Page 131 of Shadow Witch

“Whatever. We’ll find our way somehow. We usually do. I’m still grateful that we didn’t get eaten. Now, let’s try another direction.”

They retraced their steps, winding back through the maze under the pyramid and trying in a different direction at the first opportunity.

“I wonder if all these corridors lead to the same place?” Dewey asked.

“I don’t know. I hope so. I feel like I’ve been down here for years walking around. And everything looks the same.”

“Who lit all these torches? They must have used some kind of magic.”

“Yeah, because it would have taken forever to do this. It’s like when you watch a romance movie and they’ve got all the candles lit all over the house. Who has time to light all those candles?”

Dewey didn’t answer her as she snaked around another corner and continued down the hall.

“Am I the only one who thinks that?”

“Maybe,” Dewey answered. “I…have a scene in my book where Paige walks into Devon’s bedroom and the entire thing is filled with candles.”

Paige rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh, you’re kidding me. You fell for the trope.”

“Of course. People are going to love that scene. I mean, what’s more romantic than a hot vampire who has filled the bedroom with candles and rose petals. Women are going to be over the moon for Devon.”

Paige heaved a sigh as she continued down the hall. “Whatever. It’s impractical.”

“Well, not for a vampire. He could probably light those all at once.”

“Fine, okay. But maybe make a statement about how he did that.”

“That’s not necessary,” Dewey said. “That’s over-explaining a detail no one cares about.”

“I care.”

“You’re weird. No one else cares.”

Paige’s jaw flexed as she shook her head.

“I’ll add a line in just for you.”

“Thanks, bud. I appreciate that.” She stopped, her eyebrows furrowing. “Have we been here before?”

“How would I know? The halls all look the same.” Dewey shrugged, throwing his paws out to the side.

She stared at an imperfection in one of the stones. “I swear I’ve seen this pockmark before.”

“Paige, there are flaws all over the place. I can’t believe this one flaw has you caught up. Keep going.”

Paige heaved a sigh as she continued forward a few steps before she shook her head. “Wait. We should mark this hall in some way.”

“How?”

She stared down at her finger with a frown. “Blood.”

“Eww…ooooh…has Devon turned you already?”

She screwed up her face. “What? No.”

“Well, your first reaction is to use blood. Sounds very…vampire-y.”

“What else do we have?”

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