“Trev Blayne?” the first guard asked, his voice low.
“Yes.”
“Show us your sign,” the guard replied. Trev brought his hand up, showing off his own black-and-white leather strings, and the gold soldiers nodded their acceptance. “Come with us. The Scholar is expecting you.”
They turned around and headed back down the path toward the palace, and Trev followed. I stayed close, careful of where I stepped so as not to make any noise. My nerves were stretched to a maximum, but this was it. This was as close as I would ever get to the upper ranks of the Darklings. My opportunity to deliver some justice.
The guards took us through a servants’ entrance and a couple of tight corridors. We reached a door at the end, hidden behind a wall-mounted velvet curtain, for which the guards had a key. Trev looked understandably nervous, but he kept calm along the way.
“Thank you for accompanying me,” he said. “Will there be more trials for me?”
“That’s up to the Scholar,” the second gold guard replied.
We went through the door, which they made sure to lock behind them, and down a long, spiraling staircase. The deeper we went, the colder it got. The walls became black, made of dark limestone, like the floor and the steps. Once we reached the bottom, we moved through a small maze of corridors, until we reached another locked door. There was a key for this, too.
Yet more stairs, until shivers began to trickle down my spine. The walls were wet down here, and flames barely burned in the mounted torches, but I could still see clearly. It looked like a different world altogether, the complete opposite of the opulence and stylish extravagance of the palace above.
This was a secret dimension, in a chilling sense. Nothing but black stone and puddles of water and whispers traveling and snaking through the hallways. And we weren’t alone here. I could feel it in my bones. Whatever this place was… it wasn’t normal. Did the Lord and Lady Supreme know about this? Did they know it was being used by the Darklings? A dozen difficult questions bounced through my head, but there were no answers.
My only shot at getting some clarity here was to keep following Trev, which I did. He was led through a series of corridors, turning left and right several times, and eventually brought before a room with a massive iron door. My blood ran cold as I noticed the symbols carved into its padlock—they seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. I just knew that I’d seen them somewhere outside Visio… so what were they doing here, on this particular padlock?
The guards opened the door and motioned for Trev to go in. “This is where we leave you,” the first guard said. “We’ll see you around.”
I backed myself against the wall so they wouldn’t bump into me as they brushed past and headed back out. Holding my breath, I looked at Trev, who stood in the open doorway with wide eyes, his lips slowly parting. Whatever he was seeing inside that room, it had shocked him.
Moving around so I could see what he saw, I felt my breath abandoning me in a long and muted exhale. There was a long table in the middle of the room, with high-back chairs. Everything was made from the same black stone as the walls. Five Darklings were present, standing close to the chairs, but the sixth one, seated at the head of the table and eyeing Trev curiously, stunned me.
“Zoltan Shatal,” Trev murmured, recognizing him.
What in the world?!
Zoltan smirked and got up, pointing at the small gold key hanging around his neck. “Scholar Shatal, to you,” he replied.
Holy crap.
Once again, I wondered: Did Danika and Acheron know about him? Petra? Kalon? Corbin Crimson? Did any one of the people who were so devoted to catching the Darklings even suspect that Zoltan Shatal was one of them? Were there more like him in the higher echelon of Visio’s society? If I’d been baffled before by the mere presence of this underground realm, well… I was downright blank in the head now, trying to understand what the hell was going on.
Zoltan Shatal was a Scholar of the Darklings. It was safe to begin with that, and to wonder who else knew, among those around him. This was a huge secret to keep from everybody. What were the odds the Darklings operated down here independently and unbeknownst to anyone else?
Whether people knew about this or not, it still terrified me.
“Scholar Shatal,” Trev finally said. “My apologies. I’m just surprised. I’m sure you understand why.”
“Oh, yes, it’s only natural,” Zoltan replied.
“Thank you for the honor and the opportunity to serve the Darklings. I will do everything in my power to rise to your expectations.”
“Welcome,” one of the Darklings said—a young Aeternae woman with amber eyes and long ginger curls framing her oval face. “We are your people now. But you will not serve us.”
“You will be serving the Master, like the rest of us,” Zoltan added, nodding at one of the empty chairs. “Have a seat.”
Trev didn’t hesitate. He entered the room and sat in a chair—the farthest from the Darklings and Zoltan. I would’ve kept some distance, too, if I’d been him. Moving around the room, I analyzed each of them carefully as they took their seats. Some seemed familiar. I must have met them, or at least seen them, perhaps in the palace or the Blood Arena. They all wore long black leather hoods over their courtly outfits, their gazes cold and emotionless.
“What brought you to the Darklings, in the first place?” Zoltan asked Trev.
“I’ve already answered that,” the former Rimian replied, his brow furrowed. “Shall I say it again?”
“I do not need you to recite any mantra you must’ve practiced before coming into our fold,” Zoltan said, his tone clipped. “I need you to be honest. I can smell liars from a mile away.”
I’ll bet you can’t smell an invisible vampire, though.
There were too many people in the room, and dampness was imbued into every inch of stone here, so it was nearly impossible for my scent to stand out. As long as I kept quiet, I would be okay.
Trev took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Scholar Shatal, I know the Black Fever is threatening to return. I have sources inside the palace, much like most of you. One of the reasons I became an Aeternae was so I could work with you, with the Darklings, so I can enjoy eternal life without the fear of the Black Fever taking me down, eventually.”
Zoltan smiled, his gaze never leaving Trev. A few minutes passed in deafening silence. The other Darklings stayed quiet, looking at Zoltan and waiting for him to respond. The decision to let Trev into this faction rested solely with the chief councilor, the so-called Scholar, it seemed.
“Your motives seem pure. Admirable, even,” Zoltan said. “I’d be inclined to open my arms wide as I give you access to all our secrets and knowledge. My heart wants you to become a good and honorable Darkling.”
Honorable. What an odd choice of words for a faction that assassinated innocent people. But Zoltan’s expression shifted from lukewarm to arctic cold and deadly dark, his voice changing, thickening, as well.
“However, I have been watching you since you joined the Red Threads,” he added. “Given that you’re friends with people of importance, I thought I should have eyes on you. Needless to say, I have not been disappointed. You’ve been doing exactly what I assumed you’d be doing. I know, Trev. I know you’re still hurting over Luna Visentis. I know you’re planning to hurt us. I know you’ve been secretly meeting with Lord Kalon Visentis and his new vampire-lady pet, Esme Vaughn. I know everything. Therefore, although my heart says yes, I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to walk out of here alive.”
In an instant, the Darklings shot to their feet, their claws extending from beneath their leather folds, and Trev was alone against them. My heart leapt into my throat. I tried to think of a way out for him. The door was open, sure, but I doubted it would be easy for him to get out of here. Like Zoltan had just said, they had no intention of letting him leave this place alive.
“This isn’t going to work out in your favor,” Trev said, slowly getting up and baring his fangs. His cover was blown. Hell, it had been blown since before he’d set foot in the underground. His fate had already been sealed. The purpose of tonight’s meeting had solely been to lure him down here, away from where Kalon and I might be able to help. Of course, they had no idea about my invisibility magic. “My friends know I’m here.”
Zoltan grinned. “No, they don’t. If they did, they would be here, stomping their feet and acting all righteous. You shall not be entitled to the secrets of the Darklings, Trev. It was a nice try, I’ll give you that. But you should’ve stayed a Rimian. You should’ve settled for whatever years you had left. The life of an Aeternae is far too complicated for someone like you. We’re doing you a favor now.”
