As I skimmed through the pages, I quickly found the reference to the book, and sighed in relief when I saw the little note next to it:
Put in FC7
I read the description again, and while it was once again littered with personal comments, the book was described as a kind of encyclopedia for ghosts, spirits, and demonic entities. If we had come so far just to find that the book wasn’t even what we were looking for, I’d be pretty pissed right about now.
“Got it,” I smirked and put the book back into the bookcase.
“So what, we just walk over there, pick it up, and walk out?” Octavian looked at me with his eyebrow raised again. “This is more a cellar than a vault.”
“Only because I’ve brought us through it with ease. You’d never have found the hidden entrance, you wouldn’t even have known how to get down here,” I returned, fists put firmly on my sides. I knew it wasn’t my vault, but now that Allard accepted and trusted me, I had the urge to defend it.
“Fair enough. Still, it seems too… easy,” the vampire responded, this time more frowning than teasing.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it will get more interesting now. Because I have no clue what’s coming next.” I smiled widely at him, playing over the panic that was welling up in me.
I truly had no idea what other defensive mechanisms were waiting for us—I didn’t even know where to find ‘FC7.’ I was hoping there were corridors with signs on them, so we only had to find “F”, then look for a “C” in there, and pick out box number 7 or something. That would be logical. But judging by the way they kept their log, it was most likely not going to be that easy.
Octavian pursed his lips, then shrugged. “Well, let’s go on and see what happens. Just make sure we keep our confidence up and no one should bother us.”
I straightened up, lifting my chin, and tried to banish any thoughts of the coming traps so I could keep a neutral, uncaring face. While I thought I had my expression under control, my thoughts certainly didn’t want to fall in line. Suddenly, the mental image of a chicken walking right into the slaughterhouse popped up in my head, and I couldn’t quite push it out. Walking into a well-protected vault with no clue what awaited us? Not my favorite plan.
With a deep breath, I walked out the door, then looked around. No signs on any of the doors. There were only two main passageways, one to the left and one to the right. The other doors and hallways looked smaller, so I assumed the main vault was through the bigger hallways. The two people were still arguing and paid us no mind. I had hoped they were also just here to fetch somethig, not guards, and would mind their own business. So far, so good.
I had no idea which way to go, but at least I was going to do it confidently. After a quick glance, I strutted to the right. The hallway quickly turned into a tunnel as we progressed into it. The whole facility was very barebones, with stone floors and walls like real sewer tunnels, minimalist lightbulbs and fluorescent lamps above us. The air was chilly, and small puffs of vapor came out of my mouth every time I let out a breath.
I couldn’t see any water, but the air was as wet as I would expect from a sewer. The dampness was locked down here in these stone channels, glistening on the walls and floor. At least it didn’t smell as bad. A little musty and old, but not like a rotting sewer.
On the right, every now and then, branches led into smaller tunnels. And, like a gift from fate, they were marked by letters. My fear slowly simmered down as I felt more and more sure that we were headed the right way. We just passed a branch-off labeled C, so it couldn’t be much further until we reached F. Maybe they got at least one thing right down here and finding the book would be easy.
Octavian, like me, was dead silent, only our quiet footsteps breaking the spooky calm. I could handle sneaking through an enemy base with guards all around—but not knowing what awaited us, no warnings of what traps might spring any moment, that pulled at my nerves more than anything.
I let out a big sigh of relief as we finally found the side tunnel labeled F. “Almost there,” I whispered, a small smile on my face.
We entered the smaller tunnel, which was maybe two steps across and barely high enough for Octavian. Every twenty paces or so, there was a door, each on the right side. A smile crept on my face when I saw the letters next to each door, but then it was quickly replaced by a frown.
This was too easy.
I slowly walked ahead, crouching a little, with my hand near the dagger in my belt. But nothing happened. We passed doors A and B without incidents, and eventually arrived at door C.
It was a simple metal cell door, made from slightly rusty metal bars. The holes between them were big enough to put an arm through, and there was no lock on the door.
Someone else might not have given it a second thought, grabbed the handle and opened it. But judging by the smell of the magic on the door, that would end badly. I signaled Octavian to stay back as I inspected the door further. The smell was not enough to learn anything about the spell, how it worked or how it was disabled, but it smelled like pain.
I sniffed around, inspected the door and walls around it. The frown on my face deepened as I figured it out. The entire door was enveloped in magic, which most likely covered the gaps between the bars as well. However, I found no button, no mechanism to deactivate the spell
“What is it?” Octavian’s voice broke the silence.
“There’s a magical barrier on the door,” I hissed back. “Possibly deadly.”
“Well, how do you disable it?”
I shot him an angry glare before returning my attention to the door. I knew there must be something. Something witches, shamans, and elementalists could all use—so it couldn’t be a spell. But I had no idea what it was.
Eventually, I answered his question with a frustrated shrug.
“Can you, like, blast it away? Is that how your magic works?” Octavian crossed his arms over his chest, but looked worried rather than annoyed.
“I don’t think so, no. But I guess I could try.” I shrugged, since I didn’t have a better idea either. “But that would probably trigger an alarm.”
“Well, we knew we’d trigger it anyway, at some point. Let’s just break in, grab it, and teleport out, right?”
I didn’t like the idea of knowingly setting off the alarm, but he was right. We didn’t have much of a choice. “Alright, let’s do it.” I sighed in defeat.
We stepped back until our backs were up against the wall, then I drew in a lot of magic into my hand. Easily enough to kill someone. Whatever magic was protecting this door, it would be strong.
Almost hesitantly, I released my blast. The air shimmered, fracturing light without clear form or shape zipped forward, then it crashed against the door.
Against all my expectations, the barrier on the door didn’t stop my magic. Instead, the door was ripped from its hinges and thrown into the room. Our sneaky break in was definitely over, even if there was no alarm.
Carefully, I hurled a throwing knife through the doorframe. With a light clatter, it landed in the room. Either the ward did not prevent things from passing through, or it was gone.
Slowly, I reached toward where the ward had been, but Octavian grabbed my wrist. “Let me. If the magic is still here, I’ll heal faster.”
His growling voice and stern look made it clear that this was not up for discussion. I took a step back and watched him anxiously as he hesitated for a second, then stretched his arm out.
Nothing happened. After another second of hesitation, and a quick glance at me, he stepped through the entrance and into the room.
I held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn’t know the exact intent of the magic, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he just dropped dead any second now.
But he seemed fine. He turned around and smiled at me, gesturing me to follow. I, too, hesitated for a moment, then followed him into the small room. I jumped, startled, my heart skipping a beat as my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. Octavian tilted his head at m
e as I fished it out of my pocket.
“It’s from Allard,” I muttered, then reading the message out loud.
Another attack. Vampires beat up a family of witches. Pls hurry.
Octavian’s face darkened considerably. “Let’s get the book and bolt out of here. We’ve got to find the thief fast.”
I nodded, then looked around. Storage racks covered the walls, and a row of display cases lined the left wall, each containing a single object. The light was dim, but as I stepped closer, the glass cases lit up. While Octavian was going through the storage racks, I inspected the first case with growing fascination.
It contained what looked like a snow globe, but without anything other than snow in it. I wanted to take it out and shake it, but my childlike curiosity was immediately pushed back by caution. Whatever would happen was most likely highly dangerous.
The second one contained a beautiful necklace, with a dozen colorful gemstones on it, and one huge, black, tears-shaped stone dangling in the middle. It looked like a necklace for a queen, something you would only wear at the most festive occasions.
But since it was down here, the stones were most likely not only for decoration. From what I had learned, stones could not only store power, but spells and magical effects as well. I didn’t know what kind of spells or enchantments these stones had in them, but they looked powerful. Big, clear, and well cut. I wasn’t an expert, but this was no twenty-dollar necklace from your average witch shop.
In the third display case was a spoon. I stopped in front of it with a frown on my face, blinking twice to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things. But there it was. A simple spoon, only slightly fancier than the ones I had at home. It looked like it might be from a vampire castle, real vintage silverware. Through the glass, I couldn’t smell any magic, so I had no idea if it was heavily enchanted, or maybe just a collector’s piece.
My mind was still circling around the strange spoon when I looked at the last object. It was a big, black book, with red engraved letters on it. It was an alphabet I had never seen before, but it reminded me of Celtic glyphs… only a lot more twisted. And evil. Like a Viking necromancer’s book of spells and sacrificial rituals.
It was bound in thick leather, worn at the edges, but otherwise well-preserved. It was thick, too. The book was almost three inches high. The pages had turned slightly yellow from old age.
“I really hope that’s not it,” I muttered quietly.
“What was that?” Octavian asked.
I turned around and saw him standing at the opposite wall, scanning the small plates on the rack for the number seven, most likely. Unlike the doors, the numbers on the racks didn’t seem to be sorted. Smaller items were higher up, some big, bulky boxes were lined up at the bottom. Many slots were empty, too.
“I found an evil looking book,” I explained. “I haven’t seen a number yet, but let me check.” I looked at the thing again, then squatted down in front of it. There it was, on a small copper plate: an engraved seven.
“Shit, this is it,” I whispered.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Octavian wondered as he came closer. He stopped next to me, crossing his arms as he bowed down to inspect the book. “I see. That is a nasty looking tome. Why exactly did we think that using this as bait was a good idea?”
I pursed my lips and shrugged. “Well, they will definitely go for it. From what I’ve read, this tome could amplify their power tenfold.”
“We just have to make sure they won’t get it, then,” Octavian said, his voice dripping with determination. “So how do we get it out of here there?”
“Uhm, I could try a magic blast again?”
Octavian frowned at me, then shrugged. “Why not, I guess. But after that, we need to get out of here, stat.”
I nodded, then stepped back. Octavian quickly followed suit, waiting next to me, but a step further back.
With a small, focused blast, I shattered the glass with ease. I froze, expecting an alarm to ring, traps to spring. But only silence descended on us. Either the alarm was silent, or this was the worst vault I had ever broken into.
Carefully, I took the book, or tome, as Octavian had called it—a much more fitting name. I slid it in the paper bag I brought, which I originally got from a bookstore. When I had gone through the bags I had at home, I thought it was ironic. It still brought a smile to my lips.
“Well, let’s get out of here. Put your hand on my shoulder,” I said to Octavian as I reached into my coat pocket for the magical vault key.
“What, no hug this time?” He pouted playfully, then put his hand on my shoulder without hesitation.
My mouth curled into a smile, but I didn’t respond. Instead, I grabbed the key and pressed my thumb down in the middle.
Nothing happened.
“Dammit,” I cursed. “It’s not working. I think we have to go back to the entrance.”
Concern was written on Octavian’s face, but it quickly vanished. “Well, let’s strut back just like we came here. Remember, we belong here.”
I nodded, then led the way. I was trying to remain calm, taking long, confident strides, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I wanted to run, get this over with as soon as possible, but I knew I couldn’t.
We passed by the first door, then by the second. Then we reached the point where the side branch connected to the main tunnel.
Halfway there, I thought to myself.
Then I entered the main tunnel and froze. Four people were standing in front of me, all with fierce, determined expressions on their faces. All wearing combat gear—everything from leather armor to Kevlar vests. One woman in the back raised her arm as she saw me, her hand bursting into flames without her batting an eye. I recognized her as the elementalist that had guarded the illusional door when I was here with Allard.
Two men in the front pointed their swords at me. Their eyes glanced at Octavian as he stepped out of the tunnel behind me, then froze right next to me. His expression mirrored my thoughts perfectly.
Fuck.
18
I opened my mouth to say something, trying to find a way for us to get out of this mess. But before I came up with a reasonable excuse, the first man stepped forward. As he stabbed his blade at me without hesitation, I knew the time for words was over.
I spun around to dodge it and quickly drew magic into my hands. Without thinking, I unleashed it at the guards. All four of them were thrown back, and landed on their asses, while the fire elementalist’s burning hand went out as she tumbled back. My eyes widened as she gracefully turned it into a roll and jumped back at her feet, her eyes burning with fury. A moment later, so were her arms and hands.
But before she could unleash a torrent of fire at us, charring us like I did occasionally with pancakes, Octavian leapt to her and knocked her out with a quick and clean right cross.
He gestured for me to run with him, his eyes staring at me with impatience. Without another glance at the guards, I jumped over them and ran. The vampire was right in front of me, but I could see in his movements that this was just an afternoon jog for him. He could probably go twice as fast without breaking a sweat. But to me, it was a mad sprint. It was nice to know that he wouldn’t just take off by himself, though.
When we reached the main hall, a bunch of people had already gathered, some with determination in their eyes and weapons or spells in their hands, others carrying books or folders, their faces displaying confusion and fear.
“Halt!” one of the armed men shouted.
My eyes darted to the door leading outside. One or two magic blasts, and we could make it—just run past them while they were recovering.
Before I could act, someone stepped in the way, dark magic swirling around her hands. It was a witch, I thought, probably in her mid-forties, but she didn’t look any less battle-ready than I was. In her eyes, I could see that she took this personally, as if I had just stormed into her house and threatened her kids.
“We were just…” I began, but
no reasonable excuse came to mind.
Without waiting for an explanation, the woman unleashed a dark bolt of magic at me. It looked like a fireball, but whatever magic it was, its darkness seemed to absorb any light and life around it as it flew at me.
I quickly raised my shield, pumping magic into it just in time as her spell hit my barrier. It splashed against it, washed over it, and covered it an absolute darkness. I could feel the colors fading around me as the magic spread. The barrier cracked and then crumbled under the spell, but the darkness faded away as well.
I didn’t know what other tricks she had, but that magic alone put us in real danger. And there were at least a dozen other people, most likely all capable of battle magic of some kind, just waiting to kick our asses.
“Caroline, stop!” the first man said, waving his hand at her angrily. He stepped closer, his sword’s tip pointed right at my chest, just inches from me. “Identify yourself, witch!”
“I am…” I frowned, trying to come up with the best explanation that could get us out of here.
“She’s with me,” a voice suddenly boomed through the room.
All heads turned toward the entrance, where a young man had thrown the door wide open.
“And if I had allowed them to use lethal force, you would not only have failed the test, but would probably all be dead.”
A wave of relief washed over me as I recognized him. Aaron: the elementalist and only Elder who didn’t think I was crazy.
Octavian frowned but kept his mouth shut, then his confident, almost arrogant expression returned to his face. “I would give them a minus, though. Their reaction was reasonably fast, if a little uncoordinated.”
I stared at him, surprised at how perfectly he played along.
The elementalist, Aaron, nodded. “We will have to talk about this and take measures to protect the vault in times like these. Thank you for your help, Raven, Eric.” He nodded at me, then Octavian. Clearly, he had no clue who he was, but covered that fact up just as well.
Aaron gestured for us to come closer, and the man with the sword took a step back, returning his weapon to its sheath. He didn’t take his eyes off of us, though—not for a second. And by the looks of it, he still didn’t believe us.
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