They stayed still and silent.
The footsteps came closer as the guards entered the library. Light suddenly leaked through three sides of the panel they’d come through.
Greyson put his finger to his lips, then motioned that they should stay where they were. She nodded. The passageway was stone block on all sides. About as utilitarian as it got. It sloped downward, then turned. Here and there along the way were piles of rags, old papers, and broken crates, making Kora wonder if the passage had been used for storage at one time.
As soon as the guards were gone, they’d head down the slope and into the dungeon that had to lay beyond. Probably using her lighter to guide them.
The guards’ conversation was minimal, and even though it was in Spanish, not one of Kora’s best languages, she sussed out that they were chalking the noise up to a ghost named Catalina.
Birdie had mentioned her, too. Kora made a mental note to keep an eye out for the woman in case they ran into her. If anyone knew the castle, it would be the ghost who inhabited it.
The men finally went back to their post, turning the lights off and leaving Greyson and Kora in utter darkness again.
She spoke softly, hoping the passageway didn’t have any echo effect. “There’s a turn about ten yards down.”
“I saw,” Greyson answered. “Should be safe to use your lighter once we get past that. I don’t want to risk the light shining through the panel seams.”
“Okay.”
He patted her hand, which was still on his arm. “I’ll go first. Keep hold of me.”
His movements were evident by his brushing against her and the sounds of his boot soles scraping the stone under their feet. Together, they carefully descended the incline.
Kora kept one hand on Greyson and one hand on the wall. When they made the turn, they stopped.
She got her lighter out and flicked it to life. It was as bright as the sun after such complete blackness, making them both squint for a second.
The passage ahead went only a few more feet before it opened up and turned into steps that led farther down. At the top of the steps was a gated landing and a torch held by a metal ring bolted to the wall.
Greyson went through and picked up the torch. “Good thing you have that lighter.”
“You think it’s okay to light that thing?”
He nodded. “We’re far enough away from the panel now.” He looked up at the gate. It was only about ten feet high. “We’ll have to climb this. The guard might not see the light, but they might hear the noise of us breaking through this much metal.”
“Or…” She used her free hand to dig into her waist bag and pull out her lock-picking kit. “We could use this.”
“You and your bag of tricks.” But he held his hand out.
She tossed the kit to him, then walked the rest of the way down and took the torch. “This thing might go up pretty fast. No telling how old it is.”
“If I have to pick the lock with only the flame from the lighter, that’s fine. But once we get down into the dungeon, we’ll need something to see by. I’m thinking the lighter might not be enough then. Depends on how large a space it is.”
She held the flame closer to the lock while he knelt and got to work. “Maybe there will be rushes on the floor or something else we can burn for light.”
“Let’s hope. We have no idea what we’re looking for, so it could take us a while.”
The lock released, and he stood. He eased the gate open enough for her to get through. It creaked, but not too loudly. “After you.”
“Thanks.” She went down a few steps and held the flame to the torch. It sputtered, then caught. She closed the lighter and put it away. The torch gave off more than enough light. It spilled over the steps and into the cavernous space below.
Greyson joined her, and they made their way down. The floor was mostly dirt. Some stone in places, and here and there, the remains of rushes, the straw used to cover the dirt, were visible.
Metal rings protruded from the walls. Some had chains still attached.
Kora shuddered. “This place is creepy.”
“We were just in the catacombs.”
“Yeah, that was like Disney compared to this.” She grimaced as they reached the bottom of the steps. “Let’s find whatever we need to find and get out of here.”
“I’m all for that.” Greyson stopped, then did a slow circle. “There are a lot of smaller rooms. Searching this place is going to take a while. Do you have any idea what we might be looking for?”
“None. Sorry. Maybe something that doesn’t belong?”
“Or maybe something very familiar.” He put his hand on the torch and guided her around in his direction, pointing toward one of the many arched doorways. “What does that look like to you?”
She stared at the stones, her mouth coming open. “It’s a sun.”
He nodded. “I say we go that way.”
Greyson waited while Kora examined the sun symbol etched onto the stone arch, holding the torch for her so she could clear away the grime.
She nodded at him from her crouched position. “It’s the same as what we saw in the pub and the catacombs. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it. I should have been. Good thing you saw it.”
“You would have found it.”
She stood, brushing her hands off. “Probably. But I’m glad it didn’t take that long.”
He used the torch to gesture toward the passage. Cells were visible beyond. “Through here, then?”
“Yes. I hope the next sun is a little more obvious.”
But it wasn’t. In fact, the next one took longer to find. It was scratched onto the metal of a cell door, near the top corner and almost invisible due to cobwebs.
Greyson cleared the webs away with his hand. “It’s a match. So what do you think? Inside the cell? Or farther down?”
“Inside. Even if just to eliminate the chance our next clue is in there. If there’s nothing, we go farther down this passage.”
“Agreed. Hold this.” He handed her the torch and tried to open the door. “I don’t think it’s locked, but settling has caused the walls to shift slightly, and that’s basically crushed any clearance.”
“You’re going to have to muscle it open.”
“Exactly, but it might be loud.”
She shrugged. “We’re too far down to be heard now. I hope. We don’t have a choice.”
“Here goes.” He wrenched the cell door off its hinges. The noise echoed through the space, making them both cringe.
Kora glanced upward. “Hopefully, the guards will think it’s just Catalina again.”
“That’s the ghost the guards were talking about, right? My Spanish isn’t great, but I picked up on that word.”
She nodded. “Same here. Birdie sent me a little snippet about her. She was a very interesting woman who apparently died in this dungeon.”
They went into the cell and started looking for the next sun sign.
“Lovely,” he said. “Why was she incarcerated in the first place?”
Before Kora could answer, another voice spoke. “What do you want, vampires? Why do you disturb me?”
They turned to see a translucent woman in a tattered black lace gown blocking the door they’d just come through. She hovered a few feet off the ground. Her eyes gleamed like dying embers, while an ethereal wind tugged at her hair and dress.
Kora stepped forward, impressing Greyson with her bravery. But then, her grandmother had been a ghost for years, so maybe that helped. “Senorita Catalina. I’m Kora Dupree. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Catalina’s burning eyes narrowed, but the wind around her calmed slightly. “You think it’s a pleasure to meet me?”
Kora nodded. “You’re the mistress of this grand castle, aren’t you?”
Catalina seemed to take that in and, after a moment, accept it as a compliment. She lifted her chin slightly. “I am the mistress of this castle. Why are you here?” She pointed at Greys
on. “And who is that?”
“This is my servant. Greyson.” Kora put her hand on his arm and squeezed. A signal to go along with her story, he assumed. But why it mattered that he was her servant, he wasn’t sure. “Like me, he’s a vampire. I turned him. He was an orphan when I found him. He means you no harm.”
Greyson had so many questions his tongue was burning. Still, he remained silent and let Kora do whatever it was she was doing. After all, she’d read up on this ghost, so she knew more than he did about how to handle her.
The fire in Catalina’s eyes died. “You must be a kind woman to rescue an orphan.”
Kora shrugged off the compliment. “We all need to do our part.”
“Yes,” Catalina muttered. “We must.”
The edge to her voice told Greyson there was a whole lot going on here that Kora was going to have to explain later.
Kora smiled. “As to why we are here in your beautiful home, I am seeking something that’s been hidden here. When I find it and return it to its rightful owner, they have promised to tell me the truth about my mother’s death.” Kora swallowed, and Greyson wasn’t sure if it was genuine emotion or part of the act.
Either way, Catalina was riveted. “Your mother is dead?”
“Yes,” Kora said. “My father raised me. But I have been plagued all my life by not knowing what happened to her.”
Catalina clasped her hands together. “What do you seek? Perhaps I can help you.”
Kora reached under the neck of her shirt and lifted the locket free. “This is the only clue I have. There are sun symbols that match it scratched into the stone and metal here in this dungeon, but I don’t know how many there are, or where they lead. Have you seen them? Do you know if there are more than just the two I’ve found?”
Catalina’s smile made her look creepier, but Greyson wasn’t going to complain. Help was help. “I know what you are here to find. She was also a vampire.”
“She?”
“The woman who made those marks. Follow me.”
She floated through the doorway and farther down the passage. Kora shot Greyson a look, and they went after Catalina. There were a few torches still in their sconces on the way, so Greyson touched them with the flames from the one in his hand and brought them to life. The light revealed that some of the cells on both sides also contained bones.
Kora was right. This place was far creepier than the catacombs.
Catalina stopped at the end of the passage. There, the dungeon opened up into a small chapel area. Perhaps the prisoners had been allowed to pray? Greyson had never seen such a thing, but the Spanish were a very religious people.
Kora and Greyson stayed outside the threshold, but he held the torch up so they could see better.
Two rough-hewn benches sat side by side before an altar, the centerpiece of which was a beautiful statue of the Holy Mother on a platform that raised her several feet. Squat candles gone gray with grime and soot lined a narrow wooden table before the statue.
Catalina floated backward into the space, keeping her eyes on Kora and Greyson. “This is sacred ground. Holy, even. I have heard vampires may not tread upon such. And yet, the woman was in here.”
“And she was a vampire?” Kora asked.
“Yes.” Catalina hovered near the statue of Mary. “She prayed here. And made an offering.”
Kora visibly went on alert, her frame straightening. “What kind of offering?”
Catalina nodded at the top of the pedestal the statue stood on. “See for yourself. Which item do you think she left?”
Kora and Greyson looked at what had been left, but it was Kora who spoke. “Matryoshka. Of course.”
Little wooden carvings of animals, some crude, some skillful, sat there along with a few seashells, an almost completely decayed bunch of flowers, a frayed silk neckcloth, and the item Kora had called out, the item that had most likely been left by the woman in question—a Russian nesting doll.
Greyson nodded. “Offerings from the prisoners. And the woman who designed this scavenger hunt.”
“Catalina,” Kora began, “can you bring me that doll? Please?”
Catalina shook her head and held her hands out. “I am sorry, I cannot. I am unable to affect the mortal world.”
She didn’t look sorry. In fact, Greyson thought the ghost was enjoying this. Like it was a game.
As if to prove her point about the mortal world, Catalina slid through the Mary statue like a breeze passing through a screen door.
“I see.” Kora sighed and looked at Greyson. “I have to go in there.”
“On hallowed ground?” He shifted the torch to his other hand. Walking on hallowed or sacred ground wasn’t a thing vampires did.
Kora nodded. “I know, but I’m half reaper. That should buy me some time.”
Catalina moved closer with sudden concern, the fire in her eyes bright again. “You cannot just take an offering. You must leave something in return.”
Kora quickly slid the acrostic ring off the ribbon around her neck and held the piece up. “Will this do?”
Catalina inspected it, then nodded, seemingly appeased. “Very well.”
Kora nodded. “Good. I just hope we don’t need this again.”
Greyson touched Kora to get her attention. “You sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t see that I have a choice. I’ll be fine. At the speed I can move, I’ll be in there two, maybe three seconds. Not long enough to fully burst into flames.” She smiled as if she thought that might soften the meaning of her words, but there was fear in her eyes. She knew what she was risking.
Greyson leaned the torch against the stone wall and pulled his jacket off. “You burst into flames and I’ll put them out. We’re in this together.”
“Thanks.” Some of the fear faded away. “But hey, if the vampire who set this up was in there, maybe the space isn’t as hallowed as we think.”
Catalina made a noise, but Greyson chose to ignore it. “Maybe. But I don’t like this. It could be some kind of trap.”
“And we could be overthinking it.”
He put his hand on her arm. “Please, go as quickly as you can. Then let’s get out of here.”
“I will.”
He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her close, kissing her quickly. “Hurry.”
Her smile finally reached her eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
Kora gripped the acrostic ring in her hand, ready to drop it in place of the matryoshka dolls. She hoped with everything in her that being half reaper was enough to keep her from bursting into flames.
And if it wasn’t, she hoped she was fast enough to get out of the chapel before she went full inferno.
She dashed into the space and came to an abrupt halt. Not because she wanted to, but because her speed just disappeared. On top of that, she felt very odd. And everything around her went dim. Had the torch gone out?
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Panic widened Greyson’s eyes.
“I don’t know, I just couldn’t—” She put her hand to her heart and gasped. “My heart is beating.” She stared at him with the same fearful expression he was giving her. “My heart is beating. Am I about to die?”
The torch in Greyson’s hand sputtered but didn’t go dark.
“Wait,” Kora said. “I’m breathing, too.”
Catalina laughed. “Silly vampire. You’re not about to die. But you have become human.”
“Human?” Kora glanced down at her body, although she wasn’t sure what she expected to see. Then she looked at Greyson again. “Do I look different?”
He nodded warily. “Yes, a little.”
“How so?”
“Less…you. I don’t know. A little rougher around the edges maybe.”
She went from panic to anger. “How is this possible, Catalina? I have never been human. I was born a supernatural, the child of a vampire and a reaper.”
Catalina shrugged, lifting herself off the ground a few more inche
s. “It is a spell. Ask the witch who made the offering.”
“Witch? You said she was a vampire.” Red edged Kora’s vision. She’d trusted Catalina only because Hattie had been a ghost, but that was Kora’s mistake. Hattie hadn’t started out insane. Catalina had.
“Hey,” Greyson shouted. “Get the dolls and get out. This torch is about to die, and I don’t want to spend another second down here.”
Kora shook her head. “What if I stay human?”
“Then you stay human. It won’t change my feelings for you. Just means I’ll have to turn you back into a vampire. Now hurry up. The longer you’re in there, the more likely this thing is to stick.”
As if becoming human hadn’t given her enough pause, now Greyson had admitted he had feelings for her. She suddenly felt like crying and laughing all at the same time. “Oh no.”
“What?” Greyson asked. His torch went out.
She was glad for the darkness to hide her face. “I think I’m feeling human emotions.”
“Kora. Get the dolls and get out. Now. I need another torch.” He tossed the extinguished one to the side and motioned for her to come to him.
Motivated by his tone, she grabbed the dolls, dropped the ring in their place, and went to meet him at the chapel’s entrance.
But she stopped right before stepping over the threshold to look back at Catalina. “Is it safe for me to leave? Am I going to stay human?”
Catalina went slightly more transparent. “I do not know. No one has entered this room since the offering was made.”
“I have been nothing but respectful to you, Catalina. I hope you are being honest with me.”
The ghost’s eyes flared red. “Do you suggest I am lying?”
Kora shook her head. “I am suggesting you might have reason to want to keep us here. But I hope you are not that selfish.”
Catalina’s spirit quieted. “I would not lie.”
“No,” Greyson muttered. “But she might not tell the whole truth.” He held out his hand. “Come to me, Kora. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.”
The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure Page 15