The Darkness Dwellers

by Kirsten Miller

  Marcel hurried over, bringing Betty’s backpack. Together, they quickly wrapped the man’s wrists and ankles with duct tape. Another strip was placed over his mouth. Betty searched the pockets of the man’s dark brown suit. She found a roll of mints, a money clip, and a business card.

  LES FRÈRES CORBEAUX

  FRANÇOIS CORBEAUX, OSTEOLOGIST

  Anatomical Supplies and Curiosities

  Theatrical Productions, Interior Decoration,

  Religious Rites, Homeopathic Cures5

  They dragged François’s body to a nearby room and hid it beneath a pile of skull shards. They continued onward in search of the remaining Corbeaux brothers and found Guillaume scouring a tall tower of femurs, looking for a leg bone that was riddled with the pockmarks left by leprosy. He was so engrossed in his work that Marcel easily clobbered him from behind. Betty whipped the leather-bound notebook from the man’s vest pocket. Listed inside were months’ worth of orders, customer names, and prices. The businessmen had been plundering the catacombs—and not all of their victims had been dead when the Corbeaux brothers had first encountered them. She thumbed through the pages while Marcel bound the man’s legs. As they worked, the beetles formed a writhing, wriggling circle around them.

  “You have a lovely zygomaticus, mademoiselle,” François Corbeaux unexpectedly announced. He’d regained consciousness before Marcel could seal his mouth. “Perhaps the nicest I’ve seen.”

  “Thanks,” Betty replied. “Marcel, would you mind passing the duct tape?”

  “You’re an American. I recognize the accent.”

  Betty didn’t respond.

  “If you leave me immobilized, I’ll be dead in less than a day.” The casual way he said it made it sound as if he didn’t really mind.

  “Then you should tell us where to find the girl you captured. The longer we have to look, the longer you’ll have to wait,” Betty said.

  “She’s with my youngest brother. When you see Pierre, please tell him I said to treat you gently. I know an American collector who’s been looking for a girl like you. Do you happen to have any Cherokee blood? No? Perhaps Choctaw?”

  “Maybe you should shut up,” Marcel said as he slapped a strip of tape across the man’s lips. “Sorry,” he told Betty. “I should have done that as soon as he started talking. I hope he didn’t upset you.”

  “I’ve heard a lot worse,” Betty replied with a shrug.

  The third Corbeaux brother had occupied a vacant chamber off a main passage. A large plastic tarp had been spread across the floor, but by the time Betty and Marcel arrived, it was covered by a thick carpet of beetles. Three of the walls were black with bugs as millions of insects crept ever closer to the two human beings at the far end of the room. Oblivious to the infestation, Pierre Corbeaux knelt with a black doctor’s bag open in front of him. Sidonia Galatzina stood with her back pressed against the stone. Her arms and legs were bound, and she watched helplessly as her captor chose a scalpel from a leather case and began to examine the blade.

  The man clearly knew what he was doing. He never once turned his back to the entrance. And even if he were to change position, there was no way to sneak up behind him. The crunch of bugs beneath boots would warn him that intruders were near. Betty and Marcel would need to confront this man face-to-face.

  “You must let me do it,” Marcel insisted.

  “He’s armed,” Betty said with a shake of her head. “I’ll go in first and distract him. When you see the opportunity, attack from behind.”

  “What if he attacks you first? You won’t stand a chance!” Marcel hissed. “You’re only a girl!”

  “That’s probably the only reason I will stand a chance,” Betty said.

  “You think that beast is less likely to hurt you because you’re a girl? He’s getting ready to carve up your friend in there!”

  “Corbeaux won’t consider me a threat, and the Irregulars love it when people underestimate our abilities. It gives us an automatic advantage. If the man in there thinks I’m harmless he’ll let down his guard.”

  “Who are these Irregulars? Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Marcel asked, looking both scared and skeptical.

  “I kicked your butt, didn’t I?” Betty said. “Stay here. When his back is turned toward you, that’s the time to jump in.”

  Betty sauntered into the improvised operating room in which Sidonia Galatzina was about to be freed of her skeleton. The princess’s eyes grew wide when she caught sight of Betty. Pierre Corbeaux glanced up from his work.

  “Good morning, mademoiselle.” His greeting was chillingly pleasant. Showing no sign of alarm, he reached into his doctor’s bag, pulled out a syringe, squirted a few drops into the air, and gently placed the needle in the pocket of his jacket.

  “Hello!” Betty replied as if she’d encountered an old friend on the street. “I was just out for a walk through the tunnels when I saw your light. Looks like you have quite an exciting operation planned!”

  “Yes,” Pierre agreed, playing his part in the surreal game. “This young lady has agreed to donate her bones to one of the most prestigious collections in all of Europe.”

  “Oh my! How thoughtful of her!” Betty exclaimed.

  “Perhaps you would care to make a small donation of your own?” Pierre asked, slowly rising to his feet. “You would make a wonderful addition to a doctor’s office or a duke’s study.”

  Betty took a moment to glance down at her arms and legs. “You really think so?” she asked, sounding flattered.

  “But of course!” Pierre began inching his way toward Betty, making no sudden movements that might startle her. He was a powerful man, with big, broad hands that could have snapped a girl’s neck in an instant.

  “What would I have to do to make a donation? Will it hurt?”

  “No, not at all! I will give you a little medicine to help you sleep. Then I will remove as much flesh from your bones as possible. The Dermestidae do the rest. I promise, you won’t feel a thing!”

  “Dermestidae?” Betty was slowly circling the room as she kept a careful distance from Pierre. She couldn’t allow him to come within reach of her, but she was having trouble positioning the man so that his back was turned toward the door.

  “The flesh-eating beetles. My brothers and I have been raising them in the catacombs. They’re essential to every bone collector’s work.”

  “Those cute little things eat meat?”

  “They’re voracious carnivores. They can pick a skeleton clean in a single night.” Pierre was almost upon her. He was no more than a lunge away when Betty noticed Sidonia’s whole body starting to tilt to one side.

  “Looks like you might have tied that girl a little too tight when you propped her up against the wall,” Betty noted. “She’s about to topple over.”

  Pierre glanced quickly at Sidonia just before she crashed to the ground. He appeared conflicted for a moment but kept his eyes trained on Betty.

  “Oooh, that sounded painful,” Betty said with a theatrical wince. “Did you hear a crack too? I think she may have just broken something.”

  “I heard nothing,” Pierre insisted. But when Sidonia groaned with pain, his whole body swiveled long enough for Marcel to rush into the room, a femur raised like a club. He hit the man at the base of the skull, but Pierre didn’t fall.

  “This must be our lucky day!” The enormous man laughed as he rubbed his neck. “Les Frères Corbeaux have never procured more than two full skeletons in a single day! And such fine specimens!” Judging Marcel to be the greatest threat, Pierre grabbed the boy’s collar with one hand while the other moved toward his jacket pocket.

  “Looking for this?” Betty held up a syringe. “What’s in it, anyway? Is it the medicine you use?”

  “Give me that, you fool!” Pierre growled, his patience finally exhausted.

  “Come and get it,” Betty told him.

  Pierre threw Marcel to the ground and rushed across the chamber at Betty. As soon as he w
as within range, she tossed the syringe into the air. Pierre’s eyes instinctively followed its path. His fingers had just made contact with it when the tip of Betty’s boot swiftly found the beast’s softest spot. Pierre doubled over in pain, and Marcel stepped forward to deliver a blow hard enough to put the man out of his misery for a few blissful minutes.

  “Nice job. I’d say we make a pretty good team.” Betty patted Marcel on the back as they stood over Pierre Corbeaux’s massive carcass.

  “You deserve all the praise,” Marcel said. “How did you manage to pick his pocket?”

  “I didn’t. That was just an empty syringe. I found it in his bag.”

  “Fantastic!” Marcel exclaimed.

  “Thanks! Here. I’ll let you do the honors.” Betty took out the duct tape and tossed it to Marcel. Then she pulled the gag out of Sidonia’s mouth and began untying the Princess’s ankles.

  “What are you doing here?” Sidonia sneered at Betty. “Aren’t you my cousin’s friend? The girl from the Bannerman Ball?”

  “That’s right. I’m here to rescue you,” Betty replied. “A person with manners might even say thank you.”

  “I’m supposed to thank you? If I hadn’t distracted that monster, you’d be a pile of ground chuck by now. You should be thanking me. And I wouldn’t be down here in the first place if it wasn’t for your friend the evil elf. But trust me—I would have figured out a way to escape.”

  “Really?” Betty asked. “In that case …” She began to wind the rope around Sidonia’s ankles once more. “Maybe we’ll let you give it a shot. Let’s see if you can escape before the beetles start nibbling on your pretty little toes.”

  “Don’t you dare!” the Princess shrieked.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Betty said with a laugh. Once Sidonia’s legs were free, Betty helped the girl to her feet.

  “What about my arms?” Sidonia demanded.

  “Why don’t we keep those tied for a little bit longer,” Betty replied. “And now that I think of it, a little silence might be nice too.” She shoved the gag back into Sidonia’s mouth. “Are you about ready?” she asked Marcel.

  Pierre Corbeaux was practically mummified in duct tape. Marcel had gathered the last of the man’s tools and tossed them into the doctor’s bag.

  “Yes,” he said, checking the clock on his cell phone. “It’s a quarter past four. We should have just enough time to make it to the coliseum.”

  Chapter 32

  One for All and All for One

  No visitor would have asked why the Darkness Dwellers called it the coliseum. Painted on the cavern’s walls was an ingenious trompe l’oeil mural that made entering the room feel like stepping onto the stage of a Roman coliseum. A dozen arched doors circled the open space. It was hard to tell which of the doors offered a real means of escape and which were the work of a clever artist. But it wasn’t hard to imagine that there might be a ravenous lion or trident-wielding gladiator stationed behind any one of them.

  At least a hundred people had gathered inside the coliseum. Most were dressed like spelunkers or sewer scavengers—gray jumpsuits, black boots, and miner’s hats. By 4:55 it seemed as if the search party was complete. Time was precious, and Etienne and Kiki hurried to their places at the front of the room. Standing atop wooden vegetable crates that Phlegyas had provided, they prepared to address their audience. Then three dust-caked individuals emerged through one of the entrances like battle-weary warriors stepping into the ring. Latecomers, Kiki assumed, until she realized one member of the unusual trio had her hands tied and a gag stuck between her teeth.

  Their faces coated with a paste of sweat and catacomb dirt, the three interlopers might as well have worn masks. Two of them wove through the curious crowd, while the third trailed behind, pulled like a donkey at the end of a rope. The tallest of the group approached Etienne. In one hand he held a black doctor’s bag.

  “May I say a few words?” he asked.

  “Marcel!” Etienne growled, hopping off his crate to confront his former friend.

  “Betty!” Kiki exclaimed, following suit. “What are you doing here? Is that Sidonia?”

  “I’ll explain later,” Betty said. “Just listen for now.”

  Marcel clambered on top of the vegetable crate that Etienne had just vacated. “We have the girl you came to rescue,” he told the Darkness Dwellers. “Thank you all for your help, but the search party is no longer necessary.”

  “H-how did … ?” Etienne stammered.

  “I will answer all questions when there is time,” Marcel announced in a clear, confident voice. “Now you must follow my instructions. The Catacomb Patrol is on its way. Any members of the Darkness Dwellers who remain here in the coliseum will be arrested.”

  “How did the police find out about the meeting? Did you do something stupid again?” Etienne demanded.

  Marcel could have concealed the truth, but he didn’t. “I told my father,” Marcel confessed. “I thought he would help search for the missing girl. But it seems Philip Roche only wants to see his face in the papers.”

  Etienne was red with rage. “I can’t believe you—”

  “You can say what you think of me when everyone is safe,” Marcel interrupted him. “Right now, we don’t have time to argue. The police will be here at any moment, and they will be coming from every possible direction.”

  Phlegyas and Verushka had been observing the confrontation from the edge of the crowd. Now Phlegyas stepped forward to intervene. There was no trace of anger in his voice. “If what you say is true, Marcel, then it is already too late. There is no hope of escape.”

  “There is if you trust me,” Marcel replied calmly, speaking loud enough for the crowd to hear. “As you know, four tunnels lead away from the coliseum. Three have exits to the surface. You must all hurry toward the fourth, and wait where it reaches a dead end. I will give word when the coast is clear.”

  Etienne scrambled on top of the other crate. “It’s a trap!” he insisted. “He’s rounding all of you up!”

  “The fourth tunnel is the only one from which the police cannot make an approach,” Marcel attempted to explain. “Hide there, and I will do my best to send them to another part of the catacombs.”

  “Don’t listen to him! He’s a traitor!” Etienne shouted, but the Darkness Dwellers seemed unconvinced.

  “Marcel isn’t a traitor,” Betty announced. “He made a mistake, but he wants to fix things. You’ll see!”

  “Whoever you are, you don’t even know Marcel!” Etienne argued. “You don’t know what he’s capable of!”

  “I think I know him much better than you do,” Betty countered, putting her hand on Marcel’s arm. “And I’ve seen exactly what he’s capable of doing.”

  Etienne pointed a finger at Betty while his eyes turned to Kiki. “Is this your friend—the one that you didn’t want involved?”

  Betty was stunned. “That’s why you told me your plans had changed?” she asked Kiki. “Why didn’t you want me involved?”

  “I was trying to protect you,” Kiki responded. “You’re good at what you do, Betty, but missions like this aren’t your strength. The fact that you’ve teamed up with a moron like Marcel proves my point. You want to look for the best in people—even when it isn’t there.”

  “You seem to think that is a weakness, Katarina,” Verushka spoke up. “Did you ignore the lessons I tried to teach you? A lack of compassion can be a fatal flaw.”

  “I’d be the first to admit that I’m flawed—but Marcel Roche is completely useless.” Kiki hopped up on the crate where Etienne stood. “Leave now,” she urged the Darkness Dwellers. “Split up into three groups. If each group takes a different tunnel, some of you may have a chance to escape to the surface.”

  One hundred eyes were glued to Kiki, but no one moved a single finger.

  “Was there something wrong with my French?” Kiki muttered.

  “What are you waiting for?” Etienne shouted in frustration. “Why are you s
till here?”

  “I’m afraid you’ve never understood, Etienne,” Phlegyas said. “We are Darkness Dwellers. Either all of us will be arrested … or none of us will. An organization such as ours would be useless if, in times of great crisis, it became every man for himself. We are not just a coalition of individual adventurers. We are a family that lives by one simple principal: un pour tous, tous pour un.”

  The man put a grubby hand on the boy’s shoulder. “When you brought your new friends to the tunnels, I hoped it was a sign that you would soon be ready to become one of us. Four years have passed since you abandoned your schoolmates—cast them aside because they’d made a careless mistake. You told me once that you felt betrayed, and I hoped you would realize that you can’t expect loyalty. You must earn it. If you want people’s hearts, you must be willing to give them your own. And if they hurt you, you must be strong enough to show them kindness in return. But I can see you don’t know this yet, or you wouldn’t treat Marcel as you do. You are very young, Etienne, and it seems as if you have a great deal to learn.”

  The moment his speech had concluded, Phlegyas was instantly absorbed by the crowd of Darkness Dwellers that had begun to evacuate the cavern. Every one of the members chose the door that led to the dead-end tunnel. Thirty seconds later, only six people were left behind in the coliseum. One was gagged, and others were speechless. In the silence, Betty could hear the hammering of heels on stone. It was five p.m. Philip Roche and the Catacomb Patrol were right on time.

  “You, too, Etienne,” Marcel whispered. “Please follow the Darkness Dwellers. Only Betty and I should be here when the police arrive.”

  Etienne could only nod. Phlegyas’s words had struck him dumb.

  “What are the two of you going to do?” Kiki demanded as the sound of boots grew louder.

  “Trust us,” Betty pleaded. “Take Sidonia and hide with the others. Marcel and I have a plan.”