Page 63 of Queen of Darkness
“Thank you. Okay, through you go. Let’s get out of here, fast.”
Alexi led the way, followed by Fred, then me, Dave and Pieter, then Jaxton.
The cool air was a marked contrast to the dusty confines we’d left behind. There was a layer of dust surrounding the container and piles of debris. We all pitched in to quickly toss it back through before Dave closed the door.
“It’s the best we can do,” Aaron said. “Elenia will have it cleaned up and fixed once she sees what happened. But we can’t let them catch us.”
Keeping the existence of the passageways between Earth and other realms secret was paramount and something that all creatures worked together for, as I understood it, even during hostilities.
We headed back the way we came, Pieter gasping in pain as Dave swept him up into his arms and carried him. I tried not to imagine how excruciating the pain must be with every bounce. I doubted I could hold up under it.
On we ran, with our tails tucked between our legs. We had failed. Badly. Despair loomed large, threatening to swallow me whole, and for a good reason.
This was all my fault.
Chapter Thirty-One
We were all in a black mood by the time we exited the portal. I blinked, expecting the brightness of the white gates of the Direen. Instead, I was greeted by the inside of a dilapidated hut.
“Why did you bring us here?” I asked, forcing myself to hold back my anger as I pushed the rickety door open. I didn’t want to destroy it just because I was mad.
The sun was out, but the canopy overhead was so thick that minimal light filtered through. Shadows whirled like crazy as the branches creaked and groaned overhead. Dead tree branches snapped and fell to the ground, disappearing into the carpet of desiccated tree debris. I shivered, wondering if the vampire bear was out there.
“Do you really want to go back to Dani and Vir and tell them what happened?” Aaron said as he started away from the hut, the others following.
I didn’t have much to say to that. Confronting them with the failure of our mission,myfailure to find us a better plan, was not something I was eager to do. We would have to notify them eventually, but for now, Aaron seemed as content to sulk in the mood as the rest of us.
Nothing bothered us as we trekked through the woods. Even vampire bears must be smart enough not to deal with seven really angry and heavily armed interlopers. We descended down the ridge, past the castle's ruins, and then crossed the river. I paused to scoop up some of the frigid water and wash my face down, cleaning off the dust.
The others followed my lead. It seemed to calm some of the impotent frustration and rage that filled us. I sighed heavily, scanning the group.
“There’s no way we can go back in like that now,” I said, gesturing with one hand for us to continue.
Fred nodded in agreement.
“She’ll be expecting us to pop out of any old secret hole,” Dave said. “Sneaking in just isn’t going to happen. Not unless anyone knows a passage she doesn’t.”
“I don’t,” Aaron grunted. “We discovered them all together. So every secret one that might not be known to others will be known to her.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, rubbing his back as we entered the cave, Fred and Dave pushing the barrier closed while Jaxton held Pieter. “There was no way you could have known that we would need it so many years later.”
“Maybe if I wasn’t so naïve,” he said crossly.
“You were in love,” I said. “That’s no reason to hate yourself. You couldn’t have foreseen the need to betray her a thousand years later.”
“Should have been more cautious,” he grumped, but his heart wasn’t in it.
Not having a better plan was my fault. I was the one who had gathered everyone together to go after her. It was my responsibility to do better, and I was determined that I would, going forward. I just didn’t know how.
We made our way to the great hall, where Pieter was laid out on one of the long tables. I turned away as Fred and Jaxton set his leg. Then, they pulled out a plastic vial of blood from Pieter’s reserves and upended it into his mouth, giving him some energy to heal. Once that was done, we all sat down.
I stared at the ancient grains of the wooden table, tracing them gently with a finger. Malaise was setting in, dragging us all down as the silence thickened. Everyone felt like they’d failed. I thought about telling them not to be so sad, that this was my responsibility, but I couldn’t even bring myself to do that.
“Oh,great, they came back here, too,” I moaned as metal scraping against the wall announced Drakul’s presence as he half-floated into the hall from one of the passages, his sword scraping against the wall.
Fenrir followed and surveyed us swiftly, shaking his head.
“So, how did that go?” he asked.
