Page 90 of Nearly Dead

He frowns as he studies my face.I can tell he wants to warn me not to get too cocky, but I do feel fine.

He nods once.

Cold stone.Cracked door.The scent of damp limestone and magic lingers in the air like rot under fresh flowers.Yep, just like we left it.The vines haven’t grown back over the entrance since Costin cleared them last time.That feels like a century ago, even though, technically, it was just a few months and several near-deaths ago.

I run my fingers along the edge of the door, remembering the way ithummedthe first time we touched it together.A pulse of dark enchantment, ancient and alive.It doesn’t do it now.Maybe because I’m different.Maybe because it recognizes me this time.

“The butterflies are gone,” I whisper.

“What does that mean?”

“I used to see them everywhere, even here.I think they were Lorelai’s magic guiding me when I was human.I just realized they’re gone now.”

“Lorelai doesn’t have magic.She’s human.”

Why does he keep looking at me like he’s analyzing everything I say for mistakes?

“Human magic.Charms, spells, a mother’s love,” I explain.“She kept an altar for me in her home.”

He nods, but he’s on high alert.The tension rolls through our bond.

“Home sweet hellmouth,” I joke, turning toward the door.

Costin doesn’t correct me because that’s essentially what this place is.It’s a gateway to the underground supernatural city, where all manner of goblins and ghoulies reside, a place that appears to have clawed its way through time just to prove it’s still relevant.Still dangerous.Still here.

And we’re going back in.

Costin moves silently beside me, his face a mask of control.As a human, I remember thinking that he must be emotionless, a cold-hearted predator.But there is a veritable sea of emotions hiding inside of him.The bond between us pulses with shared purpose, but beneath it runs a current of fear.

I’m scared of what I’ll find.Astrid and my father would not have gone with Elizabeth willingly.Well, at least Astrid for sure.

“She’ll expect us,” Costin says as we approach the entrance.“Elizabeth never moves without planning several steps ahead.”

“Good,” I reply, flexing my fingers.“I’m tired of being surprised.”

I feel him about to correct my bravado.

Pebbles skitter across the graveyard path and we both turn to look.Nothing is there.

The telekinetic power I discovered in the church crypt hums beneath my skin, new and unpredictable.I haven’t told Costin exactly how it feels but it’s like ice in my veins, spreading through me with each passing second.The vampire detachment grows stronger with it, making my emotions feel distant, almost academic, like I had expected his emotions to be.

I should be terrified for Astrid, but that fear begins to settle.Instead, I find myself calculating angles of attack, escape routes, and weaknesses to exploit.My heartbeat is steady and calm, and so loud it’s like a metronome in my ears.The wolf in me still snarls with protective rage, but the vampire’s cold logic is gaining traction.

We slip through the mausoleum, descending the spiral staircase into darkness.The first time I came here, I marveled at the hidden supernatural world.As a human, I needed an escort to get inside.Now the magical barrier recognizes me, and I move through it like I belong, another predator in a city of monsters.

Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.

And the metronome remains steady.

The main plaza spreads before us, buzzing with supernatural activity.At our arrival, an eerie quiet spreads like a plague.The beings scatter like exposed bugs under a lifted rock.The walkway becomes clear.

The city’s not silent, though.There’s a low buzz beneath everything.A drip here, a scrape there.Somewhere, a creature giggles, and I don’t want to know why.

“The vampire quarter is this way,” Costin says, leading me down a narrower passage.

This is a path we hadn’t been before.The few beings we pass give us a wide berth and avert their eyes whenever I look at them.I feel their unease.The wolf senses it in their smell.They know something has shifted in the social hierarchy.

From alcoves and archways, and broken balconies that hang over the underground alleyways like rotting teeth, they watch us.Some are perched on high beams.Others crawl or slither.A few hover in ways that defy human physics.

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