When Darkness Ends (Guardians of Eternity #12)(97)

The idiotic creature stuck out his tongue. “Oui, I am a gargoyle of many talents.”

“Fine,” Magnus growled. “Let’s just go.”

Tonya lifted her hand, waving to open the portal. Then she gave it another wave. And another.

“Oh shit,” she breathed, her eyes wide with terror. “We’re too late.”

Cyn’s sanity was hanging on by a thread.

Pacing the cramped cell, he searched for any weakness in the smooth stone walls before turning his attention to the iron door that refused to budge.

He grasped the handle, giving it a mighty yank. Nothing happened.

Which meant that it’d been magically connected to the stone that surrounded it.

Dammit.

Whirling on his heel, he moved to where the two vampires lay on the ground. Bending down, he grabbed one of Styx’s large shoulders and allowed his power to flow from his hand into his Anasso.

Not all vampires could share power, but as a clan chief he could perform a basic healing.

“Styx,” he muttered, his fingers curling around his Anasso’s arm to give him a shake. “Wake up.”

There was a low groan before Styx was reaching up to shove away Cyn’s hand.

“Cyn, you are a vampire with a death wish.”

“That’s the one thing I don’t have,” he assured his companion, rising to his feet. “I intend to live. But to do that I need you to get your oversized carcass off the ground.”

“Oversized?” Styx went to his hands and knees, giving a shake of his head as if he were trying to clear out the cobwebs. “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black . . . or some such shit?” With a pained moan, Styx slowly forced himself upright, studying his surroundings with a jaundiced glare. “Damn. We walked straight into a trap.”

Cyn frowned in surprise. There weren’t many traps that a vampire couldn’t sense.

“The druid?”

Styx grimaced. “Yes, but I didn’t see him. We were entering the back of the caves, then zap . . . everything went black.” He shrugged, glancing toward the heavy door. “I’m assuming there’s no way out.”

“Nothing obvious,” Cyn admitted, his gut churning with fear. Where was Fallon? Was she hurt? Was she . . . no. He clenched his fangs. He had to concentrate on getting out of the cell. It was the only way he could help his mate. “It’s magically sealed, but if the three of us can combine our strength we might be able to—”

“Wait.”

The choked command came from Viper, who was rolling onto his back, muttering a foul curse as he tried to gather his strength.

Cyn leaned over him, meeting the vampire’s dark gaze with a wry smile.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Bite me.” Viper narrowed his midnight eyes. “Where’s Fallon?”

Cyn flinched at the pain that sliced through him. “Phyla has her.”

“Bitch.” With far more grace than either Cyn or Styx, Viper was on his feet, sliding his sword from the scabbard angled across his back. “Move aside,” he ordered.

Cyn frowned as he stepped out of Viper’s path. “What are you doing?”

The silver-haired vampire halted directly in front of the door, placing the tip of his sword on the ground.

“We can’t go through, but we can go under.”

Cyn felt the ground tremble beneath his feet, belatedly realizing what his friend intended to do.

As predators, vampires had developed the skill to hide their dinner after a feeding. The humans, after all, were smart enough to ask questions if bodies began to litter the streets. But while most could only use their powers to loosen the soil so it made it easier to bury the dead, there were a rare few that could actually cause enough shift in the earth to collapse large buildings.

Sheathing his own sword, Cyn dropped to his knees at the same time as Styx, using his hands to dig out the large rocks that cracked beneath the pressure of Viper’s power.

Dust began to fill the air as they scooped out the earth beneath the doorway, chucking the large rocks to the back of the cell. There was a tense moment as a long crack suddenly appeared in the side of the cavern, warning that the entire cavern was being affected by Viper’s tiny earthquakes, but the pace never slowed.

A cave-in would be a pain in the ass, but it wouldn’t kill them.

Pulling out one last rock, Styx lay flat on his stomach and began to shove his large body through the hole. There were several curses and the scent of blood as the king scraped off several layers of skin, but eventually he was through the opening.

Cyn was quick to follow, clawing his way under the door and into the narrow tunnel.

With one shove of his hands he was on his feet and headed down the tunnel. He heard Styx call out, but he didn’t slow.

He could sense Fallon above them.

Nothing was keeping him from finding her.

Twice he was forced to double back, before he at last reached a pair of stairs that had been carved into the side of the tunnel wall.

He turned to gesture for Styx and Viper to stay behind him. Fallon was near, but so was the druid.

No one was killing that bastard but him.

Cautiously climbing the stairs, Cyn was prepared as a bolt of fire was shot in his direction. With inhuman speed he dodged the lethal bolt, leaping behind a large stalagmite to survey the small cave.