Page 33 of The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark 20)

“Rök, ifIdon’t find a way to stop the visitors,Isense that they will kill me and thoseIlove.Theywon’t quit till we’re all dead.”

Heappeared to wrestle with his thoughts.Atlength, he said, “Doyou think the cursebreaker is in here?”

“Maybe?”Shehad to believe the answer was close.

Bothof their gazes settled on an area in a far corner of the lab, one concealed behind an oversize curtain.Nevera good sign.

Hesaid, “We’regoing behind that curtain, aren’t we?”

“Yep.”

“Notgoing to like what we see?”

“Nope.”

“Nothingventured, huh.Juststay close, okay?”Hestarted in deeper, using his enhanced sight to scan the shadows.

Asthey walked, she ignored the ancient spider eggs crunching beneath their boots and regarded his wounds.Thedoll’s blade had stabbed him through. “Youwere really hurt.”

“I’llbe fine.”Heshrugged his broad shoulders, then winced.

Hispain called to her, and she had to ball her fists to keep from touching him. “Atleast you’re regenerating quickly.”Hiseyes had already healed from the starbursts of red.

Hegave a short laugh. “AmI, then?”

Sympathyelicited honesty. “IfIdon’t get another chance to tell you . . .Ihave heard all about your exploits, and they aren’t mediocre.”

Hegave her a questioning look, as if she might be teasing him again.

“Evenbefore tonight,Irecognized how well you fight.”She’dbeen agog at his skill with a sword, his style a mix of demon brutality and cold precision.Fireand ice.“Andyour intel is next-level.Everyoneknows that.”

“Thanks,Red.Iappreciate it.IwishI’dgotten to do research on this place.Notknowing the ins and outs is throwing me.”Hehadn’t had a chance because he’d rushed to her side.

“I’ma member of a forum that speculates on the mysteries surroundingRaven’sMurk.It’sa great place to exchange information, except for the literal trolls.Theysomehow found their way online.Anyway, the message boards contain a ton of details about this castle and the wizard.Alot of it is conjecture, but some has been proven correct.”

“Didthose forum members predict this?”Rökwaved at their surroundings.

“Couldanyone have?”

Asthey passed the tanks with body parts, he swore low. “Thislab couldn’t get any creepier.”

Lightningstruck the rod at that moment, the glare blinding them.Electricitybuzzed, traveling down the wires to those tanks.Onesevered leg juddered, the foot kicking the glass with a waterythud thud thud.

“Itjust did.”Theportrait on the landing flashed into her thoughts. “I’mstarting to suspect what the wizard was doing here.”

“Don’tsaythe reanimation of corpses.”

Shesighed. “Totallythe reanimation of corpses.”Thudthud thud.“Hewanted to resurrect his wife and children.”

“Fantastic!”

“Youreally have a problem with dead things coming back to life.”

“You’vediscovered my no-longer-secret weakness,”Röksaid. “Hemust’ve been keeping his subjects in that dungeon.”

They’ddiscovered the answer to another mystery: the wizard had indeed turned balls-out evil. “Thenhe was as horrific as my visitors.”

Rökfrowned at her. “Atour dinner, you never mentioned your curse, even though we discussed monsters.”

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