she and Cody walked forward. From what she could see, they’d been on horizontal pathways, joined up, then joined by someone else – no, two someone else’s. She walked in a circle until she understood the pattern then turned back to Cody and explained. She pointed down the direction they’d gone. “They were taken this way.”
“Taken?” he asked, slowly staring in the direction she’d pointed. “We don’t know that though, do we?”
She studied the energy again. “The newcomers are behind them, pushing David and Dad ahead of them.”
“Damn.” Cody headed into the darkness. “I wonder if it’s the same group as from the blood farm.”
“I don’t know why it would be. The blood farm isn’t operational down here. In fact, this looks like it’s been deserted for over a century.”
“Hard to say,” Cody said. “The hospital above is connected, so it makes sense that anything going on down here is too.”
She hated to think that, but it made sense. “Maybe David triggered a sensor when he opened one of the doors. Otherwise, why would there be anyone here on this level? There are what – forty, fifty floors above us?”
“Unless they were here for something else, guarding something?”
“And that just begs the question of what?” She searched the gloom around them. “There’s nothing here.”
She hated this. “We’re supposed to be helping free Jewel and Ian. Not getting caught up in these issues again.”
Cody stopped in front of her. “Can you text Ian?”
She pulled out her phone. “Here is a text from David. Saying where they are.” She looked around. “Which we know anyway, but they aren’t here now.” She studied her phone. “We have very limited connectivity.”
“Makes sense being so deep underground. It would also explain why David isn’t here when his text said he would be. Probably took a while to send.”
“I’ll send one to Ian regardless and let him know we’re at the bottom of the staircase and there are unfriendlies here too.”
She hit the send button and the tiny pinwheel started churning, but it didn’t send. Damn. She pocketed the phone and looked around. They’d been getting deeper and deeper into the empty building. It appeared to be made from rock and cement. Old, as in very old. “Maybe this foundation is older than what’s up top.”
“What difference does it make if it is? It’s still connected to what’s up above,” Cody said, almost absentmindedly.
“I’m just thinking that maybe whatever, or whoever is down here is old or has been here for a very long time. They may have been connected to what’s above at one time, but there is little to no energy coming down that stairwell, so they aren’t going up very often.”
“Unless they have an easier way of travelling.”
She frowned. “True. Very true. I wonder if they have another entrance.”
From behind them came a deep and very old voice. “There’s another exit. It helps us to avoid people we don’t want to meet.”
Cody and Tessa had both frozen at the sound of the voice. As one, they spun slowly around to see a very old vampire in front of them. He held up a finger to his lips for silence and motioned them off to one side. “You must go quietly in here. There are eyes and ears everywhere.”
And he moved to the left. “Come, follow me.”
And he disappeared into the shadows. Actually, it was as if the shadows closed around him.
*
Goran waited impatiently for Sian to return to ask about his damn clothes. Taking his off for a woman was one thing, having his clothes taken off him for a damn doctor to run tests while he was out cold was quite another. He still had his boxers on, but he was rather desperate for his pants.
She chose that moment to walk in.
He almost jumped her. “Sian, where are my clothes? Did you take them away?”
Sian frowned, looking around. He thought she’d been about to make some kind of stupid excuse to keep him there, but she’d surprised