A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(61)

I walked in first with Draven, followed by Jovi, Bijarki, and Anjani.

At the far end was a slab of what looked like obsidian—a smooth, black crystal as tall as she was. She walked up to it and turned around to face us.

“This was given to me as a gift from a Druid once. Many moons ago, before Azazel went mad and started slaughtering his own kind,” Hansa briefly explained.

I whispered to Draven, describing the black crystal. He straightened his back, recognizing the object from its description.

“You have a passage stone?” he asked, his voice pitched with surprise.

“What’s a passage stone?” Anjani asked, staring at the obsidian.

Judging by the perplexed look on her face, she hadn’t known her sister had it.

“It’s extremely powerful magic from the Druids, thought to be extinct,” Draven explained. “I still have one back at the mansion, but I never use it, because it needs another to connect with. I didn’t know there were any left!”

“Anjani, you didn’t know about this?” I asked her, and she shook her head in response.

“Little sisters don’t know everything.” Hansa grinned. “I was going to tell her once she advanced through our ranks a little further. The passage stone is a well-guarded secret. Only I know about it. Well, now you know too.”

“What does it do?” I still wasn’t clear on its purpose.

“It takes you to wherever there’s another passage stone—provided you know your destination, of course. Otherwise you might not like where you end up,” Hansa replied.

“This only works if there’s another stone on the other side. How did you know I had one?” Draven asked.

“I’m no fool, Druid. You don’t strike me as someone who isn’t resourceful and cunning. You’ve been keeping that Daughter to yourself all this time, after all. And besides, Almus had one.” Hansa smiled. “Well, he had two. He gave me this one.”

I was speechless and, judging by Draven’s expression, so was he.

“We’ll save that story for another time,” Hansa continued. “By the way, Anjani will be joining you.”

At the sound of her name, Anjani’s eyes grew wide, looking at each of us with what looked like panic and disapproval. She shook her head.

“No, no, no. Why do I have to go?” She protested.

“Wow, don’t get too excited,” Jovi shot back, visibly offended.

“It is part of our agreement,” Hansa cut them off, her eyes set on Draven. “One of us with you at all times. It’s our tradition. Allies are not friends, Druid. We trust no one.”

Draven nodded solemnly. “That’s perfectly fine with us, if it strengthens our agreement.”

“Very well,” Hansa concluded. She took out a knife and pulled Draven’s hand out. I opened my mouth to protest, but Anjani gripped my arm, her gaze urging me to keep quiet.

“The stone needs the blood of someone who has seen the other stone,” the tribe chief said. She sliced his palm.

Draven hissed and tightened his grip on my hand even further, until my bones crackled from the pressure, and I yelped. He instantly relaxed his hold.

Hansa guided his bleeding hand to the stone’s surface.

As soon as his blood came in contact with the smooth obsidian, its surface began to ripple, similar to what we had seen the other day before we entered the Red Tribe through the limestone barrier.

“Good. Now it knows where to take you,” Hansa said. “Come see us in seven days, Druid. We will have answers by then—good or bad.”

Draven nodded and walked through the stone. I followed quietly behind and heard Hansa shout after us as the darkness enveloped me.

“Don’t get my sister killed, Druid!”

The warning sent chills down my spine. I held on to Draven’s hand, unable to see or hear anything. I could only feel his touch, as we walked through the immaterial blackness. It only lasted a few seconds.

Before I knew it, he’d pulled me out into the dim light of a subterranean chamber. I stumbled into his back.

He held his arms out to stop the others from moving forward. I looked behind and saw an identical slab of obsidian resting against a humid stone wall. Jovi, Anjani, and Bijarki came out of it, one at a time, its surface trembling from the contact before it smoothed itself back to its original state.

We were standing in front of a deep underground pool lit with fluorescent blue water. The pool looked like it had been carved into the stone. We stood on a narrow ridge alongside it, a step from falling into the water.

“This is not the kind of pool you’d want to swim in, believe me,” Draven warned.

One by one, we started shuffling toward the end of the ridge, where a narrow staircase had been carved, leading back to the surface of wherever this was.

“What’s that smell?” Jovi asked, sniffing the humid air.

I took a deep breath and suddenly felt a little lightheaded. Draven gripped my arm, having heard my inhalation.

“Don’t breathe in too much. The water emanates a toxic gas. It was used as an anesthetic by the Druids back in the old days. It’s still highly potent. It’s mostly odorless, but it will knock you out,” Draven explained.

We reached the stairs and climbed up, one by one. We made it to the surface and found ourselves in the back garden of the mansion surrounded by thick rose bushes with the greenhouse to our right.