Maris had closed the portal.
Chrysabelle slammed her fist into the rock wall, barely containing the scream chafing her throat. They’d been so close. She punched the wall again, but her fist hit flesh.
Mal’s palm cushioned the space between her hand and the rock wall. She tore her hand away, anger pulsating in her veins. She’d been within yards of her aunt. A net of helplessness closed around her heart.
Mal motioned to the wall as if to say, ‘Just open it again.’
But she couldn’t. The wards had a built-in safety measure. Once a door had been opened and closed, it couldn’t be reopened for fifteen minutes. She shook her head at him. They’d have to go through a different one, one that wasn’t as conveniently located in the house.
She charged out, waving her hand for the others to follow. She didn’t care at this point if Doc and Dominic came along or not. Maris’s near escape would certainly cost her. Tatiana would have her punished. Maybe killed outright.
Those thoughts moved her quickly another thirty feet down the tunnel and into the next room. Mal, Doc, and Dominic were right behind her. This was not going to be pleasant. Especially if the room beyond had been used recently. She positioned herself in front of the correct wall according to the map in her head and put her arms together before her so the signum inscribed on her forearms lined up. Please, holy mother, she mouthed.
The portal opened.
The weak luminescence from the room they were in refused to penetrate the total darkness in the space beyond. She tipped her head, motioning the others through. Their vision would have to guide her because she would be blind in there. She entered behind Dominic, turned, and reactivated the ward, closing the portal.
‘We can talk now,’ she said, trying to breathe through her mouth. The musty reek of carrion and ash crawled down her throat anyway. Things had died here. Not all of them human. ‘This area is completely silver-lined.’
‘Yes,’ Dominic answered from in front of her. ‘That’s the protocol for any dungeon built in a vampire estate.’ He laughed softly. ‘No one wants to hear the screaming.’
‘Or smell the stench,’ Doc choked out. The squeak of vermin echoed from the corners of the space.
‘Why did you shut the door?’ Mal was a few feet to her left.
She reached for him, hoping for his sleeve, but grazed his hard stomach instead. She curled her fingers away, ignoring the burst of sensation touching him aroused in her. ‘So we could talk. If we manage to make it out of this house alive, I’m thinking we’ll be able to get out the front door. If not, I can try to reopen this door or the one in the wine cellar, but there’s no guarantee. The wards get sticky with too much use. They’re mostly meant for one-way trips.’
Carefully avoiding her body armor, he guided her hand to his arm. ‘Is that why you didn’t reopen the one your aunt closed? I assume that was your aunt.’
‘Basically, and yes.’ She looked in what she thought was the direction of Dominic. ‘Did you know she could walk?’
‘No,’ he answered. The word was too bitter to be a lie, and the simplicity of the response confirmed his shock at seeing Maris ambulatory. How was he feeling about the woman he claimed to love? Betrayed? Deceived?
Chrysabelle felt a bit of that herself, but she had to focus on why they’d come. Maris might be willing to sacrifice herself for Chrysabelle, but Chrysabelle wasn’t okay with that. Maris was family. As real a family as a comarré could get. Chrysabelle needed that. Plus, Maris being able to walk made getting her out easier. Dominic could wallow on his own time. They had to move. ‘I can’t see a thing, so one of you is going to have to find a way out of here.’
‘Be glad you can’t see,’ Doc said. ‘This joint ain’t pretty. Doesn’t look like it’s been used for a while though.’
‘I’m sure the dungeon is too lax a punishment for Tatiana’s enemies. She’s known to be a bit prickly about getting dirty.’ Chrysabelle glanced upward into the darkness, wondering where in the estate her aunt might be. ‘She’s probably got a nice clean holding cell up there somewhere.’
‘Then let’s find it.’ Mal moved forward. The muscle beneath her hand tightened. ‘Watch your step.’
Her foot sent something clattering across the floor. ‘What was that?’
‘A femur,’ Mal answered.
‘Great,’ she said. She squeezed Mal’s arm lightly. ‘This can’t be fun for you,’ she said softly.
He grunted.
She wasn’t sure how to take that. Did this dungeon remind him of the ruins where he’d been imprisoned? She hoped not. ‘How far are we from the door?’
‘We’re there. It’s locked. Is it guarded from the outside?’
‘If the dungeon is empty, probably not. Do you sense any life in here?’
‘Nothing more than a few rats,’ Dominic answered.
‘One of you is going to have to break the lock. As quietly as you can.’
‘What’s our plan when we get out of here?’ Doc asked. Chrysabelle took her hand from Mal’s arm and rubbed her chin. ‘We’re two levels down. The living areas in this estate are on the north side, so we’ll head that way once we hit the main floor. Tatiana’s had the estate modified somewhat since she took it over, so we’ll start checking rooms once we get up there.’
‘Maris could be anywhere,’ Dominic said.