Chapter 24

24

V anth fell into the hole, whispering a cantrip on the way down so he didn't shatter anything. It also gave him the ability to see in the dark, which came in handy more often than he thought possible.

"You do know there's a ladder," Elektra called from above him, amusement in her voice.

"I do now. Watch your step," Vanth said. He hovered underneath her as she descended in case the ladder broke. It was rusted. At least, he hoped it was rust.

"Gods, it stinks. Do you have a light?" she whispered.

"Don't need one. Let me show you," he said and placed his fingers on her temples. He whispered the cantrip again, and his magic slid over her. Elektra made the sweetest little gasp as it took effect. He could get addicted to all the little sounds she made.

Get this checked out, then take her home and make her scream , he scolded himself.

"They really know how to pick quality locations, don't they?" she said, looking around. The tunnel looked like a part of the underground sewer system. Thankfully, it was dry, and the lingering smell of bleach suggested someone had tried to clean it. They would've had to have blocked off the tunnels and redirected the water and sewage. It would have taken planning, time, and a lot of magic. They would have had to have been damn sneaky about it too, because otherwise, someone in the city would have noticed.

Vanth walked along the tunnels, taking the lead because his pesky protective instincts were rearing up again. Elektra didn't seem to mind. She had both of her sickles out and looked ready to hit something.

"If they had all of this space to hide bodies, as well as the blood and bone-making above, I still don't understand why they would be taking bodies to Andres," she said, keeping her voice low.

Something crunched under Vanth's boot. There were skeletons littering the tunnel floor, but they were too small to be human. They looked like rats, and fuck knew what else.

"I'm still thinking it's a quantity issue. There's too much for them to go through, or whatever magic they are doing with them needs to be burned; otherwise, it will fuck up the blood and bone mixture. Can't grow anything with a body tainted by death magic," Vanth replied and walked around another pile of bones.

Elektra sucked a breath through her teeth. "Makes sense in a disgusting sort of way."

Vanth held out an arm and pointed. There was a curve in the tunnel up ahead, and light was coming from it.

"Someone is home," he whispered in her ear.

Her smile turned vicious. "Good."

Clearly, he wasn't the only one angry about the bone wards that they had found. Vanth had known blood mages before. They weren't all into pain and sacrifice, but the ones they were hunting definitely were. He could feel the suffering around him like a heavy aura. He was definitely going to need a shower or three when he got home.

The tunnels opened up to a circular room with two other entrances leading into it. There was a stone altar built in the middle of it, and candles were burning in sconces and clusters. There were sigils painted on the floor around the altar, making Vanth freeze. He didn't know what they did and wasn't dumb enough to step into a circle he hadn't made. That was going to be a problem because there was a body on the altar. It was of a young man with black hair. He had blood sigils all over him and didn't appear to be breathing.

"You two might as well come out," a smooth voice said. A tall man strode out of the tunnels with a book in his hand. He was stunning, with golden hair and eyes, and was striking in a way that would make a crowded room turn to look at him. Evil could wear beautiful faces just as easily as ugly ones.

"I'm not dumb enough to step into a magic circle," Vanth said.

The man stepped over to the closest sigil and scratched his dagger through it. Vanth's ears popped as the spell dissipated.

"There. No harm will come to either of you. I was hoping we could have a civilized conversation," the man said. "I'm Lazarus."

Vanth couldn't sense any other traps, so he stepped into the light. He didn't venture far in. He knew the tunnel he had come out of was an easy way out. He always liked to have an escape plan.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if you can do civilized, Laz," Vanth said, gesturing to the dead body on the altar.

"I didn't think a corpse would bother a necromancer, or a reaper for that matter." His golden eyes rested on Elektra. There was a hunger in them that instantly set Vanth's teeth on edge.

"Lazarus, nice place you have here," she said, her voice calm.

"Princess Elektra Nova of the Celestial Court, I was hoping our paths would cross. I missed you at the temple," Lazarus said, his smile stunning in its intensity.

Vanth could appreciate a good-looking man as well as anyone, but something about Lazarus smiling at Elektra made Vanth want to cut his pretty face clean off.

Keep your temper in check. Don't show him your magic until you absolutely need to .

Elektra's sickle blades flicked out. "Me too. You're going to pay for what you did to my brothers and sisters."

"Is that what you think? Be a good girl and put the blades away. This is a friendly conversation, not a fight," Lazarus said.

Elektra's nostrils flared. Patronizing her wasn't the right path. Vanth tracked the figures that were now slipping into the room from the other tunnels, a familiar face amongst them.

"Clara," he greeted coolly. "Betray anyone recently or just me?"

"I never betrayed you, Vanth. I looked after your mother, and I am your friend. Just because I believe in Lazarus doesn't change anything," she said, her expression conflicted. "Including how I was beginning to feel about you."

Elektra snarled, the sound pure predator. "The fuck you just say?"

"You were a plant. Nothing more," Vanth snapped, trying to ignore how possessive Elektra was being. He was going to have a lot of fun with that later.

He would be a little more understanding of Clara's position if it had just been him that she had betrayed. It was the thought that his mother's vulnerable life had been in her hands that he couldn't get over.

"Enough posturing. Vanth, I have heard about you and your talent for years," Lazarus said, his tone cutting the arguments off. "I served at the temple with your mother, and I would have loved to recruit her to my cause. She was a singular talent."

Vanth smirked. "Yes, she's singly kicked your ass too. She's somewhere you will never be able to find. I guess you're just going to have to settle with me this time around."

"You are arrogant like she was as well. I thought she would be smart enough to look at all the possibilities that controlling the power of the Veil would bring. I have learned a lot in the past seventy years, and this time round, there will be no mistakes," Lazarus said and held out his hand. "Join me. The both of you would be a boon to this enterprise. You have all the talent and hunger of curiosity. Don't you want to know what the Veil is really made of, what separates us, the living from the dead? Don't you want to know what lies beyond in all the afterlives? To be able to traverse them at will?" His golden eyes were glowing with pure passion. He absolutely believed in his cause, and Vanth almost felt sorry for him.

"I get what you're selling. I really do. But there is a reason why the Veil exists, Lazarus. We all get to find out what lies beyond when we die. The living are not meant to know," Vanth replied.

The minions were getting restless, edging slowly towards them. Elektra's gray eyes tracked them, not buying into Lazarus's charisma.

There were at least ten of them, but Vanth wasn't worried about being outnumbered. He let his magic trickle slowly out into the tunnel behind him. No one, not even Lazarus, noticed how fine webs of it crept around the room.

"You can't possibly believe that. A man such as you, who defied the citadel of mages and sought knowledge where they were too scared to tread. I know what you are, Vanth, and you are not meant to stop at limitations just because they have never been passed before," Lazarus said, his eyes narrowing. "The 'natural order' only exists because we have been fooled into believing it by beings who took power for themselves. We will be the new gods."

Vanth shook his head. Lazarus was certifiably crazy. "You really think trying to trap a god like Orcus is going to be a good idea? Even if your theory is correct, and they were just very powerful magic users that became gods, there's no way that he is going to share that information with you."

Lazarus gave him a soft, pitying look. "You really think I've spent the last seventy years doing nothing? I know exactly where I need to push in order to get Orcus to talk. That's why, whether or not you decide to join me of your own free will, you won't be leaving this place. I know whose blood is in your veins. I know that even a god will want to protect his own son."

That made Vanth laugh. "I'm sorry, but have you read any mythology? Gods rarely care about their kids at all. I haven't even met my dad, so I really doubt I'm going to be the bargaining chip you think I am."

"We will see, won't we? Take them," Lazarus said with a wave of his hand.

Vanth grabbed the webs of magic he had been weaving around them and gave them a hard pull. Small, angry skeletons burst to life and swarmed their attackers. Elektra took down one of the minions in a blink. Vanth grabbed her hand to pull her back.

"Leave them! We need to get out of here now," he said.

Lazarus started to chant, but Vanth's power was quicker. He latched onto the corpse on the altar, and it shuddered to life. It pulled a dagger from its ruined body and launched itself at Lazarus. He screamed in fury, his chant breaking off as he turned to wrestle the corpse.

"Quickly now, princess. Let's get up that ladder," Vanth said as they ran back down the tunnel. "Hopefully, our little rat friends will keep them amused long enough for us to get up."

"You could've told me what you were doing," Elektra panted from beside him.

Vanth grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up onto the ladder.

"There was no time. Anyway, I thought you might like to enjoy the surprise," he replied, racing up after her. He could hear heavy footsteps in the tunnel behind them, and he tumbled out into the greenhouse after Elektra.

"Quickly, let's lock them in," she said.

"Not just yet." Vanth rummaged around in the shoulder bag he had with him and pulled out something small and round. He had been waiting for an opportunity to use it and couldn't stop the wild laugh that tore out of him.

"Get ready to run, princess," he said and pulled the pin of the magical bomb. He tossed it into the tunnel and slammed the hatch down. Elektra was already running through the greenhouse, and he tore off after her.

They were almost back at the van when the earth shook underneath them, sending them both sprawling into the grass. An ear-piercing boom shook the night as the greenhouse exploded into a fireball.

"Time to leave!" Elektra said, pulling Vanth to his feet, and they hurried to get into the van. The house was caught in an inferno, and alarms and sirens were going off.

Vanth put his foot down, and they tore out of the street, the night sky burning red behind them. Next to him, Elektra slumped back in the passenger seat and began to laugh. Vanth joined in until they were both breathless, and he could barely see the road.

"I can't believe you attacked them with rat skeletons. What was even in that bomb? Talk about overkill," Elektra said between giggles. "Do you think we got them all?"

"Maybe not Lazarus, but I can hope," Vanth replied.

"If he is dead, it's one less thing to worry about. We still have to find a way to mend the Veil and get Orcus to help your mom," Elektra said. She sniffed her hair and pulled a face. "But first, I think we better have that shower."