An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(31)

I didn’t waste any more time and forced open the lid. A dark bed of soil lay beneath—the same soil I’d dug up last time I’d been here. Ibrahim and Corrine helped to dig up the earth faster and soon the lid of a mahogany coffin came into view.

I lowered myself into the hole and slid down the side of the casket. I placed my hands underneath its lid, gauging how loose it was. Before lifting it open, I looked up to see Corrine, Ibrahim and Kiev beginning to make their way down after me.

It was cramped enough as it was, so I told them to stay where they were. At least for now, only one person could take this journey. Any more, and we would just attract attention—something we could not afford. None of us would have a chance against her if she decided to wield her magic. I had to see what was down there first.

I popped open the lid. It was still empty. I stripped the coffin of all the fabric and linen that was lining it until I reached the wooden base.

As much as I despised it, I lifted myself into the container. Crouching on all fours, I pressed my ear against the wood, listening for any kind of sound coming from below.

There was nothing. No indication of any life beneath. Just silence.

But I knew better than to give up. Perhaps it was covered over now, but I knew that there was a portal somewhere around here. Lilith had once pulled me through it the same night I’d murdered the Ageless in her sleep.

“What are you doing?” Kiev asked.

I ignored his question. I didn’t know what I was doing.

Using my magic, I drilled a hole through the base of the coffin. It was large enough to put my whole head inside. To my dismay, there was only soil beneath. I began digging deeper into the earth and when I found that I was digging up nothing but more earth, a nagging doubt entered my mind that perhaps I had gotten the wrong end of the stick yet again. But the knowledge that Rhys had headed to The Sanctuary too reminded me that I couldn’t have.

This place must hold the answer.

I spent the next few minutes in silence, ignoring questions called down toward me by Kiev, Derek, Sofia and others. Finally, I reached my first glimmer of hope—a dark, shiny substance. Thick liquid.

I looked back up and nodded at Kiev and the rest of my companions. “I’m onto something now,” I said. “But you must stay up there. No matter what happens, no matter what you think might be happening, don’t come after me. It will only make the situation worse.”

The look on Kiev’s face pained me. I’d given him cause for grief on so many occasions recently, I had lost count. I just hoped that this would be one of the last.

Still using my magic, I expanded the hole in the floor of the coffin enough for my whole body to fit through. I dug away more of the soil underneath until I could slide right through and dip my feet into the glistening substance beneath. But before I lowered myself down, I stripped down to my underwear. I didn’t want to have any extra weight. I remembered how dense that liquid had been.

Casting one last glance upward, I dropped myself down.

I winced as my feet made contact with the substance. It began pulling me downward immediately, like quicksand. It reached my waist, my chest, my neck… I barely had time to utter a spell that would allow me to survive for an extended period of time beneath it before it engulfed me completely.

At first I was pulled down slowly, but then I began to gather speed. After what felt like a minute of sinking, I began to wonder how deep this liquid really was. After three minutes, a fear took hold of me that perhaps the only way to successfully travel along the portal was with Lilith’s permission.

What if this liquid leads nowhere? What if it’s never-ending? Just an abyss of endless slime?

I shook myself. Get a grip. It’s only been a few minutes.

Still, the thought haunted me.

My tension eased only slightly when I realized that the liquid seemed to be getting less thick, and I was beginning to pass through it much faster. It also felt less grainy and abrasive against my skin. Then my feet hit something solid, and my whole body bent as I passed along some kind of rounded tunnel. I emerged against a flat surface. I stretched out my hands to feel around—it felt like stone. I gathered my legs beneath me and kicked up hard—though I was still too afraid to open my eyes in case they stung. Although this liquid felt much lighter, I didn’t know that it was any less toxic.

Only daring to open my eyes once my head poked above the surface, I wiped my face with my hands and looked around.

I was shocked to see that not only was I in water, it was the clearest, most pristine-looking water I had ever seen in my life. It looked purer than even the lakes of The Sanctuary, and there was not a single trace of the dark muck I had just passed through.

I kept my head low as I took in the magnificent chamber I’d emerged in. There was a fragrant smell of incense. Soft light emanated down from the ceiling, and exotic-looking plants and flowers decorated the walls. Lining the floors were luxurious carpets and in the center of the room was an elevated platform upon which stood a large four-poster bed. I almost swallowed my tongue as I realized that I was not alone. I dipped down back into the water as quietly as I could, the vision I had just witnessed etched in my mind’s eye. Although the curtains had been drawn around the bed, they were thin enough for me to make out a man and a woman, wearing nothing but sheets, wrapped in each other’s arms. For a moment I feared that they might have heard me, but they had looked so absorbed in each other, I realized that the fear was likely unfounded.