A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)(9)

I nodded slowly. It kind of made sense, especially once I put myself in Patrik’s shoes. He’d spent years as a Destroyer. He’d witnessed so many atrocities firsthand, reduced to being someone who inflicted pain, rather than fulfilling his Druid nature as a healer, a nurturer. He’d survived a war and decades of oppression, after all, and hadn’t lost his common sense and decency. I glanced at the daemon and wondered if he had any family waiting for him. Who did he get himself killed for? A lover? A son? They all had a story, whether we wanted to acknowledge it or not.

“I don’t know, Patrik,” Blaze offered. “I think Rewa and the families of those who’ve lost loved ones to daemons might disagree…”

“Perhaps so.” Patrik gave us a sad smile. “But it’s in my nature to honor life and mourn death. It’s more of a custom, rather than anything else. If I refrain from showing compassion even toward a daemon, then I am not faithful to Druid ethics and traditions. Even Azazel got a brief funeral. I burned his remains and spread them across the land. No one cried, of course, but nevertheless, his passing was observed.”

“Thank you, Patrik, for not abandoning your nature. We’re off now, and we’ll see you in a bit,” I said, and walked out.

Blaze and invisible Fiona followed, as one of Caspian’s Correction Officers waited outside to take us into the prison.

“Here we go,” Fiona whispered behind me.

“Good luck, Fi!” I breathed.

“Ready?” the Correction Officer asked as we reached him.

Blaze and I nodded, and he guided us up the stairs toward the third level and through a network of dark and narrow alleys, until we reached an old wall with a large iron door. The Mara pulled a lever back, causing it to screech loudly, and the door opened.

We went in, and walked through a corridor just as dark and narrow as the alleys for about fifty yards before a set of stairs took us all the way to the underground level in a tight spiral. I tried to keep my eyes on the lower part of the damp wall to my right—if I looked at the stairs, I could lose my balance.

Blaze was in front of me when Fiona slipped and bumped into me from behind, prompting a domino effect that ended with Blaze casually catching me in his arms. Fiona whispered an apology, and the Correction Officer gave us an over-the-shoulder frown.

“Sorry, I slipped!” I said out loud, for the Mara’s ears, then looked up at Blaze, whose arms were still tightly wrapped around me, making my upper body tingle. “You can let go now…”

He inhaled deeply, then released me and continued descending the stairs. We quietly followed. Several minutes later, we reached the prison. The temperature had dropped by a couple degrees, further confirming that we were deep underground.

There was a large iron gate ahead, which the Mara unlocked and pulled to the side, allowing us access into the prison.

“I’ll be waiting here,” he said.

I nodded and followed Blaze inside. The cellblocks spread out around us in the huge cylindrical space. Correction Officers patrolled each level and the narrow passageways linking different sides. Hopeless whimpers and moans trickled out from the cages below on the ground level, sending chills down my spine.

We made it to the bottom, where the tunnels awaited, completely sealed with thick blocks of limestone.

“Well, good to see they held up their end of the bargain and closed off the tunnels,” I muttered, and got the charmed satchels out of my backpack.

“It was in their best interests, after all,” Blaze replied. He then took a compass out from his back pocket and flipped it open. “Okay, let’s do east first, since it’s right here.”

We moved closer to the wall to our right. Blaze used a metal pick he’d brought with him from upstairs to carve a hole through the stone, while I carefully looked around. Fiona had left our side, looking for Demios.

I paid close attention to the Correction Officers, noticing their stern and somewhat concerned expressions as their eyes followed us around. They were most likely on edge, after the explosions—not that they’d been the friendliest dudes the day before, but still, I had to give them the benefit of the doubt.

They’d lost dozens of Maras and Imen up there; surely they weren’t used to such a high number of casualties. Some of the victims could very well be family members.

I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that the prison gave me, though. The moans of nearby prisoners kept tying my stomach up in knots. I caught glimpses of their profiles in different cages. From what I could tell, the bottom level was for the worst offenders, comprised of small and seemingly uncomfortable iron cages, while the cells above provided more space and even single beds for the inmates.

“I wonder what they’re in here for,” I mumbled, holding the charmed satchels in my hands.

“Probably thieves, murderers, and traitors,” Blaze replied, somewhat absently, as he carved a hole deep enough for one of the satchels. “I have a hard time thinking they’re all innocent.”

“I don’t doubt you’re right.” I sighed as he took one of the charm bags and shoved it into the hole. “I’m just wondering what got them here in the first place. I mean, Arrah said her brother was innocent, for example. He was accused of treason, conspiring against the city, but they didn’t give any details. They just hauled his butt to jail…”