“You just tried to save me, though.”
“I did, yes. Though I failed. And the beast inside me…he still wants you.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes going dark as she nodded. “I understand.”
She pulled off her bloody, ruined jacket and moved to throw it aside.
I held out a hand. “No. We can’t leave traces of our blood here. Too dangerous. We don’t know how Silviu will use it.”
“Good point.” She shoved it into her bag.
I searched the ground where we’d fallen, looking for signs of our blood. Our clothes seemed to have soaked up most of it, thank fates. There were a few small, quickly drying specks that would be of no use to Silviu.
“Let’s keep moving.” I turned to head down the hall.
We walked swiftly and silently, passing the bodies of the guards without a second glance. We’d need to be quick to find the seer, but once we had, the magic in the seer’s cavern would prevent us from being disturbed.
As we descended a sloped hallway, it grew colder and colder, as if the castle were built into a hill of ice. Carrow shivered. “We’re close, aren’t we?”
“Yes. Those were the last guards, I believe.” I’d never come down here much when I’d lived in the castle, but I was fairly certain.
“It also feels like hell.” She rubbed her arms.
She was right, I realized. A prickling sensation raced across my skin. This whole place was foul with dark magic.
6
Carrow
A moment later, we reached a heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor a dozen yards past the last guards.
“To my knowledge,” Grey said, “we’re at ground level. This should lead us to the seer’s cavern.”
The magic that pulsed from the door made my insides churn. I pressed a hand to my stomach and breathed deeply. “Is this why the guards were positioned so far away?”
Grey nodded. “It’s impossible to stay long in this spot. Come on.”
He reached for the iron door handle and pushed inward. As the heavy door swung open, the magic became more repulsive.
I drew in an unsteady breath. “This is awful.”
“We just need to get through, then it will be better.” He entered the dark corridor, and I followed.
Immediately, stairs descended. We took them two at a time, hurrying into the darkness. Every three meters or so, torches on the walls burst to life as we passed. Their glow was faint but welcome.
It took us at least five minutes to descend the entire way. We had to be a dozen stories underground. The air grew icy and damp, and I rubbed my arms, wishing my jacket hadn’t been ruined. The wet, blood-soaked shirt at my back turned hard, freezing in the air. My teeth chattered.
“Almost there,” Grey said.
We reached a huge room at the base of the stairs, a cavern carved right out of the black rock. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and a white mist filled the otherwise empty space.
“Who could possibly live down here?” I asked.
“The seer is not actually a person,” Grey said. “It’s a shadow from the past. The collective memories and knowledge of all turned vampires.”
“Wow.” I’d had no idea that was even possible.
“Come.” He reached for my hand, but right before our fingers could touch, he drew his hand back and clenched it into a fist. He shook his head. “Not safe. Follow me.”