Page 46 of Shadow Dreaming

“Through that trap door?” I asked.

“Yes. The grotes came through it,” he added. “I’m pretty sure, at that depth, the passage leads into the outer tunnels of Underground Seattle.”

“Great,” I murmured.

Underground Seattle started out small in the late 1880s, when the great Seattle fire raged through, gutting a good share of the town. Seattle had been built at or below sea level at the time, and for some time, some of the shops continued while the city built several stories up, covering over the underground. Eventually, the entire city was on the upper level and the underground had been let go to rack and ruin.

Eventually, it was turned into both a tourist trade—for the safest areas—and then the Supes moved in. Vampires, goblins, and other Supe low-lifes, set up a city within a city. Now, Underground Seattle was a thriving community in its own right, but it wasn’t a safe place to be.

Penn was on her feet, though she was having trouble standing up.

“I’ve been tied in that chair since they captured me, except for an occasional bathroom break,” she said. My knees are so sore.”

Orik, who had been examining the grotes, crossed to her side. “Here, I’ll help,” he said.

But as he spoke, there was a noise from upstairs.

“Crap, someone’s here,” I whispered. “Is there any other way out? Any place to hide?” Frantic, I looked around.

“There’s only one way out,” Penn said. “We have to go into the Underground. And we’d better hurry.”

I stared at the trap door. “That’s almost as dangerous as facing Brim Fire.”

“We don’t have time to argue,” Dante said. “Penn’s right. And drag those bodies with us.” He grabbed up one of the grote bodies, dragged it over to the trap door, and pushed it in. I grabbed the second and followed suit, while he went back for the third. Then I took the lead, with Carson behind me, then Dante, then Penn, and leading up the rear—Orik, we climbed down the ladder, and Orik pulled the door shut behind him.

As we stepped onto the ledge by the ladder near the hole that the grotes had come though, I noticed that the chute was made of brick, lit by dim lights embedded in the walls. The light was enough to see by, but not enough to focus clearly.

The ladder went down and down, and I was worried that Penn would be too stiff to hold on.

“You can hold onto me,” Orik said. “I might be able to fasten my belt around you, but I don’t know that’s it’s big enough for both of us.”

“I know!” I pulled out the cord that Hecate gave me. “Penn, wrap your arms around Orik’s waist from the back. That way he’ll be free to hold onto the rungs easier.”

She frowned, but did as I asked. I tied the cord around them, and it fastened itself snugly.

“That should hold,” I said. “Okay, let’s get a move on.”

I swung back onto the ladder, going first, and began to descend. I couldn’t see the bottom very well, though it seemed to be about three stories down. And I saw three blobs in the dim light, which had to be the grotes.

I began to move, trying to put the speed on without losing my grip. Orik came next, with Penn attached to his back. Then Carson began scrambling down the ladder, surprisingly agile, and after him, Dante.

We reached the bottom, sidestepping the bodies. So far, I couldn’t seen any sign that anybody topside had noticed. I looked around. We were in a small room that opened out into an underground passage.

Underground Seattle was a labyrinth. It was a rite of passage among some street gangs to make a potential member work their way through the Underground, in the dingier, deadlier parts. And some teens used it as a dare, which was stupid as hell, but nobody ever said the teen years were the most sensible.

I looked around, trying to gauge where we were in relation to the parking lot. My sense of direction was fairly keen—but Dante’s was better. Most shifters had an innate sense of direction.

I turned to him. “Why don’t you take the lead? Get us out of here as soon as possible. There’s no way we won’t attract attention and that’s not what we want.” I crossed to Penn and Orik and took hold of the length of rope, tugging on it. It opened right up, and I coiled it in my hand. “Orik, take the rear, please. You’re a tank and anybody behind us will think twice about coming after us.”

I hugged Penn and took her hand as Dante began to lead us through the hallway. “I’ve been so worried about you. Can you walk all right?”

“I think so,” she said. “I’ve missed you, too.” She reached out to touch the cord Hecate had given me. “This feels so familiar?—”

“It should,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Hecate gave it to me to help rescue you.”

Dante motioned for us to keep quiet. He glanced over his shoulder. “I hear someone up ahead.”

We quieted down. The tunnel was wide and tall, with various passages veering off this way and that, with dim lights embedded into the brick. The arched ceiling was built from old brick, and some of the areas looked weathered, even though they’d been protected from the elements. I had no idea how old some of the passages were. We weren’t in the tourist-area of the Underground, where the buildings built before the great fire had been gutted and retrofitted into modern shops. As we passed by, I began to notice doors against the walls, and windows, with faint lights filtering out from within. My stomach twisted as we passed by.

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