Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)(14)

A gust of wind hits us. And Romana clutches my leg. "It's here. The Darkness."

"Only the wind," I say, though I don't truly believe it. I glance at Dean. "Perhaps it best you stay out here with her."

He frowns. "And leave you to go in there alone? What if you do find Metsi? Or this… Darkness thing?"

I turn to Romana. "Baron will stay out here with you. Won't you boy?" His white head bobs between me and the girl, and I can sense his indecision. He doesn't want to leave me alone in the cave.

I kneel and pet his thick fur. "I'll be okay, boy. Take care of Romana. She needs you now. I'll be back shortly."

Baron reluctantly stays with the girl as Dean and I head into the cave.

Our torches are the only light, revealing walls of stone covered in markings. Runes I do not recognize. Drawings of beasts and men.

Dean studies the patterns, his jaw falling as he does. "This must have been an ancient dwelling. A place the Fae lived before they developed civilization."

I snicker. "Or these are just the ramblings of a mad man. An exile sent here to live out his days."

"An exile who knows ancient scripts?'

I shrug, carrying on until we reach something blocking our path. Roots thick and old.

Dean looks them over under the torchlight. "This would be no place for raiders. These roots are hundreds of years old."

I draw my sword. "Unless these roots grew here only after the ritual."

"You think," Dean says. "You think the Darkness made these?"

I nod. "Perhaps it has something to hide." I raise my sword and cut down, slicing through the roots. They fall away, groaning under my assault. I tell myself it is only the echoes, but the roots seem more sentient then I would like. I ignore their cries and cut until we are through their path. With the roots behind us, we step into a cavern, where the ceiling is breeched open, allowing moonlight to fall upon the ground. It is a memorizing sight, the light, dancing and twirling in the darkness. A moment later, I notice what hides in the shadows.

Bones. Hundreds of bones.

The remnants of a fire.

The whisper of broken blades.

And then, I see something that fits not at all.

I see a shelf of books. Old and engraved in ancient ruins. Yet, there is no dust upon them. They have been used. They have been maintained. Something has been living here.

And it was not the raiders.

A whine echoes behind me. Full of pain and agony. A whimper of an injured animal.

Baron!

I turn with haste.

And then I see her.

Cloaked in shadow.

Wisps of black smoke flowing off her body.

A black rag hanging over her eyes.

There is only one part of her not hidden to darkness. Her teeth. Bright and sharp. Too many of them, layered upon themselves. Too many to fit one mouth.

She smells like embers and ash. The smell of burning though there is no fire. The feel of smoke in my chest though the air is clear. I hadn't noticed before, but the scent only left me once. Only when we left the girl at the edge of the cave.

There was never a Fae child in the village. There was never a bandit camp.

There was only the Darkness.

The creature speaks. It has the voice of a youth. The voice of a little Fae girl. "The villagers were as easy to fool as you, Fenris. So quickly they rushed to perform my ritual, when I promised them safety and vengeance. So quickly did they sacrifice themselves."

The poor souls. She tricked them. Fooled them into casting a false ritual and absorbed their powers as her own. But why?

Dean draws his bow, knocking back an arrow. "What are you!" he yells.

The thing, the Wraith, laughs. She drifts through the air, moving slowly, then swifter than the eye can see. Behind my shoulder. Behind Dean's. Whispering in my ear. Whispering in his. When she speaks, her voice is young and old, light and dark all at once. "I am before your time, my prince. I was here when this world was new, and I will be here when it is old. You are but children to me." She runs a hand down my cheek. Vanishes. Appears before me. "Such sweet children."

She is still. And this is our chance.

Dean fires an arrow. I charge.

And then the world turns upside down.

I am no longer on the floor. I hang from the ceiling. Something holds my legs. Roots dark and thick. Dean hangs beside me.

The Wraith is still right side up, her face before me. "We will not fight, my young princes. That is not why I brought you here."

Here. This place of her power. This place where she can bind us and trap us with mere thoughts. This is why she lured us here. And I followed like a fool, when I should have been searching for Arianna.

I spit at the Wraith. "Then what? What do you want?"

She glides around us, sliding her hands over our bodies, tapping at us with long, sharp nails. "I have a proposition, my dear princes. There is someone I seek. Someone outside my power. Bring him to me."

Dean snickers. "And what? You'll let us go? Leave us alone?"

The Wraith speaks softly. "I will do more than that, my dear. I will tell you where you can find your princess. Where you can find Arianna."

I gasp at the mention of her name. At the chance. At hope. This cannot be true. But, if the Wraith has such power, she will know. She will know where I must go.