesce into slender figures. They were made entirely of gold, with gleaming eyes and six-inch claws on each hand. The way they stepped out of the stone wall was eerie enough to make me shiver.

  And to make my dragon sense go wild with joy. It was an idiot sometimes.

  “Any idea what these are?” I asked as I warily watched their claws and called upon my conjuring gift.

  “Bad news.”

  There were five. Then six. Seven. More stepped out of the walls. All were at least as tall as Ares, but so slender they looked like reeds.

  I let the magic well inside me, letting a crazy idea take form. The monsters’ claws were sharp, but gold melted at an extremely low temperature.

  I conjured a flaming torch, then a big bottle of hairspray. I passed both off to Ares. “The torch is coated in thermite to burn extra hot. I think you can figure out the hairspray.”

  Ares grinned and took them both, holding the torch up in front of his face like some bad-ass explorer from old. Firelight danced off his features. I conjured my own torch and hairspray, then eased toward the creatures.

  “If they charge—”

  As if the beasts understood my words, they did just that, rushing toward us. They raised their claws, which glinted in the light of my flame.

  They swiped out, going for blood. I held out the torch and pressed the button on the hairspray. Flame roared, jetting toward the creature, which lunged back. Another monster swiped for my legs, going low and almost making contact. I dodged out of the way and thrust my torch toward him, firing the hairspray. The wild flame collided with his hands, softening the metal of the claws until they dripped gold.

  Jackpot.

  Ares fought at my side, aiming his hairspray and torch like a pro. I raced ahead, dodging the gleaming golden monsters.

  Pain sliced through my calf. A cry escaped me as I stumbled. I forced the agony from my mind and spun, swiping out with my torch and hairspray. The flame collided with the arm of one of my attackers. The creature skittered back.

  Ares fought off three golden beasts, his torch streaking through the air and his shield blocking their blows. Fortunately, he was fast, melting their claws before they could make contact.

  We fought our way through the crowd, unable to really kill them but at least able to hold them off.

  I was sweating and covered in a few deep scratches by the time we made it to the end of the corridor. They stopped at an invisible barrier, clawing toward us but unable to get any farther. They were completely silent, which was eerie. Without mouths, there wasn’t much they could say.

  I lowered my torch and empty bottle of hairspray. My heart thundered as I watched them try to get to us. Thank fates for the magic that stopped them. They could only haunt the section of tunnel that had been enchanted.

  Ares turned to me, his gaze concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine.” My wounds burned, but I could ignore them. I thought. “Let’s get a little farther away.”

  We left the golden beasts behind and hurried down the corridor. I limped only slightly, which I considered a win. Once we were a few dozen feet away, I sat on the ground and inspected the deep scratches on my calf. They bled sluggishly, but it wasn’t the worst I’d ever gotten.

  Ares knelt, raising a wrist to his mouth.

  I held out a hand. “No. It’s not that bad.”

  Especially since I didn’t know what his blood would do to me. We already had a connection and he could find me. Could it get deeper?

  Whatever I felt for him… I wanted it to be my feelings, not some weird supernatural blood bond.

  Instead, I conjured a bandage and wrapped it around the wound to stem the bleeding. The rest of my cuts were so superficial that they needed no binding, though one of them was ruining my Black Widow T-shirt.

  “You okay?” I eyed Ares, searching for any wounds. There were none that I could see.

  “I’m fine.” He stood, reaching a hand down for me. I took it, letting him haul me up.

  “I sure hope that’s the last of it.” I turned and continued down the corridor.

  We went deeper and deeper into the mountain. Eventually, the railroad tracks disappeared. “Do you think we’re past the old mining operation?”

  “Could be.” Ares cocked his head. “Hear that?”

  I shook my head, hurrying to see if I could hear it when I was closer. Eventually, the indistinct sound of people—like lots of people chatting in a bar—drifted down the hall. I reached out a hand for Ares, slowing him.

  We crept along on silent feet. The sounds grew louder. Definitely a lot of people. Ahead, the tunnel curved. We crept around the corner. Two men sat on bar stools on either side of the tunnel. Behind them, the tunnel opened up to a vastly larger space.

  “They look like bouncers,” I muttered to Ares.

  “Then pretend we belong inside.”

  Was this really the end of the journey? Had we reached Hider’s Haven? My dragon sense tugged hard, confirming it was likely.

  I sauntered up to the bouncers like I belonged. They were two big guys, burly with muscle and pale skin that looked like it hadn’t seen the light of day in centuries. Probably because it hadn’t. Their beards were long and their eyes beady.

  “Hey guys,” I said.

  “Pass?” The one on the left, who I thought of as Bushy Beard Junior, held out his hand.

  “I lost it.” I smiled, trying for charm, and tilted my body so that they couldn’t see the blood staining my shirt.

  “Liar.” Bushy Bear Senior scowled at me.

  “Don’t call her a liar.” Ares stepped up beside me, shoulders squared.

  Okay, it was testosterone time. The two bouncers surged up, chests out and fists up. We weren’t getting through them without a tussle.

  But Ares was quick. His vampire speed was a blur as he punched them both in the face. Like cartoons, they stood still for the briefest moment, then keeled backward.

  I gave him a thumbs-up. “Nice job.”

  “Better unconscious than dead.” He flexed his hand. “No need to kill the guards.”

  “Couldn’t agree more.” I knelt and conjured two gags and ropes to bind their limbs. Ares and I made quick work of trussing them up, then we left them propped against the wall and headed toward the entrance to Hider’s Haven.

  My dragon sense went wild as we neared the archway. Ademius was here somewhere. I could feel it.

  Since confidence made a person look like they belonged, I sauntered through the archway like I was the quarterback walking through the doors of the high school.

  The space within took my breath away. It was like the central courtyard of a European village. Except that it had been built right into a mountain. The room was large, at least the size of a football field. Vaulted ceilings were streaked with golden ore. Light glittered off the ore, illuminating the space with warmth. Holes in the ceiling had to be vents for fresh air. Magically enchanted to encourage airflow, I’d bet.

  All around the courtyard, shops and cafes were built into the mountain. They were small, but impressive all the same. The space was full of people, sitting on benches and at tables, chatting and playing cards. Though Hider’s Haven was charming in the extreme, most of the inhabitants had a dubious air about them. The kind that spelled trouble in their past. Which made sense, considering they were hiding out.

  But they couldn’t be all bad, considering that there was greenery in the courtyard. Several oak trees grew right out of the ground.

  “I’d like a gander at that irrigation system,” I said. “And the light situation…”

  “You like plants?” Ares asked.

  “You could say that.”

  A woman nearby turned, her keen eyes on us. She was about sixty, with a face that said she’d done it all and seen it all and wouldn’t put up with any BS. Her magic smelled like an old shoe that a wet ferret had chosen for a house.

  “You’re not from around here,” she said.

  “New,” I said.

  Her green eyes narrowed. “The Council never said anything about that.”

  Shit. We did not need to be caught as outsiders.

  “They should have,” I bluffed, heart pounding. “We were invited by my ancestor, Ademius.”

  She studied me, clearly debating whether or not to buy my story. “Hmm. Then you won’t mind if I tell him you are here.”

  I jumped on it. “Yeah, take us right to him. That’d be perfect.”

  “If there’s one inkling of Ademius not wanting you here, you’re going in the pit. Immediately.”

  “Uh, the pit?” I swallowed hard and looked at Ares. “That sounds bad.”

  “Oh, it is.” She grinned, revealing teeth sharpened into points. Fangs. Suddenly, the charming atmosphere of this place became obvious for what it was—a thin veneer. The people here were hardcore badasses and most likely criminals. “The pit is full of sand vipers. It’s where we put intruders. It’s perfect, you see, because the vipers will devour the body and leave nothing for us to clean up.”

  “Whew.” I mimed wiping the sweat off of my brow. “Good thing Grandad Ademius is looking forward to seeing us again.”

  Her eyes flashed with skepticism, but she just turned. “Follow me.”

  “Laying it on a little thick there, aren’t you?” Ares said.

  “Maybe.” Sweat trickled down my back when Fangs, as I’d started to think of her, waved a hand and several creepy people joined our little party. She was getting backup. To throw us in the pit.

  I really hoped Ademius would recognize me now that I was an adult.

  “If this goes to crap, we’re screwed,” I whispered to Ares. Maybe, just maybe, we could fight our way out of here, but I had my doubts. We almost hadn’t made it in. With this lot after us…

  Fangs led us through the main courtyard. The magical signatures of the inhabitants battered me from all sides. Dark and light, good and bad. These folks were a mixed bag—some violent criminals, some just hiding from whatever hunted them.

  I shuddered, praying that I never ended up in a place like this.

  We passed through the courtyard and went down a narrow passage. Doors dotted the way. Some were propped open to reveal small houses, though most were tightly closed.

  Fangs stopped in front of one and grinned creepily at us. “The moment of truth.”

  Considering that there were now about two-dozen makeshift guards surrounding us, things were looking iffy. These folks were serious about protecting their own. Not to mention, they were also probably bored and looking for a scuffle.

  I prayed to fate that Ademius would realize who I was.

  Fangs knocked on the door. I held my breath. After an endless moment, it creaked open.

  An old man peered out, mussed white hair sticking up in all directions. He looked the same as always, with my mother’s eyes and his wooden cane.

 

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